I & A Specialist - Aging and Disability Resource Center of Dane County

Abigail is a Social Worker at the Aging and Disability Resource Center since 2009. First at the ADRC of Sauk County and now at the ADRC of Dane County. Abigail enjoys working at the ADRC for many reasons. Firstly, due to the welcoming environment the ADRC provides to customers. Also, as it is the place to go to get accurate, unbiased information on all aspects of life related to aging or living with a disability. Lastly, the ADRC is a one-stop shop for older adults, people with disabilities and their caregivers and families.

Navigator Program Manager - Covering Wisconsin

Adam VanSpankeren joined the CWI team in June 2016, becoming the Southwest Regional Navigator Lead. He is responsible for coordinating Navigator and outreach efforts and for providing direct assistance to consumers.

Before coming to CWI, Adam was the Partner Outreach Coordinator for the State of Wisconsin Department of Health Services for three years. Adam graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2010 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Creative Writing.

Director of Marketplace Products - Quartz Health Solutions

Angela began her career at Quartz in 2011. As Director of Marketplace Products, she has responsibility for product development, implementation, and performance of Quartz's Individual and Family Plans. Under her leadership, Quartz has successfully launched Marketplace products in three states, including federal and state-based marketplaces, and has experienced membership growth through product enhancements and geographic expansions.

Angela earned her bachelor's degree in mathematics from Lewis University and is currently pursuing her Master of Business Administration degree through the University of Wisconsin's MBA Consortium. She currently resides in Chicagoland with her husband and three daughters.

Community Outreach Coordinator - Bridge Community Health Clinic

AyLee Her is the Community Outreach Coordinator at Bridge Community Health Clinic in Wausau, Wisconsin. He has been involved with organizations that serve the underserved and vulnerable population and currently serves on the board of The Neighbor’s Place and recently as a member of the Citizens Advisory Committee for the city of Wausau. AyLee has been helping consumers find health care coverage through the health insurance marketplace as a Certified Application Counselor since 2014.

Plan President - Molina Healthcare of Wisconsin

Brian joined Molina in December 2020 and served with Molina’s Business Development team at the national headquarters in Long Beach, Calif. In May 2021, Brian was named Plan President of Molina Healthcare of Wisconsin.

Brian brings decades of health care leadership and a dedicated focus on meeting provider needs that connect underserved populations to quality health care. Recognized for his collaborative style, Brian has successfully led the development of interdisciplinary partnerships between hospitals and physicians, creating clinically integrated networks that increase access and deliver improved health outcomes

CEO - Commond Ground Healthcare Cooperative

Cathy Mahaffey is a 29-year veteran of the health insurance industry, starting her career in insurance upon her college graduation. Cathy helped found, and later served as the Executive Director of the Farmers’ Health Cooperative of Wisconsin, a nonprofit health insurance purchasing cooperative that was successful in helping thousands of Wisconsin farmers gain access to high quality health insurance coverage.

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.

Independent Consultant

Director of Health Plan Products - Security Health Plan

Erin Long is the director of health plan products at Security Health Plan. She has been working in the healthcare industry for fourteen years, with a primary focus on digital experience redesign initiatives, member engagement solutions and health insurance product development.

Erin oversees Security’s product development and implementation teams with the goal of driving innovation and growth while adhering 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.

Vice President - Health Insurance Economics

Jeremy Ott has been with WPS since 2002 and has been in his current role as the Vice President, Health Insurance Economics since March 2016. In his current role, he oversees a cross-functional team that is focused on developing and implementing innovative strategies to lower the cost of healthcare and improve the member experience.

His team delivers quality health and ancillary insurance to thousands of WPS and WPS Health Plan members. Prior to his current role, Jeremy has held positions in underwriting and sales giving him a unique perspective on healthcare.

State Medicaid Director - Wisconsin Department of Health Services

Jim Jones was appointed as Wisconsin’s Medicaid Director in February 2019. He has worked on health coverage and human service programs for over 40 years. As the Medicaid Director, Jim leads multiple programs for Wisconsin that serve nearly 1.5 million members with an annual budget of $12 billion dollars.

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 31 years before consulting, Jim worked for the State of Wisconsin, including four years as Wisconsin’s Deputy State Medicaid Director and SNAP Director.

Outreach and Enrollment Coordinator - Partnership Community Health Center

Ms. Garvey is a leader in community-based outreach, health literacy and health insurance programs that reach high risk and vulnerable populations. Her work as a Navigator is centered on using innovative ways to advocate, educate, engage and mobilize people around the importance of “coverage to care.” She shares her expertise and passion by supporting enrollment assisters at community health centers around the state under the Wisconsin Primary Care Association.

Prior to her work at PCHC, she was a hobby farmer, swim mom and gardener who didn’t understand health insurance and had no idea what she was getting into! She looks forward to retiring with chickens.

Program Director - Milwaukee Enrollment Network

Justin Rivas leads community health initiatives for the Milwaukee Health Care Partnership, aiming to improve health outcomes and advance health equity through community-wide collaboration. In addition to overseeing Community Health Needs Assessment planning and Health Compass Milwaukee, Justin supports the Partnership’s Racial and Health Equity Council and serves as the program director for the Milwaukee Enrollment Network.

Legal Services Manager - Greater Wisconsin Agency on Aging Resources, Inc.

Attorney Kate Schilling is the Legal Services Manager at Greater Wisconsin Agency on Aging Resources, Inc., where she oversees the Senior Medicare Patrol, the Wisconsin Guardianship Support Center, and the Elder Benefit Specialist Supervising Attorney program. She works predominantly in the areas of elder law, public benefits, and consumer law.

Previously, she was in private practice in New Richmond, Wisconsin, where she practiced in estate planning, Medicaid benefits, guardianship, and general civil litigation. She is also a volunteer at high school mock trial events, local free legal clinics, and Wills for Heroes. Kate is also the proud parent of a nine-year-old son with special healthcare needs.

Supervisor - Outagamie County Economic Support

Kha Vang is currently a supervisor with Outagamie County Economic Support. The division of Economic Support determines eligibility for Badger Care Plus, Child Care, Food Share and Medicaid programs. Kha trained new Economic Support Specialist on policy and procedures and worked as an Economic Support Specialist for over 10 years.

Lead Hmong Coordinator - Hmong and Hispanic Communication Network (H2N)

Mang Xiong was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and is the third oldest of 11 siblings. She grew up in the nonprofit world and has over 20 years of experience in different capacities with health advocacy as one of her biggest passions. She is the lead Hmong coordinator for the H2N project located in Central Wisconsin where she now resides with her husband and two young children.

Mang is also the Interim Executive Director (first female ever in this role) for a Hmong statewide coalition WUCMAA leading important mental health initiatives with her nonprofit members. She looks forward to continuing her journey in advocacy for health equity for our underserved communities in Wisconsin.

Hispanic Community Coordinator - Hmong and Hispanic Communication Network (H2N)

Mariana Savela was born and raised in Mexico City and moved to Wisconsin in December 2009. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. She is Bilingual in English and Spanish. She has vast experience in public health and has been interpreting for the nonprofit sector.

She shows great compassion and commitment with her ongoing involvement and advocacy for the Hispanic community. She is a Hispanic Community Coordinator and proud to lead the H2N project along with many other projects with community organizations.

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 165,000 Medicaid and Marketplace members. With over 150,000 Medicaid members, CCHP is the second largest Medicaid health plan in the state. CCHP has a network of over 10,000 providers and over 75 hospitals, and routinely exceeds its competitors’ HEDIS and CAHPS scores.

CCHP’s high-touch philosophy means continuous outreach to members to ensure they receive needed services, and that the plan addresses these needs in a timely and cost-effective manner. CCHP staff is focused on each interaction with a member or provider and continually strives to exceed customer—not shareholder—expectations.

Director of Advocacy & Outreach - Feeding America of Eastern Wisconsin

Martha Collins is a long-time resident of the City of Milwaukee. For nearly two decades, she has dedicated her career to working for nonprofit advocacy organizations that focused on building power within marginalized communities.

Martha has over five years of food banking experience. Currently, she is the Director of Advocacy & Outreach for Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, the largest hunger relief organization in the state operating food banks in Milwaukee and the Fox Valley. In her role, Martha leads advocacy efforts that make our state and national policy response to hunger stronger, more effective and more just by influencing decision-makers, engaging community voices in the policy-making process, and building political power in the communities served.

Deputy Commissioner of Insurance - Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance

Commissioner Afable appointed Nathan Houdek as Deputy Commissioner of Insurance for the State of Wisconsin in January 2019.

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. He has also served as chief of staff for the current minority leader in the Wisconsin State Senate and as a principal at one of Wisconsin's largest public affairs consulting firms.

Policy Analyst - Department of Health Services

Nikki Biddick is a policy analyst at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS). Nikki currently works in the Enrollment and Outreach section focusing on Elderly, Blind and Disabled (EBD) and Long Term Care (LTC) customers.

Prior to joining the Enrollment and Outreach section, she worked in the Income Maintenance Training section focused primarily on training EBD and LTC Medicaid to new Income Maintenance workers. She has worked at DHS since 2015. Prior to joining DHS, Nikki worked as an economic support specialist at Iowa County from 2004-2015.

Development Director

Partnership Community Health Center

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.

CEO - Wisconsin Primary Health Care Association

Stephanie Harrison, MA, is the CEO of the Wisconsin Primary Health Care Association, the membership association for Wisconsin’s Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs, aka, Community Health Centers). Ms. Harrison served as chair of the national Primary Care Association Leadership Committee, and currently serves on the boards of Wisconsin Health+, the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment and the Wisconsin Early Childhood Association.

She was a founding member of Wisconsin Partners, a community building network focused on building enduring broad-based relationships that make bold action possible. In addition, she was a fellow in the National Public Health Leadership Institute, Cycle 17. She has a Bachelor’s degree from St. Olaf College and Master of Arts degree from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.

Director of Health Insurance and Marketplace Policy - Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP)

Tara Straw is the Director of Health Insurance and Marketplace Policy of the Health Policy division. She primarily focuses on tax-related health issues, including the Affordable Care Act’s premium tax credit, employer-sponsored health coverage, and health reimbursement arrangements. She leads the Center’s Beyond the Basics project to train enrollment assisters on health insurance marketplace operations and enrollment 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

Elder Benefit Specialist - Area Agency on Aging (AAA) of Dane County

Tiffany Scully has worked as an Elder Benefit Specialist with the Area Agency on Aging (AAA) of Dane County for over 8 years, assisting adults age 60 and older with navigating complex public and private benefit-related issues.

Prior to joining AAA, Tiffany worked as a social worker in hospital, home health, and community-based service settings where she helped older adults and adults with disabilities access Medicaid, Social Security, and other available benefits. She received both an undergraduate and a Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she taught a course on Health, Aging, and Disability Policy and Services.

Medigap Helpline Services Supervisor - Board on Aging and Long Term Care

Vicki Buchholz is the Medigap Helpline Services Supervisor at the Board on Aging & Long Term Care. Services include the Medigap Helpline and the Medigap Part D & Prescription Drug Helpline, both a part of the Wisconsin SHIP program. The counselors provide information and counseling to beneficiaries and other professionals on Medicare eligibility and coverage as well as on other related health insurance coverage options.

Disability Benefit Specialist - Outagamie County Aging and Disability Resource Center

Xai Thao has been in the position of Disability Benefit Specialist (DBS) for the Outagamie County Aging and Disability Resource Center since 2011. As a DBS, Xai’s goal is to provide excellent customer service and advocacy for those who need assistance in navigating a complex public benefits system. As a second generation Hmong-American, he recognizes the challenges that exist for the Hmong in accessing public benefits and programs therefore he looks to provide help and support in any way possible.

Outside of work, he is an avid fan of the NBA and NFL, he roots for the Milwaukee Bucks and Green Bay Packers, enjoys traveling and seeing new places, and most of all spending quality time with his wife and children.