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Kristie McKinley is a federal IT and business development leader with more than 33 years of experience supporting the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Dr. Michael Plotzke is a senior health economist with expertise in the area of Medicare payment policy, the organization of healthcare providers and quality measurement. His work typically involves the analysis of large datasets such as Medicare claims, assessment and enrollment data. Dr. Plotzke serves as principal investigator for multiple projects with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.  On the “Home Health Prospective Payment System and Hospice: Analysis Support and Monitoring” project, Dr. Plotzke leads a team of researchers in analyzing trends in Medicare hospice and home health usage and constructing large-scale payment reform options for both benefits.  Dr. Plotzke also leads the “Evaluation of the Medicare Care Choices Model” project that evaluates a new payment model for end-of-life care that is being tested with 141 hospice providers.  This project involves analysis of existing administrative data and collection of new data through surveys of caregivers, surveys of hospice providers and in-depth case studies of hospice providers participating in the model.

Allan Porowski joined the Social and Economic Policy Division of Abt Global in 2014 as a principal associate. He is a leading expert in the design, execution and analysis of randomized controlled trials, quasi-experimental studies and national cross-site evaluations of education, health and other social interventions.

Katharine Witgert is a health policy researcher with 20 years of public health and health care policy experience. Witgert manages research and analysis of health system innovations, conducting program evaluations for federal clients, including design, implementation, and reporting of findings. She provides technical assistance to state officials, primarily in the areas of Medicaid reforms and building Medicaid agency partnerships with public health, behavioral health, and social services programs.

Debra Kemp Fleischer is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) with 25 years of experience supporting federal programs. She applies her background in environmental science and policy with communications expertise to inform and engage stakeholders about regulatory and voluntary programs. She has led the development and implementation of multi-media communications strategies for a variety of audiences, including non-profit organizations, industry, environmental groups, and federal staff. She has experience with plain language writing, message development, and risk communication. 

Dr. Heinrich Hock is an economist with 19 years of experience conducting research on labor, education, disability employment, and social insurance. His work focuses on producing results that help policymakers and program staff understand outcomes for priority populations and research-based options for improving outcomes. He develops rigorous and feasible plans for research designs, data collection and analysis, and dissemination of findings. Hock has led work on over a dozen labor-related projects for the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and other funders to assess the outcomes for groups such as dislocated workers, youth and adult jobseekers with disabilities, and veterans, among other groups. Hock also has played a key role in U.S. Department of Education (ED) studies to identify solutions for improving career outcomes among special education and adult education participants. 

TJ Shumard is a senior business development executive with two decades of experience advancing priorities for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and state Medicaid priorities. He specializes in pipeline development, capture strategy, and digital modernization across Medicare and Medicaid. Shumard brings deep knowledge of federal procurement, CMS data platforms, and program oversight, with a strong record of shaping complex federal opportunities.

Baris Yener has more than 25 years of experience in executive leadership, growth strategy development, and organizational transformation. His business-development and project work has involved a wide range of clients, including the World Bank, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other private sector and federal agencies.As Chief Client Officer at Abt, Yener leads client strategy and growth to ensure the voice of the customer drives investment decisions, capability development, and market execution. 

Lisanne F. Brown has more than 20 years of experience in public health evaluation and research and a background in epidemiologic and program evaluation methods. She has worked on numerous evaluation and applied research studies for local, state and federal agencies. Her areas of expertise include maternal and child health, health care access, integration of primary care and behavioral health, community-centered health homes, social determinants of health, mixed methods evaluation design and implementation, survey design, and evaluation capacity building.