GEISINGER HEALTH PLAN - Key Persons


Amy Brayford - CEO, EVP, President

Job Titles:
  • CEO
  • Chief of Staff
  • Executive Vice President
  • President
Amy Brayford is the executive vice president and chief of staff to the president and CEO for Geisinger. She has been a member of the Geisinger team since 1997, serving in a number of human resource capacities including generalist, operations manager, associate vice president, vice president and chief human resource officer. In her current role, Ms. Brayford is responsible for human resource operations, the Geisinger Health Foundation and the organization's diversity, equity and inclusion strategy. In addition, Ms. Brayford is the senior leader working with internal audits and compliance, development and board relations. A graduate of Bloomsburg University, she earned her master's degree at Ithaca College in Ithaca, N.Y. Prior to joining Geisinger, she served as a quality coordinator at the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, adult education instructor at the Schuylkill Intermediate Unit and adjunct professor at Harrisburg Area Community College. Ms. Brayford is a member of the Bloomsburg University Board of Trustees and previously served on the Bloomsburg University College of Business Advisory Board and on the Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania.

Daniel Davis

Job Titles:
  • Chief Bioethics Officer, Professor and Director, Center for Translational Bioethics and Health Care Policy

David Rolston

Job Titles:
  • Clinical Professor of Medicine / Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine / Chair, Department of Medicine Specialties, Geisinger

Dominic Moffa - Chief Strategy Officer, EVP

Job Titles:
  • Chief Strategy Officer
  • Executive Vice President

Don Thomas Rosini

Job Titles:
  • Board Member of Together We Can
  • President of Shamokin Carbons
Don Thomas Rosini was appointed to the Geisinger Health Board of Directors in October 2020. He is a member of the Finance Committee and the Investment Subcommittee. Mr. Rosini is president of Shamokin Carbons, based in Coal Township, Pa. Shamokin Carbons is a leading supplier of carbon additives to companies around the world in a wide range of industries including aerospace, friction, glass manufacturing, oil and gas drilling, refractory coatings, and steel recycling. Mr. Rosini is also a managing partner of Alliance Graphite Victory (AGV) based in Hermosillo, Mexico. AGV pulverizes and produces precision-sized amorphous graphites for Mexican and international industrial customers. Previously, Mr. Rosini managed the European Fixed Income Derivative Trading operation for the Bank of New York in London. Prior to working at Bank of New York, he managed the Asian Foreign Currency Derivatives operation for Chase Manhattan Bank in Tokyo. He began his career trading currency derivatives for Susquehanna International Group on the Philadelphia Currency Exchange and gathered international financial experience for the next 16 years through joint ventures in the United Kingdom and Asia. Additionally, Mr. Rosini is a board member of Together We Can, a 501(c)(3) focused on fighting food insecurity in Pennsylvania and across the country. He is also an active supporter of SquashSmarts, a 501(c)(3) program dedicated to improving the lives of underserved youth from Philadelphia public schools by providing long-term academic tutoring and health and fitness instruction. Mr. Rosini earned his undergraduate degree in finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He and his wife Victoria live in Gladwyne, Pa., with their three children.

Donna Moylan

Job Titles:
  • Artist
Benjamin K. Chu, MD, was appointed to the Geisinger Health Board of Directors in July 2020. He serves as a member of the Patient Experience, Academic Affairs and Quality Committee of the board. Dr. Chu was also appointed to the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, Geisinger Affiliate Boards and Geisinger Health Plan, Geisinger Quality Options Inc., and Geisinger Indemnity Insurance Company Board of Directors in 2021. A leader in creating patient-centered, integrated healthcare reforms, Dr. Chu advises clients on building collaborative partnership relationships, with a focus on quality, service and operational outcomes. Dr. Chu's experience encompasses direct patient care, population health, public policy and reform, medical education, health system administration, health insurance, culture change and leadership development. For more than 15 years, Dr. Chu led major health systems in Houston, southern California and New York City. In those roles, he established, expanded and solidified relationships with medical schools; led efforts to reorganize and streamline administrative functions; and implemented programs and processes to improve patient access to high-quality healthcare services. A physician and public policy advocate, Dr. Chu serves organizations committed to advocacy for access to high-quality patient-centered care. He is a former chair of the board of directors of The Commonwealth Fund and sits on the board of the National Committee for Quality Assurance. He previously served on the advisory committee to the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2015, Dr. Chu was elected to the National Academy of Medicine, one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine. He has also served as the past chair of the American Hospital Association Board of Trustees and on the board of The Joint Commission. His background includes work in medical education at both the policy and training levels. He was an associate dean at two of New York's top medical schools and held academic appointments at medical schools in New York and Houston. Dr. Chu earned his Bachelor of Arts from Yale University, a Doctor of Medicine from New York University School of Medicine and a Master of Public Health from Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health. Dr. Chu and his wife, the artist Donna Moylan, live in New York. They have three sons and three granddaughters.

Dr. Karen Murphy

Job Titles:
  • Chief Innovation Officer
  • Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer, Founding Director, Steele Institute for Health Innovation
  • Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer, Founding Director, Steele Institute for Healthcare Innovation
  • Executive Vice President, Chief Innovation Officer and Founding Director of the Steele Institute for Health Innovation
Dr. Karen Murphy is executive vice president, chief innovation officer and founding director of the Steele Institute for Health Innovation at Geisinger. Dr. Murphy has worked to improve and transform healthcare delivery throughout her career in both the public and private sectors. Before joining Geisinger, she served as Pennsylvania's secretary of health addressing the most significant health issues facing the state, including the opioid epidemic. Prior to her role as secretary, Dr. Murphy served as director of the State Innovation Models Initiative at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services leading a $990 million CMS investment designed to accelerate health care innovation across the United States. She previously served as president and chief executive officer of the Moses Taylor Health Care System in Scranton, and as founder and chief executive officer of Physicians Health Alliance, Inc., an integrated medical group practice within Moses Taylor. Dr. Murphy earned her doctor of philosophy in business administration from the Temple University Fox School of Business. She holds a master's of business administration from Marywood University, a bachelor of science in liberal arts from the University of Scranton, and a diploma in nursing from the Scranton State Hospital School of Nursing. An author and national speaker on health policy and innovation, Dr. Murphy also serves as a clinical faculty member at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine. As chief innovation officer, Dr. Murphy leads Geisinger's deep commitment to innovation, one of the organization's four principle values along with kindness, excellence and learning to fulfill the mission of caring. Geisinger is an integrated healthcare system that includes 13 hospital campuses, two research centers, the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, and a health plan that serves approximately 600,000 members. Geisinger's more than 30,000 employees, 2,500 providers, nearly 500 residents and fellows, and 360 medical students serve and care for the three million residents in Pennsylvania.

Gail R. Wilensky

Job Titles:
  • Chairman of the Governance Committee
  • Economist
Gail Wilensky, PhD, was appointed to the Geisinger Health Board of Directors in September 2010. Dr. Wilensky is chair of the Governance Committee and serves on the Patient Experience, Academic Affairs and Quality Committee of the board. Dr. Wilensky is an economist and a senior fellow at Project HOPE, an international health foundation. She serves as a trustee of the Combined Benefits Fund of the United Mine Workers of America and the National Opinion Research Center and is on the board of regents of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. Dr. Wilensky served as president of the Defense Health Board, a federal advisory board to the Secretary of Defense, was a commissioner on the World Health Organization's Commission on the Social Determinants of Health and co-chaired the Department of Defense Task Force on the Future of Military Health Care. She was the administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration (now called CMS) from 1990 to 1992 and the deputy assistant for policy development to President George H. W. Bush in 1992. Dr. Wilensky chaired the Physician Payment Review Commission from 1995 to 1997 and MedPAC from 1997 to 2001. She is an elected member of the Institute of Medicine and has served two terms on its governing council. A former chair of the board of directors of Academy Health, a former trustee of the American Heart Association and a current or former director of numerous other non-profit organizations, Dr. Wilensky is also a director of UnitedHealth Group, Quest Diagnostics and BrainScope. Dr. Wilensky testifies frequently before Congressional committees, serves as an advisor to members of Congress and other elected officials, and speaks nationally and internationally. She earned a Bachelor of Psychology and a PhD in economics at the University of Michigan and has also received several honorary degrees. Dr. Wilensky resides with her husband Robert in Washington, D.C.

Heather M. Acker

Job Titles:
  • Vice Chair
  • Chairman Elect

J. Edward Hartle - EVP

Job Titles:
  • Chief Medical Officer
  • Executive Vice President
  • Member of the Leadership Team
  • Is Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Geisinger.
J. Edward Hartle, MD, is executive vice president and chief medical officer at Geisinger. Dr. Hartle has held several leadership roles since joining Geisinger in 1995. Along with serving as chair of the Medicine Institute, he has been director of the Nephrology Department and medical director of transplantation and the nephrolithiasis clinic. He is also an Air Force veteran and highly regarded clinician who has held numerous leadership positions in the field of nephrology. At Geisinger, Dr. Hartle has been at the vanguard of innovations including the development of 65 Forward, a program that offers the Medicare-age population affordable, high-quality care, paired with opportunities for fitness and socialization. He also led a primary care redesign that provides patients with longer appointments, resulting in the improved capture and management of health conditions. And he has promoted efficient, effective team-based care models that encourage collaborations among primary care providers and specialists, across institutes and disciplines.

Janet Tomcavage - EVP

Job Titles:
  • Chief Nurse Executive
  • Executive Vice President
  • Executive Vice President and Chief Nursing Executive
Janet Tomcavage currently serves as EVP, Chief Nurse Executive for Geisinger. In this role, she has accountability for Geisinger's Nursing Institute including strategic planning, nursing practice, professional development, research and education partnerships. This includes aligning nursing services across the care continuum and testing new nursing care models in both the inpatient and ambulatory space. In addition, Ms. Tomcavage leads care management, Geisinger at Home and the organization's efforts focused on advancing illness. Ms. Tomcavage has spent her career focusing on population health initiatives that drive transformation to support the Triple Aim. Geisinger's ProvenHealth Navigator® was an industry leader in redesigning primary care and embedding care management services directly alongside primary care providers. More recently, she led the first efforts to address social determinants of health including food insecurity and transportation and developed hospital system changes related to post-acute utilization. Her current work extends those models in the delivery of new care team models in the home that supports clinical, social and palliative care services for the most vulnerable populations. Ms. Tomcavage earned her Bachelor of Science in nursing from Bloomsburg State College and her Master of Science in nursing from Misericordia University. She has co-authored many publications on patient - centered primary care, diabetes, case management and the expanded role of nursing in health care. Ms. Tomcavage has lectured nationally on successfully driving transformation within health care and leveraging population health to achieve high quality and affordable health care. Ms. Tomcavage was the first nurse at Geisinger to win the Pennsylvania Nightingale Award for clinical excellence in an advanced nursing role in 1994. She is an active member and has served in various leadership roles in the American Nurse Association, the American College of Healthcare Executives, the Alliance of Community Health Plans, the American Hospital Association's post-acute work team, and the CMS Executive Leadership Council of the Strategic Innovation Engine.

John B. Bulger

Job Titles:
  • Chief Medical Officer

John C. Bravman - Chairman

Job Titles:
  • Chairman

Julie Byerley

Job Titles:
  • President and Dean, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine Executive Vice President and Chief Academic Officer, Geisinger

Kevin Roberts - CFO, EVP

Job Titles:
  • Chief Financial Officer
  • Executive Vice President
Kevin Roberts, MBA, CPA, is executive vice president and chief financial officer at Geisinger. He oversees all financial activities and serves on the executive leadership team. Mr. Roberts joined Geisinger in April 2018, bringing more than 30 years of professional experience. He has an extensive background in business development and growth, corporate finance, health plans, mergers and acquisitions, financial operations, technology and investment management in large, complex, multi-site healthcare organizations. Previously, he served as senior vice president and chief financial officer for BJC HealthCare based in St. Louis, Missouri, a 15-hospital health system with more than 30,000 employees and $5 billion in net revenues that includes both Barnes-Jewish Hospital and St. Louis Children's Hospital. He has also held executive level financial positions at University Hospitals Health System and the Cleveland Clinic, both in Ohio, and Proctor Hospital in Peoria, Illinois. Mr. Roberts earned a master's in business administration from Bradley University in Peoria, and a bachelor's in business with a concentration in accountancy from Eastern Illinois University in Charleston. He is a certified public accountant.

Kurt J. Wrobel - President

Job Titles:
  • President
  • Executive Vice President, Insurance Operations
  • in 2014 As Chief Financial Officer and Chief
Kurt Wrobel joined Geisinger Health Plan in 2014 as chief financial officer and chief actuary, where he has been accountable for the financial performance of all lines of business. Among his accomplishments are driving the health plan's achievement of its financial margin goals, introduced the risk-sharing arrangement with the clinical enterprise and managing Geisinger Health Plan through changes in the individual ACA market and Medicaid expansion. Wrobel earned his Master of Business Administration in Healthcare Management from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, holds a master's degree in economics from the University of Wisconsin - Madison, and earned his bachelor's degree in finance from UCLA. He is a fellow in the Society of Actuaries and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

Matthew M. Walsh - COO, EVP

Job Titles:
  • Chief Operating Officer
  • Executive Vice President
  • Member of the Leadership Team
  • Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Joined Geisinger in April 2017
Matthew M. Walsh, executive vice president and chief operating officer, joined Geisinger in April 2017. Prior to his becoming EVP in 2019, Mr. Walsh served as chief operating officer for the clinical enterprise. In that role, he was a key leader in implementing Geisinger's strategic plan and was responsible for organizing, integrating and improving day-to-day operations and outcome management across the clinical enterprise, supply chain and facilities support services. Along with rolling out Lean performance improvement methodology throughout the system, Mr. Walsh oversaw initiatives that simplified appointment scheduling processes, improved call center performance and expanded telemedicine use by more than 160 percent. Mr. Walsh earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business and a Master of Healthcare Administration from the University of Phoenix. Before joining Geisinger, he held several leadership roles over nearly 20 years with the Henry Ford Health System and most recently served as senior vice president and chief operating officer for Health Alliance Plan.

Roger van Baaren - CFO, COO

Job Titles:
  • Chief Financial Officer
  • Chief Operating Officer

Stacey E. Benseler - Chief Compliance Officer

Job Titles:
  • Chief Compliance Officer

Steven B. Bender - Chief Legal Officer, EVP

Job Titles:
  • Chief Legal Officer
  • Executive Vice President
Steven Bender, Esq., executive vice president and chief legal officer, joined Geisinger in July 2020 and is responsible for the organization's legal affairs, including providing legal guidance to the board of directors and executive leadership and guiding the company in regulatory matters. Prior to joining Geisinger, Mr. Bender served for four years as general counsel for George Washington University Medical Faculty Associates, a nationally recognized faculty practice plan and the largest independent physician practice in the District of Columbia, employing more than 800 providers. At George Washington University, Mr. Bender led the legal team and served as strategic partner and counselor to the Board of Trustees, senior leadership, individual medical departments, clinical research and a self-funded captive insurance company, handling matters of compliance, litigation, risk management and company contractual arrangements. Before his role in Washington, D.C., Mr. Bender was a partner at the Health Law Partners of Southfield, Mich., where he specialized in developing and negotiating significant healthcare transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, hospital/physician joint ventures, clinical integration arrangements and physician compensation programs. He was also lead counsel in the development of a projected $1 billion national population health/clinical integration physician network. Mr. Bender was managing counsel at Trinity Health in Livonia, Mich., for more than a decade. He has also held positions at national law firms specializing in healthcare. Mr. Bender earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and his law degree from Michigan State University College of Law. He is past chair of the State Bar of Michigan's Healthcare Law Section and a member of the American Health Lawyers Association.