Gettysburg, PA, April 24, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OPEN MINDS, a leading national market intelligence and management consulting firm, continued to expand through the first quarter of its 30th year in operation. Via an announcement to OPEN MINDS members, staff, and advisory board, Chief Executive Officer, Monica E. Oss, welcomed nine new employees to the OPEN MINDS organization this past week. The new team members were as follows:
- Senior Leadership Team: Stacy DiStefano, Chief Operating Officer
- Consulting Practice Team:
- Deb Adler, Senior Associate
- Lee Fortenberry, Senior Associate
- Sue Bergeson, Senior Associate
- James Wiefel, Senior Associate
- David Young, MBA, Senior Associate
- Advisory Board: Abimbola Farinde, Ph.D., PharmD, MBA, MSc
- Marketing & Communications Team: Rachel Echevarria, Advertising Coordinator
- Market Research Team: Sandra Gardner, Market Research Assistant
“To meet the needs of our growing number of members and clients, expansion isn't an option, it's a necessity,” said Monica E. Oss, OPEN MINDS Chief Executive Officer. “That being said, we always side with quality over quantity at OPEN MINDS. That's why the expertise and experience of this established group excites me the most. I could not be more confident in their ability to help OPEN MINDS continue to fulfill its mission to improve the future outlook for consumers with chronic conditions and complex support needs.”
Stacy DiStefano, will serve as Chief Operating Officer at OPEN MINDS. Ms. DiStefano brings over 20 years of leadership experience in the health and human services industry to OPEN MINDS. Before joining OPEN MINDS, Ms. DiStefano served as the Vice President of Innovation for Resources for Human Development (RHD) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In this role, she led the innovation, strategy, and national development efforts to broaden the scope of services, diversify funding sources, engage and maintain political relationships, and design programs based on regional needs to enhance systems of care. In addition, she built and maintained relationships through individual meetings, public speaking, conferences, providing expert testimony and research, making her a trusted leader of remote, mission driven teams with matrix reporting.
Deb Adler, will serve as a Senior Associate on the OPEN MINDS consulting practice. Ms. Adler brings more than 20 years of experience in executive health care roles, serving in a variety of capacities including network executive, quality management executive and chief operating officer, to the OPEN MINDS team. Before joining OPEN MINDS, Ms. Adler served as Senior Vice President of Network Strategy for Optum (now UnitedHealth Group) where she was responsible for behavioral health network development, contracting, and strategy for over 185,000 providers. In this role she developed the largest, performance-tiered behavioral health network, largest telemental health network, and largest medication assisted treatment (MAT) network. She was also responsible for implementing network initiatives to promote medical/behavioral integration, improve member outcomes, and reduce total cost of care through collaborative care models.
Lee Fortenberry will serve as a Senior Associate on the OPEN MINDS consulting practice. Mr. Fortenberry brings over 25 years of financial management experience to the OPEN MINDS team. While he is currently at professor at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania, he also serves as a certified financial planner. Prior to his time at Shippensburg University, he served at Northwestern Mutual for over twenty years in five different states, ultimately serving as the Chief Training Officer in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Sue Bergeson will serve as a Senior Associate on the OPEN MINDS consulting practice. Ms. Bergeson brings over 20 years of experience in executive health care roles, serving as the president, chief executive officer, and vice president for various health and human service organizations. Prior to joining the OPEN MINDS team, Ms. Bergeson served as the Vice President of Consumer Affairs at United Behavioral Health. In this position she was responsible for influencing and developing a new clinical orientation, co-developed over sixty RFP responses, and created over thirty new consumer activation tools, including phone apps, interactive web programs, brochures, videos, and tool kits.
James Wiefel will serve as a Senior Associate on the OPEN MINDS consulting practice. Mr. Wiefel brings a wealth of experience in multiple areas of the Information Technology spectrum. He has performed in many different roles including technical developer, senior business analyst, project leader, subject matter expert and finally senior management in large IT organizations. He has performed successfully in these roles within many business environments including healthcare decision support, entertainment, tax preparation, and Special Education in public schools. His most recent role was the point person in the implementation of a comprehensive Special Education tracking system for a large School District, which was under a court mandate to develop a system to correctly identify special need students, enable their proper placement into a program and ultimately track all prescribed and delivered services.
David Young, will serve as a Senior Associate on the OPEN MINDS consulting practice. Mr. Young brings more than 30 years of executive experience in technology, new product development, and strategic planning in the health and human service field to the OPEN MINDS team. Prior to joining OPEN MINDS, Mr. Young served as the Chair of the Board and the Chief Marketing Officer of Raiven Healthcare in Tennessee. In this position, he provided leadership and strategic vision for the cutting edge artificial intelligence company. While leading the Board, he also served as the Chief Marketing Officer, providing direction in branding and imaging in the marketplace. Together, Mr. Young and the Chief Executive Officer oversaw the budgeting process and developed the direction of the board policy.
Abimbola Farinde, Ph.D., PharmD, MBA, MSc, will serve as a member of the OPEN MINDS Advisory Board. She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to OPEN MINDS, specifically in regards to pharmacology, pathophysiology, healthcare management, and healthcare law, among many others. She currently is serving as a professor at Capella University, a professor at Columbia Southern University, as well as serving as a pharmacist at Cornerstone Hospital in Texas. Ms. Farinde earned her Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology at Walden University.
Rachel Echevarria will serve as the advertising coordinator at OPEN MINDS. A recent graduate of Elon University, Ms. Echevarria brings marketing and advertising experience to the OPEN MINDS team. In her previous role, she was responsible for developing and implementing an integrated campaign focused on expanding target markets, assisting with marketing strategy, and developing content for digital ad campaigns for a London-based digital compliance securities firm.
Sandra Gardner will serve as a Market Research Assistant at OPEN MINDS. Prior to joining the OPEN MINDS team, Ms. Gardner was a graphic designer for The Gettysburg Times.
ABOUT OPEN MINDS
OPEN MINDS is a national market intelligence and strategic advisory firm focused on the sectors of the health and human service field serving consumers with chronic conditions and complex support needs. Founded in 1987 and based in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the 175+ associates provide market insights and innovative management solutions designed to improve operational and strategic performance. Learn more at www.openminds.com.