Umoren, MPH, joined USAging in January 2023 as Director, Public Policy and Advocacy. She leads the association’s legislative affairs and advocacy efforts to advance federal policies that address the needs of an aging America, plays a vital role in the development of USAging’s policy positions and priorities, and represents USAging in meetings with congressional staff and administration officials.

Prior to joining USAging, Olivia was a Manager of Federal Affairs at the National Committee for Quality Assurance, a Government Affairs Manager at the Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs, and a Senior Clinical Research Coordinator at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, where she supported Alzheimer’s and dementia research.

Umoren has a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition from Pennsylvania State University and a Master of Public Health from George Washington University.

Amelia Bedri, MHSA, has been with the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) for three years and is currently a Senior Content Engineer in Product Development. In this position, Ms. Bedri organizes the direction, structure and delivery of NCQA’s Accreditation and Certification Standards and Guidelines. Ms. Bedri has led the development cycle for NCQA’s Health Equity Accreditation and Long-Term Services and Supports Accreditation programs and acts as the internal and external subject matter expert for the products. 

Prior to joining NCQA, Ms. Bedri worked as the lead researcher for MedStar Health in the development of their community health needs assessment. Her experience in the health care industry ranges from a variety of settings including complex care delivery systems, managed care, home and community-based services and consulting. Ms. Bedri earned an MS in Health Systems Administration from Georgetown University with summa cum laude.

Eleni A. Carr, MBA, LICSW, is the chief care integration officer at Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) and oversees care management services across the care continuum, integrating clinical operations with preferred community provider agencies. In 2018, Eleni received SCES’s Community Partner Award recognizing the shared efforts of the Hospital-to-Home Community Care Transitions Program. During their tenure, Eleni has been instrumental in the development of the population health management strategy at CHA – an effort that strives to achieve the Triple Aim in healthcare delivery.

Eleni’s leadership experience spans the healthcare and behavioral health continuum, having served as the Director of the Children’s Community Support Collaborative in Brighton, MA. The success of this publicly funded managed care pilot served as a catalyst for systemic change in the child/adolescent behavioral health arena in Massachusetts. Their volunteer leadership includes serving on the Massachusetts Commission on LGBT Youth and local and national Board membership for NASW.  

A seasoned health care executive focused on equitable improvement in the health of communities through innovation in health products and services Fish, MD, MBA, is CEO and President of the Greater Lawrence Family Health Center (GLFHC) in Lawrence, Mass. 

This nationally recognized Federally Qualified Health Center serves 65,000 patients, who comprise the majority of the population of Lawrence. With its first-of-its-kind Health Center-based Family Practice residency program, GLFHC graduates leaders in community-based integrated care resolving social determinants of health.

Fish has worked in multiple parts of the health economy, and he sits on the boards of several health care startups bringing new treatments to markets. Prior to joining GLFHC in July 2021, he was acting CEO of Nextstage Therapeutics, a Spanish company with exosome technologies. 

Fish earned his medical degree from Yale University Medical School and an MBA from Yale School of Management. He also holds an AB degree in Biochemistry from Harvard University.

Pierre, MD, is the Vice President of Community Health Programs at Mass General Brigham.

Trained in Internal Medicine at the Cambridge Health Alliance and Board Certified in Clinical Informatics, Pierre holds decades of experience in the use of technology to improve the quality of care at community health centers and academic medical centers.

With a career focused on health equity, Pierre seeks to encourage healthcare innovations that appropriately value the expertise of patients and communities. Her policy and public health activities within and outside of the U.S. include guiding investments for health systems strengthening after disasters. She has responded to multiple outbreaks, including HIV, Cholera, Zika and COVID-19.

Jennifer Raymond is Chief Strategy Officer at AgeSpan, a private nonprofit dedicated to helping people across northeast Massachusetts maintain high levels of independence, health, and safety as they age. In that capacity, Raymond builds cross-sector partnerships, creates shared alignment around a vision, and translates that vision into action.

An experienced strategic thinker, coalition builder, and change leader, Raymond is driven by the desire to create healthy communities for all. She takes pride in aligning social missions with business acumen and providing the best approaches to sustainability possible. 

Raymond has been recognized by the John A. Hartford Foundation as a national practice change leader.

Cramer is Project Manager for the Older Adult Behavioral Health Network (OABHN) at the MA Association for Mental Health.  OABHN was established in 2022 to develop a statewide network of behavioral health supports for older adults. She oversees its advocacy, workforce development, and public education activities.

Through her work with OABHN, Cramer advocates for critical statewide behavioral health, peer and wellness supports to help older adults live in the community or setting of their choice. She also has 15 years of experience supporting at-risk older adults at Somerville Cambridge Elder Services (SCES), was an SCES Elder Protective Services Worker, and is currently a clinician on one of the state’s first older adult behavioral health outreach teams (EMHOTs). 

Cramer is a Certified Peer Specialist (CPS) and has a background in peer, aging and cross-disability advocacy. She has a Master’s in Social Work from Simmons College and an advanced graduate certificate in Expressive Arts.

Mahaniah, MD, is Undersecretary for Health in the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services.

Before joining the Healey-Driscoll administration, Mahaniah served as CEO of the Lynn Community Health Center, where he led the transition into value-based care. He is a practicing physician in the field of addiction and primary care and has a passion for social justice. An avid teacher and committed mentor, he is an Assistant Professor in the Family Medicine department of the Tufts University School of Medicine.

Mahaniah is a dedicated pescatarian and is particularly interested in the intersection of food, wellness, and the immune system.

Chen, PhD, MBA, MPH, is the Secretary of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs (EOEA). She leads the state’s agency dedicated to ensuring that 1.7 million older adults and their caregivers in the Commonwealth have the resources they need to thrive in the community of their choice. Secretary Chen has been at the helm of EOEA since June 2019.

Chen began her career as a public servant as the Assistant Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, where she oversaw the licensing of health care professionals and patient care settings, including hospitals, clinics, nursing facilities, and ambulances.

Prior to her public service, Dr. Chen worked for more than 30 years in the private sector, serving as the president of an academic institution and the chief executive of biotech companies.

Chen received a BA from Yale University; an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania; an MPH from Harvard University; and a PhD in Gerontology from UMass Boston.

Scala-Foley, MGS, serves as the Director of the Aging and Disability Business Institute at USAging, which provides community-based organizations with the tools and resources to successfully adapt to a changing health care environment, enhance their organizational capacity, and capitalize on emerging opportunities to diversify funding.

Before coming to USAging, she served as Director of the Office of Integrated Care Innovations in the Center for Integrated Programs at the U.S. Administration for Community Living, where she managed the agency’s efforts to build the capacity of state and community-based organizations for delivery system reform. Prior to that, she helped found and lead the Center for Benefits Access at the National Council on Aging.

Scala-Foley has worked her entire career in the field of aging on issues related to health care and long-term services and supports. She holds a Master of Gerontological Studies from Miami University (Ohio), and a bachelor’s degree in Sociology/Gerontology from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass.

Keely is the Director of the Massachusetts eHealth Institute (MeHI) at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. In this role she works to promote health innovation by bringing together early stage companies, research institutions, healthcare organizations, investors and government to accelerate the development of technology solutions to address critical healthcare challenges.

She has more than 20 years of experience in the healthcare field working in a variety of areas including digital health and health information technology, interoperability projects to support clinical and public health use cases, and payer operations at the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS). While at MeHI, Keely has focused on developing healthcare partnerships through her work with hospitals, community health centers, medical practices, behavioral health providers, organizations providing long term services and supports, and the Mass HIway (the state’s Health Information Exchange).

Keely holds a Master of Public Administration/Health Administration degree from Suffolk University in Boston and is the proud mom of two daughters.

Dr. Gardner is Senior Medical Scientist at Healthcentric Advisors, Associate Professor of Medicine at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University, and a practicing internist at Rhode Island Hospital. These roles enable her to combine clinical experience with the implementation and evaluation of healthcare quality improvement interventions and policy. At Healthcentric Advisors, the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization for New England, Dr. Gardner provides clinical oversight and direction for multiple projects, including efforts to improve medication safety and care transitions across the continuum. Dr. Gardner received her Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Virginia and her Medical Degree from the New York University School of Medicine. She completed her residency training in Internal Medicine, as well as a research fellowship, at the University of California, San Francisco.

Fowler, LICSW, oversees clinical departments at Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services (SCES) as Chief Programs Officer.

In her previous role as SCES Clinical Director, Fowler worked closely with Cambridge Health Alliance and Mystic Valley Elder Services to develop the first care transitions initiative with Affordable Care Act funding in 2012. The program was funded through CMS until 2016, when CHA took over as payer to embed this critical service into their care offerings for some of their most complex patient populations. Fowler also led the development of SCES’ in-home behavioral health program, which provides in-home mental health support services to older adults.

Fowler joined SCES as an Elder Care Advisor in 2005, and has also served as Director of what is now known as the SCES Community Support Center and as Assistant Director for the agency.

Fowler holds an MSW from Boston University and a BA in Psychology from Denison University.

Wilson, MHA, currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer for CIC Health, a public benefit corporation that launched in 2020 to provide accessible, equitable, and fast COVID-19 testing and vaccination services to communities across the U.S. throughout the pandemic. Today, this public health resiliency company partners with governmental agencies and other large-scale entities to prepare for, withstand, adapt, and recover from public health emergencies.

Prior to CIC Health, Rachel served as the Chief Operating Officer at Atrius Health, VP of Ambulatory Operations and Program Development at New England Baptist Hospital, Director of Surgical Services Operations and Program Development at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Orthopedic Service Line Administrator at Rush University Medical Center.

In 2022, she was named to The Boston Globe’s Tech Power Players 50 List. Rachel holds a Master of Healthcare Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy from Elizabethtown College.