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Kate Stillman is a technical leader with more than 25 years of experience in program design, systems thinking, evidence generation and use, monitoring, evaluation and learning, and project management. She has deep experience in global development with specialties in health systems strengthening, infectious and vector-borne diseases, maternal and child health, and sustainability. She drives Abt’s efforts to strengthen the generation, management, and use of high-quality data to inform decisions and improve program quality.

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.

Michelle Roozeboom-Baker is an applied statistician and health data analytics leader with decades of experience analyzing national Medicare and Medicaid administrative data and partnering with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

Kristin Heck, JD, MBA, has more than 10 years of experience managing and directing technical teams in the development of digital solutions. Ms. Heck designs and oversees the creation and implementation of technology solutions that align to agency and administration goals. In addition, she often works closely with program leadership to set key solution objectives, manage the development and product roadmap, analyze customer feedback, and prioritize feature development.

Tamara Daley has 20 years of behavioral health, disability, and social-policy project leadership and evaluation experience. She brings expertise from work with a variety of federal agencies, including Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), National Institute of Mental Health, Department of Education, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Social Security Administration, and Department of state. She also has worked with foundations, city governments, and universities. Daley designs and conducts research in behavioral health, from qualitative and mixed-methods studies and survey design to evaluability assessments.

Anika Vartan has more than 20 years of experience designing, implementing, and evaluating public health and international development programs to improve access to—and quality of—health care, and increase community participation in social, economic, and political life. Vartan’s expertise is in mixed-methods and qualitative research, project management, health policy analysis, capacity building, adult education and technical assistance, organizational assessment and development, and community-driven development. She has supported the Administration for Community Living (ACL), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Federal Drug Administration (FDA), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and Department of State (DOS) clients.

Elizabeth Giardino’s evaluation and technical assistance work on housing, community development, asset building, and government innovation policies and programs promotes opportunity and healthy outcomes for people across the U.S. Giardino specializes in leading teams, strategic planning, and relationship building, and has proven expertise in incorporating community-based participatory research into technical assistance engagements.

Meghan Lynch, Sc.D., is an accomplished manager of cross-disciplinary teams, with 20 years of experience specializing in toxicology and human health risk assessment. She is skilled at interpreting, evaluating, and communicating toxicological and epidemiological information for hazardous substances. She has managed a variety of projects for ATSDR, OSHA, EPA, and nonprofit agencies. These include leading tasks requiring the synthesis of toxicological information and risk assessments, and performing both probabilistic and benchmark dose modeling. The results of these projects have been subject to peer review. Lynch has also provided memorandums and analyses supporting risk assessments and addressing industry comments, which have been used to support plaintiffs in litigation for chemical contaminants.

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.