Advisory Council

PRESIDENT & CEO, ALLIANCE OF COMMUNITY HEALTH PLANS

Ceci is a recovering journalist who now is in passionate pursuit of a better, more equitable, more affordable health system. She is President and CEO of the Alliance of Community Health Plans, a national organization of leading nonprofit, provider-aligned plans. Ceci is also the host of the Healthy Dialogue podcast.

After 25 years in the news business – at outlets such as the Washington Post, the Associated Press and Congressional Quarterly – she worked at both McKinsey and PwC in health care thought leadership and consulting. She is a founding member of Women of Impact for Healthcare, co-author of Landmark: The Inside Story of America’s New Health-Care Law and What It Means for Us All, and serves on the advisory board of Fannie Mae’s Sustainable Communities Initiative.

Ceci’s Story

If you wrote your story, what would be the title of your book?

You Can Take the Girl Out of Journalism, But You Can’t Take the Journalism Out of the Girl

What’s the one characteristic that has given you the edge in your career?

“I’m a dog with a bone.”

What’s one piece of advice you would give your younger self?

“Think Big, Start Small, Act Fast.”

CEO and President Dartmouth-Hitchcock and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health

Joanne M. Conroy, M.D., serves as CEO and President of Dartmouth-Hitchcock and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health, the largest private employer in the state of New Hampshire. Dartmouth-Hitchcock is a nonprofit academic health system that includes: Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, which is the system’s 429-bed flagship teaching hospital; the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic (a multi-specialty group practice employing more than 1,500 physicians), the Norris Cotton Cancer Center; the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock; four affiliate hospitals (New London Hospital, Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center, Cheshire Medical Center, and Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital); the Visiting Nurse and Hospice for New Hampshire and Vermont; and 24 ambulatory care clinics.

Dartmouth-Hitchcock is New Hampshire’s only academic health system and only Level 1 trauma center and is the largest provider of healthcare in the state and the second largest in Vermont.

Prior to arriving at Dartmouth-Hitchcock, Dr. Conroy served as CEO of Lahey Hospital and Medical Center (formerly the Lahey Clinic), part of Lahey Health, a large, integrated delivery system with more than 1,400 physicians, 18,000 employees, $4 million in grant funding for medical research and $2.0 billion in annual revenue.

From 2008 to 2014, she served as Chief Health Care Officer of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), focusing on the interface between the health care delivery system and academic medicine. From 2001 to 2008, she served as Executive Vice President of Atlantic Health, Chief Operating Officer/ President of Morristown Memorial Hospital, a 695-bed flagship teaching hospital.From 1986 to 2001, Dr. Conroy served many roles at the Medical University of South Carolina, including Vice President for Medical Affairs, Chair of Anesthesiology and Senior Associate Dean of the College of Medicine.

Dr. Conroy’s Story

If you wrote your story, what would be the title of your book?

Man, That Woman is Like Chinese Water Torture

What’s your pump-up song?

“Stronger” by Kelly Clarkson

What’s the one characteristic that has given you the edge in your career?

“Golf…I play from the whites.”

What’s one piece of advice you would give your younger self?

“Ask for what you want/need.”

Chief Patient Officer and Executive Vice President, Merck and Former Director, CDC

Julie L. Gerberding, M.D. is Chief Patient Officer and Executive Vice President at Merck, where she is responsible for a broad portfolio focused on patient engagement, strategic communications, global public policy, population health and corporate responsibility. She joined the company in 2010 as president of Merck vaccines.

Previously, Julie was director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), where she led the agency through 40+ emergency responses to public health crises. She has received more than 50 awards and honors, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) distinguished service award for her leadership in responses to anthrax bioterrorism and the September 11, 2001 attacks. She was named to the TIME 100 list of most influential people in 2004 and the Healthcare Businesswomen Association’s Woman of the Year in 2018.

Dr. Gerberding’s Story

If you wrote your story, what would be the title of your book?

Protecting Health: From Patients to Populations

What’s your pump-up song?

“I Feel Good” by James Brown

What’s the one characteristic that has given you the edge in your career?

“My North Star: leadership is a privilege and has to be earned.”

What’s one piece of advice you would give your younger self?

“Focus on being kind and fair, but don’t always strive to be ‘nice’.”

Founder and Managing Partner of Define Ventures

Lynne Chou O’Keefe is the Founder and Managing Partner of Define Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm focused on investing in digital health companies redefining healthcare that will change all our lives. Lynne’s experience includes both healthcare operating, investing, and finance roles. Previously, she was a Senior Partner at Kleiner Perkins focused on digital health and connected devices early stage investing. She worked with many portfolio companies, such as Livongo Health (NASDAQ: LVGO), Lumeris, and Oculeve (Acquired by Allergan). Before joining Kleiner Perkins, Lynne worked at Abbott Vascular and Guidant in multiple roles launching over ten product families in the US and internationally. Lynne was responsible for building the global commercial strategy and therapy development as well as playing a key role in the clinical, reimbursement, and operational strategy for these therapies. Earlier in her career, Lynne worked at Apax Partners with a focus on software venture capital investing. In addition, Lynne worked at Goldman Sachs in the Mergers and Acquisitions group and worked on multiple multi-billion dollar acquisitions and sell side transactions in various industries. Lynne earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Lynne’s Story

If you wrote your story, what would be the title of your book?
For the Love of Building

What’s your pump-up song?
“The Man” by Aloe Blacc

What’s the one characteristic that has given you the edge in your career?
“Building a village of support.”

What’s one piece of advice you would give your younger self?
“Always have confidence in the path you set yourself”