Institute Agenda

Deb Adler brings more than 20 years of experience in executive health care roles, serving in a variety of capacities including network executive, quality management executive and chief operating officer, to the OPEN MINDS team.

Her consultant work with OPEN MINDS spans a broad range of customers (provider organizations, payors and government programs) and topics, including: collaborative care models/medical behavioral integration, provider network functions– contracting, network designs/tiering, recruitment, telehealth network implementation, and strategic planning. In addition, Ms. Adler has a special interest in helping technology-enabled providers in “go-to-market” strategies and streamlining network functions.

Since entering the managed behavioral health care field, she has become an industry-recognized leader in value-based contracting and alternative payment models. An innovator known for her ability to execute results, she has facilitated network designs and benefit plan approaches that achieve both quality outcomes and healthcare cost savings.

Before joining OPEN MINDS, Ms. Adler served as Senior Vice President of Network Strategy for Optum (part of UnitedHealth Group) where she was responsible for behavioral health network development, contracting, and strategy for over 185,000 providers. In this role she developed the largest, performance-tiered behavioral health network, largest telemental health network, and largest medication assisted treatment (MAT) network. She was also responsible for implementing network initiatives to promote medical/behavioral integration, improve member outcomes, and reduce total cost of care through collaborative care models.

Prior to joining Optum/UnitedHealth, Ms. Adler spent over 12 years with ValueOptions, Inc. (now Beacon Options) where she held a variety of senior leadership roles including, Executive Vice President of National Networks; Chief Executive Officer, Health Plan Division; Vice President, Network Operations; Executive Director, Corporate Quality Management; and Executive Director, Quality & Information Systems. She was responsible for quality management and coordinated NCQA and URAC accreditation efforts.

Ms. Adler spent her early career in health care quality, serving as a quality director in two state-run psychiatric centers.

Ms. Adler received her Master’s degree in educational psychology and evaluation from Catholic University of America and is a Certified Professional in Health Care Quality (CPHQ).

Margaret M. Conner-Levin, MSW brings more than 20 years of experience across the health care continuum to the OPEN MINDS team. In her two decades of experience, Ms. Conner-Levin has held positions in a variety of management settings, including: executive management, consultation, education, direct clinical work, as well as payer relations.

Prior to joining OPEN MINDS, Ms. Conner-Levin served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Archway Programs in Atco, New Jersey. In this capacity, she led and managed all aspects of the organization through a successful turnaround initiative, generating and increasing a fiscal surplus for first time in 10 years through program expansion. She also was responsible for increasing the current donor contribution base by 50%.

In addition to serving as the Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Conner-Levin also served as the Chief Operating Officer for Strategic Business Development and Fundraising, of the Archway Programs prior to serving as the CEO. In this role, she provided leadership and executive direction to all areas of program operations including, but certainly not limited to business development, fiscal planning, human resources, as well as strategic planning, in terms of partnership development.

Prior to her experience at Archway Programs, Ms. Conner-Levin served as Writer/Consultant/Performance Improvement Leader with CFG Health Systems in Marlton, New Jersey. In this role, she led performance improvement activities including pursuit of JCAHO accreditation, data design, collection, and analysis activities. In her tenure as senior writer for CFG Health Systems, she specialized in developing telemedicine programs producing marketing and operations presentation materials. In addition to her numerous published program operation and development materials, she is also pending the copyright of a telemedicine manual.

Ms. Conner-Levin served as the Chief Operating Officer for Drenk Mental Health Center in Mt. Holly, New Jersey, from 2000-2004. In this capacity, she led all aspects of agency operations including day-to-day management of the twenty-one programs and human resource management responsibilities of over three-hundred employees. Prior to serving as the Chief Operating Officer, she also served as the Associate Executive Director, Behavioral Healthcare from 1997-2000.

In 1985, Ms. Conner-Levin earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology, from Rutgers University, Cook Campus, in New Brunswick, New Jersey. She then went to earn her Master of Social Work, Administration and Policy Planning, Rutgers University, Camden, New Jersey, in 1994.

Ken Carr brings over 20 years of finance, technology, data analysis and reporting experience in the health and human service field to OPEN MINDS. Before joining the OPEN MINDS team, he served as the Chief Financial Officer of The Centers, a community mental health center in Ocala, Florida. In this position, Mr. Carr led a realignment of the organization’s financial management functions. This included revenue cycle management, EHR bill implementation and reporting, cash management enhancement, and strategic financial analysis.

Prior to his role at The Centers, Mr. Carr served as Chief Financial Officer of Guild Incorporated, an organization providing residential and community based mental health services in St. Paul, Minnesota. As CFO, Mr. Carr led the financial, billing, IT, quality, informatics, compliance, and facilities activities. During his tenure at Guild Incorporated, Mr. Carr used his expertise in change management and business process improvement to lead the EHR implementation team, align service data reporting and financial performance, and lead the financial and data capture activities for new service initiatives.

Mr. Carr has also held the positions of Administrative Director and Finance Director at the St. Paul National Testing Laboratory, a biomedical testing facility of the American Red Cross. In those positions he oversaw activities to enhance inventory management, align financial results to industry standards, and improve financial and facilities performance through problem analysis and quality management initiatives. He also was involved in directing human resource functions during laboratory closing near the end of his tenure.

Mr. Carr earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of South Dakota, and a Master of Divinity Degree from Sioux Falls Seminary. He maintains an active CPA license with the State of South Dakota.

John Talbot, Ph.D. has more than 30 years’ experience in all aspects of health care, including upper management, consultation, education, direct clinical work, and serving as the president of a non-profit board.

Dr. Talbot is currently Vice President of Corporate Strategy at Jefferson Center for Mental Health (JCMH) in Denver, Colorado. In this role, he is responsible for the development and implementation of corporate strategy, strategic alliances and new product development. Dr. Talbot also served as the Vice President of Integration Development for JCMH where he led all new business development opportunities in integrated care and participated in region wide and statewide initiatives.

Prior to his current role, Dr. Talbot served as an Executive Vice President for OPEN MINDS for eight years and provided consultation, training and operational assistance to behavioral health providers, nonprofit organizations, and managed care organizations across the country. His areas of focus for consultation and training include strategic planning, the development of successful strategic alliances, board development, organizational reengineering, operations management, management and leadership development, and change management.

Previously, Dr. Talbot served as the President of Colorado Care Management, a network of agencies providing care to children and families. Dr. Talbot led the development of a coalition of Colorado business executives to address the issues of providing care to abused and neglected children, and the establishment of a nationwide purchasing cooperative for non-profits. The innovative work of Colorado Care Management received national recognition, including participation in a Federal IV-E waiver study that demonstrated measurable superior clinical outcomes.

Dr. Talbot’s additional experience includes serving as the Associate Dean of Operations, the Director of the Master of Health Systems Program, and Adjunct Faculty for University College, University of Denver. He also held a senior management position at Mount Airy Psychiatric Center in Denver, Colorado.

Dr. Talbot has been a featured speaker at a number of national and state venues, and is the former publisher and editor of Today’s Healthcare Manager, a newsletter focusing on leadership and management skills for healthcare managers, and has written numerous articles, manuals, and book chapters.

Dr. Talbot received his Ph.D. from the University of Denver, Master of Occupational Therapy from Western Michigan University, and Bachelor of Science from Loyola University.

Deb Adler brings more than 20 years of experience in executive health care roles, serving in a variety of capacities including network executive, quality management executive and chief operating officer, to the OPEN MINDS team.

Her consultant work with OPEN MINDS spans a broad range of customers (provider organizations, payors and government programs) and topics, including: collaborative care models/medical behavioral integration, provider network functions– contracting, network designs/tiering, recruitment, telehealth network implementation, and strategic planning. In addition, Ms. Adler has a special interest in helping technology-enabled providers in “go-to-market” strategies and streamlining network functions.

Since entering the managed behavioral health care field, she has become an industry-recognized leader in value-based contracting and alternative payment models. An innovator known for her ability to execute results, she has facilitated network designs and benefit plan approaches that achieve both quality outcomes and healthcare cost savings.

Before joining OPEN MINDS, Ms. Adler served as Senior Vice President of Network Strategy for Optum (part of UnitedHealth Group) where she was responsible for behavioral health network development, contracting, and strategy for over 185,000 providers. In this role she developed the largest, performance-tiered behavioral health network, largest telemental health network, and largest medication assisted treatment (MAT) network. She was also responsible for implementing network initiatives to promote medical/behavioral integration, improve member outcomes, and reduce total cost of care through collaborative care models.

Prior to joining Optum/UnitedHealth, Ms. Adler spent over 12 years with ValueOptions, Inc. (now Beacon Options) where she held a variety of senior leadership roles including, Executive Vice President of National Networks; Chief Executive Officer, Health Plan Division; Vice President, Network Operations; Executive Director, Corporate Quality Management; and Executive Director, Quality & Information Systems. She was responsible for quality management and coordinated NCQA and URAC accreditation efforts.

Ms. Adler spent her early career in health care quality, serving as a quality director in two state-run psychiatric centers.

Ms. Adler received her Master’s degree in educational psychology and evaluation from Catholic University of America and is a Certified Professional in Health Care Quality (CPHQ).

Margaret M. Conner-Levin, MSW brings more than 20 years of experience across the health care continuum to the OPEN MINDS team. In her two decades of experience, Ms. Conner-Levin has held positions in a variety of management settings, including: executive management, consultation, education, direct clinical work, as well as payer relations.

Prior to joining OPEN MINDS, Ms. Conner-Levin served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Archway Programs in Atco, New Jersey. In this capacity, she led and managed all aspects of the organization through a successful turnaround initiative, generating and increasing a fiscal surplus for first time in 10 years through program expansion. She also was responsible for increasing the current donor contribution base by 50%.

In addition to serving as the Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Conner-Levin also served as the Chief Operating Officer for Strategic Business Development and Fundraising, of the Archway Programs prior to serving as the CEO. In this role, she provided leadership and executive direction to all areas of program operations including, but certainly not limited to business development, fiscal planning, human resources, as well as strategic planning, in terms of partnership development.

Prior to her experience at Archway Programs, Ms. Conner-Levin served as Writer/Consultant/Performance Improvement Leader with CFG Health Systems in Marlton, New Jersey. In this role, she led performance improvement activities including pursuit of JCAHO accreditation, data design, collection, and analysis activities. In her tenure as senior writer for CFG Health Systems, she specialized in developing telemedicine programs producing marketing and operations presentation materials. In addition to her numerous published program operation and development materials, she is also pending the copyright of a telemedicine manual.

Ms. Conner-Levin served as the Chief Operating Officer for Drenk Mental Health Center in Mt. Holly, New Jersey, from 2000-2004. In this capacity, she led all aspects of agency operations including day-to-day management of the twenty-one programs and human resource management responsibilities of over three-hundred employees. Prior to serving as the Chief Operating Officer, she also served as the Associate Executive Director, Behavioral Healthcare from 1997-2000.

In 1985, Ms. Conner-Levin earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology, from Rutgers University, Cook Campus, in New Brunswick, New Jersey. She then went to earn her Master of Social Work, Administration and Policy Planning, Rutgers University, Camden, New Jersey, in 1994.

John Talbot, Ph.D. has more than 30 years’ experience in all aspects of health care, including upper management, consultation, education, direct clinical work, and serving as the president of a non-profit board.

Dr. Talbot is currently Vice President of Corporate Strategy at Jefferson Center for Mental Health (JCMH) in Denver, Colorado. In this role, he is responsible for the development and implementation of corporate strategy, strategic alliances and new product development. Dr. Talbot also served as the Vice President of Integration Development for JCMH where he led all new business development opportunities in integrated care and participated in region wide and statewide initiatives.

Prior to his current role, Dr. Talbot served as an Executive Vice President for OPEN MINDS for eight years and provided consultation, training and operational assistance to behavioral health providers, nonprofit organizations, and managed care organizations across the country. His areas of focus for consultation and training include strategic planning, the development of successful strategic alliances, board development, organizational reengineering, operations management, management and leadership development, and change management.

Previously, Dr. Talbot served as the President of Colorado Care Management, a network of agencies providing care to children and families. Dr. Talbot led the development of a coalition of Colorado business executives to address the issues of providing care to abused and neglected children, and the establishment of a nationwide purchasing cooperative for non-profits. The innovative work of Colorado Care Management received national recognition, including participation in a Federal IV-E waiver study that demonstrated measurable superior clinical outcomes.

Dr. Talbot’s additional experience includes serving as the Associate Dean of Operations, the Director of the Master of Health Systems Program, and Adjunct Faculty for University College, University of Denver. He also held a senior management position at Mount Airy Psychiatric Center in Denver, Colorado.

Dr. Talbot has been a featured speaker at a number of national and state venues, and is the former publisher and editor of Today’s Healthcare Manager, a newsletter focusing on leadership and management skills for healthcare managers, and has written numerous articles, manuals, and book chapters.

Dr. Talbot received his Ph.D. from the University of Denver, Master of Occupational Therapy from Western Michigan University, and Bachelor of Science from Loyola University.

Ken Carr brings over 20 years of finance, technology, data analysis and reporting experience in the health and human service field to OPEN MINDS. Before joining the OPEN MINDS team, he served as the Chief Financial Officer of The Centers, a community mental health center in Ocala, Florida. In this position, Mr. Carr led a realignment of the organization’s financial management functions. This included revenue cycle management, EHR bill implementation and reporting, cash management enhancement, and strategic financial analysis.

Prior to his role at The Centers, Mr. Carr served as Chief Financial Officer of Guild Incorporated, an organization providing residential and community based mental health services in St. Paul, Minnesota. As CFO, Mr. Carr led the financial, billing, IT, quality, informatics, compliance, and facilities activities. During his tenure at Guild Incorporated, Mr. Carr used his expertise in change management and business process improvement to lead the EHR implementation team, align service data reporting and financial performance, and lead the financial and data capture activities for new service initiatives.

Mr. Carr has also held the positions of Administrative Director and Finance Director at the St. Paul National Testing Laboratory, a biomedical testing facility of the American Red Cross. In those positions he oversaw activities to enhance inventory management, align financial results to industry standards, and improve financial and facilities performance through problem analysis and quality management initiatives. He also was involved in directing human resource functions during laboratory closing near the end of his tenure.

Mr. Carr earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of South Dakota, and a Master of Divinity Degree from Sioux Falls Seminary. He maintains an active CPA license with the State of South Dakota.

Stacy DiStefano brings over 20 years of business development and executive leadership experience in the health and human services industry to OPEN MINDS. She currently serves as OPEN MINDS Chief Operating Officer where she is responsible for operations management, business development, and innovation for OPEN MINDS Strategic Advisory Services.

Before joining OPEN MINDS, Ms. DiStefano served as the Vice President of Innovation for Resources for Human Development (RHD) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In this role, she led the innovation, strategy, and national development efforts to broaden the scope of services, diversify funding sources, engage and maintain political relationships, and design programs based on regional needs to enhance systems of care. In addition, she built and maintained relationships through individual meetings, public speaking, conferences, providing expert testimony and research, making her a trusted leader of remote, mission driven teams with matrix reporting.

Previously, Ms. DiStefano served as the Director of National Business Development and Social Innovation, as well as the New Jersey Supportive Housing Director. Prior to her service at Resources For Human Development, Ms. DiStefano was a lead therapist at the Center For Behavioral Health in New Jersey, practicing individual, child, family, and couples-solution focused counseling in a managed care setting, while also mentoring and clinically training Master’s interns. Starting her career in Arizona, Ms. DiStefano gained valuable experience in community behavioral health at EMPACT-Suicide Prevention Center, now La Frontera, where she managed the Service Utilization Department while regularly filing shifts on the crisis response team.

Throughout her extensive career, Ms. DiStefano has demonstrated success in high level contract negotiations, strategy, government relations and creating collaborative partnerships. While she is skilled at public policy analysis, identifying and managing trends, Mergers and Acquisitions, and all phases of business development, she also brings a thorough understanding of corporate fiscal oversight and the budgeting budget process.

Recognized for her clinical acumen with a deep understanding of SPMI and IDD population, Medicaid waivers, homelessness and systemic effects of SUD and the opioid crisis, Ms. DiStefano has a proven ability to understand conflicting interests and build consensus.

She is considered to be a subject matter expert in Supportive Housing, Housing First, Harm Reduction, Trauma Informed Care, Olmstead, HCBS, Value Based Payment Arrangements, Managed Care Organizations, MLTSS, and population health management. In addition, Ms. DiStefano has been featured at numerous international speaking engagements discussing topics such as strategic planning and housing advocacy, as an engaging public speaker with confidence speaking to settings of all sizes.

Ms. DiStefano earned her Master of Counseling from the University of Phoenix and her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from Arizona State University.