Melinda Abrams, M.S., senior program officer at The Commonwealth Fund, directs the Patient-Centered Primary Care program. Since coming to the Fund in 1997, Ms. Abrams has worked on the Fund's Child Development and Preventive Care program, the Task Force on Academic Health Centers and the Commission on Women's Health. Ms. Abrams has played a lead role in reviewing and modifying state policies regarding preventive health care for young children.

Michael S. Barr is Vice President, Practice Advocacy and Improvement for the American College of Physicians. Dr. Barr’s focus is on public policy relating to the patient-centered medical home, quality improvement, practice redesign, and health information technology. He has overall responsibility for the College’s Regulatory and Insurer Affairs Department, Practice Management Center, and Medical Laboratory Evaluation Program. Dr. Barr also directs the College’s grant-funded Center for Practice Innovation. Michael S.

Michael J. Barry, M.D., Michael J. Barry, M.D., is Director of the Health Services Research Program and Chief of the General Medicine Unit at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He is also Medical Director of the John D. Stoeckle Center for Primary Care Innovation (www.stoecklecenter.org) Dr. Barry has been President of the Society for Medical Decision-Making (SMDM) and President of the Society of General Internal Medicine. Dr. Barry was the Principal Investigator of the Prostate PORT-II.

Dawn Bazarko, RN, MPH is the Senior Vice President of Clinical Innovation, for UnitedHealthcare’s Clinical Advancement division. She leads UnitedHealthcare’s Primary Care, ER, and Integrated Behavioral Health programs serving over 10 million members nationwide. Her responsibilities include development and oversight of programs stimulating the diffusion and adoption of health information technology aimed at improving the quality, usability and affordability of health care.

Anne C. Beal, M.D., M.P.H., is Assistant Vice President for the Program on Quality of Care for Underserved Populations. The goal of the program is to improve the quality of health care delivered to low-income Americans and members of racial and ethnic minority groups and to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities. The program builds on efforts to improve quality of care overall in the United States, focusing on safety net institutions and other health care settings that serve large numbers of low-income and minority patients.

Dr. Calomo is the Director of Strategy for Walgreens Health Services (WHS). In this role he works with the Executive team and business leaders to formulate the strategic direction and strategic planning process for WHS. Prior to this role Dr Calomo was the Director of In-Store Clinics for the Walgreen Company. Prior to joining Walgreens Dr. Calomo was an Assistant Professor with the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences where he also served as the Assistant Dean in the School of Pharmacy.

David C. Dale, MD, FACP, a Seattle internist and Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington, is President of the American College of Physicians. As president, Dr. Dale is the senior elected officer of the organization. He presides at all meetings of the ACP membership, serves ex officio on eight ACP committees, and represents ACP at regional and chapter meetings and public functions nationally and internationally.

L. Allen Dobson Jr., M.D. FAAFP is a native of North Carolina and received his undergraduate education at North Carolina State University. He attended medical school at Bowman Gray School of Medicine at Wake Forest University and completed his residency in family medicine at East Carolina University where he served as chief resident. After finishing medical training, Dr. Dobson founded Mt. Pleasant Family Physicians and served as president until assuming the role of Director for Cabarrus Family Medicine Residency in 1995 and President/CEO of Cabarrus Family Medicine. Dr.

Robert B. Doherty is Senior Vice President of Governmental Affairs and Public Policy for the American College of Physicians (ACP), the nation’s largest specialty society and second largest medical organization. ACP represents 124,000 internal medicine physicians and medical students.  Mr.

Carole Redding Flamm is Executive Medical Director in the Office of Clinical Affairs at the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, a national federation of 39 independent, locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies.

Dr. Deidre Gifford is the Chief of Health Policy and Programs at Quality Partners of Rhode Island.  She is an obstetrician/gynecologist who directs the health information technology and physician office initiatives for the Rhode Island Quality Improvement Organization.  Dr. Gifford’s background is in Epidemiology and Health Services research, particularly in the area of quality measurement and quality of care for adults. She is a former faculty member of the UCLA School of Public Health, UCLA School of Medicine, and Brown Medical School.

Newt Gingrich is well-known as the architect of the “Contract with America” that led the Republican Party to victory in 1994 by capturing the majority in the U.S.

Douglas E. Henley, M.D., FAAFP, serves as executive vice president (EVP) for the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). The AAFP is the medical specialty organization representing nearly 94,000 family physicians and medical students nationwide.

Patrick J. Kennedy is serving his seventh term in Congress as the representative from the First District of Rhode Island.

James King, M.D., FAAFP, a family physician in Selmer, Tenn., is President of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). Previously, he served three years as a member of the AAFP board of directors. The AAFP represents nearly 94,000 physicians and medical students nationwide. King was installed as president during the organization’s annual scientific assembly, held Oct. 3 – 6 in Chicago, Illinois.

Linda Magno is director of the Medicare Demonstrations Group in the Office of Research, Development and Information at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. This group is responsible for developing, implementing and managing Medicare demonstrations of new benefits, payment methodologies, and models of health care delivery for the nation’s 44 million elderly and disabled Medicare beneficiaries.

Paul A. Martin, D.O., a board certified family physician from Dayton, Ohio, is a member of the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians (ACOFP) Board of Governors and is one of the most respected leaders in the osteopathic profession. Dr. Martin is the Chief Executive Officer and President of the Providence Medical Group, a 41-member independent, physician owned and governed, multi-specialty physician group in the greater Dayton metropolitan area.

Terry McGeeney brings nearly 30 years of experience as a board-certified family physician, including more than a decade in rural solo practice where he practiced the full spectrum of family medicine, including obstetrics; extensive emergency room experience; and nearly 15 years in a large multi-specialty group where he served as medical director.

Mark Mellman is one of the nation’s leading public opinion researchers and communication strategists. He is CEO of The Mellman Group, a polling and consulting firm whose clients include leading political figures, Fortune 500 companies, and some of the nation's most important public interest groups. Mellman has helped guide the campaigns of some sixteen U.S. Senators, eight Governors and over two dozen Members of Congress, as well as numerous state and local officials.

Greg Pawlson , M.D., M.P.H., became Executive Vice President of National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) on January 1, 2000 . NCQA is a leading evaluator of health care services and is especially well known for its development of HEDIS® clinical performance measures. At NCQA, beyond his role as a senior member of the leadership team at NCQA, Dr. Pawlson has oversight and responsibility for research and analysis, federal and state contracting, performance measure development and corporate/foundation relationships. While at NCQA, Dr.

Christopher Ross is Chief Information Officer for MinuteClinic, the pioneer and largest provider of retail-based healthcare in the U.S. Founded in 2000, and with more than 350 clinics in 24 states, MinuteClinic has seen over 1 million patients with 99% patient satisfaction. At MinuteClinic, Ross is responsible for technology strategy and operations, and clinical and customer service call centers. Prior to joining MinuteClinic, he was CIO for United Behavioral Health, the mental health and substance abuse managed care organization of UnitedHealth Group.

Glen Stettin, M.D., is senior vice president and general manager of the Clinical and Therapeutic Solutions Group at Medco, one of the nation’s leading pharmacy benefit managers.Glen Stettin, M.D., is senior vice president and general manager of the Clinical and Therapeutic Solutions Group at Medco, one of the nation’s leading pharmacy benefit managers.

Rosemarie Sweeney, vice president for public policy and practice support at the American Academy of Family Physicians, is responsible for overseeing the Academy’s government relations and policy center activities in Washington D.C. and the research and information services and practice support activities at the organization’s headquarters in Leawood, Kansas. She was instrumental in the development of The Robert Graham Center: Policy Studies in Family Practice and Primary Care.

Dr. Samuel Nussbaum is executive vice president, clinical health policy and chief medical officer for WellPoint, Inc. He oversees corporate medical policy, clinical pharmacy programs, health improvement and quality resources, programs in clinical excellence, and health information technology to optimize care for members.

Edwina Rogers currently serves as Vice President, Health Policy for The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) in Washington, DC.  ERIC advocates the employee benefits and compensation interests of America’s major employers.  Edwina has been a public policy expert for over 20 years and has worked for two Presidents and four Senators.  She was an Economic Advisor for the current President Bush at the White House during 2001 and 2002 at the National Economic Council, focusing on health and social security policy. Ms.

Dr. Fan Tait is an Associate Executive Director of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and Director of the Department of Community and Specialty Pediatrics at the AAP. From 1998 to 2005, Dr. Tait served as Bureau Director of Children with Special Health Care Needs within the Utah Department of Health. During that time, she also served as Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Utah School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics.