Trailblazers
The 2025 Trailblazers in Health Care
New York’s notable policymakers, providers and practitioners in the medical field
City & State presents the 2025 Trailblazers in Health Care NAMI-NYC; Serge Neville; Jessica Mahady
What makes a person healthy? There are countless factors at play: How easily can one access quality medical care? Are treatments available and affordable? How robust is the public health system? Then there are societal factors like poverty, homelessness and the cost of living; private sector trends, like the adoption of telehealth and improved coordination of care; and statutes and regulations set by public officials.
Despite political and policy disagreements – over issues like safety net benefits, rising patient costs and vaccine mandates – there’s unanimous support behind the goal of making New York a healthier place. This list features advocates and innovators, executives and entrepreneurs, experts and analysts and a wide range of medical professionals who are committed to improving the health of New Yorkers. City & State’s inaugural Trailblazers in Health Care puts a spotlight on scores of exceptional individuals who are improving patient outcomes in New York and beyond. (This list replaces the Health Care Power 100, which will return in 2026.) We’re pleased to present the Trailblazers in Health Care.
Kirk Adams
Kirk Adams is one of the nation’s leading experts and advocates for health care accessibility. A longtime SEIU union official, Adams now leads the Healthcare Education Project, a health advocacy organization that is a joint effort between 1199SEIU and the League of Voluntary Hospitals. Following the election of President Donald Trump, the Healthcare Education Project issued a statement saying they hoped Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress would focus on continuing to provide vital health care services and not endanger the Affordable Care Act.
Bhavna Agnihotri
Bhavna Agnihotri joined the state Department of Financial Services in June as executive deputy superintendent for insurance, becoming the powerful regulatory agency’s point person overseeing New York’s insurance industry. Agnihotri brings over 15 years experience as an attorney in the financial services industry to her role leading the 500-person state Insurance Division, where she regulates over 1,900 insurance companies across New York.
Toyin Ajayi
Veteran Medicaid physician Dr. Toyin Ajayi knows what it is like to serve a low-income population: She co-founded Cityblock Health, a value-based provider for Medicaid and dually eligible beneficiaries, to improve access to health care. Since assuming the CEO position at Cityblock in 2022, Ajayi has been focused on expanding the company into more states as it seeks to better provide health care to marginalized communities. Ajayi says Cityblock is able to provide care that addresses many of the hurdles Medicaid recipients have in receiving primary care.
Bolivar Altamirano
Elderserve Health is now RiverSpring Health Plans, and Bolivar Altamirano handles provider relations for the rebranded health care plan. RiverSpring offers a variety of health plans, including a home care-based plan that is a state-managed care plan. The RiverSpring Star plan is based on offering benefits based on Medicare coverage plans. The RiverSpring MAP plan coordinates Medicare and Medicaid-based service plans for patients.
Mike Alvaro
Mike Alvaro is a top advocate for associations providing services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. On his watch, the Cerebral Palsy Associations of New York State launched a six-year, $16 million statewide telehealth project reaching nearly 9,000 people. He also helped shape New York’s approach to disability services. Alvaro is now president of New York Disability Advocates, an advocacy coalition representing over 300 disability provider agencies in the state. Previously, at the Iroquois Healthcare Alliance, he helped to develop one of New York’s first health information exchanges.
J. Krystal Ascencio
A physician with a passion for community health and health literacy, Dr. J. Krystal Ascencio serves as acting chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center in Queens. Ascencio also serves as medical director of the Women’s Health Center at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center. She is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Medicine and holds a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Mike Avella Jr.
Throughout Mike Avella Jr.’s career, he has developed deep insight and expertise into a plethora of policy areas – including health care issues like improving access to care and legalizing psychedelics for patients. Before joining Dickinson & Avella, he was the senior associate director of government affairs at the Medical Society of the State of New York, where he focused on public health advancements in the state, including a vaccine mandate. Avella, who earned a master of public health degree, has also been a senior contracts manager at DentaQuest, a plan manager at New York State of Health, and was an Assembly staffer for seven years.
Ryan Banagan
Ryan Banagan’s specialization at the Albany lobbying firm of Featherstonhaugh, Clyne & McArdle is health policy. With a background that includes working in the state Legislature, Banagan has become a passionate advocate for his clients in the halls of power. Banagan’s main focus recently has been on reducing child poverty in New York. Banagan worked with the Robin Hood Foundation’s Medicaid Task Force and the state Childhood Poverty Reduction Advisory Council to develop and advocate for $9 billion of childhood poverty recommendations to Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Oxiris Barbot
As New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene commissioner during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Oxiris Barbot shot to prominence with regular briefings and commercials about the pandemic. Now the leader of United Hospital Fund, Barbot is focused on building an equitable health care system in New York. The fund recently released a toolkit to help pediatricians promote early childhood literacy skills to address developmental delays and selected eight doctors as part of the inaugural cohort of health equity fellows.
Meir Berkman
Meir Berkman has long been dedicated to health care, starting when he became a volunteer paramedic at age 16 all the way to his current role as vice president of strategy and business development at Avive Solutions. Avive Solutions is a medical device company focused on improving cardiac arrest survival and the development of the next generation of defibrillators. Prior to joining Avive, Berkman worked at Butterfly Network, Rapid SOS and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.
William Bernstein
William Bernstein is a New York leader in addressing health law and policy. The chair of powerhouse law firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips is also the creator of Manatt Health, an innovative health division with more than 260 professionals combining legal expertise, experience in the policy world and business management. The creation of Manatt Health has allowed the firm to bring a deep bench of strategic, legal and policy background to serving clients across the country in the health care sector.
Nora Boyle
A former staffer in the state Legislature, Nora Boyle is now a vice president at Cordo & Company, where she uses her background and depth of experience in both health policy and the legislative process to serve her clients. A past health care adviser at Public Consulting Group, Boyle cut her teeth on the complex arcana of health care policy and finance. While she was a state legislative staffer, she focused on housing, labor, veterans and governmental operations, which intersect with health care and health outcomes.
Clare B. Bradley
Dr. Clare B. Bradley, a former Suffolk County health commissioner, is now the senior vice president and chief medical officer at IPRO, a health care quality improvement organization. IPRO works with the federal government and state governments around the country to measure and improve the impact of Medicaid and Medicare on the quality and outcomes of health care delivery. Recent private sector clients of IPRO include the New York Business Group on Health, the New York State Health Accountability Foundation and the New York eHealth Collaborative.
Perry Branson
Dr. Perry Branson is dedicated to improving mental health, substance use and addiction services in New York. At CoveCare Center, Branson oversees the medical staff and the center’s entire portfolio of medical services for mental health and substance use treatment. Based in the Putnam County hamlet of Carmel, CoveCare’s services are centered around the whole person and allow for patients to access the entire suite of services as they receive care.
Allison Brashear
Dr. Allison Brashear arrived in Western New York in 2021 after leading the University of California Davis Medical School and now heads up the University at Buffalo’s medical school and entire health education system. The groundbreaking neurologist leads the university’s medical, pharmacy, nursing, public health and dental schools in a collaborative approach as part of the region’s growing focus on the health sciences. Last year, she was appointed to the board of the Association for American Medical Colleges and the NIH Scientific Management Review Board and is chair-elect of the AAMC Council of Deans.
Claire Brockbank
At the 200,000-member 32BJ Health Fund, Claire Brockbank spearheads public policy work, including a push to reduce hospital costs. She has spearheaded a multimember stakeholder campaign to draw attention to the role hospital costs play in the overall cost of health care and ways to reduce hospital costs. Among Brockbank’s accomplishments is the creation of the nation’s first municipal Office of Healthcare Accountability in New York City and the recent introduction of the Fair Prices Act at the state level.
Tara Buonocore-Rut
At CenterLight Healthcare, Tara Buonocore-Rut leads a state-managed, long-term care organization with a team-based approach to the managed care sector. Centerlight is the country’s largest nonprofit Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, a program primarily serving individuals eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid. Since becoming CEO in 2021, she has overhauled the organization to provide a better quality of care for patients. She previously served as executive vice president of strategy and operations at Parker Jewish Institute and executive director of AgeWell New York and is active in the National PACE Association.
Byron Calamese
Byron Calamese joined the public affairs firm Avoq last summer as chief strategy officer with a mandate to improve the firm’s strategic positioning and maintain its growth. A former reporter for The Boston Globe, Calamese has a portfolio in the public relations sector centered around health, wellness and fitness. He is also a former chief experience officer at Phoenix House, where he developed and implemented brand strategy for the addiction treatment center. As a global public relations manager for Adidas, he handled public relations for the Rockport brand as well.
Corinne Carey
Corinne Carey doesn’t avoid tough legislative battles. At the advocacy organization Compassion & Choices, Carey is focused on passing the Medical Aid in Dying Act in New York, hoping this year is the year. Carey has formed a coalition that includes almost 60 groups across the state and 90 state lawmakers in support of legislation that has continued to gain steam in Albany. Carey already helped pass a similar law in New Jersey, and last year she cleared a hurdle when the Medical Society of the State of New York reversed its opposition to the legislation.
Migdalia Cartagena
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is one of the nation’s largest medical providers and has been striving to make primary care more accessible through community-based outpatient clinics. A CBOC provides veterans with primary care and handles common outpatient issues in a clinic closer to home. Migdalia Cartagena has been pioneering the CBOC concept in New York City, which now has clinics in Harlem and Staten Island, in addition to veterans hospitals in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens. Cartagena also serves as VA’s acting outreach coordinator for minority health care in New York City.
Alexis Chiang Colvin
Dr. Alexis Chiang Colvin is breaking barriers in orthopedic surgery and paving the way for other women. With only 6% of orthopedic surgeons being women and women making up just 16% of orthopedic surgery residents, Colvin is seeking to increase gender diversity in the field. A key aspect of that for Colvin is addressing stereotypes that men make better orthopedic surgeons because the specialty requires brute strength – while she counters that “finesse and technique” are more important. Colvin herself is the first woman to be chief medical officer of the tennis U.S. Open.
Louise Cohen
Louise Cohen wants New York to be more like Connecticut and Rhode Island – by spending more on primary care. Lately, Cohen’s Primary Care Development Corp. has been focused on identifying pediatric deserts in the state. A report by the organization last year showed that New York’s rural counties have less than half the amount of pediatricians than urban counties, and that statewide, 40% of 2-year-olds have not received recommended vaccines. The PCDC supports the Primary Care Investment Act, which would require health insurers to spend 12.5% of their health care costs on primary care.
Heather Cole-Lewis
Heather Cole-Lewis specializes in using data and metrics around digital health, employing responsible artificial intelligence to analyze its impact on health and to improve health equity. Cole-Lewis joined Google in 2022 and brings deep experience in the field of digital health, health and artificial intelligence and health equity, having developed and implemented a number of health equity initiatives. She previously was director of behavior science and global lead for health equity investments at Johnson & Johnson.
Tom Connolly
A managing partner at lobbying powerhouse Bolton-St. Johns, Tom Connolly is one of the state’s most knowledgeable people regarding health care policy and finance. Connolly was director of the state Health Care Finance Council, where he advised the Assembly speaker on all aspects of health care finance, including the state Medicaid budget, Medicaid payment and reimbursement policy as well as managed care, along with negotiating all major state health legislation. Prior to joining Bolton-St. Johns, Connolly was director of state government relations and health finance for the Greater New York Hospital Association.
Nicole Cruz
Nicole Cruz’s efforts to give New York City’s teenagers something to do after school and on weekends aligns with the agenda of New York City Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Chauncey Parker. Parker has cited late-night youth sports and other programs as a crime-fighting strategy – and Cruz has agreed, saying they provide teens activities away from potential illegal activities. Cruz is also focused on creating programs that address mental health among the teen population in the metropolitan area, along with leadership development and civics education.
Michael Davoli
Michael Davoli is a man on a mission: to end cancer as we know it in the world, starting in New York. He has created and led successful advocacy campaigns and coalitions on such issues as increasing access to biomarker testing and colorectal cancer screening, tobacco control and increasing physical education. This year, his priorities include making sure no one has out-of-pocket costs for cancer screenings, increasing the rate of catching lung cancer in early stages and expanding patient navigation services for cancer.
Sherly Demosthenes-Atkinson
With over two decades of experience in health care, Sherly Demosthenes-Atkinson has led CABS Health Network since 2017. Since taking the reins at CABS, she has guided the organization through a rebranding and expanded home health services across New York City and Long Island after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Demosthenes-Atkinson touts CABS as an atypical home health care provider, as it provides a variety of health and wellness services to the community as well.
Emma DeVito
Emma DeVito is focused on providing care for New Yorkers with AIDS and for older adults through her role leading VillageCare. This year, DeVito revamped her leadership team with the appointment of Shaun Ruskin as the new chief operating officer of VillageCare. DeVito has also served on the boards of the New York AIDS Coalition and Women in Health Management and is a member of The National Association of Female Executives.
Sean Doolan
Sean Doolan brings more than three decades of experience in government relations and health care policy to his clients at the Albany law firm of Hinman Straub. Having been a trusted adviser to policymakers in the state Capitol for years, Doolan knows how health legislation and regulatory policy is made and he provides insightful counsel to his clients. At Hinman Straub, he has led legislative and regulatory counsel efforts on a number of complex health policy issues.
Jessica Fear
Jessica Fear has spent almost 30 years delivering comprehensive behavioral health services at the community level. At VNS Health, she oversees more than 20 behavioral health programs, a 500-member team and a budget of $50 million that provide comprehensive care to New Yorkers. Among Fear’s innovative initiatives include a community-based behavioral health center in the South Bronx, programs to address bereavement and suicide prevention for adolescents as well as addressing care for patients with complex cases.
Ruchi Feller
At the caregiver advocacy and support organization Yes I Can, Ruchi Feller is focused on making sure that those caring for an emotionally or physically disabled family member can receive the services they need. Yes I Can provides a variety of support services so that caregivers can prioritize their own wellness. In the education sphere, Yes I Can works to keep children in mainstream schools and advocates for children with disabilities in the school system, providing assistance to schools on ways to relate to children with disabilities.
Albert Finkelshteyn
A top-ranked home health care program in Brooklyn, All Heart Homecare Agency deploys caregivers to local Brooklynites in need. Albert Finkelshteyn serves as the agency’s vice president, overseeing a range of programs designed to help Brooklyn residents age in place. All Heart offers various programs, from personal paid caregiving options to those funded through Medicare and Medicaid, along with programs for patients dealing with dementia.
Sirene Garcia
Sirene Garcia is on a mission to make sure the residents of the Finger Lakes remain healthy. Finger Lakes Community Health is a federally designated health center, delivering a variety of health care options and programs to underserved populations upstate. The center was originally created to meet the health needs of the region’s agricultural workers, and it continues to offer a suite of programs – including mobile medical and dental screenings – for farmworkers. Other programs include telehealth in the largely rural region and school-based health programs in Penn Yan.
Georgia Gaveras
Dr. Georgia Gaveras is aiming to transform the nation’s mental health services by allowing patients to easily see psychiatrists and receive therapy through telehealth. At Talkiatry, patients can easily complete a virtual assessment and be matched with a therapist to begin treatment. Gaveras has been building up Talkiatry staff to provide mental health services to underserved communities nationwide. This has included the creation of partnerships with other service providers in order to address mental health provider deserts.
Erik Geizer
Eric Geizer is one of New York’s leading advocates for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Geizer has made data analysis a key part of the work at The Arc New York, using data to determine the most effective ways to serve New Yorkers with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Geizer is also a co-leader of the state Office of People with Developmental Disabilities’ Provider Association, where he advocates for policies and services to better serve that patient population in New York.
Irina Gelman
Dr. Irina Gelman is one of the most experienced county public health leaders in New York. Gelman, who has served as Nassau County’s health commissioner since 2022, previously was Orange County health commissioner and Fulton County public health director. Gelman has sought to expand access to telehealth as part of public health and the surveillance of wastewater to monitor for communicable diseases and to address the opioid crisis. Gelman is a former president of the New York State Association of County Health Officials.
Bea Grause
Early last year, Bea Grause released the Healthcare Association of New York State’s attention-grabbing report, The Case for Change, which outlines the issues the health care sector in New York faces. The four main areas of challenge that report cites are rising demand for health care and evolving needs, a health care workforce that cannot meet demand, persistent health disparities and an affordability crisis. Since the report’s publication, Grouse has been meeting with stakeholders to develop a path forward.
Carmen Renée Green
As the leader of the first public allopathic medical school to be established in New York City since prior to the Civil War, Dr. Carmen Renée Green is working to overhaul medical education in the city. Since the school’s founding as a full medical school in 2016, the City University of New York Medical School has been focusing on diversifying the profession, graduating a third of Black physicians in New York City and 1 in 8 Black physicians across the state. Over half of CUNY Medical School’s graduates are now primary care physicians practicing in health deserts.
Thomas Green
Jordan Health is a community health center serving Rochester, and Thomas Green leads the organization’s efforts to improve equity and engagement. The vast majority – 97% – of Jordan Health’s patients live at an income level that is 200% below the poverty line while 72% used Medicaid as their health insurance. A top concern for Green and Jordan Health is the projected age of 72 for life expectancy in parts of Rochester, compared to 81 for the Rochester suburbs.
Valerie Grey
Bolstering New York’s health care workforce is a major priority for Valerie Grey. She led the SUNY chancellor’s Future of Healthcare Workforce Task Force, which developed a series of major recommendations for SUNY that align with Gov. Kathy Hochul’s goals of increasing the number of trained medical workers in the state. Grey has also expanded mental health programs for students and is part of efforts to develop a long-term plan to keep SUNY Downstate Medical Center open. Grey previously served as director of state operations in the governor’s office.
George Gresham
As the leader of the nation’s largest health care union, George Gresham has long been one of the most powerful labor voices in New York. Gresham is continuing 1199SEIU’s partnership with the Greater New York Hospital Association on improving Medicaid equity. Gresham has called health equity a “civil rights issue” and that the COVID-19 pandemic “attacked the weakest within us” – which illustrated the need for systemic change. He has called on Gov. Kathy Hochul to emphasize health equity in her budgets in order to address racial disparities and keep hospitals open.
Nancy Hagans
Some of the hardest working people in any hospital are its nurses, and Nancy Hagans won’t let anyone in New York forget that. The leader of the state’s nursing union has battled to get her members higher pay, increased staffing and the respect they deserve. Hagans has called nursing shortages “physically toxic and mentally toxic” and has led multiple nursing strikes that have benefited her members. This past March, Hagans led nurses at Staten Island University Hospital in a strike vote, which resulted in an agreement between the union and hospital officials, averting a strike.
Stephen Hanse
Since 2017, Stephen Hanse has led the New York State Health Facilities Association and New York State Center for Assisted Living, which represents over 450 skilled nursing and assisted living facilities. Hanse has been outspoken in calling for the state to increase its Medicaid reimbursement rate for nursing home patients, which is currently 75%. He has said the status quo has led to underfunded nursing homes and low staff pay. Hanse cited the recent closure of a nursing home in the Buffalo suburb of Getzville as part of the impact of the reimbursement rate.
Irfan Hasan
At The New York Community Trust, Irfan Hasan oversees health-oriented grantmaking. In 2021, he distributed $1 million in grants to reduce hesitancy in getting vaccinated for COVID-19, particularly in disproportionately impacted communities. With a recent influx of migrants to New York, Hasan has directed funding to projects to vaccinate them as they arrive. He’s also overseen grantmaking for the New York Birth Control Access Project to advance legislation related to the distribution of hormonal-based birth control and to the New York Stem Cell Foundation to build the country’s first ethnically diverse stem cell biobank.
James Hendon
As New York City’s veterans’ services commissioner, James Hendon is focused on improving the lives of military veterans. The West Point alum and combat veteran partnered with the city’s public schools in 2023 to launch a military family advocate program, which crosstrains educators to connect military and veteran families to available services. He has also launched programs to help veteran families connect with VA Health Care and Obamacare, made New York the first city to get data on transitioning service members from the military and created the city’s first VA claims unit to expedite federal benefits.
Christopher Hillyer
Dr. Christopher Hillyer just led New York Blood Center Enterprises through a landmark year and is now embarking on another milestone. Last year marked the 60th anniversary for the New York Blood Center, which is known for its lifesaving research and innovation. In the early part of this year, the organization will open a new state-of-the-art campus in Rye, which will feature new life science research facilities. The opening of the Rye facility will also pave the way for planning for the Center East Life Sciences hub on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
Karen Ignagni
EmblemHealth is in the middle of a major leadership transition, with Karen Ignagni becoming executive board chair at the beginning of the year and President Mike Palmateer assuming Ignagni’s former role as CEO. The shift allows Ignagni, a leading national expert on health care and insurance, to focus on external relations with key clients in New York City government and labor circles while weighing in on public policy. Ignagni has deepened EmblemHealth’s community care commitment, opening new neighborhood community care centers across the five boroughs and launching a program to combat diabetes in the Bronx.
Helen Irving
At Schwarzman Animal Medical Center, Helen Irving oversees the only Level 1 veterinary trauma center in New York City and the world’s largest nonprofit animal hospital. Irving, a onetime cardiac critical care nurse, joined Schwarzman in 2023 after serving as chief executive of an organ transplant institute and vice president for operations at Mount Sinai Medical Center. Irving takes a hands-on approach to her role at Schwarzman, often donning scrubs to enter the operating room and spending nights in the emergency room to better understand the needs of the animals in her care.
Harold Iselin
At the powerhouse law firm of Greenberg Traurig, Harold Iselin has positioned himself as one of the state’s top health care attorneys and policy experts. In addition to leading the firm’s Albany office, Iselin co-chairs its Government Affairs and Public Policy Practice, utilizing his experience to better serve clients in navigating the ways of Albany, particularly in the field of health care regulatory law. A onetime attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice, Iselin has also been an assistant counsel in the governor’s office.
Paloma Izquierdo-Hernandez
Paloma Izquierdo-Hernandez has been laser-focused on improving the health of the residents of the South Bronx, Central Harlem and Corona, Queens. Under her leadership, Urban Health Plus, which was founded by her father, has grown from a single health center in the Bronx. Last year, Urban Health Plus, one of the nation’s largest community health center networks, celebrated its 50th anniversary. The health system recently entered into a contract to provide a new artificial intelligence approach to pediatric care.
Kyle Kaniecki
Kyle Kaniecki is cultivating life sciences and health care as key economic development engines for New York City. Kaniecki won unanimous backing from the New York City Economic Development Corp.’s executive committee to create the Comprehensive Center for Surgical Innovation at Mount Sinai Medical Center and drove an initiative to bring an anchor tenant to the city’s new life sciences center in Manhattan’s Kips Bay. He recently teamed up with the New York City Department of City Planning on a report about the city’s life sciences industry and convened a group of tech transfer leaders to meet with First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer on the future of the city’s innovation economy.
Amy Kellogg
A onetime legislative aide to the recently retired Assembly Ways and Means Committee Chair Helene Weinstein, Amy Kellogg now leads the Albany office and the Government Affairs Practice Group at Harter, Secrest & Emery. Kellogg brings to her clients a deep knowledge of state health policy. Her recent clients include the American Nurses Association – New York, the New York State Clinical Laboratory Association, the New York State Association of County Health Officials and the New York State Chiropractic Association.
Bryan Kelly
In 2023, Dr. Bryan Kelly became the first surgeon to lead the Hospital for Special Surgery, the renowned East Side leader in orthopedic care. Kelly is a nationally recognized expert in hip preservation and an accomplished health care researcher who has authored many scientific articles. The doctor, who launched hip preservation service at the hospital, has also served as team physician and associate medical director for the New York Rangers and associate team doctor for the New York Giants.
Jihoon Kim
A former human services and mental health adviser for Gov. Kathy Hochul, Jihoon Kim left the administration last year to become the chief executive of InUnity Alliance, a coalition of 200 organizations that provide mental health and addiction services. At the alliance, Kim has guided the merger of the Coalition for Behavioral Health and the Substance Abuse Providers of New York State. He successfully advocated for restoring funding in the state’s fiscal year 2025 budget for education and vocational programs for those in recovery.
Miriam Knoll
Dr. Miriam Knoll, a radiation oncologist at Northwell Health, is also co-founder and CEO of the Jewish Orthodox Women’s Medical Association. The association’s programs provide free health education to the Orthodox Jewish community and bolster the pipeline and network of current and future female Jewish physicians. Knoll’s efforts include leading mentoring programs for female Orthodox Jewish students who are considering careers in medicine and combating perceptions that Orthodox Jewish women should not pursue medical careers.
Matt Kudish
Matt Kudish is striving to change the way services for mental health are delivered in New York City. As the head of the city’s affiliate of the National Association on Mental Illness, Kudish has secured a 200% budget increase, developed virtual delivery of mental health services during the COVID-19 pandemic, launched programs for underserved communities and led the planning for a new 13,000-square-foot facility that will offer hybrid in-person and virtual services. Kudish has announced that he will step down in April after seven years at the helm.
Manisha Kulshreshtha
With over 225 doctors and over 497 nurses, SBH Health System has a large team dedicated to keeping the Bronx healthy and well. Dr. Manisha Kulshreshtha leads the system’s clinical and strategic platforms and oversees its work across its six locations and in 70 medical specialties. Among SBH Health System’s assets is a comprehensive community wellness center, which provides an exercise center, nutritional education and clinical care services for people across the Bronx.
Sean Lally
Sean Lally oversees operations, external relations, strategic planning and fundraising at St. Mary’s Healthcare System for Children, New York City’s only center for pediatric long-term and rehabilitative care. During the COVID-19 pandemic, St. Mary’s pioneered a Bluetooth-enabled telehealth program that monitored rehabilitation at home. The program has continued since, after St. Mary’s found it allows for patients to transition to home more quickly, reduces unnecessary hospitalizations and expands access. Lally previously held leadership roles at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the American Museum of Natural History and The New York Historical.
Yonit Lax
Dr. Yonit Lax is an attending physician of pediatrics at Maimonides Health in Brooklyn, the director of Maimonides’ Brooklyn Parenting Center and an assistant professor of clinical pediatrics at SUNY Downstate Medical Center. She’s also a trailblazer, as the brainchild behind Maimonides’ community pediatrics program that goes above and beyond in identifying unmet social and emotional needs in this population and providing support from conception until the age of 2, a critical phase in child development.
Dan Leinung
During his decadelong tenure in state government, Dan Leinung had a job serving as senior counsel to the state Senate majority, where he handled health, mental health, substance use and insurance issues. The self-professed “policy wonk” has used this experience to become an expert in the complex arcana of state Medicaid and public health policy, which he brings to his clients at Tress Capitol Advisors. He has helped clients seeking to streamline and modernize HIV testing requirements in the state, remove prior authorization insurance requirements for HIV treatment and prevention and overhaul summer camp and lifeguard policy.
Leah Lindahl
With the nation’s state legislatures gaveling into session, the next few months will be busy for Leah Lindahl as she deals with everything from Wyoming’s quick 40-day annual session to the longer slogs of Albany and Sacramento. As vice president for state government affairs at the Healthcare Distribution Alliance, Lindahl oversees the alliance’s lobbying efforts at the state level nationally. The alliance represents primary pharmaceutical distributors nationally, advocating on issues relating to the pharmaceutical supply chain, patient access to medicines and ensuring safe, efficient and effective distribution.
Michael Lindsey
A nationally leading scholar in the fields of child and adolescent mental health, Michael Lindsey has served as dean of the Silver School of Social Work at New York University since 2022. Last year, he also became the president of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare, and in 2023 he was appointed to the New York City Board of Health, giving him a say in the development and enforcement of city public health policy. Lindsey has incorporated artificial intelligence into the Silver School’s curriculum, including a pilot program with virtual reality simulation for students.
Eric Linzer
For the past seven years, Eric Linzer has advocated for the managed care industry in New York, representing 23 health care plans that cover 8 million New Yorkers. Linzer has been calling for more affordable health care in the state, saying that state policy has limited health plans’ ability to contain costs for consumers. Recently, Linzer argued that Northwell Health’s merger with Nuvance Health in the Mid-Hudson Valley would not lead to lower costs or better care.
Russell Lusak
Founded originally to serve Holocaust survivors, Selfhelp Community Services now offers a wide variety of care options to New Yorkers. Selfhelp has spent over 85 years providing care, including trauma-based care for Holocaust survivors who came to New York City, and now serves some 5,400 elderly and frail individuals. Selfhelp’s programs for the city’s aging population includes virtual care, community centers, home care, guardianship services and services for naturally recurring retirement communities, or buildings where most of the population is over the age of 60.
Ginger Lynch Landy
With over three decades working on New York health care policy, Ginger Lynch Landy has positioned herself as a government affairs leader in the space. Lynch Landy’s efforts have helped to secure legislative passage of measures that have expanded access to care and eliminated barriers to treatments. She has also focused on providing support to those seeking treatment for substance use disorders. Current clients of Hodes & Landy include the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research and the Roswell Park Cancer Institute.
Manasa Mantravadi
Dr. Manasa Mantravadi is a mom on a mission to make sure children have safe dinnerware. Her research led her to the realization that the best dinnerware for children is stainless steel. Mantravadi, who had used plastic dinnerware for her kids, went on to launch Ahimsa, which produces multicolor stainless steel dinnerware for kids. Ahimsa recently launched the Conscious Cafeteria Project, part of a Clinton Global Initiative pilot program, to replace single-use plastic trays in school cafeterias with reusable, stainless steel trays. The project launched in schools in New York, California, Indiana and Minnesota.
Michelle McMacken
Dr. Michelle McMacken is improving the lifestyles of New Yorkers to reduce health risks. At the helm of NYC Health + Hospitals’ nutrition and lifestyle medicine program, McMacken oversees a program launched in 2019 to offer lifestyle tips that can address chronic medical issues, including diabetes and hypertension. The program’s centers have dietitians, physicians, health coaches, psychologists and fitness instructors who provide guidance and tips on healthy living, group sessions, produce delivery and farmers market coupons. McMacken is also an associate professor at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
Sunaina Menawat
Amid a rise in telehealth and technology changing how health care is delivered in hospitals and doctors’ offices, Sunaina Menawat is at the forefront of these transformations. The leader of the public health industry sector for IBM, Menawat specializes in the data and technology transition in public health. She served on IBM’s COVID-19 Task Force, where she led the creation and rollout of the state’s digital vaccine record initiative. She also has worked on a number of other important technology projects in the public health sector, including immunization management and disease surveillance.
Liz Misa
During seven years as deputy Medicaid director in the state Department of Health, Liz Misa was integral to the strategic redesign of New York’s Medicaid program. Her work addressed a number of health and health-adjacent areas that are critical to the administration of Medicaid in the state, including transportation, housing and the social determinants of health. Prior to joining the Health Department, Misa was a staffer with the Assembly Ways and Means Committee for five years. This background has proved invaluable to her work as a senior adviser with the lobbying powerhouse Brown & Weinraub.
Brian Moriarty
For over three decades, Brian Moriarty has dedicated his career to the behavioral health field. He started out while in college, supporting fellow students with substance use issues and facing difficulties in adjusting to college. He went on to spend 16 years with the Bowery Residents’ Committee, where he focused on assisting people with mental illness or substance use issues and homeless people. Since 2020, Moriarty has continued his work in the behavioral health field at Volunteers of America – Greater New York.
Philip Ozuah
Dr. Philip Ozuah leads one of New York’s largest medical systems, encompassing 13 hospitals, 300 ambulatory care centers and the Albert Einstein School of Medicine. Last year, Ozuah received a history-making donation to Einstein as medical school board chair Ruth Gottesman gifted $1 billion to the school, which will transform it into a tuition-free institution. Ozuah has also expanded cancer care coverage with the opening of the Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center in the Pelham Bay section of the Bronx.
Joe Pecora
Joe Pecora was raised to be a labor leader. A third-generation union member, Pecora created Home Healthcare Workers of America in order to advocate for and recognize the need for home health care workers. Pecora, who represents over 40,000 home health care workers in New York, witnessed this need firsthand while caring for his mother. Much of Pecora’s advocacy has focused on getting better pay and better working conditions for home health care workers.
Daniel Pichinson
Since taking the helm of Ryan Health last year, Daniel Pichinson has embarked on an ambitious agenda to expand the community health center, which has 14 locations across Manhattan. Addressing health inequities that lead to disparities in health care has been a top concern for Pichinson in his first year. He has focused on meeting with Ryan Health stakeholders to formulate plans and presided over the opening of the Emotional Wellness Center Midtown. Prior to taking the president’s job, Pichinson was executive director of Ryan Chelsea-Clinton, a Ryan Health affiliate.
Thomas Quatroche
For two decades, Thomas Quatroche has been a key member of the leadership team at Erie County’s major public hospital system, which includes a Level I trauma center and behavioral health center and a 390-bed nursing home. A longtime leader in the statewide and upstate health communities, Quatroche has led ECMC in receiving a number of recent recognitions, including being in the top 5% of orthopedics programs in the country and earning top ratings from the Lown Institute for health equity, community benefits and inclusivity.
Kenneth Raske
As the new year starts, Kenneth Raske has a lot to celebrate. The influential leader of the Greater New York Hospital Association saw the Biden administration greenlight a waiver for the state’s new tax on managed care organizations to put additional funds into the state’s Medicaid coffers. Raske praised the new tax – approved as part of last year’s state budget deal – as a critical way to address Medicaid underpayments for hospitals and providers, along with addressing health disparity issues statewide. Raske has teamed with 1199SEIU as part of the effort to address Medicaid funding issues.
Todd Rogow
Todd Rogow, a leader in the health information sphere, is making it easier for New Yorkers to access medical records and for physicians to utilize data for research and care. Rogow led Healthix in launching the My Health Record NY portal, which grants free access to medical records. Healthix is also partnering with top researchers in data sharing on breast and lung cancer research to improve treatment and is coordinating with health plans to close coverage gaps. Rogow recently spoke at an international health information exchange conference in Dubai on employing artificial intelligence with health data.
Michael Rosenblut
Michael Rosenblut has been expanding the services offered by Parker Jewish Institute for Health Care and Rehabilitation while ensuring the patients and families already being served are well cared for and have any and all questions addressed. As president and CEO, Rosenblut has created a family call center with a centralized customer service hub to assist family members of patients. Rosenblut has also increased services for New York’s growing Indian population by creating an Indian Cultural Unit. This unit has staffers who speak several Indian languages – Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi and Punjabi – and incorporates Indian cultural, religious, entertainment and culinary offerings.
Talya Schwartz
Dr. Talya Schwartz brings a wealth of experience in the health plan sector to her role leading MetroPlusHealth, a low-cost plan that serves 700,000 members in partnership with NYC Health + Hospitals. She assumed the leadership post in 2019, following three years as chief medical officer. Schwartz has pushed to expand health insurance coverage for New Yorkers, including those with immigration statuses that preclude coverage under Medicaid. A key priority for Schwartz is addressing the social determinants of health.
Sandra Scott
Since January 2024, Dr. Sandra Scott has served as interim CEO of One Brooklyn Health, the major health system that was formed in 2016 and encompasses Brookdale, Interfaith and Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Centers. Scott, who previously ran Brookdale, has led the integration of the system’s leadership team and has advanced capital projects and technology related initiatives. In her previous role, Scott was the first woman and the first African American person to serve as executive director of Brookdale Hospital Medical Center.
Luke Sikinyi
An experienced mental health professional and advocate, Luke Sikinyi uses his personal journey to help form the basis of his work at The Alliance for Rights and Recovery, where he serves as vice president of public policy. Among the alliance’s state-level public policy priorities in recent years have been the Clean Slate Act, which seals certain criminal records; a focus on treatment in place of jail for offenders with mental health issues; tuition reimbursement and loan forgiveness for mental health professionals; and increased investment in mental health.
Veronica Smith
A former external relations executive for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Veronica Smith brings a deep background in community engagement to her current work at Public Health Solutions. New York City’s largest public health nonprofit, Public Health Solutions has a mission to improve health equity. Public Health Solutions operates the largest community program for women, infants and children in the state, runs programs to support families in the first three years of a child’s life and is striving to end smoking in New York.
Ramon Tallaj
A former undersecretary of public health and social services in the Dominican Republic, Dr. Ramon Tallaj has established himself as a pillar of the New York health care sector. The founder of Somos Community Care has built a care network of 2,600 providers who serve 850,000 Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries in New York City’s immigrant communities. Tallaj has bolstered mental health services at Somos, integrating mental health screenings into primary care services and providing specific treatment plans, while also tackling the societal causes of mental health issues and substance use.
Jonathan Teyan
The voice for medical and dental education in New York, Jonathan Teyan has been opening up pathways to medical school for New Yorkers who face hurdles in their journey. Teyan has led AMSNY in advocating for an increase in state funding for diversity in medicine initiatives, leading to a tripling of funding. The current cohort for the program is 38 students, the program’s largest ever. Teyan has also cultivated relationships in Albany and is teaming up with Cold Spring Harbor on the first Science Forward Symposium aiming to expand representation in research.
Brittany Thomas
At the New York City-based health and housing nonprofit Comunilife, Brittany Thomas is focused on ways to end homelessness across the five boroughs. Thomas’ role involves employing a holistic approach to supporting formerly homeless individuals, addressing not only their housing situations but their health situations to better position them for success. A social worker, Thomas is largely focused on mental health-related issues and making sure her clients have access to the treatment they need.
Brenda Tong
Brenda Tong joined Vibrant Emotional Health as chief program officer over the summer, bringing a deep breadth of experience to the mental health and crisis hotline nonprofit. Prior to joining Vibrant, Tong served as deputy executive director of New Destiny Housing Corp., as director of community programs for New York and New Jersey at Single Stop and as program director for Lantern Community Services. Tong now works with Vibrant Emotional Health’s leadership on increasing access to its community wellness programs, crisis contact center, disaster services and educational initiatives.
Eleonora Tornatore-Mikesh
Caring for those with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia is a field of medicine that requires a special kind of leader, and Eleonora Tornatore-Mikesh has distinguished herself in this sphere. As president and CEO of CaringKind, a New York City-based Alzheimer’s and dementia services organization, Tornatore-Mikesh has expanded services for patients and families. She has reopened CaringKind’s early stage center, co-founded a consortium dedicated to combating Alzheimer’s and promoting brain health and has raised funds to increase social work services in New York City.
Dennis Trainor
It may be called the Communications Workers of America, but the influential labor union is also a key player in health care. District 1 Vice President Dennis Trainor has been at the forefront of efforts to raise New York’s Medicaid reimbursement rates. Trainor praised lawmakers for moving forward on higher rates during budget negotiations, saying it would serve as an important new revenue stream for the state’s struggling hospitals. He said the increased revenue would assist with recruitment and retention in the sector, which would in turn provide better care for New Yorkers.
Damian Travier
Damian Travier is focused on finding new ways to address mental health issues for youth. Travier, who leads the mental health-focused Access Psychology Foundation, forged a partnership with Democracy Prep Public Schools and the Hawthorne Cedar Knolls public schools in New Jersey last year that provided dialectical behavioral training to over 95 teachers and administrators, which ultimately benefited over 4,000 students. The foundation’s training program supports postdoctoral fellows, college interns and global continuing education students.
Michelle Tropper
Public health expert Michelle Tropper is dedicated to improving clinical outcomes within the nation’s health care system. Tropper has spent a decade at HealthEfficient and was promoted last year to senior director for clinical quality improvement at the nonprofit, which supports community health centers and safety net providers. She was the lead author of a recent National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable report on improved screening for colon cancer in primary care. She is also a certified content expert for the National Committee for Quality Assurance’s Patient-Centered Medical Home Recognition program.
Mark Ustin
Counsel to the state Senate Health Committee. Assistant counsel to the governor. Deputy director director and general counsel to the state Commission on Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century. Mark Ustin held all these roles in Albany before pivoting to the private sector, bringing with him a deep understanding of the intersection of health policy and New York politics. He’s now a regulatory attorney and lobbyist at the Albany law firm Farrell Fritz, where he helps hospitals, federally qualified health centers and other providers decipher New York’s laws and regulations.
Selwyn Vickers
An internationally known pancreatic cancer specialist, Dr. Selwyn Vickers came to New York from Alabama in 2022 to assume the leadership of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Vickers has expanded the world-renowned cancer center’s reach locally, reaching out in New York City neighborhoods that had viewed the center as an exclusive hospital for Upper East Siders. Vickers has made ending health disparities a highlight of his career, including through his own practice and in his leadership of the medical school at the University of Alabama and of the university’s health system.
Miranda von Dornum
Some people have to make adjustments when starting a new job, but for Dr. Miranda von Dornum, that is an understatement. Within days of her joining Project Renewal, a nonprofit that provides services to homeless individuals, in February 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, upending how she and other physicians conducted their work. As chief medical officer, von Dornum oversees a health department that includes a health center with four clinics and medical vans, along with behavioral health programs embedded in shelters.
Pat Wang
As the longtime president and CEO of Healthfirst, a 2 million-member nonprofit health insurer in the New York City metropolitan area, Pat Wang has established a reputation as a state and national leader in health care and business. She has served on the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, providing valuable advice to Congress on Medicare payment policy. She is now a member of the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Chinese-American Planning Council, and she has served on a number of key health policy panels advising government officials.
Nina Ythier
Nina Ythier founded the private psychotherapy practice Mind Speak in 2017 in order to provide specialized mental health treatment and advocacy services to New Yorkers. Mind Speak specializes in supporting New York City and Westchester County residents who have both an intellectual or developmental disability and a mental health issue. Ythier seeks to demystify stigmas surrounding the population she serves, while providing evidence-based treatment and advocating for her patients.
Michelle Zettergren
Michelle Zettergren has overseen MagnaCare expansion from a New York-based health company into one with a national reach that serves labor clients across the country. Zettergren, who has a quarter century of experience in health care and labor, incorporates cutting-edge technology and delivers tailored solutions for her clients. Zettergren is also the brainchild behind LaborStrong.live, a MagnaCare’s initiative to bolster labor unions and provide resources for members.
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