Past Speakers
Cory Easton
Partner, Confidio
Lead Pharmacy Benefit Management Consultant, KBS RxM
Cory Easton is the cofounder of Confidio, a unique pharmacy benefit procurement platform, developed to efficiently and effectively evaluate, manage and oversee self-funded clients’ pharmacy benefit programs. He has more than 30 years’ experience in health care cost management, having spent 10 years working in population health management at Intracorp and more than 17 years in various positions at Express Scripts, Inc., most recently serving as vice president of sales. Throughout his career, Cory has had the privilege of working with some of the nation’s largest, most complex health benefit plans.
Cory is a frequent and passionate public speaker, often called on to present his perspectives and strategies on topics related to integrated health care cost management and payment integrity. Cory received undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Maryland, College Park.
Connect with Cory on LinkedIn.
MaryEllen Elie
Regional Market Leader
Interactive Health, Inc.
While working towards a Bachelor of Science at Towson University, MaryEllen started an internship through Interactive Health, where she implemented onsite wellness programming for employees of John Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. During this time, she studied her craft through the American Council on Exercise, and became certified as a Behavior Change Specialist and personal trainer. She fell in love with workplace wellness and spent a seven-year period as director of the wellness program for Johns Hopkins Hospital/Health System. MaryEllen has since moved into her role as Regional Market Leader at Interactive Health, Inc., working with clients in the DMV area, as well as Delaware and West Virginia.
Steven Jessup
Regional Vice President
Ash Brokerage
Specializing in asset protection through life, long-term care and disability insurance solutions, Steven Jessup helps advisors in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. protect their clients’ dreams and, in turn, grow their businesses.
With more than 20 years in the business, Steven started his career in property and casualty insurance with his father’s firm before studying at the University of Pennsylvania. After college, he became a financial advisor for Merrill Lynch and Wachovia Securities. At Lincoln Financial and, most recently, Sun Life Financial, he gained expertise and passion for linked-benefit solutions for long-term care.
Connect with Steven on LinkedIn.
Todd Martin
Chief Sales & Marketing Officer
PinnacleCare
As the Chief Sales and Marketing Officer for PinnacleCare, Todd is responsible for accelerating growth and profitability through the development of new and existing distribution channels. Since joining PinnacleCare in 2012, Todd has developed the go-to market sales strategy for PinnacleCare’s group model that currently supports over 3 million lives. He has developed strategies to incorporate health advisory services into new distribution channels, and spearheads the marketing efforts to bring health advisory services to the forefront of modern-day health care.
Bruce Panasuk, MD
Thoracic Surgeon
Christiana Care Health System (1990-2008)
Wilmington VA Medical Center (2008-2018)
Dr. Bruce Panasuk earned his undergraduate degree in biology from Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, and received his medical degree from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. He completed his general and cardiothoracic surgery residencies at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, also in Philadelphia, and began his practice in thoracic surgery at Christiana Hospital in 1990. In addition to building his clinical practice, Dr. Panasuk has chosen to spend much of his career educating and training surgeons, serving as Associate Program Director and Program Director for the General Surgery Residency Program while at Christiana Hospital. Additional leadership responsibilities during his career included Section Chief of Thoracic Surgery at Christiana Hospital, and thereafter, Associate Chief of Surgery, Chief of Surgery, and Interim Chief of Staff while at the Wilmington VA Medical Center, from which he recently retired.
Dr. Panasuk has spoken at a number of human resource regional conferences including Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), Penjerdel Employee Benefits and Compensation Association (PEBA), as well as the national SHRM Annual Conference in 2009. In 2014, he became a certified facilitator for The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (FranklinCovey) and Crucial Conversations (VitalSmarts).
Sonja Quale, PharmD
Chief Clinical Officer and Vice President of Informatics
Confidio
Sonja Quale, PharmD, possesses a unique blend of clinical, technology and analytics expertise. A seasoned health care executive with a passion for integrating empirical data and evidenced-based clinical outcomes, Sonja’s deep understanding of pharmacy trends enables her to identify new product development opportunities, create technical changes that improve efficiencies, and maximize the value of data to improve patient care and strengthen organizations financially.
Prior to joining Confidio, Sonja most recently served as Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer at PharMerica Corporation. In previous capacities, she served as Vice President of Client and Sales Analytics at Express Scripts and as a pharmacist with both Target and Massachusetts General Hospital-Pediatrics & Oncology Department.
Sonja received a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from the University of Minnesota, College of Pharmacy, and a Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Minnesota, College of Pharmacy.
Connect with Sonja on LinkedIn.
Matthew Rae
Associate Director, Program on the Health Care Marketplace
Kaiser Family Foundation
Matthew Rae is the Associate Director for the Program on the Health Care Marketplace at the Kaiser Family Foundation. The program researches and analyzes the private insurance market and policy proposals to reform it. In this capacity, Matthew has managed the Employer Health Benefit Survey since 2011. He has a special interest in analytic methods and data analysis, including gleaning lessons from survey and claims data.
Matthew is currently a Ph.D. student at the George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health. He earned a Master of Public Administration from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, a Master of Public Health from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and a Graduate Certificate in Survey Design and Data Analysis from the George Washington University. Prior to joining KFF, Matthew worked at the Government Accountability Office, Small Business Services for the City of New York, the Service Employees International Union and the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals.
Marjory D. Robertson, JD
Assistant Vice President
Senior Counsel
Sun Life Financial
Marjory D. Robertson, JD, advises Sun Life Financial on employment law issues, including legal issues related to absence and disability management for its employees. A graduate of Dartmouth College and Boston College Law School, she also supports and provides legal oversight for Sun Life’s absence and ADA administration products. She is a frequent presenter on legal and compliance absence management issues at conferences and at Sun Life broker meetings, and prides herself on being entertaining as much as educating at both employee and broker events.
Daniel Silvert
President
Velocity Advisory Group
Daniel Silvert is a behavioral expert, keynote speaker and executive coach. As president of Velocity Advisory Group, ranked 548 by the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing companies in America, he has guided organizations through cultural transformations, building greater accountability into workplace culture and leading change.
A graduate of the University of Maryland, Dan is the co-author of Taking Flight!, published in nine languages. His latest book, The True Competitive Advantage, was released in 2018. Dan’s clients have included Aflac Insurance, Biogen, Brinker Capital, Cushman & Wakefield, Crump Insurance, Genentech, Johnson & Johnson, Kolmar, Situs, W.L. Gore and Zara.
Fayton Washington
Director of Marketing & Sales
PinnacleCare
Since joining PinnacleCare in 2017, Fayton has been responsible for driving brand awareness, client engagement, retention, and sales growth through strategic partners and employers across PinnacleCare’s group benefits business. Fayton supports the Chief Sales and Marketing Officer to establish strategic partnerships and develop opportunities within small and mid-markets.