Christopher Queram, MHSA, Chair

Mr. Queram has been CEO of the Employer Health Care Alliance Cooperative (The Alliance) of Madison, Wisconsin since 1993. The Alliance is a purchasing cooperative owned by over 175 member companies that contracts with providers, manages and reports data, performs consumer education and designs employer and provider quality initiatives. Prior to his current position, Mr. Queram served as Vice President for Programs at Meriter Hospital, a 475-bed hospital in Madison. Mr. Queram is a member of the Board of the National Business Coalition on Health, and served as Board Chair for the past two years. He was a member of the President's Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Health Care Industry. Mr. Queram served as a member of the Planning Committee for the National Quality Forum and continues as convenor of the Purchaser Council of the Forum. He is a member of the Wisconsin Board on Health Information and the Board of the Wisconsin Private Employer Health Care Coverage program. He holds a master's degree in health services administration from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and is a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives.

David W. Baker, MD, MPH

Dr. Baker is Associate Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology-Biostatistics at the Center for Health Care Research and Policy at MetroHealth Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. His research has focused on access to health care and health care delivery for vulnerable populations. He is currently principal investigator for a study examining health outcomes for the uninsured among a national sample of adults 51-61 years old in the Health and Retirement Study. He is also principal investigator for a study examining trends in mortality rates for patients hospitalized in Northeast Ohio. Other areas of interest include the effect of limited reading ability and language barriers on patients' health care use; and the cost-effectiveness of screening patients for early heart disease. He has served on the Cuyahoga County Access to Care Coalition, the Cuyahoga County Community Health Assessment Project, and the Ohio Department of Health State Health Resources Plan Task Force. He practices Internal Medicine and teaches at MetroHealth.

Regina M. Benjamin, MD, MBA

Regina Benjamin is Associate Dean for Rural Health at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine in Mobile, Alabama where she administers the USA-Telehealth and the Alabama-AHEC programs. She established and operates the Bayou La Batre Rural Health Clinic in Bayou La Batre, Alabama. In 1998 she was the United States recipient of the Nelson Mandella Award for Health and Human Rights. In 1995, Dr. Benjamin was elected to the American Medical Association (AMA) Board of Trustees, making her the first physician under age 40 and the first African-American woman to be elected. She also serves on the Board of Physicians for Human Rights. Dr. Benjamin is a diplomate of the American Board of Family Practice, and a Fellow fo the American Academy of Family Physicians. She was a Kellogg National Fellow and a Rockefeller Next Generation Leader. Dr. Benjamin was named by Time Magazine as one of the "Nation's 50 Future Leaders Age 40 and Under." She was featured in a New York Times article, "Angel in a White Coat," "Person of the Week" on ABC's World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, "Woman of the Year" by CBS This Morning and was featured on the December 1999 cover of Clarity Magazine. She previously served as a member of the Committee on Cancer Research Among Minorities and the Medically Underserved.

Sandra R. Hernández, MD

Sandra R. Hernández, is the Chief Executive Officer of The San Francisco Foundation, a community foundation serving the five Bay Area counties. It is one of the largest community foundations in the country. Dr. Hernández is a primary care internist who previously held a number of positions within the San Francisco Department of Public Health, including Director of the AIDS Office, Director of Community Public Health, County Health Officer, and finally Director of Health for the City and County of San Francisco. She was appointed to and served on President Clinton's Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Healthcare Industry. Among the many honors and awards bestowed on her, Dr. Hernandez was named by Modern Healthcare magazine as one of the top ten healthcare leaders for the next century. Dr. Hernández is a graduate of Yale University, Tufts School of Medicine, and the JFK School of Government at Harvard University. She is on the faculty of UCSF School of Medicine and maintains an active clinical practice at San Francisco General Hospital in the AIDS Clinic.

Ichiro Kawachi, MD, PhD

Ichiro Kawachi is the Director of the Harvard Center for Society and Health at the Harvard School of Public Health, where he also holds an appointment as Associate Professor of Health and Social Behavior. Dr. Kawachi's current research spans from the psychosocial predictors of health and illness (job stress, social networks and support, and psychological factors) to the investigation of more distal, societal influences on population health (income distribution, social capital, and gender inequality). Dr. Kawachi is the recipient of a Robert Wood Johnson Investigator Award in Health Policy Research for his work on income distribution, social capital, and health. He recently co-edited the first textbook on Social Epidemiology as well as a Reader on Income Inequality and Health. Dr. Kawachi is a member of the Research Advisory Committee of the Pan American Health Organization/WHO, and also acted as a consultant to The World Bank on social capital and health. For the past three years, he has served as a core member of the MacArthur Foundation Network on Socioeconomic Status and Health. Dr Kawachi is also senior editor of the international journal Social Science & Medicine.

Ronda Kotelchuck, MRP

Ronda Kotelchuck is the Executive Director of the Primary Care Development Corporation (PCDC), a public-private partnership initiative to build primary care centers in New York City's underserved communities. Prior to PCDC, she worked for the NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation where, as Vice President for Corporate Planning and Intergovernmental Relations, she spearheaded HHC's 1989 strategic plan, financial restructuring and Communicare program, a city initiative which expanded community-based primary care. Ms. Kotelchuck previously worked for the NYC Financial Control Board and the Greater Boston Health Systems Agency. She speaks and has written broadly on health care topics. She is a fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine. Ms. Kotelchuck received her BA from Lewis and Clark College and her MRP from Cornell University.

Keith Mueller, Ph.D., Rural Health

Dr. Mueller is the Director of the Nebraska Center for Rural Health Research and a professor in the Department of Preventive and Societal Medicine (Section Chief, Health Services Research and Rural Health Policy) at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Dr. Mueller's doctoral training is in political science, with additional post-doctorate training in health services research. He was the 1996-97 President of the National Rural Health Association and is a member of the Health Delivery Panel of the Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI). His research interests include policy analysis, access to care among the uninsured, and managed care.

Mary B. Tierney, MD

Dr. Tierney is Director, Medicine & Public Health Initiative in the office of Scientific and Professional Affairs at the American Public Health Association. She also has hospital privileges at the Children's National Medical Center in Washington, DC. Dr. Tierney is an Associate Clinical Professor of Child Health and Development at the George Washington University School of Medicine. Formerly, she was Chair, Department of Pediatrics at the Public Benefits Corporation of the District of Columbia. She is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics and is featured in Who's Who in American Women. Dr. Tierney's research interests includes clinical child development, special needs children, Medicaid and SCHIP policy, quality assurance, and public health.

Reed V. Tuckson, MD

Dr. Tuckson is Senior Vice President of Consumer Health and Medical Care Enhancement at United Health Group. Formerly, he was Senior Vice President, Professional Standards at the American Medical Association. Dr. Tuckson was President of Charles R. Drew University, School of Medicine and Science from 1991-1997. From 1986-1990, he was Commissioner of Public Health for the District of Columbia. Dr. Tuckson serves on a number of health care, academic and federal boards and committees and is a nationally known lecturer on topics concerning community-based medicine, the moral responsibilities of health professionals, and physician leadership. He currently serves on the IOM Roundtable on Research and Development of Drugs, Biologics, and Medical Devices and is a member of the Institute of Medicine.

Mary Wakefield, RN, PhD

Dr. Mary Wakefield is Professor and Director of the Center for Health Policy, Research, and Ethics at George Mason University. Previously, Dr. Wakefield served as Chief of Staff for two United States Senators. During her tenure on Capitol Hill, she co-chaired the Senate Rural Health Caucus Staff Organization. In this capacity she was directly involved with a wide range of rural health policy issues including recruitment and retention of health care providers, reimbursement, emergency services, telemedicine, rural research, and interdisciplinary education. Dr. Wakefield serves on many health-related advisory boards and in March 1997, she was appointed to President Clinton's Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Health Care Industry. Dr. Wakefield previously served as a member on the Committee on Quality of Health Care in America.