Advisory Services Experts

John leads the provider advisory practice of Optum Advisory Services. In this role, he oversees our consulting work with health systems, medical groups and other provider entities. This work covers strategy, cost, operations, revenue cycle, provider engagement and technology terrains. John previously led the Optum Health System Performance Improvement consulting practice. This multidisciplinary team works with health systems to achieve operational efficiency, best-practice care delivery and sustainable financial performance.

John's work focuses on transforming an organization’s cost structure and care model, including reducing the total cost of hospital care, driving non-hospital value and advancing system integration.

Prior to joining Optum, John was a senior consulting leader with Advisory Board. He was also a senior executive with Quorum Health Resources. He held executive leadership roles at Premier Inc. and financial leadership positions at two community hospital systems.

John is a CPA and holds a Master of Healthcare Administration from Trinity University. He also has a Bachelor of Science in accounting from Carson-Newman University.

Tushar Mehrotra is Senior Vice President of data and analytics for Optum Insight. In this role, he oversees product, services, and data asset and platform strategy across markets. Mehrotra drives the vision and direction for the organization, encompassing data scientists, actuaries, engineers, product leaders, and medical informatics teams.

He is responsible for building go-to-market and end-to-end analytics solutions across AI/ML, Social Determinants of Health and Health Equity, Population Health and VBC, Inpatient and Quality domains. Mehrotra is also accountable for growth, design and delivery for analytics as part of Optum Market Performance
Partnerships.

Prior to joining Optum, Mehrotra spent seven years at McKinsey & Company in Washington, D.C. He was one of the core leaders in the North America Digital and Analytics practice for health care. He has published articles on health care digital and analytics topics and has served on panels and roundtables with leaders in the industry.

Mehrotra earned his Bachelor of Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in electrical engineering, and he earned an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in strategic management and finance.

Rajiv Arya, MD, has more than 19 years of health care experience. His focuses include hospitals, academic medical centers, data analytics, quality, patient safety, change management, medical staff engagement, innovative care models and clinical optimization.

Dr. Arya has extensive expertise in interpreting and leveraging medical data sets to direct the pursuit of outcome-based solutions. He has successfully engaged stakeholders and medical staff to decrease variation and deliver high-quality, cost-effective patient care.

Dr. Arya has experience in leading multiple teams in the development and implementation of an organization's quality, clinical and operational agenda. Previous efforts include developing and executing focused strategies to scale complex care solutions for high-cost Medicaid members with significant social and behavioral health needs.

Dr. Arya completed his undergraduate studies in computer science at the Columbia University School of Engineering. He received his medical degree from New Jersey Medical School and his master’s in business administration from the University of Delaware, with a focus on strategic leadership.

Carol Chouinard is an expert in global health care technology challenges, with a focus on IT organization optimization; M&A methods and frameworks; value-based care and population health technologies; and interoperability.

He works with IT and digital health leaders to materially improve the delivery of health care, leading the development of disruptive strategies and technologies. 

Prior to joining Optum Advisory Services, Carol led multiple IT organizational and technological transformations. These were in the context of broader corporate transformation and as part of M&A, affiliation and other forms of partnership. 

He has advised health care IT leaders and played a key role in the development of IT strategies and elevating the role of IT.

Carol holds an MBA from Laval University in Quebec City, QC, and studied applied mathematics at Sherbrooke University in Sherbrooke, QC.

Russell brings 25+ years of advisory experience developing and executing growth strategies with an emphasis on high-ROI customer experience for health systems and health plans.

Most recently, Russell was the general manager of Optum Consumer Acquisition Services business. In this role, he commercialized an innovative start-up data and analytics solution which delivers end-to-end precision marketing capabilities.

Russell also led many of The Advisory Board’s best practices research-based membership programs spanning across providers, health plans and other industry members. There, he provided thought leadership into the strategic research and was a featured speaker and facilitator for executive teams.

Previously, Russell was the managing director in the financial services practice of the Corporate Executive Board, a best practices research organization. There, he led global memberships of commercial and retail bankers. He also served in an in-house strategic planning department where he developed growth strategies, identified and realized operational efficiencies, and supported M&A activity.

Russell earned an MBA from Loyola College of Maryland and holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from The Ohio State University.

Bill Dimmock, FSA, MAAA, is a senior director within the Optum Commercial Payer Actuarial Advisory Services practice. He is the product owner of both the Group Risk Analytics and Portfolio Optimization commercial actuarial offerings.

Prior to his move to Optum, Bill spent three years as the chief actuary of Innovu, an early-stage growth company focused on health care analytics and actuarial solutions for self-insured employer groups. 

Bill spent 13 years at Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield.  There he served as VP of revenue program management (all risk adjustment functions for MA and ACA markets). He was also director of small group pricing and manager of large group pricing for Blue plans in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Delaware.

Bill is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University and holds BS degrees in physics and mathematics.

Jim's expertise is total cost reduction, leveraging social determinants, next generation underwriting, population health management, program evaluation, performance management, Stars, predictive modeling and risk adjustment.  

Prior to joining Optum, Jim was the chief actuary for a global operations management and analytics company. He also has served as chief actuarial officer.

Jim earned his Bachelor of Science in mathematics and economics from the University of Puget Sound. He is a fellow of the Conference of Consulting Actuaries, an associate of the Society of Actuaries and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

Nathan's expertise with government plans includes cost management, regulatory compliance, bids, government, innovations and capital planning. He has experience across Medicaid and Medicare products, including, but not limited to, LTSS, TANF, CHIP and Duals. 

He has more than 15 years of experience in health care, with executive leadership positions in business development, technology and operations. Nathan has also held leadership positions in manufacturing, banking and retail. 

Nathan earned his Bachelor of Science degree in computer science and business from Minnesota State University.

Maxine has broad experience with payers, providers, government programs and vendors as a consultant. She has a valuable blend of population health management, clinical, business, performance management and technical experiences.

Maxine has worked in a variety of clinical settings, delivering direct patient care and care management, as well as within many aspects of the payer industry. Her expertise includes medical benefit interpretation and policies utilization management, case management, health information technology planning, change management, population health management operations and leadership.

Maxine has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, a Master of Business Administration, a Certificate in Health Information Technology and she is a Certified Case Manager.

Karl leads the Pharmacy Advisory Services practice within Optum Advisory Services. His role is to facilitate the development of client actuarial insights and assure appropriate translation and application for meaningful solutions.

Prior to joining Optum Advisory Services, Karl was a leader in the Optum Access & Value Solutions group. This team focused on European and North American reimbursement assessments and solutions for a wide variety of pharmaceutical, device and diagnostic products. 

Karl held U.S., European and global HEOR leadership and research roles at Eli Lilly and company for more than 15 years, prior to joining Optum.

Karl holds a Bachelor of Science in animal health sciences. He also earned a doctorate of pharmacy, a Master of Science in pharmaceutical economics, policy and outcomes, and an Eli Lily and Company Health Economics Research Fellowship from University of Arizona.  

Morgan Haines designs and oversees complex revenue cycle transformations for large health systems, academic medical centers, community hospitals and medical groups. 

She specializes in:

• Improving point-of-service collections
• Maximizing patient access impact
• Engaging physicians in documentation improvement initiatives
• Enhancing business office performance and overall revenue cycle performance

Prior to joining Optum Advisory Services, Morgan was a revenue cycle practice partner for the Advisory Board Company. There she was responsible for long-term client relationship management for 150+ revenue cycle partners, with nearly $20 million in active contract value. 

Morgan holds a Bachelor of Science in business from Wake Forest University.

Jay Hazelrigs’ recent consulting engagements include providing value-based care (VBC) expertise. He develops new transformative payer-provider models. And he delivers MACRA data-driven, strategic advice to ACOs, payer and provider organizations. 

Jay has worked as a health care actuary for more than 25 years and has consulted with multiple Fortune 500 companies throughout his career. 

His background includes consulting with health systems, ACOs, providers, employers, government and commercial payers. He has experience across a multitude of business and actuarial issues.  

Jay earned his Bachelor of Business Administration from Georgia State University. He is an associate of the Society of Actuaries and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries. He is also co-chair of the VBC Strategic Initiative for the Society of Actuaries.

Rich leads Optum Advisory Services’ StepWise practice, which helps payers drive profitable growth through business strategies, technology enablement, and services focused on the optimization of key underwriting and actuarial functions.

After beginning his career as a software developer and technology program manager, Rich transitioned to focus on business process transformation. Prior to joining Optum, he was the global innovation lead for Accenture’s Health & Public Service BPaaS practice. 

Rich received his Bachelor of Arts in chemistry and political science from Duke University. 

Dave leads end-to-end managed analytics services offerings. This includes full outsourced analytic solutions for both payer and provider clients. He previously spent eight years at IBM Watson Health and its predecessor companies.  

Dave's expertise includes:

• Clinical and operational performance improvement
• Physician referral management analytics
• Managed care and payment reform strategy and contracting
• Ambulatory and post-acute network strategy
• Children's hospital benchmarking

Dave holds a Master of Science degree in exercise physiology from the University of South Carolina. He also earned a Bachelor of Science degree in health promotion from the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point.

Erik Johnson brings 25+ years of expertise empowering the health care industry to develop new growth models, value-based care strategies and payer-provider collaborations.

Erik has experience leading clients through designing and developing population health strategies for value-based care and operating models that rely on risk sharing between payers and health systems. Other strategies include ACO strategies, policy analysis, data analysis, strategic planning, and organizational design and reinvention.

Previously, Erik served as the senior vice president at Avalere Health where he led the Healthcare Networks consulting practice and oversaw new product development. These efforts empowered health systems to determine adoption strategies for accountable care and payment bundles in addition to the overall guiding strategy.

Erik earned an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a Bachelor of Arts with honor and distinction in Political Science from Stanford University.

John leads the Provider Technology Services practice within Optum Advisory Services. He plays a pivotal role leading:

• Electronic health record (EHR) implementation
• EHR optimization
• Population health/value-based operations efforts
• IT strategy

Prior to consulting, he practiced internal medicine for 14 years. His focus was ambulatory chronic disease management and inpatient critical care. 

John Kontor’s unique perspective comes from his experience serving as an executive in multiple roles at IDNs. These include chief medical information officer, vice president of medical affairs and medical director of an employed physician network. 

John received his Bachelor of Arts from Boston University in health policy and earned his Doctor of Medicine from the University of Florida in Gainesville. 

Dr. Lassiter has more than 25 years of results-driven leadership with extensive and diverse experience in business development, strategic planning, clinical and business consulting, and system design. 

He has served in a number of executive leadership roles within both provider and payer organizations. He is an expert in transforming concepts into high-impact, high-growth strategic solutions designed to meet the needs of providers, payers and the populations they serve.

Dr. Lassiter holds a medical degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas, and a Master of Business Administration degree in health care from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. He is licensed in Texas and North Carolina. 

Kari enables her team to work across a variety of health care initiatives, while encouraging a culture of mentorship and development.  

She leads by example through her excellent communication and technical skills. She has a passion for innovation and product development within the health care arena. 

Kari has more than 20 years' experience as a program developer and program manager. She began her career in a small private startup and then transitioned to the financial services industry, developing business plans, launching new products and leading development teams. 

Kari joined Optum in 2007 and has worked across a variety of clients. She also helped launch the Optum Consulting Development Program. 

She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Bemidji State University.

BJ is a leader of the value-based care team for Optum Advisory Services. He serves clients with accountable care organization and clinical integration program formation, care transformation strategy, population health management and payer strategy development.

Prior to joining Optum Advisory Services, BJ served as interim director of the Clinical Integration Program. He was also a director of physician services at Navigant Healthcare. 

BJ earned an associate degree in Spanish and Portuguese and a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy from Brigham Young University. He also earned a Master of Business Administration from Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Management.

Michele is instrumental on the Strategy and Growth practice within Optum Advisory Services. Michele was previously a senior consulting leader with the Advisory Board Company.

She partners with clients in both comprehensive and focused consulting engagements. She assists health systems, as well as employed and independent physician enterprises, in achieving financial and operational sustainability.

Michele earned her Bachelor of Arts in microbiology from Miami University, and her MBA in marketing from Kennesaw State University, Michael  J. Coles College of Business.

Alexandra develops and delivers solutions that drive value for organizations. She leverages existing technology investments, such as electronic health records (EHR).

Prior to joining Optum Advisory Services, Alexandra coordinated the development of an informatics governance structure for a large not-for-profit health system.

Alexandra holds a Bachelor of Arts in cognitive science and biology from the University of Virginia. She also holds a Master in Health Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Sasha Preble brings 18+ years of experience serving health care organizations by defining their strategic paths forward and building tactical roadmaps. These initiatives helped to change market dynamics, align with overall organizational aspirations and objectives, and garner support from diverse executives.

Sasha’s areas of expertise include strategic growth, payer/provider collaboration, partnership evaluation and development, consumer-centric design, payment innovation and addressing health equity.

Previously, Sasha served in multiple leadership positions for Aetna’s Accountable Care Solutions Advisory Services. Prior to that, she worked with leading health care strategic and financial advisory consultancies to lead growth strategy development. Sasha’s experience has earned her numerous speaking invitations on health care topics, and she has authored several articles for notable industry publications.

Sasha earned a Master of Business Administration in management and strategy from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. She also has a Bachelor of Science in business administration, magna cum laude, from Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis.

Preston leads the EHR implementation and IT managed services work of Optum Advisory Services. He focuses on helping health systems minimize inefficiencies related to EHR deployment, optimization and ongoing management.

Preston is a senior health care technology leader with more than a decade of experience implementing and optimizing health care technology in large, complex health systems. His specific focus is on EHRs and Epic Systems. 

Preston holds a Bachelor of Science in economics from the University of Central Florida. He earned an MBA from the University of St. Gallen (Switzerland). Preston is Epic-certified in several modules: EpicCare Ambulatory, OpTime, Inpatient Clinical Documentation and Orders.

Herschel joined the company in 2005 and has steadily increased his responsibility and scope.

He has worked in the actuarial health care and managed care arena for more than 30 years. His expertise includes:

• Strategy assessments
• Performance improvement
• Pricing
• Underwriting
• Reserving
• Product development

Prior to joining Optum, Herschel held actuarial and executive roles in group health care, dental and vision for the Guardian Life Insurance Company of America. He led a significant growth of its dental business. 

Herschel received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Bernard M. Baruch College. He's a fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

Jeremiah is a provider actuarial leader within Optum Advisory Services. He has 18 years of experience in the health care actuarial field. His primary career focus has been in the area of U.S. health care consulting for providers. 

Jeremiah has worked with:

• Health insurance plans
• Health care providers
• Accountable care organizations
• Clinically integrated networks
• Medicare Advantage organizations
• Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
• State and national regulatory agencies

Jeremiah has significant experience covering all aspects of risk analysis in the financing and delivery of health care. 

His work has included:

• Compliance and financial reporting
• Rate review for state regulatory agencies
• Development of actuarial models
• Provider contracting
• Health insurance rate filings
• Actuarial modeling of pharmacy claims and pricing of pharmacy benefits

Jeremiah earned his Bachelor of Science in mathematics and physical science from Mayville State University. He earned a Master of Science in mathematics from the University of North Dakota.

Since 2014, Eileen has led the revenue cycle consulting team. The team within Optum Advisory Services provides custom support across the hospital and physician revenue cycle to:

• Advance patient financial experience
• Prevent denials
• Improve clinical documentation
• Increase cash collections
• Redesign business processes

Prior to joining Optum, Eileen held executive leadership roles at The Advisory Board. These included leadership of the executive advisor team, and senior director of key accounts for the Advisory Board Leadership Academies. 

She also served as a consultant to national and international organizations in individual and organizational development.

Eileen holds a Master of Science and PhD from the University of Pittsburgh, and a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Fairfield University.

Ali Shirvani-Mahdavi has 15 years of results-driven leadership with extensive and diverse experience in business development, strategic planning, business consulting and product development. He is an expert in transforming concepts to high-impact, revenue-generating products.

In his current role with Optum Advisory Services, he identifies and designs capabilities to deliver analytically driven consumer engagement and activation consultative practice to payers, providers and everyone involved in health care.

Prior to joining Optum, Ali was one of the original founders of Innovative Healthcare Technology Company. He developed the initial business model and implementation approach for a new type of analytically driven consumer engagement company for the health care sector.

Ali earned his doctorate in behavioral economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He also earned an MS in systems engineering and a master's degree in city planning, both from MIT. Ali received his Bachelor of Science from University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Greg Shufelt brings 20+ years of industry experience in identifying and quantifying the strategic value proposition and operational/financial risks related to developing and deploying growth state.

He has facilitated the execution of strategic initiatives across the industry. Initiatives include the development of innovative payer-provider partnerships, clinically integrated networks, accountable care organizations and bundled payment programs. Greg also has experience in developing strategies related to ambulatory growth, post-acute network development and physician alignment initiatives.

Greg's previous experiences also include serving as Vice President at GE Healthcare Camden Group, a leading strategic and financial advisory consulting firm. In this role, Greg was responsible with helping provider clients develop value-oriented growth, partnership, and acquisition strategies. Greg began his career in the investment banking division of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., where he helped analyze and structure over $4 billion in transactions.

Greg has a BA in economics from Trinity College (CT) and an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. He is an Accredited Senior Appraiser (ASA) in the American Society of Appraisers.

Dr. Smalto works with hospitals and health systems to improve the quality, patient experience and cost effectiveness of health care. He creates and promotes the use of best practice clinical guidelines to reduce inappropriate variation in health care delivery.

Prior to joining Optum, Dr. Smalto managed a multihospital contracted anesthesiology group, Universal Anesthesia Care, PPO, as well as Universal Management Associates, a regional physician billing and management company. 

Dr. Smalto received his Doctor of Medicine from the Bowman Gray School of Medicine of Wake Forest University. He completed his residency in anesthesiology at the University of South Florida. He earned his MBA at George Washington University.

Tiffany brings more than 25 years of experience in acute and outpatient care. She is responsible for assisting hospitals in improving efficiency and effectiveness of clinical operations, evaluating productivity, improving throughput and redesigning processes.  

Prior to joining Optum, Tiffany served as director of care management and chronic care programs at ProHealth Care in Waukesha, Wisconsin. She has also held a variety of clinical operations leadership positions.  

Tiffany is a member of the American Case Management Association and the American College of Healthcare Executives. She earned an MBA from the University of Phoenix, and a Bachelor of Science in nursing from Marquette University. She is also a registered nurse.

Eric has more than 10 years of experience in health care. He has held executive leadership positions in product management, account management and architecture. 

Prior to joining Optum Advisory Services, Eric was senior vice president of product management for Altruista Health. He was also senior director of business architecture for UnitedHealthcare Community and State. 

Eric earned his Bachelor of Science in mathematics and computer science from Bemidji State University.

Mylynn Tufte brings 25+ years of health care industry experience and specializes in population health management and health strategy. As a former state health official, she established health policy as well as developed and implemented strategic priorities.

She has served within various roles as a health management executive and strategic advisor to payers, providers and the public sector. She has extensive experience in strategy, operations and health information technology.

Mylynn uses technology to improve health equity, social determinants of health and care for vulnerable populations. Operationally, she has supported health care organizations in clinical care coordination, patient flow and implementation of health information systems.

Her diverse experience includes working with federal, state, local and tribal governments, national and regional health plans, integrated delivery networks, academic and community medical centers, physician groups and accountable care organizations.

Mylynn is a progressive leader with experience in strategy, operations and health information technology. She has helped organizations to develop and implement innovative solutions that improve health care for diverse populations. 

She earned a BSN from Case Western Reserve University, and an MBA and Masters in Information Management from Arizona State University.

As the global expansion lead, Fred manages hiring, development and client relationships for the international teams. He maintains relationships with the national Optum Advisory Services teams, and helps staff global resources to local projects, while seeking global clients. 

Fred began his career with Accenture, and spent 15 years executing global delivery and managing global teams for the firm. He came to Optum in 2013 as the COO of Optum Advisory Services, and is to OAS Global Expansion Lead.

Fred earned his Bachelor of Science in finance from the University of St. Thomas.

Elena has more than 20 years of experience optimizing provider networks and complex contracts for major plans and providers. She led national network expansions to meet regulatory standards, medical cost of care management requirements and value-based contracting. 

She held leadership positions in the managed care industry with community physician groups, integrated hospital systems and risk-based management service organizations. 

Elena earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from University of California Riverside. She earned a Master of Business Administration from Loyola Marymount University.

Julie's primary focus has been on individual medical and small group pricing. This includes extensive experience with provider network valuation and pharmacy, and Affordable Care Act (ACA) compliance. 

She joined Optum in 2016 and has nearly 30 years of experience in the health insurance industry, having worked for both insurance companies and consulting firms.                                                                             

Julie is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries and Conference of Consulting Actuaries. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater. 

Samantha is a leader within the Revenue Cycle Management consulting practice of Optum Advisory Services. She oversees revenue cycle consulting engagements with hospitals, clinics and health systems to improve overall revenue cycle performance. 

She focuses her efforts on enhancing patient financial experience, serving as the leading partner in this space.

Prior to joining Optum Advisory Services, Samantha was a member of the revenue cycle team within the Advisory Board Company.

Samantha holds a Bachelor of Science in marketing from Pennsylvania State University’s Smeal College of Business.

Eric works with Optum Advisory Services clients on a wide array of health system margin improvement efforts. His areas of focus include health system finance, cost management, revenue cycle and reimbursement, debt and capital management and strategic growth. 

He has 29 years of experience in health care finance and operations, including more than 17 years as a health system chief financial officer. 

Eric holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Urbana University and a Master of Business Administration from Capital University.