12.17.22
Advancing Health Equity Within the Veterans Health Administration
Providing equitable health care access to all Veteran populations.
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Tara Fannon, PhD
Dr. Tara Fannon is a human-centered design researcher and educator with 13 years of experience developing and leading high-impact projects in the U.S. and abroad. Her work in education, non-profit, government and corporate sectors has led to actionable changes in the areas of diversity, equity and inclusion; disability accessibility; mental health care access; workplace equity; and environmental sustainability. Throughout her career, Dr. Fannon has published widely and earned grants, fellowships and awards for her research and writing capabilities, including Excellence in Leadership as a market research team leader. Her love of teaching and learning is complemented by a love for mentorship and seeing team members flourish. At Aptive, Dr. Fannon leverages these passions along with intellectual curiosity and creativity, and an ability to build relationships to lead and support the research team and serve clients. Her skills, passions and exposure to different markets enable her to work collaboratively across diverse needs and interests to deliver teams and clients compelling data-driven insights and recommendations.
- PhD, Sociology, National University Ireland, Galway
- M.A., Sociology of Health and Medicine, University College Dublin, Ireland
- B.A. Honors, Sociology, University College Dublin, Ireland
Michelle Hungerford, MPH, CPHQ, PMP
Michelle Hungerford has over 15 years of experience partnering with front line staff, physician leaders, executives and various departments across health care systems, managing and driving improvements in patient safety, quality of care and patient experience. Her proven analytic, evaluative and problem-solving abilities, paired with her interpersonal, communication and leadership skills, propel her ability to interact effectively with various disciplines, effect change and ensure a collaborative environment to address opportunities for improvement. In her role, Michelle applies these skills to support Aptive’s Veteran Health clients, focusing on improving systems, outcomes and access to care.
Michelle is an accomplished healthcare quality and project management professional and brings a wealth of knowledge in patient safety, quality, High Reliability Organization principles, survey readiness, performance measurement, process improvement and quality reporting for agencies, including Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and The Joint Commission. She has an extensive background in supporting and acting as a data analyst and quality reporting subject matter expert in several electronical medical record implementations and upgrades. Michelle leverages her demonstrated knowledge and experience to support the Veterans Health Administration tackle some of their toughest challenges, such as addressing employee burnout, and improving a culture of safety and becoming a high reliability organization.
- MPH, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- B.S., Biology, Seton Hill University
- Project Management Professional
- Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality
Abby Rosenberg, MPS, CCMP, PMP
Abby Rosenberg helps clients address challenges, implement organizational improvements, communicate effectively and improve health care access and equity. With nearly 15 years of federal consulting experience, Abby leads technical assistance, health education, research and evaluation and program management projects, using data to drive decision-making and impact. She supports projects for the Department of Veterans Affairs, Defense Health Agency and Department of Health and Human Services.
- Prosci Certified Change Management Practitioner (CCMP)
- Certified Project Management Professional (PMP)
- MPS, Georgetown University
- B.A., Communications, University of Maryland
Kim Kinser, CCMP
Kim Kinser is a communications and public relations expert with over 18 years of experience advising executives, leading teams and executing strategic communication plans. She has worked across various sectors, including government, healthcare, non-profit and higher education, providing guidance on communications, social media and public relations matters. Kim has a proven track record of leading cross-functional teams, executing global communication strategies and facilitating partnerships.
During her career, Kim has created communications and PR plans for 9.5 million beneficiaries, led teams in reporting and measuring communications effectiveness and ensuring successful client delivery, contractual compliance and contract growth. She manages a direct portfolio of projects across the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Transportation and Energy and supports contract growth within the Human Experience account by performing business development and capture activities in alignment with the account’s portfolio.
Kim’s work has appeared on the White House blog and featured as a best practice in Charlene Li’s book “Open Leadership: How Social Technology Can Transform the Way You Lead.”. She has held previous roles with Deloitte, Humana, CALIBRE Systems and the American Cancer Society.
- B.A., Public Relations, Western Kentucky University
- Prosci Certified Change Management Practitioner (CCMP)
- Business Strategy Certificate, McKinsey Academy
Taylor Wood, MA, PMP
Taylor Wood is an experienced communication and change management strategist dedicated to building and leading proactive teams that go above and beyond for her clients. She oversees a portfolio of communication and marketing teams across several government agencies, including the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Office of Personnel Management. In this role, Taylor focuses on growing and expanding Human Experience’s event management capability and enhancing Aptive’s recruitment marketing services through implementation of technical solutions.
Throughout her career, she has focused on learning various leadership styles and techniques to help others achieve success. Taylor is passionate about training others to lead with empathy and foster positive working relationships, enabling teams to provide exceptional service to clients. In previous roles, Taylor has led numerous communication teams and enterprise-wide transformation initiatives for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Department of the Navy, VA, United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Energy.
- Secret Security Clearance
- Certified Project Management Professional (PMP)
- Prosci Certified Change Management Practitioner (CCMP)
- M.A., Strategic Communications, American University
- B.A., Communication Studies, West Virginia University
James Tessier, MS, RN, CPHIMS
James Tessier is responsible for leading Aptive’s growing health informatics practice, working with government and commercial entities to apply data science, augmented intelligence and analytics to transform health care operations and improve patient outcomes. James is a trusted advisor who seamlessly uses health informatics principles to support the research and development of innovative customer solutions.
James is an informatics leader with broad health care experience. As a 25-year Veteran of the U.S. Navy, James has provided surgical nursing, informatics and leadership expertise in a variety of settings both inside and outside of the United States and at sea, providing combat medical support and surgical capability to combatant commanders. His last role in the Navy was as the Chief Health Informatics Officer for Navy Medicine. In his post Navy career, he held a variety of roles in support of informatics initiatives within the U.S. State Department, Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense. Most recently, James was the Chief Digital Officer for XVIVO Services, a surgical practice focused on organ recovery for heart and lung transplantation.
- M.S., Medical Informatics, Northwestern University
- B.S., Nursing, University of Portland
- Registered Nurse
- Certified Professional in Healthcare Information and Management Systems
