National Alliance Staff

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. 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. 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. Mike previously was an active member of the board of the Northeast Business Group on Health for 11 years.

Margaret has over 20 years’ experience working with employers in various areas of healthcare strategic planning. She has developed and executed projects with continuous improvement frameworks, national employer roundtables, and multi-stakeholder learning collaboratives that support organizational improvement and business/community partnerships. She also oversees a number of grant activities that have included national organizations such as CDC Foundation, Patient-centered Outcomes Research Institute, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and United Health Foundation. She serves as a main contact for member coalitions, fostering relationships and supporting regional coalition members through networking and capacity building. She also helps drive the direction of the organization’s National Health Leadership Council and engages with public and private employers of different industries through the National Purchaser Leadership Council (NPLC). She also coordinates the Health Equity Advisory Council that meets throughout the year.

Margaret is a national speaker on a number of healthcare topics including business performance and leadership, health benefits, medical and pharmacy drugs, biosimilars, employee engagement, and organizational culture, and the impact of health equity, social needs, and wellbeing in organizations.

Before joining the National Alliance, she was on the leadership team at the Midwest Business Group on Health, a leading business coalition in Chicago. Early on in her career, she created and managed an award-winning employee health and wellness program for 11 years at a community college. She has been involved with various advisory boards including with the National Health Council, the Innovative Value Initiative, and the Act4Biosimilars. She has been an adjunct faculty professor since 2008 and most recently taught corporate health and entrepreneurship at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

As a senior leader in the health and benefits marketing and communications community, Jean has a well-rounded career in corporate (UnitedHealthcare) and consulting (Willis, Towers, Watson; SGH Communications, Inc.) environments, serving public and private employers. She has worked exclusively in health and benefits, specializing in communication strategy development; health improvement and chronic condition education; health literacy skill building; market research; and corporate, marketing, and benefits communications.

Jean has won numerous awards for her work, including IABC and PRSA Awards of Merit and Excellence; the BE Wyatt Award for Excellence in Revenue Generation; the NCQA Excellence in Communications citation; Silver Mature Media National Award; and Crystal Clarion Awards from Women in Communications. She holds a double-major bachelor’s degree in journalism and public relations from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Karlene has been published in several healthcare journals, notably Health Affairs for her work on an innovative value-based benefit design program in diabetes. Prior to joining the National Alliance, she was the director of education and demonstration projects for the Florida Health Care Coalition (FLHCC). FLHCC is the only business coalition in Florida representing nearly two million covered lives. Its clinical quality Initiative has been recognized locally, statewide and nationally by ABC World News Tonight, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal.

Karlene holds a BS in Cardiopulmonary Sciences from the University of Central Florida and an MBA from Nova Southeastern University.

As a former vice president of the Pittsburgh Business Group on Health (PBGH), Christina held responsibilities for executing and ensuring implementation of PBGH’s overall strategic direction. She served as the architect for educational programming, projects and business development framework to improve understanding and aid in decision making with regard to equitable access, healthcare quality, cost containment, and employer choice in the PBGH market region and nationally. Christina serves on the PCORI HIIP Advisory Board, Heinz Endowment Economic Security Investment Advisory Council, and the Professional Women’s Network Advisory Board.

Christina is a Certified Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Health Value Advisor, and holds a bachelor’s degree in public administration and a master’s degree in health administration.

Amanda has been published in several healthcare journals, notably the Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy. Prior to her role at National Alliance, Amanda was a research associate at the National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC). In this role, she was responsible for leading and supporting research projects related to the essential role of bio-pharmaceuticals in the healthcare delivery system. She also spent time working for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, on the Epidemiology Workforce Branch and holds community-based intervention experience from her time working at the Florida Department of Health.

Amanda holds a master of science in public health from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and dual bachelor’s degrees in public health and international relations from the University of Miami.

Cary has consulted since 1999 and previously served in a variety of communication roles for Motorola Semiconductor Products Sector (now Freescale Semiconductor). Before joining Motorola, Cary managed public relations for an advertising and marketing agency and also held positions with a Dallas public relations firm.

Cary speaks on a variety of communications, media training, and public relations topics. She holds a BS in journalism/public relations from the University of Kansas.