Rise

Megan Bair CEO

Central Susquehanna Opportunities

Megan Bair is the Chief Executive Officer of Central Susquehanna Opportunities (CSO), a community action agency serving nine counties in Central Pennsylvania. With 25 years of dedication to CSO, Megan has led initiatives that empower individuals and strengthen communities through workforce development and economic opportunity programs. Under her leadership, CSO has forged impactful partnerships, including a collaboration with Geisinger Health to launch a mobile food pantry, bringing critical resources to underserved populations across the region. Megan holds a Bachelor of Science in Sociology from York College and is passionate about creating innovative solutions that promote equity, sustainability, and community growth.

Laura Carroll Rural Storyteller, Social Drivers of Health Champion, Patient Advisor

Laura Carroll is a patient and consumer experience advisor that focuses on integrated healthcare, social determinants/ drivers of health (SDOH), and complex care in rural Colorado and the United States. A natural storyteller, she openly shares real life experiences and challenges from her own life and community with corporations and agencies to facilitate better physical, mental, and social healthcare for all. 
 
Laura is the president of the State of Colorado Medicaid Medical Services Board, and also serves on the Nourish Colorado Advisory Board, Kyruus Health’s Patient and Family Advisory Council, The Center to Advance Consumer Partnership’s Consumer Advisory Panel, the Camden Coalition's INSPIRE Core Team and the Colorado Blueprint to End Hunger's Community Voice Commitee. She enjoys bringing her down to earth approach to speaking engagements, facilitated panels, and research projects nationwide. 
 
Laura lives in a small agricultural community of less than 1,500 people where she volunteers with the Colorado Master Gardeners, gleans produce for local food pantries with UpRoot Colorado, and explores the wilderness with her husband, son, and little dog, Mari. 

Dr. Shannon Decker Founder & CEO

VBC One

Dr. Shannon Decker is Founder & CEO 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 25 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 25 years of experience in healthcare--17 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 in the social and behavioral sciences 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 social and behavioral theories may be brought to bear in value based care and population health management as a whole. 

Tina Dueringer CEO, Principal Advisor

Dueringer Advisors, Inc.

Tina Dueringer, BSN, RN, CCM, PCC, is the CEO and Principal Advisor at Dueringer Advisors Inc., a distinguished consulting firm dedicated to supporting health plans, vendors, and leaders in the health insurance and provider sectors. With a robust background spanning Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, Duals, ACA, and commercial markets, Tina brings extensive expertise in care management, utilization management, clinical quality, Model of Care development, Stars ratings, HEDIS measures, and accreditation standards such as NCQA and URAC. 

Tina's career is marked by strategic insights into health plan operations, including strategic planning, joint ventures, partnerships, delegated relationships, and the advancement of value-based care models. She is deeply committed to advancing Health Equity, Population Health, and integrated care initiatives across the industry. 

Previously, Tina served as Vice President of Clinical Quality and Stars at Rebellis Group, specializing in Medicare Advantage and government consulting. Her leadership journey includes pivotal roles at Cityblock, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Medicaid Policy Division. 

Tina earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and holds a post-graduate certification in Population Care Coordination from Duke University. She is also a Board-Certified Case Manager (CCM), underscoring her dedication to enhancing healthcare delivery and outcomes through comprehensive care coordination strategies. 

Ellen Fink-Samnick Wholistic Health Equity Strategist, Content Developer, Educator

EFS Supervision Strategies, LLC

Dr. Ellen Fink-Samnick is an award-winning industry entrepreneur who empowers healthcare's interprofessional workforce. She is a subject matter expert on Ethics, Health Equity, Integrated Care, Interprofessional Teams, Professional Case Management, Quality, and Trauma-informed Leadership. Dr. Fink-Samnick is the author of a number of professional titles including the recently published The Ethical Case Manager: Tools and Tactics, The Social Determinants of Health: Case Management’s Next Frontier and End of Life Care for Case Management. 

Dr. Fink-Samnick has a Doctorate in Behavioral Health with specialization in Health Equity, Integrated Care, Quality, Leadership, and Trauma-Informed Practice. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Board-certified Case Manager, and Certified Clinical Trauma Professional. Dr. Fink-Samnick has been inducted as a Fellow in Case Management, as well as a member of the academic honor society, Delta Epsilon Tau. 

Dr. Fink-Samnick serves the industry through a variety of roles with academic appointments at Cummings Graduate Institute of Behavioral Health Studies, George Mason University’s College of Public Health, and the University of Buffalo School of Social Work. She is a clinical supervision trainer and instructor for the National Association of Social Workers of Virginia and Metro DC, moderator of Ellen’s Ethical Lens on LinkedIn, and author of the blog, Ellen’s Interprofessional Insights. She is also a consultant for the Case Management Institute and moderator of their Case Managers Community. Dr. Fink-Samnick is also Editor of the Heartbeat of Case Management Column for Wolters Kluwer’s Professional Case Management Journal. 

​Dr. Fink-Samnick is known for her fierce professional voice. Along with leadership and committee roles across credentialing entities and professional associations, she has shared her expertise with the Gravity Project, National Coalition for Social Work and Health, and RISE Association. She is a board consultant to the American Association of Doctors of Behavioral Health, and editorial board member for the Professional Case Management Journal, Further information is available on her LinkedIn Profile. 

Kristin Haluch Board Member

US Hunger

Brandi Jack

Nashville Diaper Connection

Brandi Jack is a seasoned professional with extensive experience in working with young families and building community. As the Chief Operating Officer of Nashville Diaper Connection, she plays a pivotal role in overseeing the organization's daily operations and strategic initiatives. With a strong background in program management and community engagement, Brandi is dedicated to improving the lives of families in need through the provision of essential resources. Her passion for social impact drives her commitment to excellence in service delivery and sustainable organizational growth. 

Kim Prendergast VP, Policy & Strategy

Community Care Cooperative

Kim Prendergast is Vice President for Policy for Community Care Cooperative (C3). a Federally Qualified Health Center-led Accountable Care Organization (ACO). In this role, she leads the ACO’s strategic and policy initiatives to support FQHCs across six states and the District of Columbia to leverage value-based payments and address social drivers of health to improve health equity and health outcomes.  Kim joined the organization in 2019 and has been the architect of C3’s work to identify and address health-related social needs through partnerships across the healthcare and social services sectors. She designed and implemented C3’s $25M Medicaid-funded Flexible Services program in Massachusetts which improves health outcomes and reduces health care costs. Kim is passionate about sharing these successful approaches to value-based care, partnerships and social health programs to expand primary care to advance health equity.  

Prior to joining C3, Kim spent two decades addressing food insecurity and health with Feeding America through roles in public policy, nutrition programs, and healthcare partnership consulting. Kim is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist with a BS in Dietetics from Purdue University and has a Master of Public Policy from the University of Chicago.  She lives in the Boston area.  

Maria Welch Director of Community Health and Social Needs

Geisinger Steele Institute for Innovation

Maria Welch is a Director of Community Health and Social Needs with the Geisinger Steele Institute for Innovation. Maria has been with Geisinger for over 10 years and currently leads the clinical and health plan organization’s Social Determinants of Health strategy, that includes the identification of social needs, connection to local community resources and the creation of new programs to support members and patients. Additionally, Maria leads the Health Equity strategy for the Geisinger Health Plan. to A native of Pennsylvania, Maria earned her B.S. in Biology from Juniata College and her M.P.H. from West Chester University of Pennsylvania.

Rick Whitted CEO

U.S. Hunger

Rick Whitted is the President & Chief Executive Officer at U.S. Hunger, a global nonprofit whose mission is feeding families today and uniting them to a healthier tomorrow. In total, U.S. Hunger (USH) has provided over 150 million meals to families in need. Before his appointment as CEO in March 2020, Rick served on USH’s board of directors. Rick has overseen the launch of several of the organization’s initiatives: expanding home delivery of fresh produce into its supply chain; aligning its Full Cart® program with the Centers for Medicare/Medicaid Services’ (CMS) health equity framework; and, developing a cloud based SaaS solution that uses A.I. and Machine Learning to identify root causes of food insecurity in the U.S. and provide real-time actionable intelligence on social determinants of health (SDOH). Rick is a graduate of Stetson University and Nova Southern University where he received a BA in Political Sciences/American Studies, and an MBA, Business Administration and Management, respectively. Prior to joining USH, he spent 27 multi-faceted years in banking; focusing on small business, government and non-profit banking. He is also an accomplished author and speaker with expertise in leadership, workplace culture and individual and team development.