About Our Conference Panelists and Presenters
Lawrence M. Becker is the Director, Strategic Partnerships, Alliances and Chairman, Plan Administration Committee
for Xerox Corporation. Mr. Becker has been in this position since January, 2009. From 2000 until January 2009, he
was responsible for the design and implementation of all health and welfare plans as well as defined benefit plans for
the company.
Before joining Xerox in 1990, Mr. Becker served as vice president of human resources for Baltimore Bancorp. He also
has worked for Formica Corporation, Exxon Corporation, and American Can Company in a variety of benefits,
compensation, operations, and industrial relations roles. Mr. Becker is a member of the Board of Directors of the
National Quality Forum (NQF), a member of the Executive Board of ERIC (ERISA Industry Council) and a member
of the leadership team for the Consumer Purchaser Disclosure Project. In the local community, he is on the Board of
Directors of the Greater Rochester Health Information Organization and the RBA Health Care Planning Team.
In 1978, Mr. Becker earned a BS degree from Cornell University’s Industrial and Labor Relations School.
Dr. Bradford C. Berk is the Senior Vice President for Health Sciences at the University of Rochester and CEO of the
University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC). Since receiving his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of
Rochester, Dr. Berk has served on the faculties of Harvard Medical School, Emory University, and the University of
Washington. Dr. Berk was recruited to URMC in 1998 as Chief of the Cardiology Division. He founded URMC’s
Aab Cardiovascular Research Institute (CVRI). Dr. Berk then served as Chairman of Medicine until 2006 when he
became CEO.
One of the world's preeminent cardiovascular scientists, Dr. Berk is a fellow of the American Heart Association and
the American College of Cardiology, a member of the Association of American Physicians, and past-president of the
North American Vascular Biology Organization. He is on the editorial boards of Circulation, Circulation Research,
ATVB and the Journal of Clinical Investigation. He serves on the Empire State Stem Cell Board Funding Committee.
Dr. Berk has published more than 250 articles, chapters, and books.
Tami Best, MS, RD, CDN, CDE, is the healthy worksites coordinator at Finger Lakes Health Systems Agency
connecting Rochester area businesses with worksite wellness tools, resources, and programs. She is also a freelance
columnist for the Democrat and Chronicle. She has more than 20 years experience in healthcare related fields and is a
registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator.
Tami earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Nutrition and Dietetics from Kent State University, completed her
Dietetic Internship at The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, and earned a Master of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics
from East Carolina University.
Renee Brownstein is Associate Director, Human Resources, for the Rochester Institute of Technology. She was
previously with Eastman Kodak Company, a benefits consultant with the Alexander Consulting Group, and with
Dunlop Tire Corporation.
Renee is on the Board of Directors and chairs the HR Committee for the Finger Lakes Health Systems Agency; is past
chair of the Community Technology Assessment Advisory Board which helps manage local healthcare capacity; and is
a founding member of the RBA Health Care Planning Team. She serves as a judge for the Rochester Business
Journal’s Wealth of Health Awards.
Renee graduated from State University of New York at Buffalo with a B.A. in Speech Communication, and has an
M.S. in Health Systems Administration from RIT.
Michelle Donaghey, Benefits Manager (U.S. Health & Welfare Plans), joined the Corporate Benefits Department at
Bausch + Lomb in 2008 and has been working with health and welfare benefits for 14 years. Her previous experience
includes working for a national health care insurer and a national benefits consultant.
In her current role, she is responsible for setting the U.S. benefits strategy at Bausch + Lomb, as well as for plan
compliance, communications, and vendor management. Michelle has also been a key partner in establishing and
managing Bausch + Lomb’s recently-launched Global Wellness initiative.
Michelle is a member of the RBA Health Care Planning Team.
About Our Conference Panelists and Presenters
Paul Eisenstat is Senior Vice President, Health Care and Network Management, for Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield,
where he leads their efforts to achieve cost control and quality improvement in the health care system. Paul is working
to help stakeholders collaborate on the development of more sustainable, patient-centered health care delivery.
In his former role as Chief Operating Officer of PersonalCare Insurance of Illinois at Coventry Health Care, Inc., Paul
focused on health care strategy; negotiation, provider reimbursement methodologies, utilization management, process
improvement, business operations, and health care analytics in helping Coventry expand in mid-west markets.
Previous to Coventry, Paul served as Vice President Network Management at United Healthcare, Director Eastern
Massachusetts Provider Contracting at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, and Senior Policy Analyst at the
Massachusetts Rate Setting Commission (now the Massachusetts Division of Health Care Finance and Policy).
Paul holds a baccalaureate degree from Tufts University in Biology and English, and masters from Harvard University
in Health Care Policy and Management.
Paul sits on the Boards of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Center for Governmental
Research.
Jake Flaitz, Director of Benefits at Paychex, is responsible for managing the company’s comprehensive benefits
programs, including the company’s nationally recognized Active Health wellness initiative.
Jake is active in community health care issues in Rochester, New York. He is a member of the RBA Health Care
Planning Team and the Rochester Regional Health Information Organization’s (RHIO) Management Committee.
Jake is also a member of the Rochester Community Technology Assessment Advisory Board (CTAAB) the Finger
Lakes Health System Agency’s Board, the FLHSA 2020 Performance Commission, and the board of the National
Business Group on Health’s Institute on Innovation in Workforce Well-being.
Erick Hathorn is the Eastern Region Wellness & Health Management Practice Leader at Gallagher Benefit Services,
Inc. Erick has dedicated his career to helping organizations get healthy and stay well. Along the way, Erick has held
numerous executive level Health Management positions. Prior to joining GBS, Erick was the President and Founder of
Immersion Health, Inc. a wellness consulting firm based in Fort Lauderdale Florida.
In his role, Erick provides specialized consulting support and resources to GBS Clients, Consultants and Account
Managers on Wellness and Health Management. Erick works with over 30 GBS offices and heads the Eastern Region
Wellness Advisory Group.
Erick is a certified wellness culture coach. His training enables him to evaluate client social forces that shape behavior.
Erick will assist clients in balancing cultural norms, support, modeling, training, rewards and communication with the
best health management solutions in the marketplace.
Warren Hern was appointed president and chief executive officer of Unity Health System in January 2010. He had
previously served as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Unity Health System, having held the CFO
position since 1985. Hern joined Park Ridge Health System, the predecessor to Unity Health System, in 1976 and
progressively assumed greater responsibilities.
Hern served as national chairman of the board of directors of the Healthcare Financial Management Association
(HFMA) during 1996-97 year, and prior to that served in various officer positions and on the board of directors. He is a
HFMA fellow.
He currently is a member of JPMorgan Chase Rochester Region Advisory Board, Rochester Business Alliance Board,
Health Care Association of New York State Board, Nazareth College Board, and AHA Region 2 Board.
Hern holds an MBA from Rochester Institute of Technology and a BS Degree in Accounting from Southern New
Hampshire University.
Ted Kremer, MPH, Executive Director of the Rochester RHIO (Regional Health Information Organization), has
worked in the health information field since 1985, helping to form and oversee the information systems for a variety of
successful startup organizations. He has led the Rochester RHIO since its inception in 2006. He has been active in
New York State policy formation related to state-wide health information exchange, serving as co-chair of both the
New York State eHealth technical and privacy work groups. He and his staff collaborate and share best practices with
health information exchange efforts across the country and have presented at numerous national forums on health
information exchange.
He received his undergraduate degree from the University of California-Santa Barbara, and a Master's degree in Public
Health from Yale University and is a member of the Monroe County Board of Health.
About Our Conference Panelists and Presenters
Ellen Lindahl is the Director of Clinical Account Management for MVP Health Care. Ms. Lindahl directs the
development and delivery of a broad range of health promotion, wellness and education programs. These include
MVP’s Work Well, Live Wellsm worksite health promotion toolkit and overseeing the work of a team of certified Clinical
Account Managers who work directly with employer groups on developing, deploying and evaluating a wide range of
wellness and population health management strategies. Ms. Lindahl brings clinical expertise to the development of
MVP’s comprehensive suite of wellness and population health management initiatives.
Ms. Lindahl’s MVP career spans over 20 years and a variety of other key medical management roles. Prior to joining
MVP Health Care, Ms. Lindahl was a hospital Women’s Health Coordinator in Aroostook County, Maine and
Manager of Clinical Integrity for HCIA/HealthChex in Rochester, NY. Ms. Lindahl’s direct clinical and nursing
management experience occurred primarily at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester, NY where she worked in emergency
and critical care nursing.
Ms. Lindahl received her Master’s Degree in Public Administration with a Health Care emphasis from the State
University of New York at Brockport and her Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing from Nazareth College.
She has been an active participant in a number of organizations including the Institute for Health and Productivity
Management, New York Organization of Nurse Executives, Wellness Council of America, and the HERO
Association for Employee Health Management. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Genesee Valley
Finger Lakes Division of the March of Dimes.
John R. Lynch is Senior Vice President at First Niagara Benefits Consulting. He joined the company in 2004. John
has spent his entire career within the employee benefits arena.
Prior to joining FNBC, John was Vice President of Local and National Account Sales at Excellus BlueCross
BlueShield, where he worked for over twelve years. At Excellus, John was responsible for the sales and account service
teams, which provides health care solutions to over 7,000 companies and 500,000 people nationwide. In addition, he
was responsible for national account sales initiatives across Excellus’ 31-county region.
At First Niagara, John has a dual responsibility for a limited number of client relationships, as well as leading the team
of consultants that provide health and welfare employee benefits consulting and service expertise to employers large
and small across Western New York. The team provides input on benefit issues such as medical, dental, and group life
and disability plan designs, benefit platforms and financial strategies.
John serves as a past chair of the Salvation Army Advisory Board, as well as the Finance and Property Committee.
He is a member of the 2020 Performance Commission, which works to improve the delivery of health care to the
greater Rochester community. John is also a former member of the Community Technology Assessment Advisory
Board, a community board which reviews applications from health care providers to buy new technology or build /
renovate health care facilities. He was the Operations Chair for United Way of Greater Rochester’s 2002 Day of
Caring. In 2003 he was a Rochester Business Journal Forty Under 40 Award recipient and is a member of the 2001
Leadership Rochester class.
Becky Lyons is the Manager of Health Care Design at Wegmans Food Markets, where she is responsible for designing
and implementing health care and wellness programs that support Wegmans’ goal of helping their people live
healthier, better lives. She has been with Wegmans for 18 years, the last 11 in Employee Benefits.
Becky earned her Masters of Strategic Leadership Degree from Roberts Wesleyan College.
In addition to her role at Wegmans, Becky represents Wegmans on the RBA Health Care Planning Team, and is a
CTAAB (Community Technology Assessment Advisory Board) board member.
Louis J. Papa M.D., FACP is board certified internist with the Olsan Medical Group and professor of Clinical
Medicine with the University of Rochester Medical Center.
Dr. Papa is very active in a number of community organizations including CTAAB, the 20/20 Commission, the
Greater Rochester Health Foundation and the Monroe County Medical Society. He currently serves on the Board of
Directors for Excellus BlueCross BlueShield. Dr. Papa has received the “Best Doctors in America “and “America's
Top Physicians" recognition, the “Rochester Business Journal - Forty under Forty” award, the "Excellence in
Medicine Award" from the American Medical Association Foundation and "Rochester Business Journal Healthcare
Achievement Award" in 2009. He can also be seen as a regular panelist on the national PBS series “Second Opinion”
and as a medical commentator on “Roc City” on WHEC.
About Our Conference Panelists and Presenters
Sandra A. Parker, president and CEO of the Rochester Business Alliance since 2005, is a widely recognized
community leader. She was instrumental in establishing RBA as the region's "Voice of Business," convening the
Rochester Community Coalition and co-founding Unshackle Upstate.
She also serves on a variety of boards, including the Bank of Castile, CGR, The Community Foundation, Finger Lakes
Heath Systems Agency, Frontier Communications of Rochester, Greater Rochester Enterprise, Monroe Community
College Foundation, High Technology of Rochester, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester Regional Health
Information Organization, Tompkins Financial Corp., VisitRochester, and the YMCA.
A native of Rochester, she is listed as one of Greater Rochester's Most Influential Women, and won the ATHENA
Award in 2002.
James R. Reed is senior vice president of Marketing and Sales for Excellus BlueCross BlueShield (a nonprofit
independent licensee of the BlueCross BlueShield Association), which has 1.8 million members across upstate New
York. Jim joined Excellus BCBS in 1996 and was most recently regional president of the Central New York Region.
He is active on numerous local boards, including CenterState CEO, Syracuse Stage, Make-A-Wish Foundation of
Central New York and the Health Advancement Collaborative of Central New York.
A 2008 recipient of the Greater Syracuse "40 Under 40" award, Jim earned a bachelor of science degree in business
from Le Moyne College, Syracuse.
Kate Saracene, counsel with Nixon Peabody LLP, focuses on the area of health and welfare employee benefit plan
compliance and administration. She spent a significant portion of her career in human resources, managing a variety
of HR functions for Xerox, including compensation, HR policy, industrial relations, health and welfare benefit plan
administration, and disability and time off programs. She has worked in several other HR generalist and specialist roles
and has deep industrial relations experience.
Ms. Saracene attended Yale Law School and received her undergraduate degree from Cornell University’s School of
Industrial and Labor Relations.
Steve Smola has operated Smola Consulting since 2007, and in various capacities has been consulting with large, key
employers for over 20 years.
Steve’s consulting experience includes: medical, dental, life, disability, and IRS governed plans such as Flexible
Spending Accounts, Health Reimbursement Accounts, and Health Savings Accounts. Other areas of consulting
experience include: plan design consultation, renewal management, wellness, and legislative Health Care Reform
communication and impact.
Steve earned his Bachelor of Science Degree from Rochester Institute of Technology and his Masters of Strategic
Leadership Degree from Roberts Wesleyan College. He holds his NYS Life, Accident & Health license.
Paul S. Speranza Jr. is vice chairman, general counsel, and secretary of Wegmans Food Markets, Inc.
Speranza is active in a number of business, civic, and professional organizations and is a frequent speaker and author
on business, legal, and civic matters. He is a member of the California, New York, Pennsylvania, Tax Court, Second
Circuit Court of Appeals, and Supreme Court of the United States bars. He is a graduate of Eastridge High School
(1965), Syracuse University (B.S., 1969), the University of San Francisco (J.D., 1971), and New York University
(LL.M. in Taxation, 1972), which is consistently ranked as the number one graduate tax program in the United States.
Speranza serves as the chair of the RBA Health Care Planning Team.
About Our Conference Panelists and Presenters
Hugh R. Thomas joined the Rochester General Health System (RGHS) administrative team in 2001 when he was
appointed Senior Vice President and Corporate Counsel. In that capacity, he is responsible for legal affairs,
general corporate and governance matters, corporate compliance, risk management and government relations for
the health system. Thomas was named Senior Vice President of the newly formed Ambulatory Services Division
in 2012, in addition to his role as Counsel.
Prior to coming to RGHS, Thomas was a partner in the Health Services and Business Transactions practice areas
for Harris Beach, PLLC, one of Rochester’s oldest and most respected law firms.
A resident of Pittsford, NY, Thomas earned his Juris Doctor Degree from the University of Maryland School of
Law and a B.A. in Economics from Johns Hopkins University. He has admissions to practice from the New York
and Maryland State Bars, as well as the United States Tax Court.
John Urban, President and CEO of Greater Rochester Health Foundation, is committed to the Foundation’s
mission to improve the health of all residents of the Greater Rochester community. He has 30+ years of experience
in health care in New York, most recently as CEO of Preferred Care.
John also served as Deputy Commissioner in the NYS Office of Mental Health, Community Liaison Director at
Hutchings Psychiatric Center, and on the boards of numerous community, state and national organizations. His
career has been dedicated to improving health care and making health care affordable, with an emphasis on aging
adults and people with chronic mental illness.
Danny Wegman is CEO of Wegmans Food Markets, Inc., headquartered in Rochester, New York. Danny graduated
with honors from Harvard University with a degree in economics. Aside from Wegmans, Danny is a member of the
Food Marketing Institute (FMI) and serves on the University of Rochester Board of Trustees, as well as, the Board of
Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection, a program founded by Wegmans in 1987, to reduce the dropout rate within
the Rochester City School system.
Wegmans Food Markets, Inc., a leading supermarket chain in the northeast, operates 80 stores in New York,
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland and Massachusetts. The company has built an International reputation
for its overall excellence in quality, customer service and variety, and has been named for the sixteenth consecutive
year to Fortune Magazine's list of the "100 Best Companies to Work for in America". Wegmans is perhaps best
known for its high-quality fresh and prepared foods, as well as its wide range of ethnic and specialty foods.
Fran Weisberg has more than 30 years of experience in human service, community leadership, administration,
policy-making and fundraising. As Finger Lakes Health Systems Agency’s Executive Director, Ms. Weisberg not only
has revitalized the agency as an independent health planning organization, but she is reinvigorating community health
planning across New York State.
FLHSA provides a “community table” where all stakeholders – physicians, hospitals, business, consumers, employers,
insurers, and labor – come together to resolve health-care issues. As a result of renewed local collaboration, the
Rochester community was awarded the largest Health Care Innovation Grant in the country from the Center for
Medicare & Medicaid Innovation, which FLHSA will administer.
Laura Zabkar, Yoga Program Coordinator for Wegmans Food Markets, became interested in wellness while living
and working as a biologist in Alaska. After spending many years living away from her roots, she has found herself back
in New York where she explores her career of wellness and yoga. Through holistic health counseling and teaching
yoga, she provides an opportunity for clients to nourish their bodies, minds and spirits.
Laura completed her education as a Certified Health Counselor in New York City at the Institute for Integrative
Nutrition in conjunction with Columbia University’s Teachers College. She holds a bachelors of science in fisheries
biology, and is a registered yoga teacher though Yoga Alliance. She is also a graduate of the Essential Yoga Teacher
Training with Francois Raoult. She has also studied with Baron Baptiste, Seane Corn, Lynn Morgan, Rick Resnick
and Rick Lynch.