Home Agenda Speakers Sponsors Location Lodging Platinum Gold Silver Associatio Raj Amin President HealthiNation Raj Amin is President and co-founder of HealthiNation, a multi-platform health education network focused on consumers. Raj has been a leader in interactive video and emerging media for over a decade, focusing on businesses that have helped content get to the viewer in new ways. His prior experience includes serving as Vice President for Content and Advertising Markets at Tandberg TV, a leader in the digital TV software and infrastructure space. He also led advertising product strategy for Replay TV, an early DVR company, and established Scientific-Atlanta's interactive TV division. Sue Anderson Principal Health Benefits ABCs Sue Andersen is a partner in Health Benefits ABCs, a woman-owned consulting firm specializing in education/training on health benefits and aging services as well as health and aging services program development and strategic planning. Sue is an attorney and former health law clinical professor at George Washington University Law School and has significant litigation experience in Medicare eligibility and coverage, Medicaid benefits, and other public and private health insurance issues. She is recognized as a leading authority in developing benefits education training programs and providing technical assistance to public and private organizations on Medicare, Medicaid, HIPAA, and COBRA law. Sue has experience in developing web-based decision support tools to help consumers make health insurance and benefits decisions. William Benson Principal Health Benefits ABCs From 1993 to 1998 Mr. Benson served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Aging and Acting Assistant Secretary of Aging at the Administration on Aging (AoA) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Mr. Benson spent eight years in staff positions for the U.S. Congress including staff director of the Subcommittee on Aging of the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee, staff director of the Subcommittee on Housing and Consumer Interests of the House Select Committee on Aging, and with the Senate Special Committee on Aging. During that time, Mr. Benson played a major role in the 1987 and 1992 amendments to the Older Americans Act, including the creation of Title VII, the OBRA ‘87 nursing home reform legislation, numerous Medicare and Medicaid provisions, women’s health, pension and other notable legislative initiatives. Bill is a former long term care ombudsman for California. He currebtly is a partner Health Benefits ABCs. Brooke Billingsley Vice President Perception Strategies, Inc. Brooke Billingsley is Vice President of Perception Strategies, Inc., an Indianapolis-based healthcare customer service firm. She leads project teams in conducting highly-focused consumer research for major healthcare clients. Prior to joining Perception Strategies, she traveled internationally speaking on various topics including “Perception is Reality,” the popular “Do You Have What it Takes to Deliver Great Customer Service?” and “It’s All in the Way They See You!” Brooke entertains audiences while sharing solutions to customer service challenges, getting along with coworkers who are different from you and keeping great employees. Deborah Bosley Director, Center for Writing, Language, and Lit. UNC Charlotte Deborah S. Bosley is Associate Professor of English and Director of the Center for Writing, Language, and Literacy at UNC Charlotte. The Center provides business and academia with research and training opportunities, particularly in the areas of health communication, financial communication, education, ESL, and language and the law. In addition to teaching technical and professional communication Dr. Bosley is a plain language and business writing consultant. Her clients include TIAA-CREF, the North Carolina Foundation for Advanced Health, the Privacy Council, IBM, Hoechst Celanese, Wachovia Bank, Royal & SunAlliance Insurance, and Mecklenburg Department of Social Services, Founders Federal Credit Union. In 2001 she was a panelist at Get Noticed: Effective Financial Privacy Notices sponsored by the FTC and the SEC. She has published two books, Global Contexts: Case Studies in International Technical Communication and Technical Communication at Work, and more than two dozen articles. Wes Ervin VP, Insight Forums and Events Art Plus Technology Wes Ervin is Vice President, Insight Forums and Events, for Art Plus Technology. In that role Wes is responsible for two annual conferences: the Healrthcare Communications Forum and the Financial Communications Forum. Wes has more than 20 years experience in creating innovative customer communications. Prior to joining APT in 2004, Wes was Chief Information Architect and Media and Public Relations Manager for DST Output. Earlier he had founded his own agency, Information Design Associates, which he sold after ten successful years of growth. He began his business career on Wall Street, working for Goldman Sachs and CS First Boston. Wes is regarded as a pioneer information designer. He is Vice President of the International Institute for Information Design (IIID), a global professional association headquartered in Vienna, Austria. He also serves on the Board of the Communications Research Institute, headquartered in Melbourne, Australia. Wes has a BA, MA, and PhD from the University of Chicago and was Assistant Professor at New York University’s graduate business school from 1985 to 1990. Lauren Fleshler Senior Strategist Addison Lauren Fleshler is a seasoned communications strategist who conceives and develops simplified communications across diverse media platforms in the healthcare and higher education sectors, among others. She is the lead strategist for Pfizer’s HelpfulAnswers’ Medicare Part D education program. Prior to consulting, Ms. Fleshler held the position of Director, Product Development for Health Dialog, Inc., a leading healthcare company, where she was responsible for developing The Dialog Center, the company’s online personal health management product as well as informed medical decision-making tools. Ms. Fleshler earned a Masters in Writing from Emerson College and has a deep background in information design and educational programming, having worked for both Berklee College of Music and the Newshour on PBS in addition to writing and producing corporate training and sales tools. Joyce Flory Principal Communications for E-Business and Health As the former editor of Medicine on the Net, Joyce Flory has more than 20 years of experience in public relations and marketing communications with a focus on the healthcare industry. Her work has been published in numerous healthcare publications, including Strategic Healthcare Marketing, Pharmaceutical Executive, Modern Healthcare, Healthcare Human Resources, Healthcare QI Training Report, and Internet Healthcare Strategies. She is also the co-author of five books on the Internet, published by McGraw-Hill, and is the founder and first editor of Healthcare Executive, which is still published by the American College of Healthcare Executives. Joyce has served clients as diverse as the National Managed Healthcare Congress, Cejka & Co., Witt-Kieffer, COR Health, Women’s Health America, Health Directions, Servicemaster, American Osteopathic Association, Greenhouse Communications, Public Communications, Inc. the American Hospital Association, the Coker Group, and Coprindum. She has worked with Chuck Lauer, the publisher of Modern Healthcare, for more than 15 years on backgrounders, research, presentations, and speechwriting. Joyce has presented at numerous healthcare meetings and conferences, as well as retreats and special events. Focusing most recently on the healthcare Internet’s role in marketing, communications, and clinical innovation, she has addressed groups as diverse as the E-Health Colloquium at Harvard, the HIPAA Summit, Premier, Inc., Wellpoint, Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, the Society for Healthcare Planning and Marketing, Ehealthcare World, the Forum for Healthcare Strategists, the Annual Outsourcing Congress, the Health Internet Congress, the National Managed Healthcare Congress, the Summit on Patient Safety and Information Technology, and ETHIC2002. She has also spoken for conference companies such as TCBI, Strategic Research Institute, and the International Quality and Productivity Center. Joyce has worked for conference companies and associations, including Health Care Conference Administrators, World Healthcare Congress, Healthcare Information Management Systems Society, National Managed Healthcare Congress, E-Healthcare World, and the Forum for Healthcare Strategists. Joyce was the director of public affairs for the American College of Healthcare Executives prior to forming her own consultancy. Previous communications and marketing positions were held at McNeal Health Network and the American Dental Assistants Association. Joyce was a college professor at Indiana University, the University of Minnesota, and Northeastern Illinois University. Robert Goldberg Vice President The Center for Medicine in the Public Interest Dr. Goldberg is co-founder, Vice President, and Director of Programs for Center for Medicine in the Public Interest. Prior to founding CMPI, he was senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute working on research and activities surrounding healthcare issues. Dr. Goldberg is the author of numerous articles and reports including Elizabeth Gooding CEO Art Plus Technology Elizabeth Gooding founded Art Plus Technology and has established the firm as a premier provider of communication strategy, design, and development services. Her experience includes information and process design, RFP development, and technology and outsourcing evaluations. Elizabeth was the editor of e.bill magazine until 2002 and has written for a wide variety of industry publications on process design, cross-channel branding, electronic presentment, content management, and technology convergence. Elizabeth has helped CIGNA, Fidelity, and T. Rowe Price, among others, to streamline their business process, improve customer retention, and maximize new opportunities through document design, print, and Internet technology. She is a member of the AIIM Conference Planning Committee and the chair of the Financial Communications Forum Advisory Council. She was honored in 2002 by OutputLinks as a Woman of Distinction in the Output Management Industry. Brad Holmes VP and Practice Leader, Healthcare & Life Science Forrester Research Susan Kleimann, PhD President Kleimann Communication Group Susan Kleimann, PhD, is a leading practitioner in the field of effective communication, information and document design, and plain language writing and training. Dr. Kleimann is President of Kleimann Communication Group, Inc., headquartered in Washington, DC, which provides consulting, testing, and training services to corporate, university, and governmental organizations, including the Marriott Corporation, Veterans Benefits Administration, Internal Revenue Service, Harvard Medical School, and Public Broadcasting Company. Her firm has won awards for their training programs and leading-edge work in the field of plain language communications. Their “Medicare Today and Tomorrow – Video Discussion Guide,” sponsored by the National Academy of Social Insurance and the California Health Care Foundation, won an International Award of Excellence from the Society for Technical Communications. Her work on the redesign of the Veterans Benefits Administration’s Form 21-526 received a “no-gobbledygook” award from the Vice-President’s office. Dr. Kleimann worked with Dr. Norris on the ground-breaking design for Transforming Higher Education and other projects. Dr. Kleimann received a BA in English from Southern Illinois University. She earned an MA, also in English, and a PhD in Rhetoric from the University of Maryland at College Park. Russell Lamontagne President Corinth Group Communications Russell LaMontagne is founder and president of Corinth Group Communications, a healthcare communications consultancy. Prior to founding Corinth Group in 1999, Russell worked in healthcare and technology communications in both agency and academic settings as well as doing work as a research scientist and freelance writer. He has helped dozens of healthcare start-ups go from the drawing board to become major players in the healthcare sector. He has also conceived and implemented communications plans for large clients as diverse as the New England Journal of Medicine, Bristol Myers Squibb, The Iacocca Foundation, and the American Liver Foundation. Russell serves on the membership committee of Consumers for Healthcare Choices. He received a BS, magna cum laude, in Botany and Geology from the University of Massachusetts and an MS in Geology and Geophysics from Yale University. Louise Lavere Senior Director, Corp. Communications & Affairs HealthNow New York Louise is Senior Director, Corporate Communications and Affairs, for HealthNow, the parent of BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York and BlueShield of Northeastern New York. She is responsible for marketing communications, including branding, advertising, and direct marketing. Before joining HealthNow, she worked for Univera and earlier for a venture capital start-up based in Boston. Louise has spoken at the BlueCross BlueShield Association's technology summit, was a finalist in 1-to-1 Magazine's Impact Awards, won a national Effy Award and 2004 Best of Show in BCBSA's Best of the Blues Marketing Communications awards, and a 2006 first place Best of the Blues award in the consumer education category for a Medicare Part D educational campaign. She has a bachelor's degree in psychology from Canisius College, Buffalo, NY. David Lenihan CEO CareGain, Inc. David J. Lenihan is CEO of CareGain Inc., which provides enterprise software solutions to health plans and TPAs, enabling them to enter the Consumer Directed Health marketplace quickly and efficiently for both plan design and administration of these new products. David co-founded CareGain in 2001, and in January 2006 the company became part of Fiserve Health. Prior to founding CareGain, David was responsible for Business Development at NeuVis, Inc. which is now owned by IBM. His background also spans investment and commercial banking, financial asset management, healthcare/healthcare information technology, and government/diplomacy. Kathleen McCormick Senior Vice President, Business Development HSA Bank Kathleen McCormick joined HSA Bank as the director of business relations in 2004. She became senior vice president – business development in March of 2005. McCormick has nearly 23 years of management experience at a national third party administrator (TPA). She is responsible for managing HSA Bank’s Business Relations, Client Assistance Center and Marketing teams. She works with new and existing business partners to negotiate contract terms, provide additional training support and coordinate relationship marketing initiatives. A.J. Melaragno Assistant Vice President, Interactive Operations Evanston Northwestern Healthcare A.J. Melaragno is AVP of Interactive Marketing for Evanston Northwestern Healthcare, where he directs all operations involving patient access, including Internet strategy/development and the call center that handles scheduling, registration, physician referrals, and insurance verification for all three hospitals. He also has responsibilities for the Multi-Media Services department. He led the implementation and manages ENHfirst Platinum, an online portal that allows patients to view their medical record, schedule appointments, renew prescriptions, and conduct other healthcare functions online. Prior to joining ENH, A.J. was the Director of Internet products at Icon InfoSystems Consulting in Chicago. He started his career at Pioneer Standard Electronics and in 1999 PC Week named his Internet initiative the third best eBusiness program in the country. A.J. graduated from Cleveland State University. Phil Micali Founder and CEO bWell International Rick Morrison CEO Remettra, Inc. Rick Morrison is the Founder and CEO of Remettra, Inc., a medical banking BPO that provides services for health plans, third party payers, financial institutions, ASPs, and healthcare clearinghouses seeking an immediate, cost-effective approach to converting health plans’ paper-based accounts payable processes to fully automated electronic systems. Mr. Morrison is considered an industry expert with respect to medical banking. He was former President of the National Medical Banking Institute for three years and served on the steering committee of the Cooperative Open-source Medical Banking Architecture & Technology initiative. In addition he is a member of the Medical Banking Project Workflow Automation Council, the Medical Banking Project HIPAA Compliance Workgroup, and the Medical Banking Project HSA Workgroup. He served as a member of the Banking Industry HIPAA Task Force (created by the NACHA and the American Bankers Association) and authored a white paper, HIPAA’s Impact on Depository Financial Institutions, which was published in the CCH Financial Privacy Law Guide in 2002. Mr. Morrison speaks at banking and healthcare conferences, serves as a panelist at industry conferences for Don Moyer Designer ThoughtForm Inc. In 1980 Don started a communication planning and design firm with Reed Agnew and Grant Smith. The firm is now known as ThoughtForm and employs 40 people. At ThoughtForm Don and his team work on a wide range of communication design projects, including publications, Web sites, and exhibits, for clients such as Steelcase, McDonald's, Caterpillar, Otis, Humana, GlaxoSmith Kline, and UnitedHealth Group. Don is enthusiastic about the power of visual storytelling and enjoys the challenge of making complex topics clear and engaging. He writes and designs visual explanations that he calls Foglifters(TM) on diverse topics from global trade to managing a restaurant. He teaches “Writing Backwards” workshops to help writers and editors discover ways to better integrate visual storytelling into their projects. Don writes a monthly column for Harvard Business Review, called Panel Discussion. Prior to forming his agency Don worked for the Westinghouse Corporate Design Center. Don received a BFA in graphic design from the University of the Arts (formerly Philadelphia College of Art) in 1970 and later a MFA in graphic design from Yale University. While at Yale, Don designed communication materials for medical text books and served as project manager for the Symbol Sign project for the U.S. Department of Transportation and the American Institute of Graphic Arts. Stan Nowak President and CEO Silverlink As president and CEO, Stan is responsible for defining the strategic direction for Silverlink and achieving overall execution milestones. He is focused on driving major sales opportunities and sourcing and building strategic relationships, including those with investors. Stan is a company founder and brings over 15 years of general management experience in the IT services, telecom services, and private utility sectors working for companies including StorageNetworks, GTE, and InterGen (Bechtel). He has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from Harvard College. Laura Palmer Member Innovation Leader Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida Laura Palmer is a member of the Innovation & Analysis Team at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida (BCBSF), where she manages the design, development, and testing of new product ideas, services, and innovative concepts for market differentiation. She helped launch BCBSF’s first loyalty club for healthy behaviors and a first-to-market personal health report that shows members’ quarterly health activities. She also helps drive the company’s consumer segmentation strategy efforts. In her previous roles at BCBSF, Laura worked in Multicultural Marketing and the Office of Diversity. Laura has an MBA from the University of North Florida and a BA in Industrial Relations from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is also a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). Mookesh Patel Chair and Associate Professor Arizona State University Mookesh Patel is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Visual Communications Design at Arizona State University and visiting faculty member at the Rhode Island School of Design. His research focuses on visual communication and information design issues, semiotics, visual interpretation, visualization, exhibition / experience design, and typography. He received his BS from Ahmedabad Science College at Gujarat University (India), his MFA in graphic design from Rhode Island School of Design, and holds a diploma in Visual Communication from the National Institute of Design. He is also principal partner at InfoDesign Management Inc., in Scottsdale. His recent clients include Phoenix Art Museum, Metropolitan Boston Transit Authority, and the Government of India for a major traveling exhibition, My Land, My People. Lindsay Resnick Senior Vice President Finelight Lindsay Resnick has twenty-five years of professional experience in the healthcare and insurance industry. Currently, Lindsay leads business development and strategic advisory services at Finelight, a national marketing communications firm. Prior to joining Finelight, Lindsay was Chief Marketing Officer of one of the country’s early consumer driven health plans. Previously he was President of a specialized investment-banking firm focused on health insurance merger and acquisition. Lindsay was also a senior officer at a national commercial health insurer specializing in small group, individual medical and senor markets. He has authored numerous articles on industry trends and business strategy appearing in Best Review, Broker World, Contingencies, Health Insurance Underwriter, Healthcare Financial Management, National Underwriter and the Actuary. William Rogers CEO Ektron Bill Rogers founded Ektron in 1998 with a simple vision: enable non-technical people to easily author and publish content on websites. Today, Rogers has sparked a revolution in the way organizations create and manage interactive web, intranet and extranet sites. He recognized early on how important websites would become to companies’ business models, and guided Ektron in creating a web content management software platform that provides all the functionality webmasters, designers and developers want in a single application, while still minimizing the complexity to which the non-technical users are exposed. In his role as a hands-on chief executive officer Bill is actively engaged in keeping Ektron a web content management market and technology leader. He sets the company’s strategic direction, aligns product development with his forward-looking vision for website technology, and is involved in all aspects of Ektron’s operations. Rogers also co-founded Global Telemedix, a telemedicine software developer, and led product development and spearheaded key strategic relationships with technical partners and investors. He is a frequent speaker at industry events, such as DigitalNow, KMWorld, and WebVisions, and has written for publications such as the Manchester Union Leader, .NET Developer’s Journal, and Mass High Tech. Marisa Scala-Foley Associate Director Access to Benefits Coalition Marisa Scala-Foley is Associate Director of the Access to Benefits Coalition at The National Council on the Aging. At ABC Marisa oversees training, technical assistance, and research. Prior to joining the Coalition, she served as Director of the Center for Medicare Education (CME) at the Institute for the Future of Aging Services in Washington, DC. She holds a Masters in Gerontological Studies from Miami University (Ohio), and a Bachelor’s in Sociology and Gerontology from the College of the Holy Cross. Peter Schidlowski Senior Vice President and General Manager-Houston Personix Peter has been a part of Personix for over nine years and is responsible for the Houston facility, which provides both card personalization and laser print fulfillment services. Prior to joining Personix, Peter was focused on international business consulting in the technology sector. David Schofield President and CEO Skylight Healthcare Systems David joined Skylight in April 2001 bringing diversified Senior Executive experience in strategic and operational management. During his tenure, David has become an expert in intelligent integration of interactive patient systems. He has shaped the strategic vision and product direction for the organization and has positioned Skylight’s ACCESS Interactive Patient System as a proven tool to impact patient satisfaction, operational efficiency and staff productivity. He has spoken on the topic of proven results using bedside technology at many industry groups and has presented interactive patient system’s solution to hundreds of hospital leadership teams. His previous roles include President and CEO of eDiets.com, President and CEO of Rexall Showcase International, Vice President and General Manager of Office Depot and Senior Vice President of Domestic and International Operations at PIP Printing, Inc. David received his MBA from Pepperdine University and his Bachelor of Science from San Diego State University. Megan Spicer Director, CDHC Product Strategy Great-West Healthcare Megan Spicer is Director of CDHC Product Strategy at Great-West Healthcare. She has more than five years of healthcare industry experience and is Great-West Healthcare’s director of CDHC product strategy. Spicer has expert product knowledge relating to CDH plans, medical outreach, ancillary products, and Web tools. She earned a BA from Eastern Illinois University and a MA in communication from the University of Colorado, at Boulder. Zoe Strickler Design Research Affiliate Center for Health Intervention and Prevention Zoe Strickler is a visual communication designer with a research interest in communication design for health behavior change. She holds the M.Des. from the University of Alberta, Edmonton, and the BFA from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Since 1990 she has collaborated on studies that involve health communication interventions, including work in the areas of traffic safety, prevention of drug interactions, interactive interface design for seniors, and adherence to antiretroviral medications for HIV positive populations. During the 1980s she worked as a graphic designer for the firms Eaton & Associates Design and Cohen Little Design, where her design work won national awards for excellence. She is currently with the Center for Health Intervention and Prevention (CHIP) at the University of Connecticut at Storrs. Zoe Strickler Speaker University of Connecticut Copyright@InsightForums The conference sessions, abstracts and presentations at the The Financial Communications Forum are copyrights of Insight Forums and the speakers. Privacy Statement