USofCare Announces Additions to Board of Directors and Senior Leadership Team

Washington, DC – United States of Care, a nonprofit dedicated to ensuring that everyone has access to affordable health care, announced the addition of two new members to the Board of Directors, as well as the hiring of two senior leadership team members to oversee two mission critical initiatives. Together, their guidance and expertise will help us continue to understand people’s unique needs to drive health care policy innovation and partner with elected officials and stakeholders to pass and implement those ideas.

Current Board of Directors members are a diverse set of prominent leaders including Board Chair and former Acting Administrator, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Andy Slavitt; former Governor of Kentucky Steve Beshear; former Governor of Vermont Jim Douglas; former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, MD; President, Population Health Management and CEO Ayin Health Solutions Rhonda Medows, MD; Former CEO of Molina Healthcare J. Mario Molina, MD; and CEO of Owned Outcomes Anita Pramoda.

Board of Directors Additions:

Chanda Smith Baker: Baker has more than 20 years of experience working in, for, and with underestimated communities. Since 2017 she has served as Chief Impact Officer and Senior Vice President for the Minneapolis Foundation. Previously, Baker spent 17 years at Pillsbury United Communities, a complex community-based nonprofit where she served in a variety of leadership positions before assuming the role of president and CEO in 2011. Baker has served on numerous nonprofit and philanthropic boards throughout her career, and her civic leadership has been recognized with several awards and commendations.

Mark McClellan, MD, PhD: McClellan is the Robert J. Margolis Professor of Business, Medicine and Policy, and founding Director of the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy at Duke University. As a doctor and economist, McClellan has addressed a wide range of strategies and policy reforms to improve health care. Previously, McClellan served as Senior Fellow in Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution and is a former administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

“We are honored to welcome Chanda and Mark to our board. The pandemic has shined a light on the longstanding inequities and flaws in our health care system. Chanda and Mark understand the importance of this moment to create a better health care system in the wake of this pandemic. We are grateful they are joining the board at this critical juncture.”

– Andy Slavitt, Board Chair and Co-Founder, USofCare

Staff Additions:

A year ago, in November 2019, United States of Care launched two marquee initiatives: the Building Blocks of Health Reform to drive people-centered health care policy innovation and mapping the underlying elements of the health care system; and our innovative listening approach to uniquely and deeply understand people’s needs to guide our work. We are honored to have hired two experts – Jennifer DeYoung and Dr. Venice Haynes – to lead this strategic work.

Jennifer DeYoung, MPA: DeYoung brings over 16 years of experience working in the public sector to advance health equity at the federal, state and local level. In her previous role as Deputy Policy Director at Public Health—Seattle & King County, Jennifer co-led the design and implementation of Best Starts for Kids—the nation’s most comprehensive investment in promotion, prevention and early intervention efforts that support healthy development of kids, families and communities. Prior to her work for Seattle-King County, she held various senior management roles at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and U.S. Government Accountability Office. Jen leads United States of Care’s Building Block of Health Reform initiative.

Venice Haynes, PhD, MSPH: Haynes, a social and behavioral scientist with a research focus in social determinants of health in underserved and global populations, joins the US of Care team as Director of Research and Community Engagement. Haynes has close to 15 years of public health experience and will lead United States of Care’s research and community engagement activities to support our authentic and dynamic understanding of people’s shared and diverse experiences, priorities, and values related to health care access in the US in order to drive meaningful change. Most recently, Haynes served as Adjunct Faculty Instructor at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University and Consultant at 1000 Feathers.

“We are so pleased to have both Jen and Venice bring their passions and expertise to United States of Care. A year ago, we launched our people-centered listening work to listen deeply to those impacted by current policies and amplify their stories to drive change, as well as our Building Blocks initiative to map the health care system and find innovative policy solutions to make the health care system work better for people. People want to see our health care system emerge from the pandemic stronger and more equitable than it was before. Both Jen and Venice will bring leadership to the transformative change that is only possible when we all commit to listen, collaborate, and work together towards new, innovative solutions that result in real change for people.”

– Emily Barson, USofCare Executive Director