Presenter Bios P-Z

Michael D. Parkinson, MD, MPH, FACPM Principal, P3 Health (Prevention, Performance, Productivity)

Past President, American College of Preventive Medicine. As Principal of P3 Health, Dr Parkinson works with national employers, organizations and innovator start-ups to improve health, reduce excessive medical costs and optimize business competitiveness. He most recently served as Senior Medical Director, Health and Productivity for UPMC Health Plan and Workpartners overseeing member and employer health, care and performance strategies and lead the December 2019 National Lifestyle Medicine Research Summit. Mike is a Past President of the American College of Preventive Medicine, the national medical specialty society of physicians trained in and committed to disease prevention and systems-based approaches to improving health and health care. He was founding principal,  EVP/Chief Health and Medical Officer of Lumenos, a national pioneer of consumer-directed health plans acquired by Anthem. A retired Air Force colonel, he served as Chief, Preventive Medicine and his final assignment was Associate Director of Medical programs and Resources in the Office of the Surgeon General. While assigned to the US Public Health Service, he provided oversight of federal programs in public health, geriatrics and preventive medicine training.  He served on the Institute of Medicine Committee evaluating NASA employee health programs, as faculty for the 14-cities Robert Wood Johnson Foundation “Aligning Forces for Quality” project, on the American Heart Association Great Rivers Affiliate Board and the American Board of Preventive Medicine. He now serves on the (DoD) Defense Health Board, University of Iowa NIOSH Midwest Center for Workforce Excellence Advisory Board and the Editorial Board of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. He obtained his AB from Cornell, MD from George Washington, family practice training at the UCLA and his MPH, preventive medicine residency and chief residency at Johns Hopkins.

Charles A. Prijatelj, Ed.D. Superintendent Altoona Area School District

Dr. Charles Prijatelj has served as the Altoona Area School District Superintendent for the past six years and has a total of ten years as a public-school superintendent. Dr. Prijatelj received his Bachelors of Science in Music Education from Duquesne University, his Masters of Music from Youngstown State University, and his Doctorate in Instructional Leadership from the University of Pittsburgh. This year is Dr. Prijatelj’s 40th year in the educational field and he has received many awards for his instrumental music programs and his administrative strengths in developing K-12 curriculum for the West Middlesex Area School District, the Tuscarora School District, and the Altoona Area School District. Faced with severe budgetary conditions, Dr. Prijatelj was integral in the development of a Health Insurance model that is based on informed decision making at the employee/patient level and transparency of cost structures at the district/employer level. Today’s discussion is designed to walk participants through the process of building a Community Partnership style program and how, by collaborating with willing healthcare professionals and health insurance consultants, a true partnership can be built to benefit both districts/companies and local healthcare providers.

David Silverstein is the founder of Amaze Health, a company he’s built following years of frustration with the existing healthcare system.

Having already built a global management consulting firm specializing in strategy, innovation and operational excellence, David has turned his attention to healthcare. He began with a non-profit (BrokenHealthcare.org), providing advocacy for patients dealing with egregious medical bills. That, in turn, drew him into public policy where, he ultimately drafted a Presidential Order that is what we now know as Hospital Price Transparency and Transparency-in-Coverage rules.

David has been trying to transform the American healthcare system for a decade, and it looks like he is well on his way to realizing many of his goals.

Megan Salvo earned a Bachelor's Degree in Exercise Science from Utah State University. After a college internship in corporate wellness, she became interested in helping people prevent unhealthy habits rather than fixing injuries and changed her focus from athletic training to corporate wellness. She maintains her Personal Training Certification and has a Fitness Nutrition Specialization.

As a health coach, Megan finds joy in helping people adopt realistic approaches to building healthier habits. The "practice makes perfect" approach helps encourage her to work with participants to find small, practical changes that can be repeated until a habit is formed a new lifestyle is adopted. Megan believes that health management means something different to everyone and works to provide others with the tools they need to realize their own goals and aspirations.

Frank Stichter serves the employee benefit needs of Colorado’s Western Slope region, consulting on the identification of innovative and compelling savings opportunities for self-funded employers, rather than traditional cost shifting.  He has over 35 years experience working with public and private sector employers and their partially self funded health plans. Frank earned the Managed Healthcare Professional (MHP) designation through the Health Insurance Association of America. He is a member of the National Association of Health Underwriters, and serves on the Board of the Colorado Hospital Association for Human Resource Management (CHAHRM). He has spoken numerous times on the subjects of Self Funding and Healthcare Risk Management programs at national conferences throughout the country, and has written a variety of articles and position papers on these topics as well.

Dr Ron Stout, M.D., MPH serves as President & CEO of the Ardmore Institute of Health (AIH), whose mission is to improve the health and vitality of people to live more meaningful lives. Previously he worked as Medical Director at Procter & Gamble (P&G), leading occupational health, pharmacovigilance, and Medical Affairs. At P&G he supported acquisitions and New Ventures including MDVIP, OTC, VMS and pharma product launches. 

Dr Stout was formerly Medical Director for Preventive Medicine and Occupational Services at Kettering Health Network in Ohio. He served in the United States Air Force (AF) as Occupational and Preventive Medicine Consultant, Principal Investigator Air Force Health Study and IMA to the office of the AF Surgeon General.

Dr Stout has served on the NIOSH Board of Medical Advisors, the Preventive Medicine Section Council of the AMA, American Board of Preventive Medicine, and numerous other private and public Boards.  He is Board Certified in Family Medicine, General Preventive Medicine & Public Health, Occupational Medicine and is a Fellow of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. His life partner Pam Stout BSN, MPH, is a Lactation Consultant, who has served as an educator, manager and hospital Director.  

ANGIE TAYLOR - Nurse Navigator at Concierge Nurse Navigators is an experienced RN with an MBA who understands that the clinical environment and the

business environment can feel like two different worlds. Her education, clinical and professional

experience blends into a unique skill set that allows her to bring these two worlds together to deliver

exceptional, quality healthcare services. She is passionate about strengthening people and working

with teams to develop solutions to complex challenges and committed to working hard to build the

internal and external relationships that are necessary to sustain an organization. She uses her

strengths to contribute to a work environment in which people feel a genuine sense of fulfillment for

their contributions and are encouraged to apply and develop themselves. 

JORDAN TARADASH - CEO PeopleOne Health

Jordan holds a BS in finance from The Pennsylvania State University, and a Masters of Public Health in Epidemiology from the University of Pittsburgh. His primary role is to drive a positively disruptive vision that meets the needs and goals of all of PeopleOne Health's stakeholders. "There is a deep and rapidly transforming relationship between organizations and the people who power those organizations. We are here to maximize the value both parties realize in that relationship."

Michael Thompson is the president and CEO of the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions (National Alliance), the only nonprofit, purchaser-led organization with a national and regional structure dedicated to driving health and healthcare value across the country.

Prior to joining the National Alliance, Mike was a Principal at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) for 20 years. He is a nationally recognized thought leader for business health strategies and health system reform. Mike has worked with major employers and other stakeholders on sustainable cost reduction, integrated health, wellness and consumerism, retiree health, private health exchanges and health reform. Known for developing and promoting collaborative cross-sector health industry initiatives, Mike participated on the steering board of the World Economic Forum’s “Working toward Wellness” initiative and co-founded the Private Exchange Evaluation Collaborative (PEEC). Prior to PwC, Mike served as an executive with diverse roles with Prudential Healthcare for over 17 years.

Mike is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, serving on the Health Practice Council, and chairs the Medicare Sub-Committee of the American Academy of Actuaries (AAA). He is also widely recognized as a leading national advocate for mental health and wellbeing and was past president of the New York City chapter of the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI). Mike previously was an active member of the board of the Northeast Business Group on Health for 11 years.

Dr. Mark Tomasulo, M.D. is a Physician/Entrepreneur/Executive with extensive experience as primary care doctor, hospitalist, managed care medical director, CEO/Founder of PeakMed Direct Primary Care and benefits consultant. 

His skills include health claim analysis, predictive modeling, implementation of wellness programs, strategic planning, business development, claim review, knowledge of multiple cost containment solutions for health care, and quality/cost issues facing employers today.

As CEO/Founder of PeakMed Direct Primary Care, Mark helped create a platform allowing doctors and patients to communicate, manage, and collaborate individualized care plans without the constraints of a broken system. PeakMed is redefining health care transparency, costs, technology, care coordination, and has created a continuum that is doctor-centered and patient-focused.

As a physician and benefits consultant, Mark provides insights, guidance and risk mitigation expertise to reduce costs and improve employee well-being and productivity. Performing a thorough analysis of population health and claims data, he identifies cost drivers and health risks and make recommendations regarding appropriate lifestyle and medical management programs and strategies. He also evaluates the quality of care being delivered and support the development of strategies to improve the health status of an employer’s population. He assists in communications with carriers and providers to negotiate claims, provides guidance in the evaluation of service vendors and acts as a resource and subject matter expert. 

John Torinus Jr. has worked as a journalist, entrepreneur, and business manager since leaving the U.S. Marine Corps, where he served as an artillery company commander. Torinus served 20 years as CEO of Serigraph Inc., a graphics parts manufacturer that owns five plants. He continues as active chairman at Serigraph and a general partner in the Wisconsin Super Angel Fund. He has served as chairman of the Wisconsin Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, Competitive Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, and West Bend Friends of Sculpture. He has written two books on the economics of health care and served on several task forces to reform health care delivery. He holds a baccalaureate in industrial administration from Yale and a master’s degree in international relations from the University of Stockholm. Torinus was a columnist for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, where he served as a business editor, and his hometown paper, the Daily News in West Bend, Wisconsin, where he served as editor and general manager for eleven years. Over the past 30 years, he has been a director or co-chaired a number of health care cost commissions or organizations. His blog can be found at www.johntorinus.com.

Matthew VanderKooi's business experience includes over 20 years in industry and physical therapy practice. He has pursued and achieved specialization in his field. He has taught, consulted and lectured regionally and nationally in the university, professional association, and business settings. In 2002, Matt founded NewLife Physical Therapy which has grown to multiple clinical practices. In 2007 he co-founded Solveglobal LLC which helps regional and national employers control MSD related health care spending. Experience as a business owner, a consumer, a clinician and acumen honed by working directly with employers from multiple settings have given Matt a full spectrum view of health care. His passion to change the health care experience, to improve our populations’ health, and to lower health care costs has driven him to seek, develop, and implement entrepreneurial and innovative solutions for employers and consumers. 

Rachel Van Meeteren first started her coaching career with Orriant in 2012. She quickly saw that relationships were vital to her client's success. Her vision is to help her clients live meaningful lives by guiding them to change how they show up for themselves. For her, well-being is more than just eating right and exercising; it's about being present with our minds, bodies, and life experiences. Rachel has her Bachelor's Degree in Exercise Sciences, and her educational expertise includes Exercise Prescription, Nutrition for a Healthy Lifestyle, Positive Psychology, and Mindfulness. She is working towards earning her Master's Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Her goal is to be a Licensed Mental Health Counselor so she can continue teaching people how to live the life they envision.

Andrea Werner is a Senior Vice President for Population Health Strategy & Transformation at Bellin Health in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Bellin Health serves a market of over 400,000 people across Northeastern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, with a mission and vision centered around all people in our region being the healthiest during every stage of their lives and our communities will thrive.

Bellin is comprised of a 244-bed community hospital with proven excellence in heart and vascular care, Bellin Medical Group, Bellin Specialty Group, Bellin Psychiatric Center, Employer clinics, FastCare retail clinics, and Bellin Health Partners, Inc.

As a Senior Vice President of Population Health Strategy & Transformation, Andrea is leading the system transformation into a population health organization. Areas of responsibility include Business and Community Health; Digital Care Strategies; Marketing and Communications; Learning and Innovation Center; Care Beyond Walls; Contact Center; and Lifestyle Medicine. Prior to this, Andrea has 13 years of experience as the senior leader of cardiovascular care, orthopedics and sports medicine, neurosciences, and system diagnostics.

Andrea has her BSW from Marquette University, MSW from The University of Iowa, and completed The Improvement Advisor Training Program with The Institute for Healthcare Improvement in Boston, Massachusetts. Andrea has worked at Bellin for 25 years. (started in 1997)

Dale West is Currently CFO for Hendry Marine Industries, Inc. He has been an employee with HMI since 9/1/2016. Dale has been a senior executive with experience in finance, accounting, operations, and business development, including start-up operations.

Dale attended college in Ohio and received his Master of Accounting Science from the University of Illinois. Dale is a partner with the Florida CFO Group whose members share and communicate a wealth of financial and accounting knowledge across multiple markets and industries, encouraging and providing fractional CFO opportunities. 

Since 2017, Hendry Marine Industries has been taking significant steps to control and reduce health care costs, including Self-Fund Medical Plan with a TPA, Reference-Based Pricing, and Pharmacy Carve-Out. Dale was fortunate to have a knowledgeable broker, willing to show alternatives. However, in the process it was surprising as to how many CFO’s & CEO’s in network were unaware of reference based pricing or pharmacy carve-out options. Dale’s interest in working with ACHRM was to be able to stay on top of cost management options and to be involved in efforts to educate CFO’s and CEO’s on Health Risk Management opportunities/solutions.

Dr. M.A. “Tonette” Krousel-Wood is President of the American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM),  a Professor of Medicine in the Tulane School of Medicine, a Professor of Epidemiology in the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, and serves in several leadership roles at Tulane including the Associate Provost for the Health Sciences, Senior Associate Dean of Faculty, and Associate Dean for Public Health and Medical Education.

She has a long-standing commitment to and engagement with the field of Preventive Medicine. She served for 12 years as the Program Director for Tulane’s General Preventive Medicine and Public Health Residency Program including co-director of the combined Preventive Medicine/Internal Medicine Residency Program, as a member of the ACPM board of regents, as a member on the American Board of Preventive Medicine for 9 years concluding her final 3 years of service as Chair/President of the ABPM, and as a representative from the field on numerous national platforms including the American Board of Medical Specialties.

As a NIH-funded physician-scientist, she engages in clinical research and clinical trials focused on adherence to prescribed therapies, management of hypertension, health services and outcomes in patients with chronic cardiometabolic diseases. She has presented her research findings at regional, national, and international meetings and has collectively published over 150 peer-reviewed articles, reports and book chapters.

She is committed to training the next generation of scientists and academic leaders and leads pre- and post-doctoral career development programs including serving as the Principal Investigator and Research Director for the NIH K12 Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health (BIRCWH) faculty career development award and Principal Investigator for the Tulane Stimulating Access to Research in Residency (StARR) (R38). She also leads the MD/MPH program at Tulane—it is one of the oldest and largest programs of its kind in the US with over 1000 graduates since inception and serves as a model for combined medical and public health training of future physicians nationwide.

With a strong commitment to community and underserved populations, she partners with Federally Qualified Health Centers and Xavier University (historically black catholic college) in Louisiana and serves as the contact Principal Investigator for the NIH funded Louisiana Community Engagement Alliance against COVID 19 Disparities also known as LA CEAL. In addition, she is the principal investigator on NIH-funded clinical trial to evaluate innovation methods to improve medication adherence among older adults with uncontrolled hypertension.

A fellow of the American College of Preventive Medicine and Fellow of the American Heart Association,

she has held numerous leadership positions nationally including past President of the American Board of Preventive Medicine, past President of Delta Omega national public health honorary society, past member and Chair of the National Institutes of Health Study Section, Health Services Organization and Delivery, and past member of the National Institutes of Health Center for Scientific Review (NIH-CSR) Advisory Council.

Jessica Brooks-Woods is the President & CEO of the Pittsburgh Business Group on Health, where she has led the effort to redefine and advance healthcare value, access, equity, and quality on behalf of employers for over eight years. Under her leadership, PBGH has enjoyed consistent financial gains, delivering more than $30 million in annual savings to employers, as well as intervention programs, which have saved employees more than $6 million in copays and out-of-pocket expenses. She has been referred to as the “Velvet Hammer” in Healthcare-a term she fully embraces as she advocates for value on behalf of us all. Jessica founded E.A.R.N & EARN Staffing Solutions as a crucial full-service DE&I centered consulting and talent placement firm for the business community. She is a graduate of the Pennsylvania State University Smeal College of Business, and Carnegie Mellon University, where she received her Master’s in Public Management. Jessica serves on many boards including Maitri Medicinals, the University of Pittsburgh Institute of Entrepreneurial Excellence, Adagio Health, the Patient Health Action Network. She also serves as an appointee to the Pennsylvania Health Insurance Exchange, Pennie. Over the years, Jessica has received many awards and recognitions for her achievements. To name a few, in 2022, she was selected as City and State PA’s 40 under 40 in Pennsylvania, named one of Pittsburgh’s Power 100 by City and State PA, and recognized by the Pittsburgh Business Times as a Power 100 leader; and in 2019, Jessica received recognition as one of the most Influential Women by the Pittsburgh Business Times. Be sure to look out for the release of a book she is co-authoring, “Race Forward: An Employers Guide to Health Equity”, available fall 2022. She is the proud wife of Marlin Woods and mother of four children - Jesse, Jace, Zi, and Marlin, Jr.