2021 Institute Agenda

Rafael Gonzalez-Amezcua MD

Chief Medical Officer, Aetna Better Health of California

Dr. Rafael Amezcua is the Chief Medical Officer for Aetna Better Health of California. He is a Board-Certified Internist who has a passion for bringing team based innovative solutions to complex health care challenges.

Dr. Amezcua has served in various leadership and management capacities from northern to southern California. He served as supervising physician at On Lok Senior Health in San Francisco, where he was also clinical faculty at UCSFs. He was the Medical Director at the UCSF Fresno General Internal Medicine Clinics. In Southern California he was the Regional Medical Director for Senior Services at AltaMed Health Care Services and then went on to serve as the founding Medical Director for Branden Centers for Senior Care, a PACE program for the Los Angeles Jewish Home. Prior to joining Aetna Dr. Amezcua was the Medicare Medical Director of the LA Care Health Plan where he oversaw all aspects of the Medi-Cal/Medicare dually eligible program Cal MediConnect.

Throughout his career Dr. Amezcua has been an active participant in local and national events. For over ten years he served as medical commentator for San Francisco based Univision KTVU and hosted a live TV weekly medical segment. Dr. Amezcua was selected by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to co-chair the Council of Public Representatives, (COPR) and a national workshop on patient research participation. He also served in a national advisory group to the Robert Wood Johns Foundation. Dr. Amezcua has participated in multiple boards and has given numerous talks and presentations. He is a graduate of the California Health Care Foundation/ USCF Center for the Health Force Medical Leadership program.

Dr. Amezcua is married and has three children who are all big soccer fans and players. He and his family enjoy reading and traveling and he particularly likes to cook creative dishes for his kids.

Monica E. Oss

Chief Executive Officer, OPEN MINDS

Monica E. Oss, M.S., Chief Executive Officer and Senior Associate, is the founder of OPEN MINDS. For the past three decades, Ms. Oss has led the OPEN MINDS team and its research on health and human service market trends and its national consulting practice. Ms. Oss is well known for her numerous books and articles focused on the strategic and marketing implications of the evolving health and human service field. She has unique expertise in payer financing models, provider rate setting, and service pricing. She has led numerous engagements with state Medicaid plans, county governments, private insurers, managed care programs, service provider organizations, technology vendors, neurotechnology and pharmaceutical organizations, and investment banking firms – with a focus on the implications of financing changes on delivery system design.

Rafael Gonzalez-Amezcua MD

Chief Medical Officer, Aetna Better Health of California

Dr. Rafael Amezcua is the Chief Medical Officer for Aetna Better Health of California. He is a Board-Certified Internist who has a passion for bringing team based innovative solutions to complex health care challenges.

Dr. Amezcua has served in various leadership and management capacities from northern to southern California. He served as supervising physician at On Lok Senior Health in San Francisco, where he was also clinical faculty at UCSFs. He was the Medical Director at the UCSF Fresno General Internal Medicine Clinics. In Southern California he was the Regional Medical Director for Senior Services at AltaMed Health Care Services and then went on to serve as the founding Medical Director for Branden Centers for Senior Care, a PACE program for the Los Angeles Jewish Home. Prior to joining Aetna Dr. Amezcua was the Medicare Medical Director of the LA Care Health Plan where he oversaw all aspects of the Medi-Cal/Medicare dually eligible program Cal MediConnect.

Throughout his career Dr. Amezcua has been an active participant in local and national events. For over ten years he served as medical commentator for San Francisco based Univision KTVU and hosted a live TV weekly medical segment. Dr. Amezcua was selected by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to co-chair the Council of Public Representatives, (COPR) and a national workshop on patient research participation. He also served in a national advisory group to the Robert Wood Johns Foundation. Dr. Amezcua has participated in multiple boards and has given numerous talks and presentations. He is a graduate of the California Health Care Foundation/ USCF Center for the Health Force Medical Leadership program.

Dr. Amezcua is married and has three children who are all big soccer fans and players. He and his family enjoy reading and traveling and he particularly likes to cook creative dishes for his kids.

Joseph P. Naughton-Travers, EdM

Senior Associate, OPEN MINDS

Joseph P. Naughton-Travers, EdM, Senior Associate, has more than 30 years of experience in the health and human service field. In this tenure as senior associate with OPEN MINDS since 1998, he has served as lead of dozens of client initiatives, served as editor of OPEN MINDS publications, and is the author of many groundbreaking articles and presentations.

Mr. Naughton-Travers brings to OPEN MINDS a broad range of experiences in private and public sector delivery of behavioral health and social services. He started his career as a behavioral health clinician, working in both child welfare and community mental health clinic settings. Subsequently, Mr. Naughton-Travers held a senior business operations management position for a psychiatric hospital system and its community mental health clinics.  Later, he was vice president of a firm specializing in information systems and billing and receivables management for community-based mental health programs.

Since joining OPEN MINDS, Mr. Naughton-Travers has developed business solutions for provider and professional organizations, state and county government, technology companies, and venture capital firms. His primary areas of expertise include strategic planning and metrics-based management, electronic health record (EHR) and technology selection and implementation, operations improvement, and corporate compliance. For the past decade, over half his consulting practice has focused on aiding organizations in technology selection and implementation, including all aspects of strategic technology planning, functional specifications development, request for proposal development, vendor selection, and contracting.

He has written numerous articles, including “Winning the Human Resource Wars: Tried, True and New Strategies for Behavioral Health and Social Service Organizations,” “Five Pillars of Management Competency,” “Data Driven Decision Making: Moving to an Organizational Measurement Culture,” “Survival of the Smartest: What is Your Organization’s Information Literacy IQ?,” and “Strategic Human Resource Management: Aligning Compensation with Employee Performance and Organizational Strategy.” Mr. Naughton-Travers is also a nationally recognized speaker, having conducted hundreds of executive and professional executive training events around the nation.

Mr. Naughton-Travers received his Bachelor’s degree from Miami University of Ohio and his Masters’ of Education in Counseling Psychology from Boston University.

Kim Bond, MS, LMFT

Executive Vice President, OPEN MINDS

Cathy Gilbert

Senior Associate, OPEN MINDS

Cathy Gilbert brings over 20 years of health care industry experience to the OPEN MINDS team. Ms. Gilbert currently serves as a Senior Associate at OPEN MINDS. Her areas of expertise include advanced project leadership skills, training development, health care processing systems, policy development, and implementation to ensure compliance with accreditation requirements.

Before joining OPEN MINDS, Ms. Gilbert served as the Vice President II, Network Development at Magellan Healthcare Inc. During her role here she directed a national team supporting network development and provider relations for Health Plan, Employer, Medicare and Medicaid provider networks for behavioral health, radiology and muscular skeletal networks. Also, Ms. Gilbert led a network operations team responsible for credentialing, provider data maintenance, rate management and contract administration for all networks. She supported responses for sales opportunities and represented the network department for client and sales meetings. Previously, Ms. Gilbert served as the Assistant Vice President of Network Operations with Beacon Health Options in Latham, NY. In this role, she oversaw provider file Maintenance, provider file configuration, and provider credentialing. Ms. Gilbert also implemented an audit function to improve provider file accuracy and led a process to reduce the initial file credentialing backlog by 45% in four months.

Prior to her work with Beacon Health Options, Ms. Gilbert served as the Vice President of provider relations at Beacon Health Options/ Valueoptions Inc. in Wixom, MI. Ms. Gilbert led and participated in internal and eternal committees including credentialing, policy and procedure, provider satisfaction, provider stakeholder, and quality management. She also led network development projects for new client implementations and specific network expansions. Ms. Gilbert designed and implemented a departmental training program for new and current staff. Ms. Gilbert earned her Master of Science Administration, Health Services at Central Michigan University.

Prior to earning her Masters Ms. Gilbert earned her Bachelor of Science, Social Work at Eastern Michigan University

Ray Wolfe, JD

Senior Associate, OPEN MINDS

Paul M. Duck

Senior Associate, OPEN MINDS

Cathy Gilbert

Senior Associate, OPEN MINDS

Cathy Gilbert brings over 20 years of health care industry experience to the OPEN MINDS team. Ms. Gilbert currently serves as a Senior Associate at OPEN MINDS. Her areas of expertise include advanced project leadership skills, training development, health care processing systems, policy development, and implementation to ensure compliance with accreditation requirements.

Before joining OPEN MINDS, Ms. Gilbert served as the Vice President II, Network Development at Magellan Healthcare Inc. During her role here she directed a national team supporting network development and provider relations for Health Plan, Employer, Medicare and Medicaid provider networks for behavioral health, radiology and muscular skeletal networks. Also, Ms. Gilbert led a network operations team responsible for credentialing, provider data maintenance, rate management and contract administration for all networks. She supported responses for sales opportunities and represented the network department for client and sales meetings. Previously, Ms. Gilbert served as the Assistant Vice President of Network Operations with Beacon Health Options in Latham, NY. In this role, she oversaw provider file Maintenance, provider file configuration, and provider credentialing. Ms. Gilbert also implemented an audit function to improve provider file accuracy and led a process to reduce the initial file credentialing backlog by 45% in four months.

Prior to her work with Beacon Health Options, Ms. Gilbert served as the Vice President of provider relations at Beacon Health Options/ Valueoptions Inc. in Wixom, MI. Ms. Gilbert led and participated in internal and eternal committees including credentialing, policy and procedure, provider satisfaction, provider stakeholder, and quality management. She also led network development projects for new client implementations and specific network expansions. Ms. Gilbert designed and implemented a departmental training program for new and current staff. Ms. Gilbert earned her Master of Science Administration, Health Services at Central Michigan University.

Prior to earning her Masters Ms. Gilbert earned her Bachelor of Science, Social Work at Eastern Michigan University

Margaret Mays

Senior Associate, OPEN MINDS

Margaret Mays brings over 20 years of health care industry experience to the OPEN MINDS team. Ms. Mays currently serves as a Senior Associate at OPEN MINDS. Her areas of expertise include quality program design and metrics-based programs, training development, health care processing systems, policy development, and accreditation/regulatory requirements.
Prior to joining OPEN MINDS, Ms. Mays served as the Vice President of Quality Improvement at Magellan Health Services, where she provided comprehensive quality leadership, developed high-performance teams, and improved metrics. She launched the Magellan Lean Six Sigma Training Institute resulting in an ROI of $1.7 million. Ms. Mays cultivated a high-performance team of over 20 staff members and improved department productivity through mentoring and coaching.
Prior to her role at Magellan Health, Ms. Mays served as the Director of Quality Management at TLC Family Care Healthplan, a division of Amerigroup, where she successfully managed MCO NCQA accreditation and directed all HEDIS processes. Ms. Mays helped produce a 27% improvement in Early Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment. She also achieved 95% and above performance on state audits through a full-spectrum quality improvement program.
Previously, Ms. Mays served as the Director of Quality and Compliance at Magellan Health Services, where she managed a wide range of quality processes, developed high impact reporting, and collaborated with cross functional teams to improve data accuracy. At Magellan, Ms. Mays achieved a track record of exemplary audit scores through implementing state-of-the-art practices.
Ms. Mays received a Doctor of Health Sciences from A.T. Still University in Mesa, Arizona. She holds a master’s degree in Health Administration from the University of Washington. She previously earned a Bachelor of Science in Allied Health Administration from the University of Alabama.

Richard Louis, III

Vice President West Region, OPEN MINDS

Richard Louis, III, brings extensive experience in public and for-profit behavioral healthcare administration and business development to the OPEN MINDS team. Mr. Louis was formerly the Executive Director of Strategic Development and Planning, Pacific Region, for Providence Service Corporation.

Prior to OPEN MINDS, Mr. Louis served as the Assistant Director of the San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health, the 4th largest county behavioral health system in California, where he was responsible for day-to-day operations of a system serving over 50,000 unduplicated consumers annually through 31 county-operated facilities and 60 contract provider organizations.

Prior to his work with San Bernardino County, Mr. Louis was the Vice President of Government Operations for College Health Enterprises. In this role, he pioneered the development of public sector partnerships, contracts, and community mental health system joint ventures in California by creating some of the first inpatient psychiatric hospital-based, outpatient, day treatment, and institutional specialty treatment programs for county, state, and federal government agencies including L.A. County Department of Mental Health, L.A. County Probation Department, California Youth Authority, California Department of Developmental Disabilities, California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation, and U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement/Homeland Security.

Mr. Louis has served in a number of leadership roles with several organizations in the community including: the California Hospital Association – Center for Behavioral Health, Advisory Board, and SCAN Health Plan – Advisory Board; the Board of Directors of the Forensic Mental Health Association of California, College Hospitals, and the Intercommunity Child Guidance Center of Whittier; and testified on behalf of the National Association of Psychiatric Healthcare Systems before President Bush’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. Mr. Louis is currently a volunteer police officer with the City of Monterey Park Police Department in East Los Angeles serving since 1987 and currently holds the rank of Captain. Mr. Louis was recently appointed to the City of Claremont Police Commission in Los Angeles County.

He is a graduate of Whittier College and of the Police Academy of Rio Hondo College.

Cathy Gilbert

Senior Associate, OPEN MINDS

Cathy Gilbert brings over 20 years of health care industry experience to the OPEN MINDS team. Ms. Gilbert currently serves as a Senior Associate at OPEN MINDS. Her areas of expertise include advanced project leadership skills, training development, health care processing systems, policy development, and implementation to ensure compliance with accreditation requirements.

Before joining OPEN MINDS, Ms. Gilbert served as the Vice President II, Network Development at Magellan Healthcare Inc. During her role here she directed a national team supporting network development and provider relations for Health Plan, Employer, Medicare and Medicaid provider networks for behavioral health, radiology and muscular skeletal networks. Also, Ms. Gilbert led a network operations team responsible for credentialing, provider data maintenance, rate management and contract administration for all networks. She supported responses for sales opportunities and represented the network department for client and sales meetings. Previously, Ms. Gilbert served as the Assistant Vice President of Network Operations with Beacon Health Options in Latham, NY. In this role, she oversaw provider file Maintenance, provider file configuration, and provider credentialing. Ms. Gilbert also implemented an audit function to improve provider file accuracy and led a process to reduce the initial file credentialing backlog by 45% in four months.

Prior to her work with Beacon Health Options, Ms. Gilbert served as the Vice President of provider relations at Beacon Health Options/ Valueoptions Inc. in Wixom, MI. Ms. Gilbert led and participated in internal and eternal committees including credentialing, policy and procedure, provider satisfaction, provider stakeholder, and quality management. She also led network development projects for new client implementations and specific network expansions. Ms. Gilbert designed and implemented a departmental training program for new and current staff. Ms. Gilbert earned her Master of Science Administration, Health Services at Central Michigan University.

Prior to earning her Masters Ms. Gilbert earned her Bachelor of Science, Social Work at Eastern Michigan University

Richard Louis, III

Vice President West Region, OPEN MINDS

Richard Louis, III, brings extensive experience in public and for-profit behavioral healthcare administration and business development to the OPEN MINDS team. Mr. Louis was formerly the Executive Director of Strategic Development and Planning, Pacific Region, for Providence Service Corporation.

Prior to OPEN MINDS, Mr. Louis served as the Assistant Director of the San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health, the 4th largest county behavioral health system in California, where he was responsible for day-to-day operations of a system serving over 50,000 unduplicated consumers annually through 31 county-operated facilities and 60 contract provider organizations.

Prior to his work with San Bernardino County, Mr. Louis was the Vice President of Government Operations for College Health Enterprises. In this role, he pioneered the development of public sector partnerships, contracts, and community mental health system joint ventures in California by creating some of the first inpatient psychiatric hospital-based, outpatient, day treatment, and institutional specialty treatment programs for county, state, and federal government agencies including L.A. County Department of Mental Health, L.A. County Probation Department, California Youth Authority, California Department of Developmental Disabilities, California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation, and U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement/Homeland Security.

Mr. Louis has served in a number of leadership roles with several organizations in the community including: the California Hospital Association – Center for Behavioral Health, Advisory Board, and SCAN Health Plan – Advisory Board; the Board of Directors of the Forensic Mental Health Association of California, College Hospitals, and the Intercommunity Child Guidance Center of Whittier; and testified on behalf of the National Association of Psychiatric Healthcare Systems before President Bush’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. Mr. Louis is currently a volunteer police officer with the City of Monterey Park Police Department in East Los Angeles serving since 1987 and currently holds the rank of Captain. Mr. Louis was recently appointed to the City of Claremont Police Commission in Los Angeles County.

He is a graduate of Whittier College and of the Police Academy of Rio Hondo College.

Eric C. Hunter

President & Chief Executive Officer, CareOregon

Jeffrey A. Nagel, Ph.D.

Behavioral Health Director, Orange County Health Care Agency

Cathy Gilbert

Senior Associate, OPEN MINDS

Cathy Gilbert brings over 20 years of health care industry experience to the OPEN MINDS team. Ms. Gilbert currently serves as a Senior Associate at OPEN MINDS. Her areas of expertise include advanced project leadership skills, training development, health care processing systems, policy development, and implementation to ensure compliance with accreditation requirements.

Before joining OPEN MINDS, Ms. Gilbert served as the Vice President II, Network Development at Magellan Healthcare Inc. During her role here she directed a national team supporting network development and provider relations for Health Plan, Employer, Medicare and Medicaid provider networks for behavioral health, radiology and muscular skeletal networks. Also, Ms. Gilbert led a network operations team responsible for credentialing, provider data maintenance, rate management and contract administration for all networks. She supported responses for sales opportunities and represented the network department for client and sales meetings. Previously, Ms. Gilbert served as the Assistant Vice President of Network Operations with Beacon Health Options in Latham, NY. In this role, she oversaw provider file Maintenance, provider file configuration, and provider credentialing. Ms. Gilbert also implemented an audit function to improve provider file accuracy and led a process to reduce the initial file credentialing backlog by 45% in four months.

Prior to her work with Beacon Health Options, Ms. Gilbert served as the Vice President of provider relations at Beacon Health Options/ Valueoptions Inc. in Wixom, MI. Ms. Gilbert led and participated in internal and eternal committees including credentialing, policy and procedure, provider satisfaction, provider stakeholder, and quality management. She also led network development projects for new client implementations and specific network expansions. Ms. Gilbert designed and implemented a departmental training program for new and current staff. Ms. Gilbert earned her Master of Science Administration, Health Services at Central Michigan University.

Prior to earning her Masters Ms. Gilbert earned her Bachelor of Science, Social Work at Eastern Michigan University

Richard Louis, III

Vice President West Region, OPEN MINDS

Richard Louis, III, brings extensive experience in public and for-profit behavioral healthcare administration and business development to the OPEN MINDS team. Mr. Louis was formerly the Executive Director of Strategic Development and Planning, Pacific Region, for Providence Service Corporation.

Prior to OPEN MINDS, Mr. Louis served as the Assistant Director of the San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health, the 4th largest county behavioral health system in California, where he was responsible for day-to-day operations of a system serving over 50,000 unduplicated consumers annually through 31 county-operated facilities and 60 contract provider organizations.

Prior to his work with San Bernardino County, Mr. Louis was the Vice President of Government Operations for College Health Enterprises. In this role, he pioneered the development of public sector partnerships, contracts, and community mental health system joint ventures in California by creating some of the first inpatient psychiatric hospital-based, outpatient, day treatment, and institutional specialty treatment programs for county, state, and federal government agencies including L.A. County Department of Mental Health, L.A. County Probation Department, California Youth Authority, California Department of Developmental Disabilities, California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation, and U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement/Homeland Security.

Mr. Louis has served in a number of leadership roles with several organizations in the community including: the California Hospital Association – Center for Behavioral Health, Advisory Board, and SCAN Health Plan – Advisory Board; the Board of Directors of the Forensic Mental Health Association of California, College Hospitals, and the Intercommunity Child Guidance Center of Whittier; and testified on behalf of the National Association of Psychiatric Healthcare Systems before President Bush’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. Mr. Louis is currently a volunteer police officer with the City of Monterey Park Police Department in East Los Angeles serving since 1987 and currently holds the rank of Captain. Mr. Louis was recently appointed to the City of Claremont Police Commission in Los Angeles County.

He is a graduate of Whittier College and of the Police Academy of Rio Hondo College.

Eric C. Hunter

President & Chief Executive Officer, CareOregon

Jeffrey A. Nagel, Ph.D.

Behavioral Health Director, Orange County Health Care Agency

Cathy Gilbert

Senior Associate, OPEN MINDS

Cathy Gilbert brings over 20 years of health care industry experience to the OPEN MINDS team. Ms. Gilbert currently serves as a Senior Associate at OPEN MINDS. Her areas of expertise include advanced project leadership skills, training development, health care processing systems, policy development, and implementation to ensure compliance with accreditation requirements.

Before joining OPEN MINDS, Ms. Gilbert served as the Vice President II, Network Development at Magellan Healthcare Inc. During her role here she directed a national team supporting network development and provider relations for Health Plan, Employer, Medicare and Medicaid provider networks for behavioral health, radiology and muscular skeletal networks. Also, Ms. Gilbert led a network operations team responsible for credentialing, provider data maintenance, rate management and contract administration for all networks. She supported responses for sales opportunities and represented the network department for client and sales meetings. Previously, Ms. Gilbert served as the Assistant Vice President of Network Operations with Beacon Health Options in Latham, NY. In this role, she oversaw provider file Maintenance, provider file configuration, and provider credentialing. Ms. Gilbert also implemented an audit function to improve provider file accuracy and led a process to reduce the initial file credentialing backlog by 45% in four months.

Prior to her work with Beacon Health Options, Ms. Gilbert served as the Vice President of provider relations at Beacon Health Options/ Valueoptions Inc. in Wixom, MI. Ms. Gilbert led and participated in internal and eternal committees including credentialing, policy and procedure, provider satisfaction, provider stakeholder, and quality management. She also led network development projects for new client implementations and specific network expansions. Ms. Gilbert designed and implemented a departmental training program for new and current staff. Ms. Gilbert earned her Master of Science Administration, Health Services at Central Michigan University.

Prior to earning her Masters Ms. Gilbert earned her Bachelor of Science, Social Work at Eastern Michigan University

Richard Louis, III

Vice President West Region, OPEN MINDS

Richard Louis, III, brings extensive experience in public and for-profit behavioral healthcare administration and business development to the OPEN MINDS team. Mr. Louis was formerly the Executive Director of Strategic Development and Planning, Pacific Region, for Providence Service Corporation.

Prior to OPEN MINDS, Mr. Louis served as the Assistant Director of the San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health, the 4th largest county behavioral health system in California, where he was responsible for day-to-day operations of a system serving over 50,000 unduplicated consumers annually through 31 county-operated facilities and 60 contract provider organizations.

Prior to his work with San Bernardino County, Mr. Louis was the Vice President of Government Operations for College Health Enterprises. In this role, he pioneered the development of public sector partnerships, contracts, and community mental health system joint ventures in California by creating some of the first inpatient psychiatric hospital-based, outpatient, day treatment, and institutional specialty treatment programs for county, state, and federal government agencies including L.A. County Department of Mental Health, L.A. County Probation Department, California Youth Authority, California Department of Developmental Disabilities, California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation, and U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement/Homeland Security.

Mr. Louis has served in a number of leadership roles with several organizations in the community including: the California Hospital Association – Center for Behavioral Health, Advisory Board, and SCAN Health Plan – Advisory Board; the Board of Directors of the Forensic Mental Health Association of California, College Hospitals, and the Intercommunity Child Guidance Center of Whittier; and testified on behalf of the National Association of Psychiatric Healthcare Systems before President Bush’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. Mr. Louis is currently a volunteer police officer with the City of Monterey Park Police Department in East Los Angeles serving since 1987 and currently holds the rank of Captain. Mr. Louis was recently appointed to the City of Claremont Police Commission in Los Angeles County.

He is a graduate of Whittier College and of the Police Academy of Rio Hondo College.

Rich Daly

Director Of Sales, Welligent

Rich Daly began his work in behavioral health with UPMC’s Askesis Development Group and cognitive behavioral therapy software Beating the Blues, and joined the Welligent team in 2017.

Rich brings EHR and other behavioral health software experience in sales and marketing, customer relationship management, and project management roles. His experience includes technology leveraged by community mental health centers, inpatient psychiatric units, intellectual and developmental disabilities providers, addictions treatment facilities, community-based service providers, and school-based behavioral health and nursing providers.

Since joining Welligent Rich has aided in expansion into new states, new customer service lines and clinical settings, and product enhancements related to key provider markets. Rich focuses on the goal of enhancing provider agencies’ competitive advantage and providing clients with the ability to engage in their care through the use of technology.

Ken Carr

Senior Associate, OPEN MINDS

Ray Wolfe, JD

Senior Associate, OPEN MINDS

Margaret Mays

Senior Associate, OPEN MINDS

Margaret Mays brings over 20 years of health care industry experience to the OPEN MINDS team. Ms. Mays currently serves as a Senior Associate at OPEN MINDS. Her areas of expertise include quality program design and metrics-based programs, training development, health care processing systems, policy development, and accreditation/regulatory requirements.
Prior to joining OPEN MINDS, Ms. Mays served as the Vice President of Quality Improvement at Magellan Health Services, where she provided comprehensive quality leadership, developed high-performance teams, and improved metrics. She launched the Magellan Lean Six Sigma Training Institute resulting in an ROI of $1.7 million. Ms. Mays cultivated a high-performance team of over 20 staff members and improved department productivity through mentoring and coaching.
Prior to her role at Magellan Health, Ms. Mays served as the Director of Quality Management at TLC Family Care Healthplan, a division of Amerigroup, where she successfully managed MCO NCQA accreditation and directed all HEDIS processes. Ms. Mays helped produce a 27% improvement in Early Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment. She also achieved 95% and above performance on state audits through a full-spectrum quality improvement program.
Previously, Ms. Mays served as the Director of Quality and Compliance at Magellan Health Services, where she managed a wide range of quality processes, developed high impact reporting, and collaborated with cross functional teams to improve data accuracy. At Magellan, Ms. Mays achieved a track record of exemplary audit scores through implementing state-of-the-art practices.
Ms. Mays received a Doctor of Health Sciences from A.T. Still University in Mesa, Arizona. She holds a master’s degree in Health Administration from the University of Washington. She previously earned a Bachelor of Science in Allied Health Administration from the University of Alabama.

Cathy Gilbert

Senior Associate, OPEN MINDS

Cathy Gilbert brings over 20 years of health care industry experience to the OPEN MINDS team. Ms. Gilbert currently serves as a Senior Associate at OPEN MINDS. Her areas of expertise include advanced project leadership skills, training development, health care processing systems, policy development, and implementation to ensure compliance with accreditation requirements.

Before joining OPEN MINDS, Ms. Gilbert served as the Vice President II, Network Development at Magellan Healthcare Inc. During her role here she directed a national team supporting network development and provider relations for Health Plan, Employer, Medicare and Medicaid provider networks for behavioral health, radiology and muscular skeletal networks. Also, Ms. Gilbert led a network operations team responsible for credentialing, provider data maintenance, rate management and contract administration for all networks. She supported responses for sales opportunities and represented the network department for client and sales meetings. Previously, Ms. Gilbert served as the Assistant Vice President of Network Operations with Beacon Health Options in Latham, NY. In this role, she oversaw provider file Maintenance, provider file configuration, and provider credentialing. Ms. Gilbert also implemented an audit function to improve provider file accuracy and led a process to reduce the initial file credentialing backlog by 45% in four months.

Prior to her work with Beacon Health Options, Ms. Gilbert served as the Vice President of provider relations at Beacon Health Options/ Valueoptions Inc. in Wixom, MI. Ms. Gilbert led and participated in internal and eternal committees including credentialing, policy and procedure, provider satisfaction, provider stakeholder, and quality management. She also led network development projects for new client implementations and specific network expansions. Ms. Gilbert designed and implemented a departmental training program for new and current staff. Ms. Gilbert earned her Master of Science Administration, Health Services at Central Michigan University.

Prior to earning her Masters Ms. Gilbert earned her Bachelor of Science, Social Work at Eastern Michigan University

Richard Louis, III

Vice President West Region, OPEN MINDS

Richard Louis, III, brings extensive experience in public and for-profit behavioral healthcare administration and business development to the OPEN MINDS team. Mr. Louis was formerly the Executive Director of Strategic Development and Planning, Pacific Region, for Providence Service Corporation.

Prior to OPEN MINDS, Mr. Louis served as the Assistant Director of the San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health, the 4th largest county behavioral health system in California, where he was responsible for day-to-day operations of a system serving over 50,000 unduplicated consumers annually through 31 county-operated facilities and 60 contract provider organizations.

Prior to his work with San Bernardino County, Mr. Louis was the Vice President of Government Operations for College Health Enterprises. In this role, he pioneered the development of public sector partnerships, contracts, and community mental health system joint ventures in California by creating some of the first inpatient psychiatric hospital-based, outpatient, day treatment, and institutional specialty treatment programs for county, state, and federal government agencies including L.A. County Department of Mental Health, L.A. County Probation Department, California Youth Authority, California Department of Developmental Disabilities, California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation, and U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement/Homeland Security.

Mr. Louis has served in a number of leadership roles with several organizations in the community including: the California Hospital Association – Center for Behavioral Health, Advisory Board, and SCAN Health Plan – Advisory Board; the Board of Directors of the Forensic Mental Health Association of California, College Hospitals, and the Intercommunity Child Guidance Center of Whittier; and testified on behalf of the National Association of Psychiatric Healthcare Systems before President Bush’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. Mr. Louis is currently a volunteer police officer with the City of Monterey Park Police Department in East Los Angeles serving since 1987 and currently holds the rank of Captain. Mr. Louis was recently appointed to the City of Claremont Police Commission in Los Angeles County.

He is a graduate of Whittier College and of the Police Academy of Rio Hondo College.

June Simmons

President & CEO, Partners in Care Foundation

June Simmons, President, and CEO of the Partners in Care Foundation has enjoyed a long career as a health care executive in hospital and home settings. Since founding Partners in 1997, June has pioneered the development and scaling of evidence-based innovative interventions for the management of medications at home, self-management of chronic conditions, coordinated care to improve health outcomes, and care transitions. Throughout her distinguished career, she has been instrumental in envisioning, creating, funding, and operating forward-looking health and social service programs that meet the mutual needs of patient populations, health care delivery networks and health plans. Her priority is sustainable patient-driven integration of care across settings, from primary care and hospital to home and community in the 21st century.

Karin Annerhed-Harris

VP Business Development, Resources for Human Development

Cathy Gilbert

Senior Associate, OPEN MINDS

Cathy Gilbert brings over 20 years of health care industry experience to the OPEN MINDS team. Ms. Gilbert currently serves as a Senior Associate at OPEN MINDS. Her areas of expertise include advanced project leadership skills, training development, health care processing systems, policy development, and implementation to ensure compliance with accreditation requirements.

Before joining OPEN MINDS, Ms. Gilbert served as the Vice President II, Network Development at Magellan Healthcare Inc. During her role here she directed a national team supporting network development and provider relations for Health Plan, Employer, Medicare and Medicaid provider networks for behavioral health, radiology and muscular skeletal networks. Also, Ms. Gilbert led a network operations team responsible for credentialing, provider data maintenance, rate management and contract administration for all networks. She supported responses for sales opportunities and represented the network department for client and sales meetings. Previously, Ms. Gilbert served as the Assistant Vice President of Network Operations with Beacon Health Options in Latham, NY. In this role, she oversaw provider file Maintenance, provider file configuration, and provider credentialing. Ms. Gilbert also implemented an audit function to improve provider file accuracy and led a process to reduce the initial file credentialing backlog by 45% in four months.

Prior to her work with Beacon Health Options, Ms. Gilbert served as the Vice President of provider relations at Beacon Health Options/ Valueoptions Inc. in Wixom, MI. Ms. Gilbert led and participated in internal and eternal committees including credentialing, policy and procedure, provider satisfaction, provider stakeholder, and quality management. She also led network development projects for new client implementations and specific network expansions. Ms. Gilbert designed and implemented a departmental training program for new and current staff. Ms. Gilbert earned her Master of Science Administration, Health Services at Central Michigan University.

Prior to earning her Masters Ms. Gilbert earned her Bachelor of Science, Social Work at Eastern Michigan University

Joseph P. Naughton-Travers, EdM

Senior Associate, OPEN MINDS

Joseph P. Naughton-Travers, EdM, Senior Associate, has more than 30 years of experience in the health and human service field. In this tenure as senior associate with OPEN MINDS since 1998, he has served as lead of dozens of client initiatives, served as editor of OPEN MINDS publications, and is the author of many groundbreaking articles and presentations.

Mr. Naughton-Travers brings to OPEN MINDS a broad range of experiences in private and public sector delivery of behavioral health and social services. He started his career as a behavioral health clinician, working in both child welfare and community mental health clinic settings. Subsequently, Mr. Naughton-Travers held a senior business operations management position for a psychiatric hospital system and its community mental health clinics.  Later, he was vice president of a firm specializing in information systems and billing and receivables management for community-based mental health programs.

Since joining OPEN MINDS, Mr. Naughton-Travers has developed business solutions for provider and professional organizations, state and county government, technology companies, and venture capital firms. His primary areas of expertise include strategic planning and metrics-based management, electronic health record (EHR) and technology selection and implementation, operations improvement, and corporate compliance. For the past decade, over half his consulting practice has focused on aiding organizations in technology selection and implementation, including all aspects of strategic technology planning, functional specifications development, request for proposal development, vendor selection, and contracting.

He has written numerous articles, including “Winning the Human Resource Wars: Tried, True and New Strategies for Behavioral Health and Social Service Organizations,” “Five Pillars of Management Competency,” “Data Driven Decision Making: Moving to an Organizational Measurement Culture,” “Survival of the Smartest: What is Your Organization’s Information Literacy IQ?,” and “Strategic Human Resource Management: Aligning Compensation with Employee Performance and Organizational Strategy.” Mr. Naughton-Travers is also a nationally recognized speaker, having conducted hundreds of executive and professional executive training events around the nation.

Mr. Naughton-Travers received his Bachelor’s degree from Miami University of Ohio and his Masters’ of Education in Counseling Psychology from Boston University.

Monica E. Oss

Chief Executive Officer, OPEN MINDS

Monica E. Oss, M.S., Chief Executive Officer and Senior Associate, is the founder of OPEN MINDS. For the past three decades, Ms. Oss has led the OPEN MINDS team and its research on health and human service market trends and its national consulting practice. Ms. Oss is well known for her numerous books and articles focused on the strategic and marketing implications of the evolving health and human service field. She has unique expertise in payer financing models, provider rate setting, and service pricing. She has led numerous engagements with state Medicaid plans, county governments, private insurers, managed care programs, service provider organizations, technology vendors, neurotechnology and pharmaceutical organizations, and investment banking firms – with a focus on the implications of financing changes on delivery system design.

Eleanor Castillo Sumi, Ph.D., BCBA-D

Vice President of Research and Program Development, Uplift Family Services

Dr. Eleanor Castillo Sumi is Vice President of Research and Program Development at Uplift Family Services, a large behavioral health organization throughout California that serves over 35,000 children and their families annually. Dr. Castillo Sumi is responsible for expanding the agency’s business lines and developing new programs, integrating evidence-based treatments into the new programs in alignment with the agency’s clinical vision, and developing the infrastructure for implementation and sustainability of high-quality services. In the past decade she has implemented the following programs: Autism Specialty Applied Behavior Analysis, Health Homes, School-Based Intervention Teams, and a whole-person care program in partnership with a federally qualified health center (FQHC) that is now designated as a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC). Dr. Castillo Sumi a licensed psychologist in California and Hawaii and Board-Certified Behavior Analyst with a wide depth and breadth of experiences in the delivery of mental health services to youth and families. In the area of school mental health, her experience includes an emphasis in training and consulting services with school district personnel on School-Wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (SW-PBIS) and Multi-Tiered Systems of Supports (MTSS). Her practice in mental health, behavioral issues and strategies has led her to work with children with autism spectrum disorder, youth in the juvenile justice system, and to manage a personal business venture.  Previously, she was the Best Practices Specialist for the State of Hawaii Child and Adolescent Mental Health Department. Today, she serves as the agency’s subject matter expert in evidence-based treatment. Dr. Castillo Sumi had an earlier incarnation at EMQFF as Corporate Compliance Officer and Outcomes and Quality Assurance Director. She obtained her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Pacific Graduate School of Psychology at Palo Alto University, a program accredited by the American Psychological Association, where she was awarded Dissertation of the Year among her graduating class.

Eric C. Hunter

President & Chief Executive Officer, CareOregon

Peter J. Davidson

Chief Executive Officer, Windstone Health Services

Cathy Gilbert

Senior Associate, OPEN MINDS

Cathy Gilbert brings over 20 years of health care industry experience to the OPEN MINDS team. Ms. Gilbert currently serves as a Senior Associate at OPEN MINDS. Her areas of expertise include advanced project leadership skills, training development, health care processing systems, policy development, and implementation to ensure compliance with accreditation requirements.

Before joining OPEN MINDS, Ms. Gilbert served as the Vice President II, Network Development at Magellan Healthcare Inc. During her role here she directed a national team supporting network development and provider relations for Health Plan, Employer, Medicare and Medicaid provider networks for behavioral health, radiology and muscular skeletal networks. Also, Ms. Gilbert led a network operations team responsible for credentialing, provider data maintenance, rate management and contract administration for all networks. She supported responses for sales opportunities and represented the network department for client and sales meetings. Previously, Ms. Gilbert served as the Assistant Vice President of Network Operations with Beacon Health Options in Latham, NY. In this role, she oversaw provider file Maintenance, provider file configuration, and provider credentialing. Ms. Gilbert also implemented an audit function to improve provider file accuracy and led a process to reduce the initial file credentialing backlog by 45% in four months.

Prior to her work with Beacon Health Options, Ms. Gilbert served as the Vice President of provider relations at Beacon Health Options/ Valueoptions Inc. in Wixom, MI. Ms. Gilbert led and participated in internal and eternal committees including credentialing, policy and procedure, provider satisfaction, provider stakeholder, and quality management. She also led network development projects for new client implementations and specific network expansions. Ms. Gilbert designed and implemented a departmental training program for new and current staff. Ms. Gilbert earned her Master of Science Administration, Health Services at Central Michigan University.

Prior to earning her Masters Ms. Gilbert earned her Bachelor of Science, Social Work at Eastern Michigan University

Richard Louis, III

Vice President West Region, OPEN MINDS

Richard Louis, III, brings extensive experience in public and for-profit behavioral healthcare administration and business development to the OPEN MINDS team. Mr. Louis was formerly the Executive Director of Strategic Development and Planning, Pacific Region, for Providence Service Corporation.

Prior to OPEN MINDS, Mr. Louis served as the Assistant Director of the San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health, the 4th largest county behavioral health system in California, where he was responsible for day-to-day operations of a system serving over 50,000 unduplicated consumers annually through 31 county-operated facilities and 60 contract provider organizations.

Prior to his work with San Bernardino County, Mr. Louis was the Vice President of Government Operations for College Health Enterprises. In this role, he pioneered the development of public sector partnerships, contracts, and community mental health system joint ventures in California by creating some of the first inpatient psychiatric hospital-based, outpatient, day treatment, and institutional specialty treatment programs for county, state, and federal government agencies including L.A. County Department of Mental Health, L.A. County Probation Department, California Youth Authority, California Department of Developmental Disabilities, California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation, and U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement/Homeland Security.

Mr. Louis has served in a number of leadership roles with several organizations in the community including: the California Hospital Association – Center for Behavioral Health, Advisory Board, and SCAN Health Plan – Advisory Board; the Board of Directors of the Forensic Mental Health Association of California, College Hospitals, and the Intercommunity Child Guidance Center of Whittier; and testified on behalf of the National Association of Psychiatric Healthcare Systems before President Bush’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. Mr. Louis is currently a volunteer police officer with the City of Monterey Park Police Department in East Los Angeles serving since 1987 and currently holds the rank of Captain. Mr. Louis was recently appointed to the City of Claremont Police Commission in Los Angeles County.

He is a graduate of Whittier College and of the Police Academy of Rio Hondo College.

Timothy Snyder, Jr.

Chief Marketing Officer, OPEN MINDS

Emily Korns, MBA, RDN

Vice President, Business Development, OPEN MINDS

Emily Korns, MBA, RDN brings nearly 20 years of health care marketing and communications experience to OPEN MINDS. Having started her career as a Program Manager for the Allegheny County Health Department where she developed and delivered behavior change and education programs designed to prevent chronic disease in vulnerable populations throughout greater Pittsburgh, PA, Ms. Korns brings a similar focus on population health, wellness, and nutrition expertise to OPEN MINDS.

Most recently, Ms. Korns was the Director of Communications and Marketing for Conemaugh Health System in Johnstown, PA, part of Duke Lifepoint Healthcare, where she led marketing communications for the health system’s four hospitals, outpatient clinics, and 40+ physician practices. Ms. Korns managed, executed, and measured the ROI of the department’s $1.4 million budget and served on the executive leadership team. During her tenure with the health system, Ms. Korns directed external media relations, internal communications strategies, and executed digital and social media, advertising, and sponsorship campaigns focused on consumer access. Ms. Korns implemented service line launches, regional expansion projects, and organization change initiatives that led to revenue and EBITDA growth exceeding budget targets.

Prior to her time with Conemaugh Health System, Ms. Korns served as the Global Corporate Affairs Learning & Development Director for Mars Inc. in McLean, VA where she led learning and development initiatives for a 550-person global team. In this capacity, Ms. Korns identified opportunities to build employees’ skills and capabilities through data analysis and designed custom training solutions using virtual platforms to deliver content to a globally dispersed workforce. Ms. Korns also served as the Team Business and Effectiveness Manager for the Global Corporate Affairs Leadership Team, driving alignment around global strategic initiatives, and managing an operational budget of $34 million. Ms. Korns organized high impact, worldwide meetings designed to align diverse teams around global strategy.

In her role as Mars North America Health & Nutrition Communications Manager, Ms. Korns managed public relations and nutrition stakeholder engagement for Mars North America, including CocoaVia®, Seeds of Change®, World of Grains®, Uncle Ben's®, Marathon® and Dove® chocolate brands. She collaborated internally and externally on nutrition transparency and responsible marketing initiatives and sat on national food policy committees.

Ms. Korns also served as the Associate Director of Communications for Nestlé Nutrition North America (Gerber Products Company). In this role, Ms. Korns managed public relations, social media, and issues management for the Gerber® brand. Ms. Korns worked on new product launches and line extensions and served on the global team responsible for the first social media policy at Nestlé. Additionally, she was responsible for stakeholder engagement related to the Nestlé Feeding Infants and Toddlers (FITS) study.

Ms. Korns received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nutrition from the University of Pittsburgh, a Master of Business Administration from the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh, and earned a Certificate of Graduate Studies from the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy - Tufts University. Ms. Korns is also the owner and founder of Uptown Works, LLC, a coworking center located in rural Somerset, PA.

Joseph P. Naughton-Travers, EdM

Senior Associate, OPEN MINDS

Joseph P. Naughton-Travers, EdM, Senior Associate, has more than 30 years of experience in the health and human service field. In this tenure as senior associate with OPEN MINDS since 1998, he has served as lead of dozens of client initiatives, served as editor of OPEN MINDS publications, and is the author of many groundbreaking articles and presentations.

Mr. Naughton-Travers brings to OPEN MINDS a broad range of experiences in private and public sector delivery of behavioral health and social services. He started his career as a behavioral health clinician, working in both child welfare and community mental health clinic settings. Subsequently, Mr. Naughton-Travers held a senior business operations management position for a psychiatric hospital system and its community mental health clinics.  Later, he was vice president of a firm specializing in information systems and billing and receivables management for community-based mental health programs.

Since joining OPEN MINDS, Mr. Naughton-Travers has developed business solutions for provider and professional organizations, state and county government, technology companies, and venture capital firms. His primary areas of expertise include strategic planning and metrics-based management, electronic health record (EHR) and technology selection and implementation, operations improvement, and corporate compliance. For the past decade, over half his consulting practice has focused on aiding organizations in technology selection and implementation, including all aspects of strategic technology planning, functional specifications development, request for proposal development, vendor selection, and contracting.

He has written numerous articles, including “Winning the Human Resource Wars: Tried, True and New Strategies for Behavioral Health and Social Service Organizations,” “Five Pillars of Management Competency,” “Data Driven Decision Making: Moving to an Organizational Measurement Culture,” “Survival of the Smartest: What is Your Organization’s Information Literacy IQ?,” and “Strategic Human Resource Management: Aligning Compensation with Employee Performance and Organizational Strategy.” Mr. Naughton-Travers is also a nationally recognized speaker, having conducted hundreds of executive and professional executive training events around the nation.

Mr. Naughton-Travers received his Bachelor’s degree from Miami University of Ohio and his Masters’ of Education in Counseling Psychology from Boston University.