Health Care
The 2024 Health Care Power 100
The policymakers and practitioners making New York a healthier place.
City & State presents the 2024 Health Care Power 100. Noam Galai/Getty Images
Health care and how it’s delivered are matters of perennial debate. What share of the population has access to quality care – and what’s the best way to expand access? How much government funding should be allocated for medical services – and how effectively and efficiently is that money being spent? How can a state like New York prepare for the next pandemic, keep struggling hospitals open, ease medical staffing shortages, combat rising drug prices, improve mental health – the list goes on and on.
City & State’s Health Care Power 100 doesn’t have the answers to these many questions, but it does identify the most important public officials, health care leaders and other individuals who are seeking out solutions to these challenges every day. The latest iteration of this annual list features hospital and health care executives, nonprofit service providers, labor leaders, academics and other advocates and activists who are shaping health care policy and practice in New York. The 2024 ranking highlights key legislative wins, labor victories, new initiatives and other developments over the past year.
1. Ashwin Vasan
Tying all things to health, Dr. Ashwin Vasan said recently that when considering almost any public policy in New York City, the goal is increasing life expectancy. That’s what the city’s new holistic HealthyNYC campaign is all about: reversing a downward trend by addressing multiple factors that lead to premature death. Vasan, a primary care physician and epidemiologist, was CEO of Fountain House, a mental health nonprofit, before Mayor Eric Adams appointed him as New York City’s top doctor.
2. James McDonald
Last year, James McDonald took over from Mary Bassett as commissioner of the state Department of Health when she resigned from the post. Previously, McDonald had been serving as interim director of Rhode Island’s state health agency, where he had spent the better part of 10 years. A Navy veteran from upstate New York, McDonald’s family owns a 93-year-old pharmacy business in the Capital Region. Experienced in running rural health agencies, he also spent time in the federal Indian Health Service assigned to the Navajo Nation.
3. Gustavo Rivera & Amy Paulin
Gustavo Rivera and Amy Paulin both chair their respective legislative committees on health. Rivera, the state Senate’s health chair, is on a mission to create a universal health care system in New York. He also successfully pushed for a bill that will prohibit medical debt from showing up on credit reports. Last year, Paulin, one of the state’s most prolific lawmakers, was named Assembly health chair, taking the reins from Richard Gottfried, who retired after 35 years as chair. It’s a big job, with health care-related items taking up 40% of the state budget. Both have been garnering union support for the New York Health Act, a 30-year effort to bring single-payer health insurance to the state.
4. Anne Williams-Isom
For most of her years in public service, Anne Williams-Isom has been focused on the care of New York City’s children and families. She’s the former chief executive officer of Harlem Children’s Zone and a current board member of New York City Health + Hospitals, and she spent 13 years in the city Administration for Children’s Services. As deputy mayor for health and human services, Williams-Isom has been summoning all her skills in the herculean task of managing the city’s response to the influx of over 100,000 migrants.
5. Kenneth Raske
Since 1984, Kenneth Raske has been at the helm of GNYHA, lobbying for hundreds of nonprofit hospitals and care facilities in the region. Raske has friends in high places, and through GNYHA, he is shaping health care policy on the federal and state levels. Raske outlined the challenges that hospitals face in the coming year, particularly labor shortages, joining 1199SEIU union workers in a call for increased funding for hospitals and a fight to repeal the Medicaid carve-out that the organization believes will affect funding for care facilities serving the most at-risk New Yorkers.
6. George Gresham
After starting his career in the rank and file at a New York City hospital, George Gresham rose to become leader of the powerful 1199SEIU union. Its 450,000 members and the billions of dollars in its coffers gives the union influence in a number of spheres, which left it open to criticism recently for not investing more in minority- and women-owned funds. Through organized strikes and demonstrations, 1199SEIU is pushing for more money to go into the state health care system to address staffing shortages and wage disparities.
7. Mitchell Katz & José Pagán
NYC Health + Hospitals, the nation’s largest municipal health system, is struggling with financial stress lingering from the pandemic, according to a report issued by the state comptroller’s office. As president and chair of the board respectively, Mitchell Katz and José Pagán are tasked with putting the system back on track. Katz is promoting the system’s plan to connect its homeless patients with housing and seeking solutions to add permanent staff in place of costly temporary nursing that is causing its financial woes. Pagán, a health economist, is also a professor and chair of the Department of Public Health Policy and Management at New York University.
8. Michael Dowling
Michael Dowling is a recognized leader in the health care community – not only as chief of Northwell Health, New York state’s largest health care provider and employer, but also for his focus on the social issues that affect the nation’s health, like gun control and health care inequality. Dowling was once named the most influential person in health care by Modern Healthcare magazine. He was also honored by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the medical aid Northwell provided the country during its ongoing war with Russia.
9. Nancy Hagans & Pat Kane
Pat Kane and Nancy Hagans will stop at nothing when they are advocating for over 42,000 nurses across the state, including calling a high-profile nurses strike, which was settled after intervention by Gov. Kathy Hochul last year. Kane and Hagans are focused on a number of issues including the need for increased staffing and equal pay for all nurses. Addressing a future fight in the industry, Kane wrote an opinion piece coming out against the rise of remote nursing and AI replacing hands-on assessment. Last year, after the union decided to affiliate with National Nurses United to strengthen its influence, Hagans was elected to join NNU’s Council of Presidents along with continuing her duties at NYSNA.
10. Angela Profeta & Jihoon Kim
Since 2021, Angela Profeta has been helping to direct state health policy, advising Gov. Kathy Hochul and serving as a board member of Hope For New York, which supports nonprofits in their work helping at-risk New York City residents. Previously, Profeta directed strategy for Summit Medical Group when it merged with CityMD. Jihoon Kim became deputy secretary for human services and mental hygiene after spending years helping craft major initiatives for the state government as a policy adviser. Kim was appointed co-chair of an advisory council to reduce the child poverty rate by 50% and oversees the state's portfolio of mental health agencies. Last year, Profeta stepped in to fill the vacancy left when state Health Commissioner Mary Bassett suddenly resigned her post, which was eventually filled by James McDonald.
11. Steven Corwin
Steven Corwin has said that in order to give the best care to most people regardless of ability to pay, a hospital has to be on solid financial ground. He has instilled that ideal into his job leading New York-Presbyterian and stresses the value that teaching hospitals provides for the next generation of healers and local communities. Inspired by the deaths of two relatives of heart failure, Corwin trained as a cardiologist, joining NewYork-Presbyterian as a resident in 1979 and rising to the top spot in 2011.
12. Kenneth Davis & Margaret Pastuszko
For 20 years now, chief executive officer Kenneth Davis has charted the growth of the Mount Sinai Health System from financial distress in the early 2000s to create one of the largest nonprofit health care systems in the country. In 2000, Margaret Pastuszko joined Mount Sinai, spending most of her professional career there after getting her MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1997. She was elevated to president and chief operating officer in 2021, becoming the first female president of a large academic health system in New York City. Due to major financial losses, Mount Sinai began closing Beth Israel Hospital last year, a staple in downtown Manhattan since 1899. But Mount Sinai remains one of the top 10 hospitals in the country, according to Newsweek.
13. Manny Pastreich
Manny Pastreich took the reins as president of 32BJ SEIU last year after Kyle Bragg retired from his post. 32BJ SEIU’s health fund has used its own data to prove New York City residents were paying up to four times more for health care at private hospitals over public institutions. Pastreich called on elected officials to do something about it. Armed with this data, the union has made a push for a more cost-effective network offering lower co-pays for members to visit preferred lower cost hospitals.
14. Linda Lee, Julie Menin, Mercedes Narcisse & Lynn Schulman
A New York City Council Small Business Committee chair isn’t normally on a list like this, but Julie Menin has made herself a player in the health care and business communities. Menin’s legislation to create the nation’s first municipal Office of Healthcare Accountability will make public the costs of procedures at hospitals along with analyzing city health care spending and making recommendations to lower costs.
Council Member Linda Lee, the Mental Health, Disabilities and Addiction Committee chair, unveiled a comprehensive Mental Health Roadmap last spring. The proposal includes a series of legislative and regulatory proposals for the city and state governments to address training of social workers, judges and law enforcement on mental health; address social work recruitment and retention issues; and increase mental health service delivery.
A registered nurse, Council Member Mercedes Narcisse chairs the Hospitals Committee, overseeing the city’s sprawling public hospital system. Last year, Narcisse passed legislation to increase city care for sickle cell disease, including increased education and training for public hospital personnel. Narcisse is a carrier of the sickle cell trait, a disease most common in people of African and Caribbean descent.
Council Member Lynn Schulman is striving to reduce diabetes in the city. The Council Health Committee chair led the city’s first diabetes reduction plan to passage. Schulman is also aiming to expand access to abortion, make hospital capacity a part of land use decision-making and to develop a 10-year public health agenda for the city.
15. Bea Grause
A lobbying group that advocates for hospitals and other health care facilities in New York and on the federal level, HANYS counts 478 member organizations among its ranks with close ties to other health care advocacy associations. Last year, HANYS leader Bea Grause said data collected showed that patients languished in hospital emergency departments much longer than needed, costing hospitals money. Grause brings experience on Capitol Hill and at health advocacy groups in Tennessee, Vermont and Massachusetts to her work in New York.
16. Dennis Trainor
Dennis Trainor came up through the union ranks to become vice president of CWA District 1, representing over 150,000 regional members, a number of those in the health care industry including nurses and housekeeping staff. Among the victories it touts on behalf of its health care workers, the union said it helped implement safe staffing committees at hospitals across the state and trained union members to teach others about the law and keeping hospitals accountable.
17. Danielle Holahan
At NY State of Health, Danielle Holahan oversees the state’s health insurance marketplace with almost 7 million people enrolled, more than a third of all New Yorkers. Holahan has been with the plan since 2011, helping with its initial formation and later becoming executive director in 2021. In November, Holahan said the agency had been focused on getting the word out that renewal rules for health care coverage are returning after being on pause during the COVID-19 pandemic and millions of people need to be recertified for Medicaid eligibility.
18. Eric Linzer
Since 2018, Eric Linzer has led the New York Health Plan Association, an advocacy group for health insurance companies, ensuring members have a voice in government. The organization made the case for hiking premiums in New York due to the increase in underlying health care costs. State officials approved an increase – but not nearly as much as insurers initially sought. Linzer supports a bill now on the governor’s desk that will mandate drug companies give fair warning before a significant increase in prices.
19. Adrienne Harris
Adrienne Harris’ weighty portfolio in Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Cabinet includes serving as the state’s top insurance regulator. New Yorkers pay some of the highest insurance premiums in the country and a recent announcement of a double-digit rate increase for 2024 was met with a healthy dose of criticism. DFS walks a tightrope between maintaining a competitive and viable insurance pool and holding the line on premiums. Insurers decry soaring medical costs as DFS pushed back asking for smaller hikes.
20. Ann Marie T. Sullivan & Chinazo Cunningham
New York has committed considerable resources toward improving mental health and lowering the rate of addiction statewide. Ann Marie T. Sullivan has a big job ahead of her as the Office of Mental Health is being tasked with deploying the historic $1 billion budgeted to improve the state’s mental health system. At the Office of Addiction Services and Supports, Chinazo Cunningham – a physician with a focus on addressing substance use-related issues – is working to stem a rising tide of deaths due to overdose since the pandemic. A researcher herself, Cunningham stresses the importance of data in the battle against opioid use.
21. Amir Bassiri
Amir Bassiri became state Medicaid director last year after joining the department in 2019 as chief of staff. Bassiri said his job was to ensure recipients receive access to the highest level of health care through the program. He spearheaded communications to alert Medicaid enrollees that they needed to redetermine eligibility last year when the requirement resumed after a pandemic-related pause. Bassiri also defended phasing out Medicaid’s 340B program in favor of NYRx, saying the change will save money while benefiting members.
22. Samra Brouk & Aileen Gunther
Both Samra Brouk and Aileen Gunther lobbied for the dramatic $1 billion investment in mental health care in the state budget, saying that in addition to proposed increases in services and infrastructure, a salary boost is needed to boost recruitment and retention in the mental health sector. Gunther wants some of the money in the budget to close the gap in outreach and care of mental health and substance use, especially in rural areas. Last year, Brouk reintroduced Daniel’s Law legislation that outlines a specialized response and support in cases where an individual is experiencing a crisis.
23. Robert Grossman
Not only is Robert Grossman the chief executive officer of NYU Langone Health, he is also dean of NYU Grossman School of Medicine – named in his honor in 2019 – which has been tuition-free for students for over five years now. A recognized leader in medicine, in July the Long Island Langone School of Medicine was also named for Grossman when it, too, became tuition-free for students. NYU Langone Health was recognized for excellence with the distinguished Bernard A. Birnbaum MD Quality Leadership Award in 2023.
24. Patricia Wang
During her tenure leading Healthfirst, Pat Wang has increased enrollment in the insurance plan fivefold, to more than 1.8 million members. Wang helped create Healthfirst, formed when 15 New York hospital systems joined to become the largest not-for-profit health insurer in the state while putting patient-centric care at the forefront. In 2023, Wang, who was previously senior vice president for finance and managed care at Greater New York Hospital Association, was appointed to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York board of directors.
25. Talya Schwartz
New York City insurance plan MetroPlusHealth, a subsidiary of NYC Health + Hospitals, provides more than 700,000 eligible individuals with low-cost health care coverage. Since Talya Schwartz took the reins in 2019, enrollment has increased more than 35% and the provider has been given honors for excellence and quality. A survey released last year by the company found a significant number of people fear they will go into debt from medical expenses to the point where they avoid visiting the doctor.
26. Philip Ozuah
Consisting of both Montefiore Health System and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Philip Ozuah presides over Montefiore Medicine, helping to expand and grow the teaching hospital. In 2023, the hospital opened a comprehensive breast cancer treatment center in the Bronx, fielded an anonymous $100 million donation for biomedical research and negotiated the end of a three-day nurses strike early in January of that year. Ozuah touted the benefits of teaching hospitals in an op-ed last summer and was appointed to the board of the Cigna Group, a health insurance provider.
27. Kenneth Gibbs
Under Kenneth Gibbs, Maimonides Medical Center has grown in Brooklyn to provide more care to the neediest patients in the borough. It merged with neighboring New York Community Hospital in 2021, opened a long-planned emergency department in Bay Ridge last July, and plans to open Brooklyn’s first standalone pediatric emergency department in 2024. Gibbs has also had his share of headaches including a $130 million shortfall, low ratings for patient care and a hostile public campaign seeking leadership changes over these concerns.
28. Karen Lynch
As the president and CEO of CVS Health, Karen Lynch steers one of the most powerful players in the health care industry. Lynch herself has been named the most powerful woman in business by Forbes for the past three years. Together, Lynch hopes to enact the change she sees coming in health care with key acquisitions – for one, a $10.6 billion deal last year with Oak Street Health, bolstering its presence in the primary care arena – and upgrades to technology creating an even bigger one-stop shop health care powerhouse.
29. Junior Harewood
Junior Harewood spent 10 years in a number of positions at UnitedHealthcare all across the Southeast, including as the Georgia group’s CEO. But the native New Yorker came back up north in 2022 to take on the top job at the state’s branch and now oversees the day-to-day operations of the health insurance provider with more than 3.5 million members. Last summer, the company gave $1.5 million in grants to various nonprofits across the state dedicated to improving health in their communities.
30. Victor DeStefano
After Alan Murray left Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield last year to help start up a new company focused on nonemergency medical transportation, Victor DeStefano stepped in as interim president. In October, the position was made permanent for the 38-year-old Staten Island native. DeStefano is now responsible for overseeing the health benefits for 2.3 million members of the plan – which is the largest health insurer in New York. The change at the top coincides with a rebranding and as of Jan. 1, Empire became Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield.
31. Wendy Stark
Wendy Stark took over in 2022 as president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Greater New York at a precarious time in the abortion rights movement, just after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Stark joined Planned Parenthood following a seven-year stint at the LGBTQ+ health care organization Callen-Lorde. She leads the organization that is protecting reproductive rights in the state and is estimated to treat over 150,000 patients last year. The organization hosted its first gala in New York City to raise funds and awareness for their mission.
32. Karen Ignagni
Once one of the most influential lobbyists in the health insurance industry, Karen Ignagni spent 22 years at America’s Health Insurance Plans representing the interests of insurers to policymakers at the table when the Affordable Care Act was crafted. Now she’s running an insurance company instead of developing national health policy. At EmblemHealth, one of the country’s largest nonprofit health insurers with over 3 million members, Ignagni has led a modernization effort and has put the focus on patient outcomes rather than pay for services.
33. Selwyn M. Vickers
For patients in the downstate region, Memorial Sloan Kettering is the go-to cancer care center. Selwyn Vickers, a practicing surgeon, became the center’s chief executive in September 2022 after being recruited from the top job at a major Alabama health care system. He has said that equality in patient outcomes and diversity in MSK’s staff is a prime focus. He’s also pushing to further expand the center out of its Upper East Side neighborhood into other New York City boroughs to provide greater access to care.
34. Stephen B. Hanse
An advocacy group that represents over 450 skilled nursing and assisted living facilities across New York, Stephen Hanse spent last year fighting for more Medicaid funding after 15 years of cuts. He notched a victory but the 7.5% increase the industry received in the final budget was far short of what Hanse said is needed. Hanse, an attorney, previously served as counsel for the association before taking the top job, and prior to that was with a law firm representing health care companies in government.
35. Christopher D. Hillyer
A prominent hematologist with a long list of accomplishments that includes textbook editor, professor and researcher, Dr. Christopher Hillyer leads one of the country’s largest blood banks, where he founded a venture capital fund investing in blood therapy innovations and new technologies. NYBCe collects almost 4,000 units of blood every day in addition to its life sciences research, development and training. After new FDA guidance was released last year, NYBCe changed its policy and began accepting blood donations from gay and bisexual men.
36. Paloma Izquierdo-Hernandez
Paloma Izquierdo-Hernandez spent decades at Urban Health Plan expanding on her family’s legacy. She has grown the nonprofit health care provider from a single medical center in the south Bronx started by her father, Richard Izquierdo, to a network of dozens of facilities across New York City that serves 84,000 patients regardless of their ability to pay for care. In 2023, Izquierdo-Hernandez was selected to chair the board of the National Association of Community Health Centers, an advocacy group for community medical facilities.
37. James Clyne Jr.
The importance of long-term health care only increases as the population of adults in New York over the age of 65 grows, and LeadingAge New York focuses on advocating for those who serve New York’s aging population. James Clyne Jr. has led the organization for over 12 years, previously serving as executive deputy commissioner of the state Department of Health. Clyne Jr. has been speaking out against staffing minimums that he says facilities cannot meet without an increase in Medicare funding from the state.
38. David Sandman
David Sandman leads the New York Health Foundation, dedicated to improving health in the state, especially for traditionally marginalized people. A recent study funded by the foundation found that 6% of New Yorkers had medical debt in collections. The foundation supported a bill recently signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul that will eliminate debt from being put on credit reports. Sandman was previously executive director of New York’s Commission on Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century.
39. Oxiris Barbot
Oxiris Barbot is known to New Yorkers from her televised public service announcements as New York City health commissioner during the COVID-19 pandemic’s early days. Now the first woman to lead the United Hospital Fund, she is working to improve health policy and care delivery across the state. In addition to serving as New York City’s top doctor, Barbot served as health commissioner in Baltimore. Referencing an alarming report on the devastating effect of gun violence in America, Bardot said last year that firearm deaths are a major public health issue, a view echoed by the state and the American Medical Association.
40. Sandra Scott
Sandra Scott steps in as the interim CEO of One Brooklyn Health System at a tumultuous time. The safety net hospital network in New York City’s most populous borough has experienced continued financial difficulties, even after a $1 billion state bailout, which resulted in the ouster of LaRay Brown as CEO in September. Scott’s caseload is enormous but as a former emergency room physician dealing with trauma wounds, she has faced her fair share of challenges.
41. Rose Duhan
Rose Duhan has been helping to shape health care policy in New York for over 12 years, having served as assistant secretary for health under then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, directed government programs at New York Health Plan Association and spent the last seven years leading the Community Health Care Association of New York State, a collective of over 70 community primary care centers across the state. Duhan has said that there is a crisis in the health care workforce at community-based centers that directly affects patient outcomes.
42. Michael D. Israel
Michael D. Israel is presiding over an explosion of growth in Hudson Valley health care giant WMCHealth. Over the last year WMCHealth has renovated of a hospital in Kingston, doubled the size of its children’s hospital in Poughkeepsie and received a $195 million tax-exempt bond from Westchester County to help construct a new five-story critical care center in Valhalla, known as the Patient Care Tower, expected to open in 2025. Israel is also dealing with the fallout from a cyberattack on WMCHealth’s system in October.
43. Tom Halloran
Tom Halloran serves as Fidelis Care’s president and CEO, running the insurance provider that manages a number of different government programs in New York as well as participating in the state’s health plan marketplace – and covering over 2.5 million individuals. Last year, the company promised $1.1 million to develop an entrepreneurial and wellness center in Buffalo. It also participated in a statewide communications push to remind people to renew Medicaid and Child Health Plus coverage or risk losing benefits. He also serves as regional senior vice president for Centene, overseeing work in New York, New Jersey and New Hampshire.
44. Paul A. Pipia
Last April, Paul A. Pipia became president of the Medical Society of the State of New York, the main doctor advocacy group in the state. Pipia also serves as chair of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation as well as the deputy medical director of the Nassau University Medical Center. Last year, the society opposed a bill that would relax oversight of physician assistants by doctors, addressed physician burnout in the state and criticized the expansion of New York's wrongful death law.
45. Frances Quee
Frances Quee, a public hospital pediatrician in the Bronx, is president of the Doctors Council SEIU, which represents thousands of health care workers across the country. Quee, who grew up poor and vowed to become a doctor to help treat the underserved, leads the union helping clinicians organize for better working conditions and improved patient care. Recently, the union advised doctors in a Minnesota health organization to form a SEIU local and become the largest private sector doctors union in the country.
46. Kathy Febraio
The NYS Association of Health Care Providers is an advocacy organization that represents home and community-based care agencies across the state. Kathy Febraio has been sparring with insurance companies and the state for greater transparency into how public dollars are deployed for home health care. In a refrain repeated by many health care associations, Febraio says that reimbursement rates to her member agencies from Medicare are not sufficient to cover minimum wage costs for their workers, which will result in cutting staff and service hours.
47. Patrick M. O’Shaughnessy
Patrick O’Shaughnessy has orchestrated some noteworthy developments for Catholic Health on Long Island. Last year Catholic Health unveiled a partnership with CVS to enhance services for Medicare beneficiaries, broke ground on a $10 million enhancement to the emergency department at St. Charles Hospital, which includes a drug rehab center, and opened a cutting-edge $17 million urgent care facility. The organization is collaborating with NewYork-Presbyterian to extend their heart transplant program to Long Island.
48. Donald Boyd
A $2 billion health system with more than 10,000 employees, Kaleida Health is a network of seven hospitals, three surgery centers and a vast number of additional health care services and facilities in Western New York. Donald Boyd took over the system’s top spot in 2022, a position he has been moving toward over a 25-year career at the company. When he came on board as CEO, he knew well the challenges he would face: financial strain from the pandemic, union labor negotiations and rising costs.
49. Candace Johnson
Candace Johnson took the helm of Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in 2015, becoming the first woman to lead a freestanding cancer center in the country. Expansion of services at the Buffalo-based hospital last year included the opening of a new $23 million cancer center in suburban Amherst. In response to accusations of discrimination, the cancer center released a self-critical report last year that suggested systematic changes, leading to the hiring of a chief diversity officer.
50. Dennis P. McKenna
Comprising four hospitals, a medical college and a home health service, Albany Med Health System is the region’s largest employer and biggest hospital system. Dennis P. McKenna, who trained at Albany Medical College, joined Albany Med Health as a physician in emergency medicine after a 20-year stint in the military and rose through the ranks to become chief executive in 2020. Over the last few years, McKenna has had to manage a post-COVID $66 million operating loss at the health care system.
51. Ramon Tallaj & Henry Chen
Delivering vital care to more than a million patients in New York City’s minority and immigrant populations, Somos Community Care is a physician-led network of over 2,500 doctors. Board chair Ramon Tallaj has held a number of health care positions in the Dominican Republic before he was asked by the Archdiocese of New York to help care for the underserved Hispanic population here. Henry Chen, who has been in private practice for over 20 years caring for Asian communities in New York City, co-founded Somos and serves as its president.
52. Harold Iselin
At top lobbying firm Greenberg Traurig, Harold Iselin is a key player in the Health Care & FDA Practice, using his acknowledged expertise to navigate complex regulatory issues and an ever-changing marketplace for clients in managed care and insurance transactions. Clients have included Schenectady-based MVP Health Care, the New York Health Plan Association and the Health System Owned Specialty Pharmacy Alliance. Iselin brings to the table his background as a former assistant counsel in the governor’s office and attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice.
53. Tom Connolly
Tom Connolly brings his deep background in health policy to his role as a partner and lobbyist with public affairs firm Bolton-St. Johns. Connolly once served as the director of government relations for the Greater New York Hospital Association and was a vice president at the Healthcare Association of New York State. Connolly was also a top health care adviser in the Assembly and is a former director of the Council on Health Care Financing.
54. Lisa David
Lisa David steers Public Health Solutions in its mission to provide community support and direct services to underserved communities that improve overall health including food assistance, mother and child health and reproductive health services across New York City. David, a former top Planned Parenthood executive, supports New York City’s new hospital costs transparency law saying access to data will help people make informed decisions and calling the current state of pricing a morass for consumers to figure out.
55. Sean Doolan
Sean Doolan is the president of government relations powerhouse Hinman Straub. With notable health care clients like New York State Conference of Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans and Empire State Association of Assisted Living, Doolan has spent the past few years serving as lead counsel for the companies helping them to navigate the successful approval of a number health care-related measures in Albany.
56. Louise Cohen
Investing in low-income neighborhoods to fortify access to quality primary care across the country, Primary Care Development Corp. is helping bring health care to those who need it most. CEO Louise Cohen focuses on advancing health equity and reducing cost of care through advocacy, financial assistance and training. Cohen has said she is deeply concerned about the 340B carveout in New York, which she says will reduce access to affordable medicine and care for the state’s most vulnerable communities.
57. Charles King
Charles King has dedicated his life to providing shelter, health care and support for homeless people living with HIV and AIDS. Housing Works, which runs businesses that fund its mission, opened a cannabis dispensary in December 2022 that did $12 million in sales in its first six months of operation. No stranger to being put in handcuffs for a cause, King was arrested last year for demonstrating against the state’s new NYRx Medicaid pharmacy program, which opponents said will limit access to medical care for vulnerable populations.
58. David Horrocks
At the nonprofit New York eHealth Collaborative, David Horrocks employs data to reduce costs and improve patient outcomes by sharing clinical information between a number of different health care providers. In addition to managing the patient portal, the nonprofit advises on policies and standards for clinical information exchange. Horrocks previously led CRISP Shared Services, a nonprofit health information exchange serving Maryland and four other states.
59. Elisabeth Ryden Benjamin
For many low-income New Yorkers, crippling costs and a byzantine insurance landscape keeps them from seeking medical treatment. At the Community Service Society of New York, Elisabeth Ryden Benjamin connects people to the insurance plans and care they need, overseeing the nonprofit’s health advocacy, policy and programs. She is also co-founder of the Health Care for All New York campaign dedicated to creating a better health care system. Recently, Benjamin applauded New York City’s plan to pick up unpaid medical debt for millions of patients.
60. Bryan Kelly
In September, Bryan Kelly made history becoming the first surgeon to serve as chief executive officer of the Hospital for Special Surgery, taking over from retiring CEO Louis A. Shapiro. Kelly had held the president’s title since last January and was previously surgeon-in-chief and medical director at HSS. He has served as head team doctor and medical director for the New York Rangers and as an associate team doctor for the New York Giants. Kelly completed his medical residency and a sports medicine and shoulder surgery fellowship at HSS.
61. Guillermo Chacón
Since 1990, the Latino Commission on AIDS has been filling an urgent need in the Latino community for HIV prevention and care. Guillermo Chacón took over as president of the organization in 2010 after the death of founding President Dennis deLeon. Chacón, who emigrated from El Salvador, serves on a number of health-related boards and committees. He also founded the Hispanic Health Network and last year President Joe Biden appointed him a second term serving on the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV and AIDS.
62. Todd Rogow
Data helps to boost efficiency – and Healthix aggregates information from large hospitals to small physician practices to form a comprehensive view of patient history and improve outcomes. With millions of patients in its database from New York City and Long Island, Healthix is the largest public health information exchange in the country. Todd Rogow has been a driver of innovation and technology at Healthix since 2019. He said last summer that Healthix’s 2023 partnership with health care information technology company Unite Us will better connect patients to social care networks.
63. Ann Kurth
A year ago Ann Kurth became the first nurse to lead the New York Academy of Medicine. A former dean at Yale School of Nursing, Kurth is an epidemiologist, with research focused on HIV and reproductive health, along with global health systems stressors such as COVID-19. A leading health care policy and advocacy group, NYAM holds a significant public medical library and funds research to better the health care system. Over the summer, Kurth applauded a new law that strengthened access to reproductive care in the state.
64. Lauren Tobias & Dan Sheppard
Lauren Tobias and Dan Sheppard play pivotal roles in health care services at Albany-based government relations firm Brown & Weinraub. Sheppard leverages his long career in state government, including service as a deputy state health commissioner and deputy state budget director, while Tobias brings her extensive experience to the firm, having previously served as a director of the New York State Division of Family Health. Combined, they provide Brown & Weinraub clients a deep understanding of how the health care bureaucracy operates on the state level, especially with issues related to health care budgets and finance, promoting health equality, and licensing.
65. Kitaw Demissie
The School of Public Health at SUNY Downstate is educating the next generation of health care leaders focused on the issues that affect overall health, especially in urban and immigrant populations. Building a career on cancer research and investigation of the disparities among underserved populations with the disease, Kitaw Demissie has mentored a number of young scientists who went on to success in the field of public health. He used his considerable knowledge in various roles at Rutgers, including epidemiology chair of Rutgers School of Public Health, before taking on his current position.
66. Thomas Quatroche
For nearly 20 years, Thomas Quatroche has been at Erie County Medical Center taking the top spot in 2015. In that time Quatroche has overseen a $110 million modernization and expansion of the hospital’s emergency department, which sees about 70,000 patients annually. Last year, ECMC received an A rating for outstanding social responsibility by a prominent hospital think tank. Quatroche also sits on the boards of the Healthcare Association of Western and Central New York and America’s Essential Hospitals. He once served on the Hamburg Town Board with Gov. Kathy Hochul.
67. Elizabeth Misa & Jessica Morelli
Over the past few years, Ostroff Associates has been beefing up its senior health care team with key hires. In 2021, the company brought in Jessica Morelli from medical services advocacy group Iroquois Healthcare Association. Morelli honed her skills in government policy and health care working in the state Legislature and Department of Health. Elizabeth Misa joined Ostroff Associates in 2020 with in-depth knowledge of budgeting, planning and policy in the public health care sector after serving as the deputy director of the state’s Medicaid program.
68. Al Cardillo
With a background in health care finance, legislation and policy, Al Cardillo leads the Home Care Association of New York State, an advocacy and public relations group representing almost 300 member organizations in the home- and community-based health services industry. Cardillo previously served as a top staffer to the state Senate Health Committee, led the Council on Health Care Financing and served as the Senate's long term care coordinator.
69. Dan Savitt
Dan Savitt is at the helm of VNS Health guiding one of the largest nonprofit home and community health care organizations in the nation into the future. Savitt, who believes that home health care is integral to the medical care industry, says that, post-pandemic, the importance of services like those VNS Health offers, a focus on mental health, and the rise in telehealth has reaped benefits for patients but the industry is being held back by staffing issues and a dire need to overhaul payment policy for long-term care.
70. Stephen Ferrara
Stephen Ferrara is moving on up in the world of advocating for nurse practitioners. He left his part-time role as executive director of the Nurse Practitioner Association of New York in 2022 to become the AANP president-elect and started a two-year term as president last year. Representing one of the fastest growing careers in the country, AANP has a membership of more than 350,000 licensed nurse practitioners in all specialties nationwide. A working nurse practitioner, Ferrara is also assistant dean for clinical affairs and a professor at Columbia University’s School of Nursing, as well as editor-in-chief of The Journal of Doctoral Nursing Practice.
71. Glenn Liebman & Melissa Ramirez
MHANYS is an advocacy group for community based mental hygiene providers. Glenn Liebman, who has led the organization since 2004, praised an historic $1 billion investment by the state into mental health but is now pushing to add a cost-of-living increase for state workers in the sector. Since 2006, Melissa Ramirez has been COO of MHANYS, overseeing day-to-day operations, managing the grants management team and the mental health information center.
72. Eleonora Tornatore-Mikesh
Eleonora Tornatore-Mikesh’s entire career has been dedicated to leading the care of people with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. At CaringKind, Tornatore-Mikesh leads the organization in its mission to serve and support patients and families affected by Alzheimer’s disease. The Bronx has one of highest prevalence rates of Alzheimer’s disease among high density population areas in the country. Last year, Tornatore-Mikesh proposed to bring the principles of a healthy Blue Zone – a geographic area with less chronic illness in an aging population – to New York City to combat Alzheimer’s.
73. Michael N. Rosenblut
Michael Rosenblut has been praised for leading Parker Jewish Institute through the pandemic, instituting a number of innovations to ease the burden on patients and families. It’s a fight that continues to this day for the at-risk patients under his care. Last fall, Rosenblut received a humanitarian award for his work making Parker Jewish Institute a place that embraces diversity and inclusion in all aspects of its mission. He is also the founding chair of the board for AgeWell New York, a managed care plan for seniors.
74. Anoush Koroghlian-Scott
A top health care attorney, Anoush Koroghlian-Scott brings vast experience to her clients. Her practice includes advising on acquisitions, staff policies and patient care topics like informed consent, privacy and advance directives. Koroghlian-Scott is president of the board at Capital Roots, a nonprofit dedicated to increasing access to healthy food to people in the Albany area through community gardens, markets and educational programs.
75. Dan Frogel & Becky Levy
The regional health care giant of CityMD and Summit Health – which merged in 2019 and are part of VillageMD – appointed new leaders in 2023, with Dan Frogel assuming the presidency of CityMD and Becky Levy taking over the president’s office at Summit Health. Frogel, an emergency room physician, focuses on the urgent care end of the health company, while Levy, a health care attorney, focuses on the physician practices. Levy has been the company’s general counsel and chief strategy officer and has led Summit Health’s charitable arm. Summit Health has 2,800 physicians in 370 locations in the New York City metropolitan area and central Oregon.
76. Sarah Ravenhall
Sarah Ravenhall is the voice for the 58 local health departments across New York. Ravenhall recently sounded the alarm that the next public health crisis will result from severe understaffing as workers flee jobs at public health agencies due to low pay and poor workplace conditions. Last summer, Ravenhall was elected as chair of the State Associations of County and City Health Officials Council, an associated organization of NYSCHO that represents local health departments nationwide.
77. Kimberly Williams
Beginning at Vibrant Emotional Health as an intern 20 years ago, Kimberly Williams rose to become chief executive of the mental health nonprofit organization, which manages the national 988 suicide and crisis hotline among other services. The organization said the hotline has seen a sharp increase in calls and texts since switching to a three-digit number from the old 10-digit number in 2022 and began special services for LGBTQ+ youth and young adults, fielding over 5 million communications in its first year.
78. Sherry Glied
A published author and researcher whose specialty is in health reform and mental health care policy, Sherry Glied worked at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and advised both Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton on economic health policy. Glied now serves as dean of the New York University Wagner Graduate School of Public Service – and she was recently appointed by Gov. Kathy Hochul as chair of the state’s Commission on the Future of Health Care.
79. Brett R. Friedman
Brett Friedman has made Ropes & Gray his professional home for years, but when he leaves the firm, the veteran health care attorney makes an impact in the public sector. Friedman recently rejoined the firm as a partner in 2022 after serving as New York State’s Medicaid director. Friedman continues to have a foot in public service with a recent appointment to the New York State Commission on the Future of Health Care, where he’ll help shape Gov. Kathy Hochul’s vision for how the state’s health care system can best serve New Yorkers.
80. Michael A. Lindsey
A recognized mental health leader, scholar and advocate for the Black community, Michael A. Lindsey became dean of the NYU Silver School of Social Work in 2022, the first African American person to hold the position. Lindsey’s research focuses on depression, risk behavior and suicide in adolescents, school mental health and the effect of policy on these issues. Lindsey said research is needed to explain why respondents said they might not call the new national 988 suicide hotline again if in distress.
81. Bill Hammond
Albany-based journalist Bill Hammond now puts his byline on articles and policy reports about New York’s health care system at the Empire Center for Public Policy, a right-leaning think tank. Hammond recently commented that a proposed increase to a fee paid to pharmacies by companies that process drug claims for health insurance plans would only add costs that would ultimately be passed down to the consumer.
82. Josh Jensen & Pat Gallivan
The top Republicans on the state Legislature’s health committees are making the most of their minority posts. Rochester lawmaker Josh Jensen, the top Republican on the Assembly Health Committee, has been proactive on a number of policy issues. Jensen has said the state needs to explore a potential interstate nursing licensure compact to boost nurses in New York, including joining a bipartisan push calling on Gov. Kathy Hochul to extend coronavirus-era executive orders on interstate licensing. Jensen has also been supportive of increasing early intervention services for children. State Sen. Pat Gallivan has opposed the single-payer health care bill pushed by legislative Democrats, citing costs. Gallivan, a former Erie County sheriff, also questioned proposals to remove law enforcement from mental health situations, but argued that law enforcement needs more mental health training.
83. Joyce Markiewicz
Joyce Markiewicz rose to the top of the Western New York health community working at a variety of different organizations in management positions and spending 14 years leading home- and community-based care at Catholic Health. Last summer, Catholic Health promoted Markiewicz to the top job at the organization, where she succeeded the retiring Mark Sullivan. Catholic Health snagged high marks recently, having one of its nursing homes listed among the best in the country and three of its Buffalo area hospitals deemed “high performing” in national publication rankings.
84. William P. Keefer
Buffalo-based attorney William P. Keefer heads up the health care practice at Phillips Lytle LLP representing a diverse array of health care-related clients, including hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies and technology providers. Phillips Lytle has decades of experience in the health care practice arena counseling Fortune 100 medical companies on regulatory and HIPAA compliance, contract negotiations, reimbursement laws, finance and risk assessment.
85. Daniel Pichinson
Last fall, Ryan Health stayed in-house with its new chief executive, elevating Daniel Pichinson to succeed the retiring Brian McIndoe. Pichinson kicked off his tenure leading the primary and specialty care provider for underserved patients in Manhattan with the new year. Previously Pichinson had been director of the system’s medical center in Hell’s Kitchen, where the team responded to a number of crises, including an influx of thousands of asylum-seekers seeking care and the COVID-19 pandemic.
86. Ngiste Abebe & Bryan Murray
No one was cheering the state’s decision to open up the cannabis industry to all – including multi-state medical cannabis operators – more than the Medical Cannabis Industry Association. Ngiste Abebe and Bryan Murray, the association’s president and chair, respectively, have been behind the push to speed implementation of New York’s law and to have the state better address unlicensed cannabis stores. Abebe is vice president of public policy at Columbia Care and Murray is executive vice president of government affairs at Acreage Holdings Inc.
87. Harvey Rosenthal
In October, the New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services officially rebranded to become the Alliance for Rights and Recovery to reflect its new focus. The organization is still dedicated to advocacy and education in New York, but the new name will help it on the national stage for its training programs and other efforts promoting its mission to improve public mental health policies and practices. The Alliance’s veteran leader, Harvey Rosenthal, is spearheading the organization’s pivot as it recenters its mission and vision.
88. Emma DeVito
For over 30 years Emma DeVito has helped care for chronically ill and elderly New Yorkers through VillageCare, a nonprofit medical provider. DeVito, a Cuban immigrant who cites her grandmother as a major driver of her life mission to care for the aging population, has grown the managed care plan VillageCareMAX to 20,000 members and moved the nonprofit from an institutional care approach toward community-based services. In 2020, she was chosen by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo to join the team redesigning the state’s massive Medicaid program.
89. Sam Rivera
OnPoint NYC is a New York City nonprofit with two safe drug injection centers, officially the first of their kind in the nation providing trained professionals to monitor users on site. Sam Rivera, who joined OnPoint NYC in 2021, has been an advocate for people on the fringes of society without a voice, drawing from his own history with drugs and the law. OnPoint NYC says it has prevented 1,000 overdoses but last year, it faced pressure from Federal prosecutors who deem the centers to be illegal.
90. Jonathan Teyan
Last year, Associated Medical Schools of New York elevated Jonathan Teyan from chief operating officer to the top spot when the former chief executive stepped down after 20 years in the job. AMSNY, a coalition of 17 New York medical schools, promotes the interests of medical education and biomedical research in government. Teyan has been pushing the state to replenish a grant program the association founded that helps schools recruit talented life science researchers from out of state. Teyan also serves as president of the New York State Academic Dental Centers, a consortium of the state’s dental schools.
91. Anne Kauffman Nolon
When Anne Kauffman Nolon joined Sun River Health in 1977 it was called Peekskill Area Ambulatory Health Care Center and had just one location serving the local community. Over the next four decades Nolon helped grow the health care provider to 48 medical centers including mobile units. It is one of the largest federally qualified health center systems in the country, serving 250,000 patients who are the most in need. Nolon is also on the board of the National Center for Farmworker Health.
92. Mark Ustin
Mark Ustin knows New York’s health care scene. Ustin brings a background as state Senate Health Committee counsel, assistant counsel to then-Gov. George Pataki and general counsel for the Commission on Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century to his role at Farrell Fritz. Ustin uses this background to represent a variety of medical industry players from across the country. Last year, he joined a New York State Bar task force to provide legal and policy recommendations regarding end-of-life decision-making for families and medical facilities.
93. Steven Goldstein
Steven Goldstein has led the University of Rochester’s flagship medical facility since 1996, a hospital that admits more than 39,000 patients and has more than 110,000 emergency room visits every year. The hospital has announced plans to triple the size of its emergency department by 2027. Goldstein also runs Highland Hospital, a sister hospital to Strong Memorial. Last year, Highland opened a new $70 million tower, which provides private rooms for nearly all patients.
94. Kevin Conroy
Since 2014, Kevin Conroy had been with Caremount Medical when the company merged with three other groups in 2022 to form Optum Tri-State, a regional division of a national health care provider with 1.6 million patients. Conroy became CEO in January 2023 and no sooner did he step into the role than he had to deal with patient frustration over broken communication and an inability to make appointments that became public. Conroy has pledged to fix the problems.
95. Judith Watson
Judith Watson knows the importance of Westchester Community Health Center in the community. Growing up, her mother struggled to pay household bills, making affordable health care vital to her family. And, in March, Watson, who got her nursing degree while serving in the military, had to snap into action to save a gunshot victim who ran into her facility after hours. Last year, the center teamed up with WMCHealth to add orthopedic medicine to its services.
96. Heather Ferrarese
Heather Ferrarese, who runs her family-owned pharmacy in rural Chenango County, is the top voice for the state’s pharmacists. She came out in favor of the state’s new Medicaid prescription program called NYRx, where the state will pay pharmacies directly – eliminating third parties – saying pharmacists lose money on almost every prescription filled by Medicaid patients under the old system.
97. Jeanne Chirico
Jeanne Chirico has spent the last 30 years working in end-of-life care, whether it was at Rochester Regional Health’s Lifetime Care, developing a pediatric palliative care program across upstate or in her latest job as CEO of the Hospice and Palliative Care Association of New York State. Chirico recently voiced her support for a bill to ban for-profit hospice care. Gov. Kathy Hochul vetoed a similar bill in 2022.
98. Uché Blackstock
Harvard-educated physician Uché Blackstock finished her residency at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, becoming chief resident of the emergency department by the time she left. She was associate professor of emergency medicine and faculty director in the office of inclusion at the New York University Grossman School of Medicine before founding Advancing Health Equity, a company that provides training and consultations to help combat racism in the health care system. A medical contributor on MSNBC, Blackstock is also the author of a memoir being released soon that tackles racial bias in medicine.
99. Michael Davoli
For 25 years, Michael Davoli has been advocating for nonprofits whose interests range from education to the environment, and for the past 12 years, Davoli has been with the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. He is the managing director of government relations advocating for a policy and legislative agenda with a mission to rid the world of cancer. Davoli supported legislation signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul strengthening insurance company requirements to provide access to biomarker testing to better treat diseases.
100. Joyce Rivera
Founded as a needle exchange program in 1990 by Joyce Rivera, who now serves as its CEO, SACHR has expanded over the years to provide additional social and medical services for IV-drug users in the South Bronx, reducing the stigma attached to IV-drug users obtaining health care. As drug overdose deaths continue to rise at an alarming rate, SACHR is working to find a location in the Bronx for an overdose prevention center where users can inject safely under professional care.
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