Maureen Boshier has been President and CEO of the NMHHSA since 1995, was Vice President from 1984-1988, and has extensive experience in health care policy and financing initiatives. She is the Project Director for the New Mexico SCI program. Ms. Boshier holds a Masters in Business Administration, a Master of Science in Adult Psychiatric/Mental Health Nursing, a B.S. in Nursing, and completed the Wharton Fellows Program in Management for Nurse Executives. Ms. Boshier has led many major health care access initiatives in New Mexico and received the Governor's Award for Outstanding New Mexico Women in 1997. She has been nationally recognized for her leadership and accomplishments and was a recipient of the American College of Healthcare Executives Regent's award for 2000. She also serves on the Governor's Business Advisory Council as well as national councils and boards for the American Hospital Association and committees for the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, and the New Mexico Business Journal Advisory Board, Maureen has achieved Diplomat status of the American College of Health Care Executives.

Deborah Chollet is a Senior Fellow at Mathematica Policy Research in Washington, DC. Dr. Chollet conducts and manages research on private health insurance coverage, markets and regulation, including employer-sponsored health plans for workers and retirees, individual health insurance, and Medicare supplement plans. As a senior consultant to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's State Coverage Initiatives program, she regularly provides direct technical assistance to states on matters related to private health insurance coverage and markets. She currently serves on the Medicare study panel of the National Academy of Social Insurance and on the editorial boards of Benefits Quarterly, the Journal of Insurance Issues, and Health Administration Press. Her previous positions include Vice President of Alpha Center (now AcademyHealth); Director of the Center for Risk Management and Insurance Research and Associate Professor of Risk Management and Insurance at Georgia State University; Senior Researcher at the Employee Benefit Research Institute; and Assistant Professor of Economics at Temple University. Dr. Chollet holds M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Economics from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University.

Pamela Dickson is a Senior Program Officer at The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Her program activities at the Foundation focus on increasing access to care for all Americans, with a particular emphasis on reducing racial and ethnic disparities in access to care. Before joining the Foundation, Ms. Dickson held several senior positions at the New Jersey Department of Health. As Assistant Commissioner from 1988 through 1994, she supervised the all-payer hospital rate-setting system and the health planning program. As Director of Health Care Reform Initiatives, she coordinated efforts among the Governor's Office, the Department of Health, the Department of Human Services and the Department of Insurance to implement New Jersey's 1993 Health Care and Insurance Reform Legislation.

Ms. Dickson has held positions as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Health Data Organizations and of the Access for the Uninsured Steering Committee of the National Academy for State Health Policy. She holds an M.B.A. in Health Care Administration from the Wharton School of Business.

Stan Dorn, J.D., is a Senior Policy Analyst at the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI). For over 15 years, Mr. Dorn has worked on health policy issues involving Medicaid and SCHIP, the uninsured, low-income consumers and children. Since 1993, he served as Health Division Director at the Children's Defense Fund and Managing Attorney and Project Director at the National Health Law Program's Washington and San Francisco offices.

One of the founders of EP&P Consulting, Inc. (EP&P), Dr. Engquist specializes in the design and implementation of health, behavioral health and long-term care reform initiatives. For over twenty years, Dr. Engquist has been involved with the Medicaid program and is known for her work in Medicaid managed care, program financing and funding strategies, reimbursement and rate setting, and policy development. Dr. Engquist has assisted a number of states in the design and negotiation of traditional Section 1115 waivers, HIFA waivers, and Pharmacy Plus waivers most recently assisting Arizona, New Jersey, New Mexico and Oregon. She is the author (with Peter Burns) of "Health Insurance Flexibility and Accountability Waivers: Opportunities and Issues for States" and "Using Federal Waiver Authority for Consumer Driven Programs." Dr. Engquist also served as the Medicaid Director for the State of Missouri and was a Congressional Science and Engineering Fellow for Senator Jacob Javits.

Anna Fallieras, MPH, MPA, is the Director of State Purchasing Programs at the Center for Health Care Strategies. She manages the CHCS Purchasing Institute, which assists states in developing and implementing strategic purchasing strategies through individual and collaborative technical assistance. In addition, Ms. Fallieras has responsibility for leading two programs designed to build state purchasing capacity and program operations, the CHCS Managed Care Solutions Forum and an initiative funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Collaborating for Quality. She is also responsible for leading several technical assistance series focused on rewarding performance and improving health care quality. The Center for Health Care Strategies is a non-profit, policy resource center that promotes high quality care for low-income populations and people with chronic illnesses and disabilities.

Previously, Ms. Fallieras was the Deputy Chief of Staff for Maryland's Medicaid programs. She also held positions at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and The Lewin Group. Ms. Fallieras has a Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins University and a Master of Public Administration and Bachelor of Arts from the Ohio State University.

Vickie Gates is a Vice President of AcademyHealth and serves as Director of the State Coverage Initiatives program and the Project Manager for the AcademyHealth's contract with the State Planning Grant Program of HRSA. Prior to joining AcademyHealth, Ms. Gates was the Director of Support Services for Multnomah County, Oregon responsible for finance, human resources including employee benefits and collective bargaining, information technology, organizational development, central research and evaluation, and support of the county's quality initiative.

Ms. Gates has a wide variety of experience in health care and human services. She served as the first Oregon Health Plan Administrator (responsible for oversight and coordination of Oregon's health care reform and health policy development). The Oregon Health Plan is nationally known and the recipient of a Ford Foundation Innovations in Government Grant. She also served as Deputy Director, and Director of Program and Finance for the Oregon Department of Health and Human Services. Other governmental experience includes the Oregon Legislative Fiscal Office and the Children's Services Division of the Department of Health and Human Services

Ms. Gates has also served on the Boards of Directors for the Northwest Health Foundation, Oregon Health Decisions, the Oregon Coalition of Health Care Purchasers and the Foundation for Accountability (FACCT). She currently serves on the Oregon Health Forum Board of Directors.

Ms. Gates received her B.A. from the University of North Carolina and has pursued graduate studies in history and public administration.

Anne K. Gauthier is Vice President at AcademyHealth, which was formed in June 2000 following the merger of the Alpha Center and the Association for Health Services Research (AHSR). Since joining the Alpha Center in January 1989, Ms. Gauthier has directed a wide range of health policy and demonstration projects concerned with health care financing and delivery issues of national significance. She serves as Program Director for The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Changes in Health Care Financing and Organization (HCFO) Initiative and as Senior Advisor for the Foundation's State Coverage Initiatives (SCI) program. She is also responsible for developing new AcademyHealth programs for research/policy syntheses and information services, and serves as Assistant Secretary to the Board of Directors. Prior to joining the Alpha Center, Ms. Gauthier was Senior Researcher for the National Leadership Commission on Health Care and, for over six years, served the Congress of the United States in its Office of Technology Assessment. A graduate of Princeton University, Ms. Gauthier earned her M.S. in Health Administration at the University of Massachusetts (Amherst) School of Public Health.

Bill Hagens was appointed Sr. Health Policy Advisor for the Medical Assistance Administration-DSHS (the state's Medicaid agency) in February of this year. For two years prior to that he was a deputy commissioner and health policy advisor for the state's Insurance Commissioners. Before working with the Insurance Commissioners, he served for 25 years as the Senior Research Analyst for the House Health Care Committee and was the lead House committee staff member for numerous health care measures addressing: AIDS; rural health care; prenatal care; trauma care systems, mental health services; public health system reform, and comprehensive health care access and cost control reform. He came to Washington from Michigan in 1971 as a VISTA Volunteer to work as a client advocate with Pierce County Legal Services. He is a member of the National Academy for State Health Policy's executive committee. In 1992 he was a recipient of a World Health Organisation Travel Fellowship and studied health care systems in several European counties.

He is a member of the UW School of Nursing's Visiting Committee and a clinical professor at the UW School of Public Health and Community Medicine where he teaches health policy.

Ray recently joined Electronic Data Systems (EDS) as a Client Executive in the US Government Solutions division. Previously, he was Medicaid Director for the state of Arkansas where he led the agency responsible for administering the state's Medicaid and SCHIP programs and the nursing home survey and certification program. He also directed the creation of nationally recognized programs such as the ConnectCare Medicaid Managed Care program and oversaw the development and implementation of AEVCS, one of the most rapid and efficient Automated Eligibility Verification & Claims Systems in the health care industry. Most recently, he headed the creation, implementation and management of the nationally recognized ARKids First program, which in two years has enrolled some 50,000 previously uninsured children, blending them into the medical homes of the existing, very successful ConnectCare Medicaid managed care program.

Mr. Hanley has served two terms as Chairman of the National Association of State Medicaid Directors, and in May of 2002 was elected to a third term. He has also served on the Board of Directors for the American Public Welfare Association.

Ray Hanley received his BA in Business and Economics from Ouachita Baptist University.

Mike Huckabee ascended to the office of governor on July 15, 1996, when the previous governor resigned. He became Arkansas' 44th elected governor November 3, 1998.
Among his achievements as governor is the creation of ARKids First, which provides preventive and primary health insurance to children of working parents. Governor Huckabee also passed welfare reform measures that helped reduce welfare rolls by almost 50 percent.

Prior to entering politics, Governor Huckabee was President of Cambridge Communications and President of KBSC-TV in Texarkana, Arkansas.

He serves on the executive committee of the National Governors' Association. He is also the president-elect of the Council of State Governments. He will take over as president of the organization when the term of Governor Parris Glendening (MD) ends.

Governor Huckabee is a graduate of Ouachita Baptist University, Arkadelphia, Arkansas.

Howard "Rocky" King is the Administrator of the Oregon Medical Insurance Pool (OMIP) and the Insurance Pool Governing Board (IPGB). OMIP is the states high-risk health insurance pool for those unable to obtain insurance because of medical conditions. The IPGB provides information and assistance to businesses and consumers in accessing health insurance and is responsible for the Family Health Insurance Assistance Program, targeted to low-income families to assist them in purchasing private health insurance. He has served as the Administrator for both agencies since 1990. He also serves on the Oregon Public Employees Benefit Board, the state's largest purchaser of health care benefits.

King's education includes a Master of Business Administration for Columbia University Graduate School of Business, a Master of Science Degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Social Work and a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Linfield College.

Alice Lind, RN, MPH, is the Care Coordination Manager for Washington State
Medical Assistance Administration. Other state roles have included work in
managed care quality management and in developing an AIDS long term care
program. Her clinical work ranged from intensive care unit management to
hospice home care. She has published in the areas of hospice and nursing
ethics.

Jim Parker has been the Deputy Administrator for Medical Programs at the Illinois Department of Public Aid since April 2001 where his primary responsibilities have been related to prescription drugs. He joined the Office of the General Counsel of the Department of Public Aid in 1988 as an Administrative Law Judge, and in 1990 became Chief Administrative Law Judge. Prior to becoming Deputy Administrator he concentrated on procurement and managed care issues for the Office of the General Counsel. Jim went to Marquette University for his undergraduate degree and Loyola University of Chicago for law school.

Cheryl Rivers is Executive Director of the National Legislative Association on Prescription Drug Prices, a nonprofit association of state legislators with a mission to obtain fair prescription drug prices and comprehensive pharmacy coverage for all Americans. Cheryl Rivers attended the University of Vermont and graduated from Castleton State College with a BA in Sociology and a Certificate in Social Work. She served as Director of a Community Action Agency and as Legislative Advocate for the Vermont Low Income Advocacy Council before being elected to the State Senate in Vermont where she was elected six times and served for 11 years. She was a leader in health care policy, leading efforts for universal coverage in the State of Vermont and sponsoring successful efforts to fund an independent health care ombudsman and an independent appeals process for HMO claims denials. For the last five years of her Senate service she served as Chair of the Senate Finance Committee where she had jurisdiction over tax, utility, banking, and insurance legislation. She was a leader in promoting Legislation to lower prescription drug prices, in passing the Vermont Equal Educational Opportunity Act as well as first in the country comprehensive campaign finance reform legislation. She resigned her Senate seat in October of 2001 to accept the position of Executive Director of the Northeast Legislative Association on Prescription Drug Prices. During the past year Rivers has helped the Association develop a national reputation as being a national leader in the fight for fair prescription drug prices. At its August meeting the Association amended its bylaws to allow for expanded membership beyond its original membership of Northeastern states and changed its name to National Legislative Association on Drug Prices.

Theresa Sachs is a technical director in the Center for Medicare and State Operations at CMS and has 13 years of experience in various aspects of health care legislation, policy, and administration. She currently works on Section 1115 health care reform demonstrations, the Health Insurance Flexibility and Accountability Initiative, and various managed care policy issues. Before joining CMS she worked for the Senate Special Committee on Aging, where she worked on the Older Americans Act, Medicaid, nursing home quality, and the WIC program. Ms. Sachs has also served as Director of an Area Agency on Aging in New York State. She is a graduate of Colgate University.

Stuart Schear develops and manages major communications campaigns designed to advance the cause of the more than 41 million Americans without health coverage.

Mr. Schear's portfolio contains two major campaigns. The Covering the Uninsured Campaign, led by RWJF and a coalition of the nation's most influential organizations, is building support to extend health coverage to the uninsured. The Covering Kids Communications Campaign works to enroll eligible, uninsured children in public health coverage programs such as Medicaid and SCHIP. These campaigns have won numerous industry honors, including the 2002 David Ogilvy Award.

Mr. Schear joined RWJF in June 1998, after working for more than a decade as a health reporter and producer for public television and NBC News as well as a press official in the White House during the Clinton administration. Directly before coming to the Foundation, Mr. Schear worked as a health and science producer for NBC News.

Before joining NBC News, Mr. Schear served as the assistant press secretary for television news in the White House in 1996 and 1997, where he managed the administration's television interview operation and reported to Michael D. McCurry, the White House Press Secretary. From 1990 to 1995, he was the health and science reporter for PBS's MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, for which he covered the national debate over health reform. Acknowledging Mr. Schear's work at the NewsHour, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation made him one of its Media Fellows in health. During this one-year program, he wrote articles on the ascendancy of managed care for National Journal and other magazines.

Mr. Schear earned a master's degree at the Graduate School of Journalism of Columbia University and a bachelor's degree at Oberlin College in Ohio.

Jeffrey Simms is the Assistant Director for Managed Care and Administrative and
Regulatory Affairs for the North Carolina Division of Medical Assistance, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services. He has been involved with Medicaid Managed Care for over ten years. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy and a Master of Science in Public Health. He also has a Master of Divinity from Duke University. He is a Board Member of the NC Prevention Partners and serves on the Health Advisory Committee for the NC Partnership for Children.

Joseph W. Thompson is an Assistant Professor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and a general pediatrician and preventive medicine specialist whose professional activities focus at the interface of policy research and practice. Currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Arkansas, Dr. Thompson has supported the Arkansas Legislature in its deliberations of the Tobacco Settlement, evaluates the quality of managed care programs serving children in commercial and Medicaid managed care, and conducts research at the state and national levels as the new Children's Healthy Insurance Programs are deployed. His current activities include general attending responsibilities in the clinic and hospital, population and policy assessments through the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement (a joint Department of Health and University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Center), and policy relevant research activities associated with AHRQ. He has recently awarded a $1.4 million grant from the Federal Government to assess approaches to stabilize and expand health insurance coverage in Arkansas.

Ben Wheatley is a Senior Manager at AcademyHealth, a professional home for health services researchers, policy analysts, and practitioners, and a leading, non-partisan resource for health research and policy. Mr. Wheatley joined the organization in May 1997 and works primarily on The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's State Coverage Initiatives program, assisting state officials in developing and implementing strategies to expand health insurance coverage for the uninsured. He has provided direct technical assistance to states and has authored publications focusing on state coverage programs for low-income families, innovative expansion models, and state efforts to reduce costs and improve care quality through disease management. He has also worked with states in developing premium assistance programs to support employer-based health care coverage for low-income workers. Prior to joining the Academy, Mr. Wheatley worked as a researcher at the National Rehabilitation Hospital Research Center where he analyzed the impact of managed care on post-acute providers and the consolidation of the rehabilitation hospital industry through mergers and acquisitions. Prior to that, he worked as an analyst in the Business Development office of the University of California at San Diego Medical Center. Mr. Wheatley is a graduate of Georgetown University, where he received a Master's Degree in Public Policy with an emphasis in health care policy.

Dr. Tom Young is currently the Medical Director for the Idaho Division of Medicaid where he is in charge of managing the medical aspects of the state's Medicaid contract. He is also the President and CEO of Pegasus Healthcare Technologies, a company he founded that develops new strategies and technologies to web enable services for clients in the cosmetic laser business, as well as large rehabilitation services. In addition, Tom is the President of Idaho Case Management, a review service for the legal and medical industry. Dr. Young is a board certified family physician who has practiced for almost twenty years.

Dr. Young graduated with a B.A. in Chemistry from Austin College and received his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch.