PHA Councils and Committees
Membership in the Population Health Alliance (PHA) includes exclusive access to the following Councils and Committees. These meetings are designed to promote the exchange of ideas and insights among a broad range of stakeholders dedicated to population health improvement.

The Council convenes leaders focused on the population health dimensions of nutrition, food access, and overall well-being.
The Council examines how food-based interventions are designed, funded, and operationalized across healthcare, community-based, and public health settings.

In 2026, PHA combined the Social Care & Health Equity (SCHE) and Medicaid Quality & Access (MQA) Councils to reflect the close alignment between equity-focused strategies and Medicaid policy and delivery.
In 2025, the SCHE produced an issue brief on disparities in cancer care.

The Council focuses on the clinical, operational, and structural challenges of delivering whole- person care. Formed in 2025 through the merger of two long-standing Councils, the group created a more integrated forum for addressing primary care transformation alongside behavioral health integration, and primary care’s role in specialty care.

The AI & Analytics Council provides a venue to examine how organizations can responsibly apply analytics and artificial intelligence to improve population health.
In 2025, the Council explored early AI use cases, with particular attention to data quality, workflow integration, and trust. Initial efforts underscored ...

The Membership & Program Committee supports the growth, engagement, and long-term sustainability of the Population Health Alliance.
The Committee guides PHA’s membership strategy and helps shape the agenda and structure of the annual PHA Innovation & Adoption Summit.

This committee monitors and discusses federal and state policy developments affecting population health. Members receive timely policy updates and participate in discussions that inform PHA’s advocacy approach and public comment strategy.
Recent statements developed through this Committee are publicly available and reflect PHA’s ....

The Quality & Research Committee meets quarterly and is responsible for setting PHA’s overall strategic and programmatic direction. Its work includes advising on research priorities, issue briefs, and educational initiatives to advance population health improvement and measurement.
TThis Committee is most relevant for members with expertise or interest in quality measurement, evaluation, research, and the future direction of population health practice and policy.


Ms. Polak is a senior director based in Washington, D.C. In her role, she provides policy counsel and analysis to clients with matters involving regu-lations, legislation, and business implications. Anne Marie’s experience includes developing strategic messages and policy positions for Capitol Hill, administration, trade associations, and corporate audiences. Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Anne Marie was a vice president for Faegre BD Consulting in the firm’s health and biosciences group. She also spent five years with the Podesta Group in Washington, D.C., while completing her law degree in the evenings at the George Mason University School of Law, graduating cum laude in 2010. Anne Marie also worked in the government and legal affairs office of Novo Nordisk in Washington, D.C., and as a congressional aide to Rep. Michael Ferguson of New Jersey.
Dr. Fabius has recently returned to his start up. HealthNEXT, a company dedicated to the development of organizational cultures of health — after serving as Chief Medical Officer of Truven Health Analytics (formerly the healthcare business of Thomson Reuters), the world’s leading source of intelligent information for business and professionals. In this capacity he is charged with developing and deepening relationships with customers, advising on product development, and providing counsel to the leadership on business strategy and medical issues. Formerly, Dr. Fabius served as strategic advisor to the President of Walgreens Health & Wellness Division. This organization will coordinate over 1,000 workplace health centers and 10,000 pharmacies, many with retail clinics, into a seamless primary care network across the country within the next five years. In the not too distant future, it will be possible to offer large employers medical and fitness services on-site as well as episodic illness care, health coaching and disease management monitoring at the employee’s nearest Walgreens pharmacy.
Mr. Buettner is an explorer, National Geographic Fellow, award-winning journalist and producer, and a New York Timesbestselling author. He discovered the five places in the world—dubbed Blue Zones—where people live the longest, healthiest lives. His articles about these places in The New York Times Magazine and National Geographic are two of the most popular for both publications.
Ms. Cooney provides strategic direction for the Centers three Pillars of Population Health – Clinical to Community Connections, Health Equity and the Social Determinants of Health, and Public Health Data Analytics and Informatics. Mary Ann previously worked for 14 years at the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services where she was Deputy Commissioner for the Department and Director of Public Health.
Mr. Scully is a General Partner in the Healthcare Group, having joined WCAS in 2004. Before joining WCAS, he was the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for three years and the President and CEO of the Federation of American Hospitals for six years. He also served as the Deputy Assistant to the President and as the Associate Director of OMB under President GHW Bush from 1989 to 1993, and has practiced law at Alston and Bird; Patton Boggs; and Akin, Gump, Strauss Hauer and Feld. He is a Principal at the Lincoln Policy Group.
Dr. Don Wright has served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health and Director of the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) since January 2012. In this capacity, he leads coordination and policy development for public health and prevention activities within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He is also currently the acting Executive Director of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition.
Dr. Sidorov is a board-certified in general internal medicine physician with more than 25 years of experience in primary care, inpatient care, medical education and evidence-based practice. Jaan believes physician leadership throughout the continuum of care is the bedrock of value-based care delivery. He received his medical degree from Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, and completed his internship and residency at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Hanover, New Hampshire. Jaan also served as a Chief Resident at Reading Hospital in Reading, Pennsylvania.
Dr. Ostrovsky is a practicing physician, social entrepreneur, and health policy expert who specializes in human-centered design, lean manage-ment, quality improvement, population health, and digital health. Dr. Ostrovsky was most recently the Chief Medical Officer for the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS), the nation’s largest insurer covering over 74 million people, annually.
Dr. Choice is vice president and medical director for physical medicine services at American Specialty Health (ASH). Dr. Choice oversees the Rehabilitation Services Clinical Quality Evaluation program and leads the content development, training and clinical quality processes for ASH’s musculoskeletal health and pain management products.
Ms. Forte is responsible for leading Tufts Health Public Plans expansion efforts. Prior to her current position, she was vice president of care management for all Public Plans members.
As Director of Strategic Initiatives, Ms. Bowman oversees new social needs intervention initiatives among our clinical partners — including program design, resource database build-outs, and integration of Health Leads’ signature technology, Reach. Elise brings 10 years of direct service experience to her role, having previously served as a Health Leads program manager, a case manager for adults struggling with mental illness and homelessness, and in developing parent engagement initiatives in public education settings.
Mr. Johnson leads the Sage Consulting’s work for a number of public sector, corporate, non-profit and multi-employer clients. David brings particular expertise in evidence-based workplace wellness programs and leveraging Behavioral Economics principles in Human Resources Management. He is also an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Psychology at Towson University.
Dr. Wadhwa is a leader in building population health programs for vulnerable populations. He serves as the senior vice president of market innovation and is the chief health officer for Solera Health where he is focused on scaling the Diabetes Prevention Program as well as health-related, social support interventions. Previously, Sandeep held population health leadership positions with 3M and McKesson. He also served as the State Medicaid Director for Colorado under its former Governor. While there, he oversaw a $4 billion program and led the effort to implement an accountable care collaborative. Sandeep also serves on the board of Reinvestment Fund, a $1 billion non-profit, financial institute devoted to revitalizing low-income neighborhoods. Sandeep continues to see patients at the Seniors Clinic at the University of Colorado Hospital where he serves as associate clinical professor in the division of Geriatric Medicine.
Focused on the intersection of information technology, informatics, clinical medicine and innovation, Dr. Jain is VP and Chief Health Informatics Officer at IBM Watson Health. He was Co-Founder, Senior VP and Chief Medical Officer of Explorys, Inc. formed in 2009 based on innovations that he developed while at the Cleveland Clinic. In April 2015, Explorys was acquired by IBM as an integral component of the newly formed Watson Health business unit. In 2017, he was appointed by Congress to the Federal Health IT Advisory Committee established by the 21st Century Cures Act.
Ms. Maljanian is an accomplished senior executive with more than 25 years of experience in the health care industry. Rose’s leadership experience
John Haughton MD, MS