Aaron Perry

Founder, Rebalanced-Life Wellness Association

Aaron Gabriel Perry is the Founder and President of the nationally recognized Rebalanced-Life Wellness Association, whose mission is ensuring that Black men and boys living in under-represented communities. He is also a former police officer and currently works for Dane County Juvenile Justice Gang Response Intervention Team. Aaron is on the Board of Directors with the American Heart Association and was selected to serve on the Advisory Council for the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance. He’s also a graduate of Madison College Police Academy and Marycrest University.

Arianna Anaya

Program Manager, Foundation Communities Prosper Centers Health Coverage Program

Arianna Anaya is the program manager for Austin-area nonprofit Foundation Communities’ Prosper Centers Health Coverage Program.  Arianna has worked closely with providers and service organizations that serve clients with complex medical needs like cancer and HIV.  She has played a key role in the provision of processes and trainings that have enabled her program’s enrollment of more than 5,000 individuals in Marketplace health insurance each Open Enrollment season. 

Autumn Arnold

Health Care Eligibility Policy Section Manager, Wisconsin Department of Health Services

Autumn Arnold serves as Section Manager for the Health Care Eligibility Policy section at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS). In this role, she leads a team of analysts charged with interpreting state and federal Medicaid policy, as well as implementing projects related to Wisconsin’s health care programs. She has worked with DHS in a number of different roles over the last 15 years, with a focus on initiatives that seek to increase access to health and nutrition benefits. Prior to working in Wisconsin, she served as Director of Food Stamp Policy Advocacy for California Food Policy Advocates, and Education and Advocacy Coordinator for the San Francisco Food Bank. She is a graduate of Duke University, and lives in Madison with her partner and 4-year-old son.

Cathy Mahaffey

CEO, Common Ground Healthcare Cooperative

Cathy Mahaffey is a 28 year veteran of the health insurance industry, starting her career in insurance upon her college graduation. Cathy began her involvement in Common Ground Healthcare Cooperative at the early stages and helped pen the business plan and loan application that secured the funding to start the cooperative. Cathy was appointed CEO of the cooperative in 2014 after serving as the cooperative’s first Chief Operating Officer.

Caroline Gomez-Tom

Director of Patient and Community Engagement, Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers

Caroline serves on the boards of the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Social Work Board of Visitors, the Minority Health Advisory Committee for the Office of Public Health of the Wisconsin Dept. of Health Services, the Children’s Health Alliance of Wisconsin, Kids Forward, the Milwaukee Latino Health Coalition, and the City of Milwaukee Board of Health. Caroline earned her Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Wisconsin in Madison with an emphasis in Social Policy. In 2016, she was honored as one of the “40 Under 40 Leaders in Minority Health” by the National Minority Quality Forum.

Erin Long

Product Manager, Security Health Plan

Erin is the product manager for our individual and family plan and small employer products at Security Health Plan. She has been working in the healthcare industry for thirteen years, with a primary focus on digital experience redesign initiatives, member engagement solutions and product development. Erin has been in her current role as a product manager for over three years and is responsible for developing and executing products for the ACA product lines that adhere to the mission, vision and values of Security Health Plan and the Marshfield Clinic Health System. Erin lives with her husband and their two children, Jakob and Emmie, in the Fox Valley area.

Jim Baird

Executive Vice President, WPS Health Insurance

Jim Baird is a 30-year veteran of WPS, with a successful record of taking on various leadership roles. He was promoted to Executive Vice President of WPS Health Insurance in March 2018. In January 2020, he was given additional responsibility for EPIC Specialty Benefits. Most recently, Jim was Vice President of Medicare Market Solutions at WPS Health Insurance. Jim earned a bachelor’s degree from Florida Bible College and a master’s in management from Indiana Wesleyan University. He also earned a variety of professional designations in health insurance and employee benefits.

Jim Jones

State of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Medicaid Director

Jim Jones was appointed as Wisconsin’s Medicaid Director in February 2019.  He has worked on health coverage and human service programs for over 38 years, working in state government and as a consultant. Prior to his appointment, Jim worked as consultant assisting states, federal agencies, health plans, nonprofit organizations and providers develop their strategic visions and helped develop the policies, processes and systems needed to achieve their objectives. In the years before his consulting work, Jim worked for the State of Wisconsin, including four years as Wisconsin’s Deputy State Medicaid Director and SNAP Director.  

Julia Garvey

Regional Enrollment Network Coordinator, Partnership Community Health Centers

Ms. Garvey is a leader in community-based outreach, health literacy and health insurance programs that reach high risk and vulnerable populations. Her work is centered on using innovative ways to advocate, educate, engage and mobilize people around the importance of “coverage to care.”As a Certified Application Counselor, she assists people to enroll and maintain health coverage, access care and improve health and financial wellness.  She believes that health insurance enrollment is a strategy for individual as well as community health improvement. Her work has impacted hundreds of people in Northeast WI, the state and nation.

Lars Brown

Reentry Disabilities Treatment Director, Department of Corrections

Lars Brown serves the Department of Corrections as the Reentry Disabilities Treatment Director.  Lars manages programs connecting individuals with mental health challenges and disabilities to public benefits application assistance, case management, and housing.  He also links individuals to medical, mental health, and long term care.  Lars manages DOC’s Medicaid application assistance process and acts as a DOC liaison to the DHS Division of Medicaid Services. 

Mark Rakowski

Chief Operating Officer, Children's Community Health Plan

Mark has been with the Children’s Community Health Plan (CCHP) since its inception in 2006. Under his leadership, CCHP has grown to over 150,000 Medicaid and Marketplace members. On the Children’s Wisconsin management team, Mark is actively involved in the health system’s strategic plan to improve the health of the children of Wisconsin, with a focus on raising immunization rates and access to primary care and dental services. As provider payment reforms continue to take roots, CCHP’s focus on population health is a key piece of the health system’s future vision.

Megan Sprecher

Immigration and Poverty Law Attorney, End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin

Megan L. Sprecher is the Immigration and Poverty Law Attorney at End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Megan provides legal technical assistance and trainings to domestic abuse program advocates, attorneys, healthcare providers, government agencies, and community partners. She also does policy advocacy at state, local, and national levels. Prior to joining End Abuse, Megan was a Senior Attorney for The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland, where she managed the program’s medical-legal partnership and represented mainly Spanish-speaking clients in a variety of civil matters including immigration, special education, school discipline, language access, public benefits, and tax.

Michelle Furr

Health Care Eligibility Policy Analyst, Wisconsin Department of Health Services

Michelle Furr is a health care eligibility policy analyst at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS). Michelle primarily works on policy issues related to Elderly, Blind, and Disabled Medicaid and Long-term Care. She has worked at DHS since 2014. Prior to her work with DHS, she was an economic support specialist at Dane County from 2007-2014. Michelle has a master’s degree in Community and Clinical Psychology from Wichita State University.

Nathan Houdek

State of Wisconsin, Deputy Commissioner of Insurance

Deputy Commissioner Houdek serves as the chief operating officer for the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance. In that role, he is responsible for managing the office's regulatory, communications, legal, legislative relations, and administrative functions. Mr. Houdek brings over 15 years of experience working in and around Wisconsin state government. He has worked on health insurance policy and regulatory issues in a variety of roles in the public and private sectors.

Patricia Sarvela

Partnership Community Health Center

Ms. Sarvela is a member of the PCHC senior leadership team and is a highly respected leader in health improvement programs, community based outreach, health literacy and enrollment programs that reach high risk and vulnerable populations.  She leads all aspects community networking, advocacy with local, state and national legislature, board development, collaboration with statewide PCA, writes and manages state and federal health grants, community needs assessments, community engagement, public health programming particularly with low income Latino populations and people experiencing homelessness. She has a lifelong commitment to engaging all members of the community in dialog, action, and change.

Rachel Witthoft

Health Care Eligibility Policy Analyst, Wisconsin Department of Health Services

Rachel Witthoft is a health care eligibility policy analyst at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS). Rachel primarily works on policy issues related to BadgerCare Plus and Family Planning Only Services. She has worked at DHS since 2011 and with health care eligibility policy in particular since 2013. Rachel has a master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Ramona Beltran

Associate Professor, University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work

Ramona Beltrán, MSW, PhD is a Xicana of Yaqui and Mexica descent and an Associate Professor at the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work. She is also serving as the Interim Faculty Director for the Interdisciplinary Research Institute for the Study of (in)Equality. Her research agenda broadly aims to understand and eliminate health disparities in Indigenous and Latinx communities with a focus on illustrating the intersections of historical trauma, place-based/environmental trauma, and social determinants of health with a focus on HIV, substance use prevention, as well as cardiovascular disease prevention.

Shannon Drake-Buhr

Patient Engagement Coordinator, Wisconsin Primary Health Care Association

Shannon Drake-Buhr is the Patient Engagement Coordinator at the Wisconsin Primary Health Care Association, an association of Wisconsin’s 17 Community Health Centers. Shannon leads the Outreach and Enrollment Peer Learning Network comprised of health center staff focused on getting patients and community members enrolled in health insurance coverage. She tracks health insurance enrollment policy at both the state and federal level.  Shannon’s work also focuses on social determinants of health, vaccinations, and many elements of health information technology.

Tara Straw

Senior Policy Analyst, Department of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Tara Straw is a Senior Policy Analyst in the Health Policy Department of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. She works on a variety of health issues, including enrollment, premium assistance, and health insurance marketplace operations under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and tax-related health care policies. Straw received a master’s degree in public policy from American University and a law degree and LL.M. in taxation from Georgetown University Law Center.

Tokela Barnett

Outreach and Enrollment Specialist, Milwaukee Health Services Inc.

Tokela Barnett is an Outreach and Enrollment Specialist at Milwaukee Health Services Inc.

She enjoys what she does. She believes in helping her community, with their health care needs.

She believes every person deserves quality health care. Before joining Milwaukee Health Services, Inc.,

she served as manager for a Healthcare Staffing agency for (PCW) personal care workers.