Future of Senior Healthcare Summit

Sarita A. Mohanty, MD, MPH, MBA, serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of The SCAN Foundation. The SCAN Foundation is one of the largest foundations in the United States focused on improving the quality of health and life for older adults. Its mission is to advance a coordinated and easily navigated system of high-quality services for older adults that preserve dignity and independence. Previously, Sarita served as the Vice President of Care Coordination for Medicaid and Vulnerable Populations at Kaiser Permanente. Sarita was previously Assistant Professor of Medicine at USC; Chief Medical Officer of COPE Health Solutions, a health care management consulting company; and Senior Medical Director at L.A. Care, the largest U.S. public health plan.

Sarita completed her Internal Medicine residency at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and research fellowship at Harvard Medical School. She earned her MD from Boston University, MPH from Harvard University, and MBA from UCLA. She completed undergraduate work at UC Berkeley. She currently is an Associate Professor at the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine and is a practicing internal medicine physician with Kaiser Permanente. Sarita enjoys international travel, tennis, and spending time with her husband and three children.

Dr. Sonja Rosen serves as the Chief of Geriatrics for Cedars-Sinai and the Medical Director of Geriatrics for Cedars-Sinai Medical Care Foundation. Under her leadership, the Academic Section of Geriatric Medicine at Cedars-Sinai was created, with her serving as the Inaugural Chief. She is a Professor of Medicine at Cedars-Sinai and UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. She is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and a Fellow of the American Geriatrics Society. She was previously Chief of Geriatric Medicine at UCLA Medical Center, SM and Medical Director of UCLA Medical Center, SM Geriatric Inpatient Unit. Dr. Rosen completed her fellowship in Geriatric Medicine at UCLA, residency in Internal Medicine at Harbor-UCLA, and medical school at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. She is board certified in Internal Medicine, Geriatric Medicine and Hospice & Palliative Care Medicine. Dr Rosen’s research and clinical interests include safe transitions of care and safe prescribing in older persons, geriatric co-management, delirium education, population health, Medicare Advantage population management, addressing social determinants of health and fall prevention. She has written multiple peer-reviewed articles and chapters on this work, as well as served as book editor, and given multiple national and international presentations. She has created and implemented numerous quality improvement programs to improve geriatric models of care and has championed Cedars-Sinai’s efforts to be recognized as an Age-Friendly Health System Committed to Care Excellence in 2020. She

currently serves nationally on the American Geriatrics Society Quality & Performance Measurement Committee and the workshop planning committee on Advancing Diagnostic

Excellence for Older Adults for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and

Medicine. She has also won numerous awards for her clinical care, including being selected by peers for Southern California Super Doctors and Los Angeles Magazine Top Doctors for consecutive years.

Michael Tang, MD, MBA, is the Vice President of Integrated Care at Cityblock Health, and a board-certified adult psychiatrist, child psychiatrist and pediatrician.  He is committed to implementing integrated value-based care for underserved populations by leading Cityblock’s medical, behavioral health and substance use disorder strategy.  Michael previously served as the Head of Behavioral Health at Cityblock Health, Chief Behavioral Health Officer at the Dimock Center and Boston Site Director of Health Leads.  He completed his residency in pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital and Boston Medical Center, and residency and fellowship in adult and child psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital and McLean Hospital.  Michael is a graduate of Harvard College, Harvard Medical School, and the Brandeis Heller School for Social Policy and Management.

Merrill leads inclusive policy and advocacy for Elevance Health. She works collaboratively with advocates, community leaders, and stakeholders to ensure the diversity of individuals and personal experiences inform Elevance Health’s health benefits approaches and healthcare programs. Ms. Friedman advances the integration of the independent living philosophy, self-determination, lived experience, and person-centeredness along with the National Advisory Board (NAB) on Improving Healthcare Services for Older Adults and People with Disabilities six foundational principles throughout policy, programs, individual interactions, and business practices. In addition, she leads strategic partnerships with national and local organizations to advance access, health equity, and inclusive public policy.

Previously, Ms. Friedman was interim director at a nonprofit foster care agency serving children and adolescents who experienced severe neglect and abuse. She also served as president and chief executive officer of a private organization that owned and operated residential treatment facilities, group homes and home and community-based services in several states for adolescents with mental health conditions, substance use disorders, and intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Ms. Friedman has served on numerous national boards and commissions. She was appointed by President Barack Obama to the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities and by Governor Jennifer Granholm to the MI Statewide Independent Living Council where she served as Board Chair. Currently, Ms. Friedman serves on the board of directors for Mental Health America (MHA), the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI), the Institute for Exceptional Care (IEC), and EveryLife Foundation, and is an Advisory Board member for Uplift and ADvancing States’ MLTSS Institute.

Felix currently heads the medical development of digital healthcare for Sanofi US, pioneering medical strategy, evidence generation, stakeholder engagement and capability building for digital health solutions that empower self-management in people living with chronic conditions to improve outcomes.  

Felix brings over 20 years of diverse clinical, commercial and investment experience across small to large enterprises in both private and public sector organizations. He has led new product planning at regional, emerging markets and global capacities in Sanofi and prior, spent 3 years in healthcare investments, 5 years in B2B marketing and began his career as a clinical and formulary pharmacist for the UK National Health Service.

Felix received his Master of Pharmacy degree from the University of Nottingham and Master of Science in Clinical Pharmacy from the University of Derby.  He holds an MBA with distinction from the Warwick Business School and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.

Jamie White serves as the Health Science Strategy and Relations Lead for the Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH)  at the National Institutes of Health, where she has been for over 6 years in a variety of roles. She started in the office as a Presidential Management Fellowship (PMF) – STEM fellow working as the special assistant to the Director.  In her current position, she acts as a health science policy analyst and leads strategic engagement where she is charged with finding synergies that align with the ORWH mission and NIH vision on women’s health research with both external and internal key stakeholders. She is a proud alumnae of Spelman College, where she obtained a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry; and she has a graduate degree in Neuroscience from Tulane University. Though still a scientist at heart, she now leverages her skillset to advance the science for the health of women globally and advocate for the advancement of women in reaching their full potential within their biomedical careers.

Executive Strategist in Aging Innovation

Sarah Thomas is an accomplished leader of innovation. She serves as a global aging expert advising startups, large corporations and investors, with over 20 years dedicated to transforming the aging experience. Sarah is CEO of multinational staff-hosting company, MezTal in Guadalajara, Mexico & CEO of the consulting firm Delight by Design, creating age-inclusive products, brands, spaces and experiences that delight the consumer at every age. Sarah has held key leadership positions across the US and Asia, developing and implementing strategic corporate innovation initiatives, including change management. She has served as Executive-in-Residence at Aging2.0 and currently serves as Principal Fellow in the Nexus Insights firm for aging transformation and Mentor to Techstars Longevity Accelerator.  She also is co- founder of AgeTech News, a media platform for global AgeTech News and deal flow and sits as a Venture Partner to AGETECH Capital and ThirdAct Ventures.

Amy Neftzger has worked in healthcare analytics for over two decades.  As an applied researcher, her focus is on utilizing data science to improve operational processes and healthcare outcomes. Her experience includes working for vendors, Medicare Approved Contractors, and health plans, as well as serving on industry committees and special workgroups for The Disease Management Association of America, URAC, The Gallup Well-Being Index, and DaVinci FHIR (HL7). She currently works for United Healthcare as Senior Director of Emerging Tech, Analytics, and Insights managing data science and analytics in support of provider operations.

Marisa Scala-Foley serves as the Director of the Aging and Disability Business Institute at USAging, which provides community-based organizations (CBOs) with the tools and resources to successfully adapt to a changing health care environment, enhance their organizational capacity and capitalize on emerging opportunities to diversify funding.

Before coming to USAging, she served as Director of the Office of Integrated Care Innovations in the Center for Integrated Programs at the U.S. Administration for Community Living (ACL), where she managed the agency’s efforts to build the capacity of state and community-based organizations for delivery system reform. Prior to that she helped found and lead the Center for Benefits Access at the National Council on Aging.

Marisa has worked her entire career in the field of aging on issues related to health care and long-term services and supports. She holds a Masters in Gerontological Studies from Miami University (Ohio), and a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology/Gerontology from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA.

Elana Kieffer is the Director of The New York Academy of Medicine’s Center for Healthy Aging. She has 15 years of experience working in a wide range of older adult services, with a focus on project management, program development, and sales and marketing. Prior to her time at the Academy, Elana worked at The New Jewish Home and at MJHS Hospice and Palliative Care. She also worked in affordable and market-rate senior housing for two Boston-based organizations, The Community Builders and Hebrew SeniorLife. Elana has an MBA in nonprofit management with a concentration in aging services from the Heller School at Brandeis University.

Eden Mark is a division director (vice president) of strategy and innovation at BAYADA Home Health Care. In this role she develops strategy, builds products and integrates value-based performance into home health care. She has a fervent passion for innovation, quality and continuous improvement and is committed to finding ways to give patients more days at home. She previously led post-acute care program development and operations for the Population Health team at Mass General Brigham (MGB). Eden was responsible for managing programs that integrated care across the continuum and helping patients safely transition back into the community after an acute-care episode. She is experienced at developing and launching innovative home-based care programs including: Hospital at Home; Home Infusion; Transitional Care Management; Mobile Integrated Health; Skilled Nursing Facility quality optimization and network development. Prior to joining MGB, Eden lead health education and communications programs for the Center of Quality & Safety at Massachusetts General Hospital. Eden has a background in translation health policy research and previously worked for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Eden holds a Master of Public Health degree from Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University and an Bachelor of Arts with a concentration in psychology, gender and health from The University of Michigan.

Lauren Dunning is a Director at the Milken Institute Center for the Future of Aging, where she develops strategic initiatives and partnerships that advance healthy longevity and financial security across the life course. In her role, Dunning oversees the Advisory Board, a group of global leaders from across sectors that provides advisement, expertise, and collaboration to maximize the impact of the Center’s work. Before joining the Milken Institute, Dunning served in key policy leadership roles over ten years at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, where she was most recently the director of government affairs. Dunning has written and presented on a variety of public health policy topics and is an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center. Dunning holds a JD from Georgetown University Law Center, a Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and a bachelor’s degree from George Washington University. She works at the Milken Institute’s Santa Monica office.

My experience in medicine spans almost 25 years. Prior to entering Medical School, I worked as a Registered Nurse. Fast Forward, my journey led me to specialize in primary care, the foundation of medicine. These foundational elements align with my dedication to patients and an integrated approach to prevention and chronic disease management, as a Board-Certified Family Medicine Physician. I am currently the Medical Director for Senior Focused Care (SFC) for Geisinger and oversee our PACE program, LIFE Geisinger, as well as our senior model of high tough high quality primary care, 65 Forward. As a forward-thinking leader in Primary Care, and juxta posing my role as Medical Director of Quality and Innovation, I track and follow HEDIS metrics across six identified priority areas, as well as high-cost utilization patterns throughout primary care for Geisinger. Within SFC, I have established and currently lead the execution of the strategic plan for the provision of department services across 65 Forward and LIFE Geisinger (PACE) programs as part of the division of Population Initiatives. Quality improvement, decreasing high-cost utilization and managing total cost of care are mission critical for the care of these older adults. My work focuses on a spirit of innovation in care delivery and maximizes the use of technology to improve quality and enhance efficiency. I direct and lead providers, faculty, residents, and other clinicians, to optimize the care of patients, support research endeavors, and provide effective and meaningful educational programs across the department to enhance the care delivered to our seniors. Additionally, I hold the following roles of Medical Director for Geisinger urgent care services, Convenient Care, Burnham, PA, and Chair of Family Medicine at Geisinger Lewistown Hospital (GLH). I am a fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians (FAAFP) and in 2019 completed my master’s in business administration (MBA) at the University of Scranton.

Emily McGrath serves as the Director of Business and Product Strategy and Operations, as part of Humana’s Health Equity and Social Impact team. In her role, she is responsible for health equity product strategy and development, ensuring that health equity is embedded in member-facing initiatives.

Emily has been with Humana for 15 years, with experience in management consulting, provider network development, clinical product, and Medicare benefit strategy and filing. She has a passion for integrating health-related social needs into benefits and healthcare delivery. 

Emily received a bachelor’s degree in Financial Economics from Centre College and a master’s in business administration from Bellarmine University. 

Dr. Anne Flynn is trained in internal medicine and started her medical career as a Hospitalist and Director of Hospital Medicine at one of Northwell Health’s several hospitals in New York. She then transitioned to Medical Director of Care Continuum Transformation at Northwell Health Solutions which is the Population Health Care Management arm of Northwell.  In this role she leads a transitional care management team focused on value based populations and a 24/7 RN triage Clinical Call Center.  Dr. Flynn has been instrumental in leading readmission reduction through an integrated model for a large Health Care System.  In her role she vets and pilots and integrates new technology to assist in improving the patient healthcare experience, outcomes and care model efficiencies.  She is passionate about quality of care and the patient experience.

Marc Rosen is the System Director of Community Impact and Operations at CommonSpirit Health, where he leads strategies that address the social needs of older adults through community-based partnerships. Through community-based, vendor, and health system roles, Marc brings fifteen years of experience working on clinic-to-community partnerships focused on patient’s chronic diseases and social needs. Prior to joining CommonSpirit, he led the establishment of a network health performance framework for social care networks as well as the new research and evaluation practice at Unite Us. His time in the community-based sector includes nearly seven years at YMCA of the USA, where as Director of Healthcare Integration he helped broker cross-sector partnerships that integrated Y’s into care pathways and reimbursement models. In his free time, Marc enjoys traveling, watching Chicago sports, and volunteering as a Spanish language medical interpreter at a free healthcare clinic in Chicago. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Latin American Studies and Spanish and a Master of Public Health in Health Policy and Administration from the University of Illinois-Chicago.

Dr. Keren Ladin is Associate Professor in the Departments of Community Health at Tufts University. She is Director of Research on Aging, Ethics, and Community Health (REACH Lab) at Tufts University. Dr. Ladin is the Concentration Lead for Practice to Policy Translational Research in the Clinical and Translational Sciences Masters and PhD program at Tufts. Dr. Ladin’s scholarly work examines questions of equitable allocation of health resources, shared decision-making, and disparities, especially for older adults and for people facing surgical decisions. Dr. Ladin has published extensively on topics related to transplantation, aging, kidney disease, and health disparities, and is an expert in mixed-methods, medical ethics, and health policy. She currently serves is Chair of United Network on Organ Sharing (UNOS) Ethics Committee and the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) Ethics Committee. Dr. Ladin’s research has been funded by the Greenwall Foundation, the Patient Centered Research Outcomes Institute (PCORI), the National Institutes of Health, and private foundations. At Tufts, Dr. Ladin teaches courses in health policy, research methods, public health ethics, and health disparities. Dr. Ladin studied History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Science and Medicine as an undergraduate at the University of Chicago. She received her masters in Population and International Health from the Harvard School of Public Health, and her PhD in Health Policy, with a concentration in ethics, from Harvard University.

Everette James is the University of Pittsburgh Associate Vice Chancellor for Health Policy and Planning, the M. Allen Pond Professor of Health Policy and Management, and Director of the Pitt Health Policy Institute (HPI). He oversees HPI’s six research centers including the Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education, Medicare and Medicaid Research Center, and the Center for Caregiving Research, Education and Policy. Bringing these roles and interdisciplinary teams together, Everette founded the Healthy Home Laboratory (HHL) where clinicians and researchers develop technology-enabled, integrated service platforms to support healthy aging and reduce health system costs. The HHL is housed in a 105 year old Pittsburgh home that serves as a community laboratory to develop, test and scale solutions for successful aging in place. Before joining Pitt, Everette served as the 25th Pennsylvania Secretary of Health. He began his career in Washington, D.C. practicing law and serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Service Industries and Finance at the U.S. Dept. of Commerce.