Speakers & Faculty

Aaron joined Vista Care in 2024 to help lead the development of the next wave of tech-enabled I/DD services. Before Vista Care, he founded Mox Capital, where he partnered with innovative healthcare companies focused on reducing costs and enhancing outcomes. Aaron also served as Head of Healthcare and Life Sciences at Kingfish Group, where he sourced investment opportunities and drove strategic growth for portfolio companies. He holds a BA from Stanford University and a Master’s Degree from Oxford University.

Jennifer Black is a behavioral health executive with more than 28 years of experience advancing whole-person health solutions. As a business development leader at Carelon Behavioral Health, she drives growth strategy and partners with health plans, employers, and government agencies. As a licensed clinician, she brings expertise from state government and nonprofit care delivery to her work, ensuring outcomes remain at the heart of every initiative.

Nora Bock serves as the Director of the Division of Behavioral Health at the Missouri Department of Mental Health. She is a recognized behavioral health leader focused on strengthening public mental health systems through cross sector partnerships. Her work spans community-based prevention, treatment, and recovery services, as well as forensic services, hospital oversight, and innovative public-private collaborations that increase access and improve outcomes across complex public behavioral health environments.

Nick Boukas is the Director of Behavioral Health Services at the New Mexico Health Care Authority.  Mr. Boukas has served in various roles in public service for city, county, regional and state government agencies and national organizations working with the CDC and other Federal agencies on policy and programs. He has been an invited speaker to national and regional conferences speaking on various topics ranging from workforce development to
community engagement. Prior to his appointment in 2023, Mr. Boukas worked at the New Mexico Department of Health. His focus has been to strengthen the behavioral health system to make New Mexico a healthier place.  He has a Masters Degree in Public Administration and lives in Santa Fe with his wife and dogs.

Janet Butler has developed and led residential and individualized support programs for over 35 years, primarily with Community Systems, where she is the CEO and President.  Her innovative thinking and dedication to the discovery of each person’s definition of their own happiness have led to scores of remarkable success stories, most notably with persons considered too challenging to ever enjoy community success or live independently.

Ms. Butler received her degree in nursing and later a BS in Nonprofit Management from Skidmore College.  She was the Executive Director of Community Systems, Inc. in Massachusetts for more than 20 years, starting the operations and growing the organization to support 250 individuals with more than 350 staff. 

Janet assumed the role of CEO upon the retirement of the founders at CSI, who had filled their roles for more than 30 years. Prior to this role, she worked as a nurse in acute care and helped develop one of the first hospice services in southeastern Massachusetts when it was strictly charity responsibility. 

Community Systems, Inc. is a group of nonprofit organizations providing support to persons with disabilities in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Virginia, and Delaware.  The organization operates primarily in the ID/DD  but also provides brain injury services, including to disabled veterans.   For the last 15 years, the primary focus of her role has been to help build leaders.

Grant Chamberlain joined Ziegler in 2015 as a managing director in the Healthcare Investment Banking Practice. With over 25 years of investment banking experience, Grant has dedicated the majority of his career to advising HCIT and tech-enabled outsourced services companies with particular focus on transactions with telehealth companies such as Vimly, CXC, TM2U, Somnoware, Avera eCare, Philips Lifeline / ConnectAmerica, Tridiuum, Anelto, SmartMeter, CancerIQ, Validic, Doctible, CentralLogic, SCI, Regroup, Forefront, Basys, Airstrip, Forefront, IRIS, MDLIVE and Voalte.

Prior to Ziegler, Grant led the mHealth sector coverage at Raymond James – which included telehealth, remote monitoring and wireless healthcare solutions – after spending 25 years advising HCIT and tech-enabled outsourced services companies on a broad variety of M&A, joint ventures/partnerships and private financings. Additionally, Grant has completed dozens of transactions in the physician practice management space with a specific concentration in oncology, having closed over 15 deals in that sector in his career.

Prior to Raymond James, Grant was a principal at Shattuck Hammond Partners, which was acquired by Morgan Keegan. He was also a part of the corporate finance group of General Electric Capital Corporation and the financial services division of GE Medical Systems.

In addition, Grant is an elected Director of the ATA, the leading international advocate for the use of advanced remote medical technologies. He is also on the Board of Directors for The MAVEN Project, which uses telehealth and a network of volunteer physicians affiliated with the nation’s foremost medical school alumni associations to improve healthcare access for underserved populations.

Grant earned a B.A. in finance and investment banking from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Justin is a nationally recognized subject matter expert in crisis systems, recovery-oriented systems of care, peer integration, non-profit organizational leadership and development. His expertise also includes developing sustainable, effective and efficient healthcare programs and systems. He has served as a behavioral health administrator, executive, network/program developer, direct practitioner and project manager within the public behavioral health and child welfare system for more than 15 years. 

Justin earned Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Social Work from Arizona State University and holds a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Duke University. Justin is a Licensed Master Social Worker in the State of Arizona, Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality, Certified Six Sigma Green Belt, Certified Peer Support Specialist in the State of Arizona, Certified Crisis Interventionist by the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress and a Fellow with the National Center for Crisis Management and the American College of Healthcare Executives. Justin also serves on the International Council for Helplines Board of Directors. 

Jennifer Craig, MA, MS, LPC, LCPC, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, serves as President and CEO of ReDiscover, an innovative Certified Community Behavioral Health Organization dedicated to serving individuals and families throughout Jackson County, Missouri, in the Kansas City metropolitan region.

With more than 30 years of leadership and clinical experience in behavioral health, Jennifer has worked in community-based, residential, and outpatient settings as both a therapist and senior administrator. Her career reflects a deep commitment to expanding access to high-quality mental health services while strengthening organizational excellence.

Jennifer earned her Bachelor of Science from Northwestern University, her Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and her Master of Science in Organization and Management with a specialization in Human Resource Management from Capella University. She is licensed as a Professional Counselor (LPC) in Missouri and a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) in Illinois. In addition, she holds the Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and the Society for Human Resource Management Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) credentials, reflecting her dual expertise in clinical leadership and organizational strategy.

A dedicated community leader, Jennifer serves on numerous boards and commissions. She is Chair of the Lee’s Summit Wellness Commission, Chair of CommCARE, and Secretary/Treasurer of the Metro Council of Community Behavioral Health Centers. She also serves on the following boards: Missouri Behavioral Health Council, the Greater Lee’s Summit Healthcare Foundation, the Lee’s Summit Civic Roundtable, Pro Deo Youth Center, and St. Luke’s Hospital Crittenton Children’s Center.

Previously, Jennifer served on the board of the Illinois Association for Behavioral Health and the Lee’s Summit Chamber of Commerce. She is a former member of the Illinois Counseling Association’s Governing Council and Past President of its Lewis and Clark Chapter. Her professional affiliations include Mental Health Corporations of America, OPEN MINDS, the Society for Human Resource Management, and Rotary International.

Through her integrated expertise in clinical care, executive leadership, and human capital strategy, Jennifer is recognized for advancing sustainable behavioral health systems and fostering strong community partnerships.

Sal DeTrane co-founded Empactful Capital with a penchant for strategy, growth planning and operational execution, skill which he honed over his 25 years of experience spanning roles in venture capital, business development, organizational development, operations, and finance.

Sal’s passion for advising technology-focused, early and growth stage entrepreneurs came into focus when he moved to Silicon Valley in 1996. In late 2001, he co-founded Nucleus Partners to serve as a venture capital and catalyst firm for seed and early-stage technology businesses – it was here that Sal pioneered the approach of a “working engagement” diligence model. Sal led Nucleus’ investment in Mede Analytics, the nation’s largest privately held health care analytics business, a company which he went on to run for 12 years as the #2 executive. During this time, Sal gained valuable direct P&L and operational experience. He was instrumental in Mede’s revenue growth in both the hospital and payer markets. This market/product strategy led to Mede’s growth from $3 million to over $120 million in revenues. Thoma Bravo acquired Mede as it prepared for its IPO in 2015.

Prior to Nucleus, Sal co-managed nearly $50 million of committed capital at The Angels’ Forum after successfully building a technology investment banking practice in Silicon Valley.

Bolstered by a history of developing and managing relationships across the healthcare ecosystem, Sal sits on the boards of several early/growth stage healthcare IT companies.

A die-hard Philly sports fan, Sal currently splits his time between Bucks County, PA and the Bay Area. Sal graduated Summa Cum Laude with his B.S. in Business Administration, with an emphasis in Accounting, from Temple University. Sal currently serves on Temple University’s President’s Council and the Dean’s Council for the Fox Business School where he is also assisting with the development of a Venture Capital and Private Equity Institute.

Anthony Grimaldi, is a behavioral healthcare executive with over 29 years of experience in the designing, building, and operating of multi-site healthcare facilities. He is also widely known for his skills in strategic planning. He has comprehensive experience with revenue cycle management, operational budget and revenue modeling, clinical implementation programming, and a working knowledge of state and federal licensing and accreditation agencies including CARF, DNV, TJC, URAC, NCQA, OASAS, OMH, and DOH. Anthony has extensive experience managing numerous accreditation projects nationwide with each facility granted approval accreditation during the first survey. Additionally, Mr. Grimaldi has developed and managed multi-million-dollar budgets, formulated corporate-wide strategic plans, developed and implemented quality improvement programs, and implemented EMR (including EPIC) systems for numerous large organizations. As a passionate servant leader, he integrates throughout his work, thought and change leadership principles alongside situational leadership theory, allowing him to faithfully remain both mission and margin focused. His passion is to work within a team model, develop strategic plans, and provide the resources necessary for a successful business. Anthony holds a masters degree in Clinical Psychology from Southern Illinois University, and a bachelors degree from Washington University in St. Louis. Anthony is a member of the NCHA, NC MCO Provider Council, Robeson County Substance Awareness Task Force, and i2i Center for Integrative Health.

Rochelle Head-Dunham, MD, DFAPA, FASAM, an Endowed Professor at LSU School of Medicine, is an Addiction Psychiatrist with academic appointments as Clinical Associate Professor and Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at LSU and Tulane University Schools of Medicine, respectively. Her past immediate appointments were Assistant Secretary and Medical Director for the Office of Behavioral Health (OBH) within the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH). In that capacity, she represented the state of Louisiana nationally as the Mental Health and Addictive Disorders Authority, serving as both the Commissioner of Mental Health for the National Association of Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD), and the Single State Agency Director for the National Association of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors (NASADAD).

Dr. Head-Dunham’s academic and administrative leadership has fostered noteworthy advances in the fields of addiction and mental health. She has served as a subject matter expert on various national and state platforms informing best practices for the field of behavioral health. Her clinical accolades include Clinical Faculty of the Year for the 2021 academic year at LSU School of Medicine. In 2019 she was the recipient of the Nyswander/Dole Award from the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence, INC. (AATOD). Both awards are demonstrative of her career success as a thought leader and strategist for programmatic and provider development, well documented by extensive lectures and trainings, both locally and nationally. Her clinical acumen coupled with her transformative management style has shaped an administrative career that fosters enduring changes for both systems, organizational and individual levels of performance.

Dr. Rochelle Head-Dunham is a New Orleans native who currently serves as the Executive Director and Medical Director for Metropolitan Human Services District (MHSD), a state local governing entity tasked with service delivery for indigent and Medicaid ensured persons living with mental illness, substance use disorders and intellectual/developmental disabilities, residing in Orleans and neighboring parishes.

Ms. Johnson is a dedicated healthcare leader with a diverse academic and professional background. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Health Science and a Master of Healthcare Administration from the University of Florida, as well as a Master of Science in Physiology from San Diego State University. Throughout her career, Ms. Johnson has worked in both for-profit and nonprofit healthcare environments, ultimately discovering her passion for advocating on behalf of individuals with complex needs.

A servant leader at heart, Ms. Johnson is driven by the belief that meaningful change happens one person, one community at a time. She excels in developing innovative programs and thrives on the possibility of transformative impact. Known as a calculated risk-taker, she believes that true progress requires challenging boundaries and thinking beyond conventional limits.

As President and CEO of Easterseals, Ms. Johnson is responsible for setting the organization’s vision and developing the strategies necessary to achieve its goals. She leads with a collaborative approach, working closely with a volunteer Board of Directors and playing an active leadership role in the broader community. Ms. Johnson is also passionate about building strong, impactful partnerships and empowering teams to drive success.

Prior to founding Civitas Growth Partners, Eric accumulated 20 years of experience as a private equity investor, including over a decade as a General Partner at Council Capital. His prior engagements include roles at leading middle-market private equity firms including DW Healthcare Partners, The Riverside Company, and Norwest Equity Partners. Prior to his tenure as a private equity investor, he spent time in management consulting at Marakon Associates and investment banking at Credit Suisse First Boston. He earned his BA in finance and political science from the University of Illinois in 2000. Outside of work, Keen also serves on the board of Hope College, Siloam Health, and Currey Ingram Academy, and was selected as a member of the 2016 Nashville Health Care Council Fellows program. He and his wife Macy have been blessed with four children, ranging in age from 16 to 10.

As co-founder of The Office of CEO, Tania brings a 25-year success record of C-level leadership, board experience, interim executive engagements, consultancy, investor experience, and serial entrepreneurship with multiple successful exits. Over the course of her career, she has realized several industry firsts as she launched several telemedicine companies starting in 1999. She is the Founder or Co-Founder of Medical Web, Inc, Virtual Medical Group, Inc. 1stonlinepharmacy.com (all related to online primary care with Medical Web being acquired), Vital Health Network. LLC (an online naturopathic company that implemented with Aetna), COPE Today, LLC (a telemental health company acquired by a venture firm), Virtual Medical Services and Veteran Benefit Management Services (dedicated to providing Independent Medical Opinions for veterans).

After two exits, she pivoted to board work, consultancy, and investments.

She serves as executive advisor to Excelerate Health Ventures (focusing on health SAAS companies) and member of Triangle Angel Partners (includes companies outside of healthcare).

As COO of the Center of Digital Health, Innovation and Telehealth for Optum, she focused on a virtual-first care delivery model. She also served as a strategic advisory board member for OmnySense, Inc. and Innovatel Telepsychiatry, acquired by Quartet Health in 2021. As co-founder and CEO of Medical Web, she led the first-of-its-kind online physician-patient communication platform to acquisition in 2014. She also served on the Board of Directors for Mindcare Solutions Group upon its 2013 acquisition of COPE Today, and is currently serving on the Board of Directors for Planned Parenthood Direct and other non-profit boards. She is a Fellow in the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) College of Fellows and was the ATA Woman of the Year in 2020.

Early in her career, Tania practiced law as a Senior Enforcement Attorney with the Commissioner of Insurance for the State of Georgia, and held the position of Administrative Law Judge with the Office of State Administrative Hearings (OSAH) as well as General Counsel for an HMO, Master Health Plan, Inc. A key tenure in management consulting with PricewaterhouseCoopers’ healthcare practice in Atlanta served as a launch pad for business and entrepreneurial opportunities across the healthcare space.

Tania holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University, and a Doctor of Law from Georgia State University College of Law.

Jeanne Marshall has been affiliated with the Easterseals Midwest organization since 1987 when she began volunteering and working as a classroom assistant. She graduated from the University of Missouri with a Master’s degree in Special Education in 1991. She served in a variety of program roles prior to becoming the Director of the Training Program in 1997. In 2004, Jeanne was appointed as Chief Program Officer for and continued in that role until 2024 when she was appointed President.  In 2004, she completed a Master’s degree in Applied Behavior Analysis from The University of Nevada and is a Board Certified and Licensed Behavior Analyst. She also holds teaching certifications in Special Education for Learning Disabilities and Behavior Disorders.

Jeanne has served for more than 15 years as a surveyor for CARF International , a not for profit organization that reviews and grants accreditation for organizations providing services in the industry. She has served  on the Board of Directors for St. Bridget of Kildare School, The Association for Aging With Developmental Disabilities, the Missouri Association for Behavior Analysis, and The Autism Collective. She currently serves on the Missouri Autism Commission and the Starling Board of Directors.

Danish is a Founding Partner of GreyMatter, a VC firm dedicated to advancing innovation in mental & brain health through a systems change approach.‍‍

Prior to GreyMatter, Danish founded Genoa Telepsychiatry one of the first (and prior to the pandemic, the largest) telepsychiatry companies in the country, which was acquired by Optum. At Optum he participated in the early transformation of their behavioral health network, working with numerous emerging mental health startups, that have since gone on to become defining companies in our space. GreyMatter was born out of the desire to continue this work to support bold founders pushing this space forward.

Danish started his career at Microsoft. He received a Bachelor of Science and Engineering, Computer information Sciences from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Danish grew up in Karachi, and considers both Karachi and New York home. His interests include cutting edge developments in mental health and therapeutics, ultimate frisbee and live music, and he is an active angel investor.

Emily Harris brings more than a decade of health care marketing experience to the OPEN MINDS team. She is a seasoned marketing executive with extensive knowledge of brand strategy and planning growth strategies.

Ms. Harris was most recently the Chief Marketing Officer for Trusted Provider Network Health (TPN.health), a national, interactive platform of behavioral health professionals. In her role there, she established TPN.health as a national behavioral health platform leader. She also led a team of marketing executives focused on revenue growth. And, Ms. Harris built out critical marketing data dashboards to track marketing impact of strategies by channel.

Prior to TPN.health, Ms. Harris was the Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Growth for Physician’s Choice Marketing Group, a full-service healthcare marketing firm in Dallas. Here she developed marketing strategies for private practice physicians. To achieve their clients’ marketing goals, Ms. Harris expanded direct-to-consumer (D2C) marketing channels to increase patient volume. She also developed key word ranking/search engine optimization strategies to drive content creation for organic online search ranking.

Previously, Ms. Harris was the Director of Brand Marketing and Growth for TeleHealth Solution (now Fident Health), a leading provider of virtual hospitalist telehealth services in Addison, Texas. In this position she developed lead and demand generation strategies that increased revenue growth through marketing qualified leads. She created strategic presentations for C-Suite board meetings to obtain an additional $10 Million in venture capital funding.

Ms. Harris earned both her Bachelor of Business Administration and her Master of Business Administration degrees from California Baptist University.

Joseph P. Naughton-Travers, EdM, Senior Associate, has more than 30 years of experience in the health and human service field. In this tenure as senior associate with OPEN MINDS since 1998, he has served as lead of dozens of client initiatives, served as editor of OPEN MINDS publications, and is the author of many groundbreaking articles and presentations.

Mr. Naughton-Travers brings to OPEN MINDS a broad range of experiences in private and public sector delivery of behavioral health and social services. He started his career as a behavioral health clinician, working in both child welfare and community mental health clinic settings. Subsequently, Mr. Naughton-Travers held a senior business operations management position for a psychiatric hospital system and its community mental health clinics.  Later, he was vice president of a firm specializing in information systems and billing and receivables management for community-based mental health programs.

Since joining OPEN MINDS, Mr. Naughton-Travers has developed business solutions for provider and professional organizations, state and county government, technology companies, and venture capital firms. His primary areas of expertise include strategic planning and metrics-based management, electronic health record (EHR) and technology selection and implementation, operations improvement, and corporate compliance. For the past decade, over half his consulting practice has focused on aiding organizations in technology selection and implementation, including all aspects of strategic technology planning, functional specifications development, request for proposal development, vendor selection, and contracting.

He has written numerous articles, including “Winning the Human Resource Wars: Tried, True and New Strategies for Behavioral Health and Social Service Organizations,” “Five Pillars of Management Competency,” “Data Driven Decision Making: Moving to an Organizational Measurement Culture,” “Survival of the Smartest: What is Your Organization’s Information Literacy IQ?,” and “Strategic Human Resource Management: Aligning Compensation with Employee Performance and Organizational Strategy.” Mr. Naughton-Travers is also a nationally recognized speaker, having conducted hundreds of executive and professional executive training events around the nation.

Mr. Naughton-Travers received his Bachelor’s degree from Miami University of Ohio and his Masters’ of Education in Counseling Psychology from Boston University.

Monica E. Oss, M.S. is the founder of OPEN MINDS and serves as its chief executive officer, executive editor of its publications and websites, and executive lead of its consulting engagements. For the past three decades, Ms. Oss has led the OPEN MINDS team and its research on health and human service market trends and its national consulting practice. She is well known for her numerous books and articles focused on the strategic and marketing implications of the evolving health and human service field – and its focus on the verticals of the field serving consumers with chronic conditions and complex support needs.

Ms. Oss has extensive experience in developing and implementing growth strategies for a wide array of organizations in the field. She has expertise in industry trend analysis, reimbursement and rate setting, and creating actionable plans for market success. In her role, she has led numerous engagements with state Medicaid plans, county governments, private insurers, and health plans, service provider organizations, technology vendors, neurotechnology and pharmaceutical organizations, and investment banking firms – with a focus on the implications of financing changes on delivery system design.

Prior to founding OPEN MINDS, Ms. Oss served as an executive with a nationally managed behavioral health organization, responsible for market development, actuarial analysis, and capitation-based rate setting. She also held a position as vice president of the U.S. risk management and underwriting division of an international insurance company.

Ms. Oss has been the keynote speaker at the conferences of dozens of national associations and has been published in a wide range of professional journals and trade publications. She has provided Congressional and state legislative testimony on issues as diverse as the financial impact of parity and payer medication access policies.

Ms. Oss has led a range of industry research and consultation initiatives, serving as principal investigator on research projects that include the examination of national managed care enrollment and service patterns, development of provider rate structures for government entities, creation of return-on-investment models for technology investments; design of performance-based compensation models within public and private health plans; and analysis of the economic impact of changes in benefit design, adoption of evidence-based practices, and new technologies.