Jeff Ricketts | Chair
Jeff Ricketts had a nearly 40-year tenure with Anthem and served as the Virginia Plan President for the last five years until he retired in September 2022. Mr. Ricketts has been involved in many professional, community and charitable activities. He currently serves as Chair of the Virginia Center for Health Innovation Board of Directors and is Co-Chair of the Virginia Task Force for Primary Care. He also serves on the Board of the Virginia Healthcare Foundation and Virginia Learns. He has previously served on the boards of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, Chamber RVA, Venture Richmond, and the Virginia Association of Health Plans. He was a member of the Governor’s Advisory Council on Revenue Estimates, Virginia Chamber Blueprint VA 2030 Committee, the Virginia Business Council, and the Management Roundtable. He is also past chair of the Virginia March of Dimes State Board and was chair for the 2015 March for Babies. Mr. Ricketts is a native of Richmond and graduate of James Madison University.
Meredith Touchstone | Vice Chair
Meredith Touchstone has more than 20 years of experience leading employee benefits for jumbo national employers. Meredith currently leads CarMax’s Benefits, Leaves and Accommodations teams with overall accountability for those programs supporting more than 26,000 associates across the country. She has deep expertise in innovation, strategy and design, compliance, benchmarking, communications, associate engagement strategies, vendor management, and administration. Her personal passion is in health innovation spending time understanding the market, consulting startups to established vendors, and leaning in to think about how healthcare is changing and how employer mindset and the market more broadly need to change to anticipate it. She is also deeply passionate about managing and supporting population health be it in ensuring that employees have the resources that they need when health problems arise or offering/designing resources to positively influence the health journey of employees and their loved ones. Meredith currently serves on Anthem’s Client Advisory Group as well as their Client Innovation Council and Castlight’s Client Advisory Board. Further she serves on the SmarterCare Virginia Task Force as well as the Virginia Task Force on Primary Care. Meredith has also had the privilege of speaking nationally on various employee benefits topics in many different forums. Meredith is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, VA with a degree in Psychology.
L. Gordon Moore, MD | Vice Chair
Gordon is the Chief Medical Officer at Goodside Health. He is driven by the opportunity to enable clinicians to efficiently deliver excellent care by bridging the intersection of quality, technology, policy, payment, and data in his role as Chief Medical Officer. A board-certified physician in Family Medicine, he is responsible for driving the transition to value-based care to enhance and measure clinical infrastructure and programmatic development. Gordon brings more than 30 years of experience in radically redesigning ideal primary care and population health practices as well as EMR and telemedicine innovation to his leadership role. Previously, he was the Senior Medical Director of Clinical Strategy and Value Based Care for 3M Health Information Systems, served as a core faculty member for the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, and co-lead for quality improvement initiatives for the New York City Dept. of Health & Mental Hygiene, among other roles for state health departments and managed care organizations. Gordon earned his Doctor of Medicine and from the University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry and completed his residency in family medicine at Highland Hospital after earning a Bachelor of Arts from Oberlin College. He resides in Northern Virginia with his wife and is a father to three grown children.
Colin Drozdowski, MA | Treasurer
Colin Drozdowski is President of Sentara Health Plans (SHP) and an Executive Vice President of Sentara Healthcare. SHP serves more than 950,000 members and partners with more than 100 hospitals and 25,000 physicians. Colin is responsible for the strategic direction, performance, and growth of Medicaid, Medicare, and Commercial lines of business. He previously served as Senior Vice President of Comprehensive Health Solutions at SHP. Drozdowski has more than 30 years of experience in healthcare, spending 26 years with the Blue Cross and Blue Shield system before coming to Sentara, most recently serving as Senior Vice President of Provider Solutions for Anthem, Inc. In that role, he oversaw roughly 2,500 associates nationwide. His team supported all Anthem lines of business, including Medicare, Medicaid, Commercial, and all markets, covering 40+ million members. Colin also serves on the Board of Directors of CareATC - a population health management company that partners with employers and empowers employees to live healthier lives, and Fit4Kids, a community coalition in Richmond that works to prevent and reduce childhood obesity. Colin holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Hiram College and a master’s in economics from Cleveland State University.
Aneesh Chopra, MPP | Secretary
Aneesh Chopra is the President of CareJourney, an open data and analytics platform building a trusted, transparent rating system for physicians, networks, facilities and markets on the move to value. He served as the first U.S. Chief Technology Officer under President Obama (’09-’12) and in 2014, authored, "Innovative State: How New Technologies Can Transform Government.” He serves on the Boards of the Health Care Cost Institute, International Digital Accountability Council, IntegraConnect, and Chairs the George Mason Innovation Advisory Council. He earned his MPP from Harvard Kennedy School and BA from The Johns Hopkins University.
Melinda S. Hancock | Immediate Past Chair
Melinda Hancock is an Executive Vice President and Chief Transformation Officer for Sentara Health. Ms. Hancock joined Sentara in August 2021 as the Chief Administrative Officer and in the summer of 2023 took on the leadership of the transformation efforts associated with the implementation of Sentara Health’s new strategic plan. Her divisional oversight also includes strategy, growth, integration and project management. Before joining Sentara, Ms. Hancock proudly served several health systems in the Commonwealth of Virginia including VCU Health System, Bon Secours Health System and Culpeper Regional Hospital in a variety of roles that included finance, strategy, administration, innovation, and value-based care/clinical transformation. After graduating from William & Mary and in subsequent years, Melinda also spent time in several healthcare auditing and consulting roles. Ms. Hancock’s current professional affiliations include Healthcare Financial Management Association (Fellow and Past National Chairman), Virginia Health Information (Board Member), American Hospital Association (Regional Policy Board Member), and Virginia Center for Health Innovation (Board Member and Chair). Ms. Hancock has been a frequent speaker on value based payment models and leadership and has co-authored several articles on related topics.
Sweeny Bansal, MBA, MEng | Director
With a personal mission to drive disease prevention and bend the per capita healthcare cost curve in the US, Sweeny is dedicated to growing healthcare businesses in profitable, sustainable and meaningful ways. She is currently the Vice President for Molina Healthcare leading operations for the state of Virginia, improving care delivery and health outcomes for Medicaid and Medicare members. Previously, she served as the Vice President and General Manager for Labcorp in Virginia ensuring quality and innovation in diagnostics service delivery with a focus on improving health outcomes through data and analytics. Sweeny holds an MBA from INSEAD. She earned both a Master’s degree in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering and a Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Toronto. Sweeny also currently serves on the board of the American Heart Association in Central Virginia.
Jeff Dobro, MD | Director
Dr. Jeff Dobro has had leadership roles in some of the most innovative and impactful organizations in health care. He is currently the CEO of Eudaimonia Concepts, dedicated to bringing creative solutions to organizations empowering them to flourish and thrive. He has recently served as Chief Innovation Officer at Transcarent, leading the organizations’ efforts to create the One Place to Go for all of a consumer’s health and care needs, developing novel products and partnerships that drive value for consumers, fiduciaries and providers. Prior to joining Transcarent, Jeff was a Partner and the Health Strategy and Innovation Leader at Mercer Consulting. He was the Chief Medical Officer at One Medical Group, Chief Medical Officer at RedBrick Health and a Partner at Willis Towers Watson. He has operated a national group of 58 primary care medical practices, was Chief Medical Officer of an early ACO management firm and was an analyst at a hedge fund. Jeff is a board-certified internist and rheumatologist and was an Assistant Professor at NYU School of Medicine. Jeff is passionate about transforming the US health care system and achieving the quadruple aim of bringing accessible, high quality, positive experience health care to all Americans and clinicians at an affordable cost.
Sheryl Garland | Director
Sheryl Garland is the Chief of Health Impact for VCU Health. Sheryl is responsible for building programs and partnerships to improve the health of populations and communities served by VCU Health System. In this position, she provides leadership for the health system’s Division of Community Health that focuses on advancing health equity and addressing health disparities for patients. Projects to date have included initiatives to identify and address social determinants of health such as housing instability, food insecurity, employment, and transportation needs. In addition to her health system responsibilities, Sheryl serves as the Executive Director of Virginia Commonwealth University’s (VCU) Office of Health Equity. This office is responsible for integrating the principles of health equity into VCU’s core missions (education/training, research, and service). Previous positions within the University include Director of Community Outreach for the VCU Institute for Women's Health, Administrative Director of the VCU Center on Health Disparities, and Director of the VCU Office of Health Innovation. Sheryl is a native of Richmond, Virginia and received an undergraduate degree from Wake Forest University and a Masters in Health Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University.
Linda Hines, RN, MSN, MBA | Director
Ms. Hines is the current VP, Regional Medicaid Plan President for Humana. She has worked in managed care for over 27 years and brings a strong clinical, administrative and management background in the medical and operational areas of managed care. She has been instrumental in developing several best practice care management and operational programs that have national recognition. Prior to joining Humana, she was the Medicaid Plan President for Sentara Health Plans. In addition, Linda has held a variety of positions with Virgina Premier Health Plan to include the Vice President of Health Services, COO, and CEO. Ms. Hines earned her Bachelor of Science (Nursing), Master of Science (Nursing Administration) as well as Executive MBA from Virginia Commonwealth University. She is active in a variety of professional activities including Better Housing Coalition Board Member, Rx Partnership Board Member and Secretary, VCU School of Business Foundation Board Member, UNCF Leadership Council member, 2023 Chairperson of the Richmond American Heart Association Heart Challenge and founding member of the Oraphine Crump VCU Scholarship program. In addition, Ms. Hines has served as adjunct faculty for the School of Nursing for Virginia Commonwealth University.
Aryana Khalid, MHA | Director
As a Partner on FGS Global’s Health team, Aryana Khalid brings nearly two decades of health care legislative, regulatory, and political experience to support her clients. She works with clients across all sectors of the health care industry helping them to better engage with the Hill, regulatory agencies, and third-party stakeholders, sharpen their policy positions, prepare for hearings, manage Congressional oversight, and refine their government affairs strategies and practices. Throughout her work, Aryana provides clients with strategic and political counsel on a broad range of health care issues. Prior to joining the firm, Aryana was an Executive Vice President at America’s Health Insurance Plans. In this role, she was responsible for the internal operations of the association and providing counsel and strategic advice to the President & CEO. She was the Chief of Staff at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) during the Obama Administration. At CMS, she focused on implementation of the Affordable Care Act, day to day operations of CMS, and coordinating with the Secretary’s Office and the White House. Previously, Aryana served as Senator Mark Warner’s Health and Education Legislative Assistant. She also served as Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Resources (HHR) for the Commonwealth of Virginia during the Kaine Administration. Prior to her appointment in State Government, Aryana worked for the Hospital Corporation of America (HCA). Aryana received her BS in Systems Engineering from the University of Virginia and her Master of Health Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University.
Chief of Staff John Littel | Director
John Littel is the Chief of Staff for the Commonwealth of Virginia. He brings 30 years of public policy experience to the Administration, developing private sector solutions for Medicaid, advocating for independent living for seniors and people with disabilities, and leading mental health and substance use disorder programs. Twenty-six years ago, John was the Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Resources. Since then, John has held senior roles at Magellan Health, Anthem, and Amerigroup, as well as at both the federal and state government levels. He has taught government, politics and communications at the graduate level, and has also served as a member of the William & Mary Public Policy Board of Advisors. Mr. Littel earned his bachelor's degree in Philosophy and Political Science from the University of Scranton and J.D. from The Columbus School of Law at Catholic University. In 2012, John was appointed to the Board of Visitors of the College of William & Mary and has served as Rector since 2018. He also serves on the board of The Gloucester Institute, a leadership initiative for young African-Americans based at Robert Russa Moton's historic home. He previously served as the chair of the Virginia Health Care Foundation and on the boards of the Family and Children's Trust Fund, Virginia's family violence prevention agency, and ForKids, a program for homeless families in Hampton Roads.
Michele Nedelka, MD | Director
Dr. Michelle Nedelka is a radiation oncologist in Suffolk and Norfolk, VA. She is associated with Bon Secours Maryview Medical Center. Dr. Nedelka graduated from Eastern Virginia Medical School in 2008, and completed her residency at Virginia Commonwealth University in 2013. She is American Board of Radiology (Radiation Oncology) certified and currently practices at two Bon Secours Oncology Specialists locations. Before becoming an MD, Dr. Nedelka served as a physician’s assistant. She is a member of the board of directors for the Medical Society of Virginia, serving as the current Vice Speaker.
Andrey Ostrovsky, MD | Director
Dr. Andrey Ostrovsky was the former Chief Medical Officer of the US Medicaid program. He is the Managing Partner at Social Innovation Ventures where he invests in and advises companies, non-profits, and artists dedicated to eliminating disparities. He also advises federal and state regulators on how to incorporate human centered design into policy making. He previously operated a series of methadone clinics in Baltimore, Maryland. Prior to working on the front line of the opioid use disorder crisis, he served as the Chief Medical Officer for the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services, the nation's largest health insurer, where he advocated to protect the program against several legislative efforts to significantly dismantle the program. He also led efforts to streamline Medicaid and make it more customer-centric. Before leading the Medicaid program, he co-founded the software company, Care at Hand, an evidence-based predictive analytics platform that used insights of non-medical staff to prevent aging people from being hospitalized. Care at Hand was acquired in 2016 by Mindoula Health. Before Care at Hand, Dr. Ostrovsky led teams at the World Health Organization, United States Senate, and San Francisco Health Department toward health system strengthening. Dr. Ostrovsky has served on several boards and committees dedicated to behavioral health, interoperability standards, quality measurement, and home and community based services including the National Academies of Medicine, National Quality Forum, Institute for Healthcare Improvement, and the Commonwealth Fund.
Andrey holds a Medical Doctorate and undergraduate degrees in Chemistry and Psychology Magna cum Laude from Boston University and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Andrey completed his pediatrics residency training in the Boston Combined Residency Program at Boston Medical Center and Boston Children's Hospital where he was a clinical instructor at Harvard Medical School. He is an attending physician at Mary's Center, a federally-qualified health center.
Amit Vashist, MD, FACHE | Director
Amit Vashist, MD, serves as the Senior Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer focusing on clinical quality and safety, value-based initiatives to improve quality while reducing costs of care, clinical innovation, performance improvement, clinical transformation and oversight of the enterprise-wide clinical delivery of care, and medical staff affairs. Additionally, he provides executive oversight of the Ballad Health Center for Clinical Transformation & Outcomes Optimization. He also bears administrative oversight of the Ballad Health Clinical Council - a leading model of physician partnership for clinical transformation and outcomes improvement. He serves as the Chief Clinical Advisor to Ballad Ventures and Ballad Health Innovation Center.
Dr. Vashist, who has been featured on the coveted Becker’s Healthcare 2023 and 2022 “Chief Medical Officers of Hospitals and Health Systems to Know”, Becker’s Healthcare 2018 and 2019 editions of “105 Top Physician Leaders to Know” is a dual board-certified internist and psychiatrist and an avid proponent of initiatives aimed at promoting quality, improving safety, reducing cost and minimizing variation in the delivery of patient care across diverse settings. His work has been instrumental in improving outcomes and reducing mortality in patients with sepsis, earning him several local, regional and national awards. His other work has included improving outcomes in patients with chronic disease burden like heart failure and lung disease, reducing unnecessary clinical testing including imaging studies and improving overall patient experience. His work in promoting a zero harm culture at Ballad Health has been instrumental in significantly reducing hospital-acquired infections and other harm measures system wide. His pioneering work at Ballad Health has resulted in multiple quality measures being in the top decile in the nation.
He is an alumnus of the coveted Nashville Healthcare Council Fellowship program, and also serves on the prestigious Medicare Evidence Development & Coverage Advisory Committee(MEDCAC). He has been recognized as a regional Healthcare Hero and Forty under 40 honoree, a senior fellow of the Society of Hospital Medicine, and a fellow of The American College of Healthcare Executives.
Dr. Vashist previously served as the Chair of the Ballad Health Clinical Council and the System Chair for Ballad Health’s Hospitalist Division leading a group of over 140 hospitalists.