Rise

Vandna Bhrany Vice President, HEDIS Strategy & Analytics 

AmeriHealth Caritas

Vandna Pandita, MPH is the Vice President of HEDIS® Strategy and Analytics for the AmeriHealth Caritas Family of Companies [ACFC].  In her role, Vandna is leverages her experience in quality and risk adjustment operations to support members and providers as it relates to performance reporting and the member and provider experience.  Her area of influence spans analytics, plan operations and digital integration of data and processes in the transition to interoperability. 

Prior to AmeriHealth, Vandna has worked for several national health plans, including Aetna, several Blue Cross Blue Shield plans, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and Centene.  She has successfully led several health plans through NCQA Accreditation, managed HEDIS® reporting, improvement and outreach, and helped develop and implement a successful provider profiling and performance measurement program.  In addition to her health plan experience, Vandna managed Risk Adjustment Client Operations for Evolent Health, is a former certified HEDIS® Compliance Auditor and led project management and client solutions for a retrieval, abstraction/coding and analytics vendor supporting health plans and provider groups in their efforts to optimize revenue and improve quality within their populations.

Vandna attended the University of California at Berkeley as an undergraduate and received her Master’s in Public Health from the University of California at Los Angeles.

Vandna has moved from coast to coast, spending the better part of the last 25 years working on her southern drawl in Atlanta, Georgia.  These days you can find her running the streets of Atlanta, cooking for friends or working on her newest hobby, making wobbly pottery. 

Barrie Cohen Owner and Founder

BC Public Relations

Barrie Cohen is the owner and founder of BC Public Relations. She created her boutique public relations firm on three principles: creativity, customization, and collaboration. After years of working for agencies in Philadelphia, Barrie saw the overwhelming need for a more attentive public relations firm dedicated to supporting and strengthening a client’s business goals. Unlike larger firms, Barrie has the ability to work one-on-one with clients to not only provide unprecedented, personalized services but to create a comfortable and trusting working relationship.  

Always keeping the clients’ best interest in mind, Barrie utilizes her long-standing media relationships, innovative marketing strategies, and professional writing skills to successfully promote and position clients in a variety of industries across the country—and internationally. Her passion for positive publicity and storytelling has created countless opportunities for her clients, including features in Cosmopolitan, Muscle & Fitness Magazine, Huffington Post, and more.  

Berthine Crèvecoeur West Westbridge Solutions

Head of Business Strategy Development| Certified Diversity Executive®

As a trailblazing force in the world of business strategy and executive consulting, Berthine Crèvecoeur West has emerged as a beacon of excellence and innovation. With a diverse skill set and a passion for fostering inclusive environments, Berthine is a Certified Diversity Executive (CDE) ® who brings over two decades of experience to the table.

Berthine Crèvecoeur West’s remarkable journey as a business strategist and executive consultant is rooted in her data-driven approach to crafting successful business strategies, conducting comprehensive assessments, and performing insightful analyses. With an innate ability to drive innovation and a commitment to healthy progression, Berthine empowers organizations to thrive in the everchanging landscape, making her a visionary leader with a keen eye for transformational opportunities.

As the CEO and Head of Business Development and Operations, Berthine’s impactful contributions lie in helping businesses unlock the true value of diversity. Her impressive track record includes creating innovative diversity programs and fostering strong employee development, resulting in inclusive workspaces where creativity and collaboration flourish. Leveraging data-driven insights, she crafts DEI and employee engagement strategies that align with organizational goals, ensuring sustainable growth and success.

Berthine has an Executive MBA from Quantic School of Business & Technology, an MA in Government & Politics from St. John's University, and coinciding certifications including a WOSB and EDWOSB. She is an Executive Board member of GUIDE, Inc., a member of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce and the Haitian-American Chamber of Commerce.

Berthine is also a Global Keynote Speaker, Best-Selling Author, Award-Nominated Podcast Host, and Editor-in-Chief of Global Fluency Magazine. Berthine has been featured in CBS, NBC, Fox, Voyage ATL, Shout Atlanta, 11 Alive News, the Tuff Talk Show and countless podcast interviews. She lives in Gwinnett County, GA with her family and enjoys spending her free time traveling and trying new foods and experiencing different cultures. 

Dr. Shannon Decker Principal

VBC One

Dr. Shannon Decker is principal at VBC One, a consulting firm assisting physician groups, health plans and vendors maximize the performance of their value based contracts and offerings.  Dr. Decker has more than 20 years experience in health care and most recently led teams in risk, quality, data and analytics, telehealth, COVID response and delegation compliance.  Of her more than 20 years of experience in healthcare--15 include working with risk adjustment, quality and Medicare. Dr. Decker has a PhD. in Interdisciplinary Studies, dual MBA degrees--in Finance and in Marketing, as well as an M.Ed. in Secondary Education and a M.Ed. in Administration and Leadership. Dr. Decker is on the faculty at Arizona State University and is also an associate professor of Higher Education & Adult Learning (HEAL) and chief methodologist for Walden and Capella Universities where she chairs and oversees the dissertations of doctoral students. An author of two books and several peer-reviewed articles, and a prolific national public speaker, her interests include the study of human behavior and how theories on motivation and learning may be brought to bear on population health management.

Jessica Gonzalez-Arias Principal, Markets Growth Lifestyle Medicine Marketing & PR - MindBody Medicine 

Blue Shield of CA

Ana Handshuh Principal

CAT5 Strategies

Ana Handshuh, Principal at CAT5 Strategies, is a government programs executive with expertise in creating and implementing corporate programs for the healthcare industry. Her background includes Quality, Core Measures, Care Management, Benefit Design and Bid Submission, Accreditation, Regulatory Compliance, Revenue Management, Communications, Community-based Care Management Programs and Technology Integration. Ms. Handshuh currently serves on the Board of the Resource Initiative and Society for Education (RISE), the preeminent national professional association dedicated to managed and accountable care financing and delivery. She is a sought after speaker on the national healthcare circuit in the areas of Quality, Star Ratings, Care Management, Member and Provider Engagement, and Revenue Management. Her recent consultancy roles have included assisting organizations create programs to address the unmet care management needs in the highest risk strata of membership, document their processes and procedures, achieve accreditation status, design and submit government program bids, institute corporate-wide programs and create communications strategies and materials. She possesses sophisticated business acumen with the ability to build consensus with cross-functional groups to accomplish corporate goals. Ms. Handshuh served as the Vice President of Managed Care Services at Central Florida Inpatient Medicine (CFIM). In this role, she provided leadership and strategy on CFIM projects and collaborations with physicians, risk entities, hospital health care systems, and health plans. CFIM is the largest Hospitalist group in Central Florida, with 70 providers discharging over 50,000 patients annually from multiple hospitals across two health care delivery systems and 24 skilled nursing facilities. At CFIM Ms. Handshuh previously served as the Vice President of Operations. Prior to those assignments, she worked with Precision Healthcare Systems as their Vice President of Quality Improvement. In that capacity, she led the IPA’s Quality efforts and collaborated with payers on implementing programs to move the needle on Quality and Star Rating initiatives. Ms. Handshuh also served as the Director of Corporate Program Development at Physicians United Plan. In this role, she led the Quality Management and Corporate Communications departments and spearheaded the development of innovative integrated technology solutions to drive business excellence and Star Rating achievement initiatives. For the past fifteen years Ms. Handshuh has taken an active role in redefining and implementing changes that have led to improvements and greater efficiency within Government programs and healthcare delivery. Prior to joining Physicians United Plan Ms. Handshuh was the founder of I-Six Creative. Under Ms. Handshuh’s vision and leadership, I-Six Creative provided expertise in the areas of managed Medicare benefit design, MSO/IPA operations, provider network strategy, new market launches, technology integration, corporate communications and quality improvement.

Lila Kanouse Founder + Digital Strategist

Let's B Media

Lila is a well-rounded digital marketer who enjoys connecting the dots for service-based companies by analyzing areas that can be adopted or improved with the right technology. Her stereotypical working experiences at agencies in Greater New York led her to the journey of Let’s B Media, a full-service digital marketing agency that turns website visitors into paying customers for service-based industries. Currently based out of New Jersey, Lila and her remote team work with companies nationally.  

Caitlin Kiss Content Creator and Social Media Manager

The Social Community

Caitlin Kiss is a Content Creator and Social Media Manager based in Denver, CO. In 2023, she created The Social Community, a boutique social media marketing agency that serves small business owners and non-profit organizations in the Greater Denver area. Caitlin is truly passionate about helping small business owners harness the power of social media to scale their business. She's cultivated a career with experience on all different sides of Digital Marketing over the last six years- from email marketing to audience activation on the web to content creation and social media management - she truly understands the customer journey in a digital world. She combines that customer journey understanding with her passion for finding new and creative ways to showcase a brand’s offerings through intentional content to develop social media marketing strategies that support her client's overall business goals.  

Amanda Merski MSW, LCSW, National Program Manager, Community Nursing Home Quality & Oversight, Office of Geriatrics and Extended Care

US Department of Veteran Affairs

Mrs. Merski is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker dedicating her career to improving and expanding healthcare quality and service availability with a specific focus on behavioral health and aging care. She attended Edinboro University of Pennsylvania for both her bachelor and master’s degrees in Social Work. She served as the President of the Phi Alpha Honor Society and graduated Suma Cum Laude. Mrs. Merski began her Social Work career in crisis response, suicide intervention and acute inpatient psychiatric care. She has held a variety of clinical and administrative roles within both the private and public sectors. As an active member of both the behavioral health and aging services communities in Northwest Pennsylvania, she was offered an opportunity with a local health system as the Director of Behavioral Health. In this role, she led the expansion of both inpatient and outpatient psychiatric services with a specific focus on geriatric and child programs. Mrs. Merski co-founded an Elder Justice Task Force through which she planned and executed an annual Elder Justice Conference focusing on law enforcement and healthcare professionals’ identification and reporting of elder abuse and exploitation. As a member of the Veterans Health Administration National Social Work Elder Justice Clinical Implementation Team, she continues her work of spreading elder justice awareness and reporting nationally. For nearly a decade, Mrs. Merski has served Veterans in a variety of roles within the Veterans Health Administration, beginning her VA career as a clinical team member with the Homeless Care Team, working with Veterans experiencing homelessness and substance use disorders. Mrs. Merski was later promoted to the Chief of Social Work for the Erie, Pennsylvania VA Medical Center where she was successful in expanding the Medical Social Work team and ensuring Social Work representation in a variety of important Medical Center priorities and program improvements. She has also served as an adjunct professor at Gannon University in the Social Work, Mortuary Science, and Gerontology programs until relocating to Tampa, Florida in 2021. Her passion for healthcare administration provided her an opportunity to work within the executive office of the Bay Pines VA Healthcare System in St. Petersburg, FL, later transitioning to her current role within the Veterans Health Administration Central Office as the National Program Manager for Community Nursing Home Quality and Oversight. Mrs. Merski is passionate about improving both the patient and staff experience; promoting high-quality, equitable care; and continuous process improvement. She currently resides outside Tampa, FL with her husband of 15 years, her 9-year-old daughter and three rescue dogs.  

Krystal Revai MD, MPH, CHIE, Associate Chief Medical Officer

Health Alliance Medical Plans

Dr. Krystal Revai is a board-certified pediatrician, fellowship trained in academic general pediatrics. She transitioned from academic medicine to working for a national health plan after over 10 years in clinical practice. In June of 2021 Dr Revai joined Health Alliance medial plans as the Associate Chief Medical Officer. In this role she has oversight of medical management for over 250,000 commercial and Medicare Advantage lives which includes utilization management, care management, population health and quality.

In March of 2019 Dr. Revai completed a certification in life and weight coaching from The Life Coach School and launched Life Coaching for Gifted. She has advanced certifications in physician coaching and leadership coaching. 

Dr, Revai believes that all brains are on the spectrum of normal. She thinks of herself as a wife, mother, coach, pediatrician, health care executive and, lifelong learner. Twice exceptionality, multi-exceptionality, and neurodiversity are relatively new terms and Dr. Revai wants to spread awareness about these terms and the people who may identify with them; especially physicians. Dr. Reval helps twice expectational people overcome with the guilt, shame, and limiting beliefs that come with a neuro-developmental diagnosis.

Cindy Rowe

Public Speaker, Trainer, Entrepreneur

Cindy Rowe is a dynamic professional speaker, trainer, and passionate entrepreneur. Having built two successful companies from the ground up, she's an influential thought leader in her community who works tirelessly to change the narrative around kindness. Leveraging her experience in sales, marketing, and organizational communication, Cindy shares evidence-based strategies with companies, organizations, and schools that improve employee culture and positively impact the bottom line. When she’s not speaking on stage, Cindy helps entrepreneurs grow their small businesses as the Chief Marketing Rockstar of Cindy Rowe Marketing. She is also leading the charge to turn kindness into a social movement as Founder/CEO of Be Kind Crew and creator of The Kindness Advantage podcast. Cindy thrives as a speaker; for years, she's been inspiring and influencing audiences of all ages and walks of life. Her message sparks a shift toward intentional kindness that has the power to spread kindness across teams, communities, and all over the world.

Laura Sheriff RN, MSN, Vice President Operations, Risk Adjustment

Southwestern Health Resources (SWHR)

Laura Sheriff, RN, MSN, is currently working as Vice President Operations, Risk Adjustment for Southwestern Health Resources (SWHR).  She also works as a consultant with physician groups and health plans to capitalize on risk adjustment performance and operations.  Laura is an MSN with >13 years’ experience in Medicare, Medicaid, and Marketplace Managed Care and has led teams in risk, quality, telehealth, and population health analytics.  Laura demonstrates effective leadership, innovative problem-solving techniques, and goal-oriented focus to execute business objectives and meet performance metrics.  Laura has designed and coordinated activities including provider education, training, auditing, data mining, and data analysis to direct program success.  Laura has a Master’s in Nursing Education and is also a certified professional coder and a certified risk coder.   Laura is also a frequent speaker for RISE, a best-in-class organization for all things related to accountable care and government healthcare reform.

Mikal Sutton Managing Director, Medicaid 

Blue Cross Blue Shield Association

Mikal Sutton is Managing Director of Medicaid policy for the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA), a national federation of thirty-four independent, community-based and locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) companies. BCBSA covers 114 million lives across all lines of business in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Twenty-four of the BCBSA Plans operate a Medicaid program in twenty-nine states and Puerto Rico with more that twelve million Medicaid members. 

With almost 15 years of experience Sutton has collaborated with state and local agencies, organizations, and external stakeholders to build substantive policy solutions. Sutton oversees detailed Medicaid policy analysis and strategies to support BCBS companies, in collaboration with BCBSA’s legislative, regulatory, research and modeling teams. Since joining the Association in 2020, Sutton has worked on regulatory and policy development on a wide variety of program issue areas including maternal health, social determinants of health, long-term services and supports, expansion of Medicaid and the Public Health Emergency unwinding. 

Sutton has worked on Medicaid policy in Illinois, policy initiatives with the Illinois Department on Aging and as a director of grant operations for a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant focused on growing the nursing pipeline in Illinois. Sutton has a master’s degree in political studies and a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Illinois at Springfield. 

An Illinois native, Sutton earned a bachelor’s degree in communications and master’s degree in political studies from the University of Illinois, Springfield. She enjoys outdoor activities, listening to music and traveling with her family.