Executive Leadership Team

Shannon LePage serves as Chief Executive Officer for MCNA. Ms. LePage is a proven executive with outstanding analytical skills and a wealth of experience in the management of both commercial and government sector health plans. While serving as Medicaid Commissioner for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, she received CMS approval for the first Deficit Reduction Act Medicaid Reform Plan in the nation. She has also served as the Executive Vice President for University Health Care, Inc., a provider-sponsored MCO with Medicaid and Medicare lines of business. During her tenure the plan was consistently ranked in the NCQA's Top 20 Medicaid Health Plans in America. Ms. LePage's skills in the analysis and implementation of state and federal regulations help to ensure that MCNA's operational focus remains aligned with the evolving needs and requirements of each of the company's state partners.

Dr. Linda Altenhoff serves as Chief Dental Officer for MCNA. Dr. Altenhoff is the former Chief Dental Officer for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, Office of Inspector General and has held several leadership positions in national professional organizations including President of the Medicaid/Medicare/CHIP State Dental Association (MSDA) and member of the Board of Directors of the Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors (ASTDD). A Texas licensed general dentist, she has an array of professional experience as a dental practitioner, a nationally recognized lecturer, and a leader in the oversight of Medicaid and CHIP oral health programs. Dr. Altenhoff provides expert oversight of MCNA's Special Investigation Unit as it carries out targeted fraud and abuse detection activities in conjunction with state partners and the Office of Inspector General.

Mayre Herring Thompson serves as Chief Compliance and Privacy Officer for MCNA. Ms. Herring Thompson oversees MCNA's Compliance and HIPAA programs, including all regulatory compliance activities. She serves as a key point of contact with state partners. As a former regulator with Florida Medicaid, she monitored managed care plans for contract compliance and successfully participated in NCQA, URAC, and AAAHC accreditation surveys. Her experience with the Bureau of Managed Care at the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration serves as the basis for her focus on maintaining ongoing positive working relationships with state regulators. At MCNA, Ms. Herring-Thompson utilizes a results-oriented approach to ensuring all contract requirements are met that entails the proactive identification of potential compliance and privacy issues. She also oversees MCNA's URAC Claims Processing and Dental Plan Accreditation processes.

Andrew Olson serves as Vice President of Business Operations and Strategy for MCNA. Mr. Olson is an experienced project management professional that demonstrates an enterprise mindset allowing him to quickly identify barriers and strategize to overcome them for successful outcomes. He provides executive oversight of all Call Center, Quality Assurance, and Training operations, and also liaises closely with MCNA's Chief Information Security Officer to oversee MCNA's IT objectives, ensuring that they align with all claims management priorities for our organization. Prior to joining the insurance industry, Mr. Olson was a project management consultant. Working in a variety of industries, Mr. Olson led the completion of numerous projects, earning his PMP and Six Sigma Green Belt along the way. As a veteran of the United States Army, Mr. Olson is the recipient of the Bronze Star medal for his outstanding service to his country in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

DeDe Davis is a proven executive with a diverse background in clinical and non-clinical health care operations across Medicaid, Medicare, and commercial lines of business. As Vice President of Dental Management and Quality Improvement, she operates in partnership with the Chief Dental Officers to implement and oversee MCNA's Utilization Management and Quality Improvement programs. While serving in the US Navy, Ms. Davis began her career in health care management and operations with Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield. She has also served as an executive responsible for health plan operations with the AmeriHealth Mercy family of companies. Before joining MCNA's executive team, Ms. Davis was Vice President of Clinical and Medicare Operations for ikaSystems where she led the development of a comprehensive suite of medical and risk management technology products, including development and implementation of a base Medicare claims product. Her impressive track record demonstrates her abilities in connecting with clients, and leading the design and implementation of programs that result in statistically significant improvement in both clinical and operational outcomes within managed care plans.

Eric Sarmany serves as Vice President and Executive Creative Director for MCNA. Mr. Sarmany provides creative direction oversight to ensure the quality of our communications across all markets we serve. He is also a key leader in MCNA's interdisciplinary new business development team. Mr. Sarmany is an accomplished user experience designer, web developer, and graphic designer with experience managing creative, marketing, and application development teams. His professional background includes working as a senior administrator for one of the world's largest open-source projects, providing oversight of the project and its staff, and leading a team of its quality assurance design experts. Mr. Sarmany has also worked with several multimillion-dollar corporations as a creative and technology consultant, offering customized business solutions in user experience design, web development, graphic design, technical services, and business strategy.

Jonathan Raof serves as Vice President of Business Intelligence and Data Analytics for MCNA. Mr. Raof is an effective and highly motivated subject-matter expert for health services in both the clinical and health information technology spheres. While working for multiple major health care plans in South Florida, his innovative use of advanced analytic methodologies and processes paired with his expertise in HEDIS and risk score accuracy earned him a reputation for strong performance outcomes. Mr. Raof is an advocate for operational excellence, maintaining a focus on proactive management of resources to help attain operational goals. He plays a key role in MCNA's achievement of continuous quality improvement objectives alongside our Quality Improvement team.

René Canales serves as Vice President of Provider Operations for MCNA. Mr. Canales is an accomplished professional in all areas of Medicaid, CHIP, and Medicare Advantage contracting, including provider relations, claims processing, and customer service. He began his career building provider networks in Texas and California before enlarging his scope with MetLife to oversee successful expansion in 14 states. He has also served as Compliance Officer with Premier Access Insurance Co. where he oversaw all compliance activities including the development of key internal policies relating to state and federal laws governing both commercial and government programs. As Vice President of Provider Operations, Mr. Canales oversees a staff of highly trained network development and provider relations professionals and continually looks for process improvements to simplify the provider experience and increase satisfaction with MCNA's services. He regularly collaborates with Executive leadership in all operational areas to guide MCNA's network development strategy across the country and ensure continuing focus on the "voice" of the provider.

Colleen Grace serves as Associate Vice President of Provider Operations for MCNA. Ms. Grace is experienced in Medicaid operations, including leadership of major, large-scale managed care expansions and ongoing oversight of health and dental plans in the State of Texas. While leading the Health Plan Management section of the Texas Health and Human Service Commission she was instrumental in the development of policies that guided contract monitoring activities and drove collaborative working relationships with the state, health and dental plan leaders, stakeholders, associations, and legislative staff. Ms. Grace also served as the Director of Health Plan Operations with the Texas Association of Health Plans, a role in which she established best practices for health plans to accommodate planned change and facilitated Medicaid and CHIP operational forums. She uses her extensive knowledge of Texas Medicaid and CHIP program requirements to ensure the timely delivery of key business objectives and collaborates closely with MCNA's cross-functional teams to implement strategic initiatives designed to maximize the quality of services provided to our members, providers, and our valued state partners.

Kathryn Walter serves as Associate Vice President of Government Services for MCNA. Ms. Walter has extensive experience in state-run health services programs, including years providing direct oversight of programmatic and contractual aspects of the Texas Medicaid Program. During her tenure with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, she was responsible for complex program management for the Children's Medicaid Dental Services Program, including implementing program policies, facilitating stakeholder and roundtable policy meetings, and developing mitigation strategies and solutions in answer to risks/issues identified by staff and external stakeholders. As the Associate Vice President of Governmental Services, Ms. Walter is involved in programmatic implementations required by the state markets MCNA serves, with special focus on policy and procedural changes that affect MCNA's provider networks nationwide. Her prior experience with the State of Texas informs and inspires her commitment to maintaining excellent working relationships with our state partners and other key stakeholders.

Dr. David McKeon serves as MCNA's Louisiana Executive Director. His experience as a clinical professor with the Louisiana State University (LSU) School of Dentistry and in private practice in Louisiana provides Dr. McKeon with a high level of technical knowledge and an innate cultural understanding. This valuable experience allows MCNA to better meet the oral health care needs of the state's Medicaid population. He is the former Director of the Dental Health Resources Dental Authorization Unit at LSU, a position in which he also served as the Dental Director for the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH). Dr. McKeon's expertise in connection with the Louisiana Medicaid Program and the DHH ensure that MCNA is an efficient and highly responsive partner to the state.

Dr. Michael Giorlando serves as MCNA's Louisiana Dental Director. Dr. Giorlando is a graduate of the Louisiana State University School of Dentistry. After graduation, he served as a dental instructor of dental lab technology and as an assistant clinical professor at the LSU School of Dentistry Oral Medicine and Radiology Department from 1984 to 1992. In addition to his work with LSU School of Dentistry, Dr. Giorlando maintained a private general dental practice in New Orleans. His clinical experience paired with his executive administrative skills and team level management allow him to effectively communicate with MCNA's state partners and the Louisiana professional dental community. As MCNA's Dental Director, Dr. Giorlando provides oversight for and management of the company's Clinical Reviewers, which are the initial point of contact for dentists across the state. This collaborative relationship promotes MCNA's goal of assuring that Medicaid recipients are provided with quality, medically necessary dental care and services.

Dr. Barney Olsen serves as one of MCNA's Utah Dental Directors. Dr. Olsen, a board certified Pediatric Dentist, is a Diplomate of the American Board of Orthodontists and Fellow of the American College of Dentists. He earned his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Dentistry. Since 1994, he has operated a private practice providing comprehensive orthodontic and pediatric dental care and preventive services for children and adolescents in Utah. Additionally, Dr. Olsen is committed to excellence in higher education and the advancement of the dental profession. He is a staff dentist with the Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City, where he serves as an instructor for pediatric dental residents. Dr. Olsen is also an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Utah, teaching in the GPR Program for the School of Medicine and teaching dental ethics for the School of Dentistry. As an MCNA Dental Director for the State of Utah, Dr. Olsen helps to oversee all utilization management functions and MCNA's team of Clinical Reviewers.

Dr. David Stewart, a Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry, serves as one of MCNA's Utah Dental Directors. Dr. Stewart is a graduate of the University of Iowa College of Dentistry and completed his Certificate of Pediatric Dentistry at the Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City. Prior to pursuing his dental degree, he earned dual master's degrees in Public Health and Health Services Administration from the University of Utah. Dr. Stewart is currently an Assistant Professor at The College of Dental Medicine at Roseman University of Health Sciences, a role in which he focuses on standardizing pediatric didactic and clinical core content. He has also served as an attending Pediatric Dentist at the Primary Children's Medical Center since 2002, overseeing the clinical activities of the dental residents in the Pediatric Dental Residency Program. As an integral part of MCNA's leadership team in the State of Utah, Dr. Stewart helps lead our Utah-based team to ensure our members receive high quality preventive dental care and services.