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James Gilling, regional vice president, East Asia and Pacific, has almost 40 years of experience in social and economic development in low- and middle-income countries. He has overseen Australian aid programs worth hundreds of millions of dollars and managed large teams of Australian and overseas staff, including as head of the Australian aid program in Indonesia. James has worked for United Kingdom (UK) and Papua New Guinea governments as an agricultural economist. He has also worked as a consultant economist with Oxford Policy Management in the UK and was an economic analyst with the Office of National Assessments in Australia.

Catherine Hersey, a senior associate, is a seasoned health services researcher and project manager with over 15 years of experience in both Medicare and Medicaid. Her research areas include the implementation and evaluation of accountable care organizations and other alternative payment models, maternal health, substance use disorder, meaningful use of electronic health records, and hospital-acquired infections. Hersey also has experience in quality measurement and improvement. In addition, she has experience in both quantitative and qualitative analyses and managing large and complex projects.

Allison Dymnicki has 19 years of experience in designing, directing, and conducting research, evaluation, and technical assistance projects aimed at promoting youth development, behavioral health, and wellbeing, with a particular focus on school, community, and out-of-school settings. She is deeply committed to promoting positive outcomes for all youth. She has partnered with federal agencies like the National Institute of Justice, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, and the Department of Education, as well as foundations, state and local educational agencies, and non-profit organizations. Much of her work focuses on developing researcher practitioner partnerships intended to elevate various perspectives, practitioner viewpoints, and youth voices. 

Julio Pacca is a psychologist and innovative leader with more than 20 years of experience in health care. He focuses on HIV and AIDS; maternal health; adolescent health; and health systems strengthening. Pacca has worked with donors such as the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United Nations, the World Bank, bi-lateral Scandinavian donors, and the William and Flora Hewlett, Goldman, and Bill and Melinda Gates foundations.

Anna Winoto has more than 20 years of experience leading and managing multi-disciplinary teams on complex development programs in Indonesia. Her areas of expertise include public health and nutrition, social protection, child protection, decentralized service delivery, and community-led development.  She is a skilled facilitator of multi-stakeholder collaboration. She has worked with the national governments of Australia and Indonesia and with UNICEF.

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.

Lauren Dunton is a Principal Associate with almost two decades of experience as a social science researcher evaluating programs and analyzing policies relating to homelessness, housing, workforce, and education across the country. As a seasoned Project Director, Ms. Dunton has led complex research and technical assistance projects for a range of federal agencies, state governments, and national foundation and philanthropic organizations. She has expertise in qualitative and mixed-method data collection and analysis, leading project teams, and authoring reports. 

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.

Douglas W. Elmendorf, Ph.D., is Lucius N. Littauer Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. He served as Dean of the Kennedy School from 2016 to 2024 and was previously Director of the Congressional Budget Office from 2009 to 2015.Elmendorf has held senior economic positions with the Federal Reserve Board, the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, and the Treasury Department, where he was Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy. He is a widely respected economist who has deep knowledge of many of Abt’s core research areas, including health care policy and approaches to increasing economic security.Elmendorf is the author of more than 30 publications and has testified before Congress on economic issues 50 times since 2005.