Leadership

Dr. Talya Schwartz is President & CEO of MetroPlusHealth since 2019. During her tenure, MetroPlusHealth has achieved a 35% growth in membership, a five-star rating from New York State’s Consumer Guide and a 4-star rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. She spearheaded the organization’s transformation by bringing its behavioral health services in-house, overhauling its public website, modernizing legacy technology with a single integrated platform, and expanding virtual visits to its over 700,000 members. Dr. Schwartz’s ongoing commitment to addressing the social determinants of health among New York’s most vulnerable communities is the pinnacle of her leadership, especially around supportive housing and food insecurity.

Before being President and CEO, Dr. Schwartz served as the Chief Medical Officer at MetroPlusHealth. In the private sector, she was the founding member of a behavioral health technology startup company. She was a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Pennsylvania. She served as a Fellow at the National Institutes of Health. A trained physician, Dr. Schwartz earned her medical degree from the Sackler School of Medicine, completed her residency in Pediatrics at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, and practiced at the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC. She holds a graduate Health Services Management and Leadership certificate from George Washington University.

Formerly Deputy Chief Financial Officer at MetroPlusHealth, Ms. Leverich Castaldo also served as Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), before being appointed Chief Financial Officer. Her responsibilities now include her CAO functions, as well as complete oversight of all fiscal functions at MetroPlusHealth, including development, interpretation, coordination, and administration of Plan policies on finance, accounting, insurance, financial/accounting systems, internal controls, budgeting, and auditing.

Lauren joined the Finance department of MetroPlusHealth in 2006, gradually assuming additional responsibilities and functions at the health plan. As Deputy Chief Financial Officer, she led the planning, reporting, and analysis of the Finance and Claims divisions. As CAO, since 2019, she has been responsible for financial, regulatory, risk and utilization reporting, health analytics, enrollment and membership, and risk score accuracy.

Prior to joining MetroPlusHealth, Lauren was Associate Staff Analyst at the New York City Police Department (NYPD), Office of the Deputy Commissioner, tasked with preparing the NYPD’s expense budget, and Senior Analyst at the Office of Management and Budget, Office of the Mayor of the City of New York, where, among other responsibilities, she was senior leader for planning, preparation, and implementation for all phases of New York City’s community board budget process.

Lauren is a graduate of St. John’s University where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree.

Roger Milliner is Chief Growth Officer (CGO) for MetroPlusHealth. Mr. Milliner, a native of Brooklyn, New York, began his career at MetroPlus Health Plan in February 1990, which was formerly known as the Metropolitan Health Plan, as a marketing representative. He rejoined MetroPlus Health Plan in August 2000 as the Associate Executive Director of Marketing after spending 10 years at two Health Maintenance organizations.

In his current role at MetroPlusHealth, Mr. Milliner oversees three departments and manages a staff of over 350 employees. Since joining MetroPlus Health Plan in August 2000, when the health plan’s membership was slightly over 50,000 members, he has helped increase membership by 930% to its current membership of over 525,000 members. His involvement with various regulatory agencies as a Healthcare Executive has helped to shape many of the current healthcare policies and government sponsored programs within the State of New York. He works diligently to foster relationships with community leaders, city agencies, civic and community-based organizations to promote healthcare options to NYC residents and to provide recognition of the MetroPlusHealth name in the community and within various ethnic groups.

Mr. Milliner received his Bachelor of Science, Healthcare Administration from St. Joseph’s College. During his career in the health care industry, he obtained a Certified Health Care Insurance Executive (CHIE) certification from AHIP (America’s Health Insurance Programs).

Ganesh Ramratan is Chief Information Officer (CIO) for MetroPlusHealth, where he is responsible for the organization’s information systems and their security, and for ensuring organizational collaboration. He is also charged with driving IT innovation, while enhancing the member and provider experience through critical technology solutions.

Ganesh comes to MetroPlusHealth from the NYC Department of Investigations (DOI), where, since 2013, as CIO and Deputy Commissioner, he oversaw the agency’s Information Technology unit and, through his successful initiatives, led an overhaul of DOI’s use of technology, significantly strengthening and modernizing its IT infrastructure. Prior to joining DOI, he worked for the Department of Information Technology and NYC’s Department of Transportation. He began his career in City government in 1994 with the New York City Transit Authority.

Ganesh holds an MBA in Computer Information Technology Administration and Management from NY Institute of Technology (NYIT) and earned his undergraduate degree from Western Governors University.

Dr. Sanjiv S. Shah is Chief Medical Officer of MetroPlusHealth. He was appointed August of 2019.

Dr. Shah has more than 20 years of experience as a physician leader, managed care executive, and infectious disease specialist. He joins MetroPlusHealth from the Mount Sinai Health System where he served as Medical Director.

Dr. Shah earned his medical degrees from University of Nottingham School of Medicine in the U.K. and a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology from the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. He completed his residency at Mount Sinai, served as Chief Medical Resident at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, and was a Fellow in Infectious Diseases at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center. Dr. Shah has published and presented extensively on numerous medical issues both nationally and abroad.

As Chief Compliance & Regulatory Officer (CCRO), Ms. Solon serves as Corporate Compliance Officer, HIPAA Privacy Officer, and Records Management Officer for the Plan. Her divisions include Corporate & Product Regulatory Compliance, Records/Corporate Policies & Procedures, Internal Audit, Vendor Delegation Oversight, and Regulatory Affairs.

Ms. Solon joined MetroPlusHealth in 2015 from the NYC Department of Social Services (HRA), where she served as Compliance Counsel and Director of Risk Management for the NYC Medicaid program. Prior to those roles, she served as an attorney for HRA, primarily representing Adult Protective Services, Medicaid, and the HIV/AIDS Services Administration (HASA). She also did work in HRA’s Child Support Enforcement and Employment Law divisions.

Raven holds a Juris Doctorate from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, a Masters in Public Administration from Baruch College, and a Bachelors of Business Administration from Belmont University. She is admitted to practice law in NY State and in the Eastern and Southern Federal Districts of New York.

Lila Benayoun was appointed Chief Operating Officer (COO) of MetroPlusHealth in September 2022, where she leads transformation initiatives designed to foster growth, innovation, and operational excellence. As COO, Lila is also responsible for plan operations, member retention, provider relations, project management office, organizational process improvement, and the launch of OneX, MetroPlusHealth’s new Management Service Organization.

Lila joined MetroPlusHealth in 2021 as the Deputy Chief Operating Officer. She joins MetroPlusHealth from Partners Health Plan, where she served as Chief of Operations. Lila holds more than 20 years of industry leadership experience in leading new managed care markets, new product launches, advancing operational excellence, and outstanding service experiences.

Lila holds a B.S. in Health Information Management from Temple University and has completed post-graduate studies at Columbia University, focusing on Strategic Growth.

Michael Kushner
Chief People Officer
He/Him

Michael Kushner – Chief People Officer at MetroPlusHealth.

Michael Kushner is the Chief People Officer at MetroPlusHealth. He leads the Human Resources department in developing and implementing a people-centric vision for the organization.  He oversees the recruitment and retention process as well as the training and development functions ensuring that MetroPlusHealth attracts essential talent and retains staff who are highly engaged in the mission and work of MetroPlusHealth.

Michael is a seasoned HR professional with a proven record of driving people strategy. He brings 30 years of experience in Operations and Human Resources across an impressive spectrum of health care initiatives. Michael’s career demonstrates his ability to lead teams and innovate strategic approaches to modern health care challenges—including building a COVID-19 response program that helped over 6 million people. Michael also served as Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at Nicklaus Children’s Health System, where he oversaw multiple departments, launched new services and transformed organizational culture.

Michael holds a M.B.A. from Florida Atlantic University and an Ed.D., Adult Learning and Leadership, from Columbia University.

Erin Drinkwater is the Chief Government Relations and Strategic Partnerships Officer at MetroPlusHealth. In her role, Erin develops relationships with local and state elected officials and other external stakeholders to advance the company’s mission and goals of providing public health insurance to New York City’s underserved communities through local, state, and federal legislation.

With over two decades in government and nonprofits, Erin dedicates her career to public service as a strategist, activist, advocate, and change-maker. Erin served as the Deputy Commissioner for Intergovernmental and Legislative Affairs for the New York City Human Resources Administration and Department of Homeless Services.

Previously, Erin served as the Executive Director of the Brooklyn Community Pride Center, securing its permanent home at the Bedford-Union Armory. She was a member of the Governor’s End the Epidemic Task Force, No Condoms As Evidence Coalition, and Communities United for Police Reform. Erin dedicates her time to her community as a member of Brooklyn Community Board 1, the Board of Managers of Fairview Lake YMCA Camps, and a deacon at her church, Greenpoint Reformed Church.

Drinkwater has a bachelor’s degree in Sociology: Social and Political Policy and a master’s Certificate in Conflict Resolution and Peace Studies from Duquesne University. Additionally, she holds a Master of Science in Urban Policy Analysis and Management from Milano School of International Affairs, Management, and Urban Policy at the New School.

Laura is a visionary strategist with a track record of driving explosive business growth, shaping perceptions, and truly connecting with target customers. As Chief Marketing and Brand Officer, Laura oversees all aspects of our Marketing Strategy.

Laura is a seasoned Chief Marketing and Brand Officer whose experience spans multiple industries in health care, consumer packaged goods, not-for-profit and finance. She has led marketing and customer experience organizations for household brands like Gerber, Dannon, Mars Chocolate, Specialty Food Association, Schweiger Dermatology, Cure Urgent Care and, most recently, Array Behavioral Health. Array Behavioral Health is the nation’s leading and largest telepsychiatry service provider. At Array Behavioral Health, she developed new direct-to-consumer (DTC) marketing strategies, led the Customer Service team, and introduced a new telehealth value-based product.

Laura holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Baruch College and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School.

Steve Stein Cushman joined MetroPlusHealth in December 2022 as the Chief Counsel. In his role, he serves as the lead In-House Counsel. Steve provides senior management with practical and actionable legal advice on corporate strategies and their implementation, and manages legal functions of the Corporation.

After clerking with the Massachusetts Court of Appeals, Steve joined the New York City Law Department in 1988 and has worked for the City since that time, most recently as the First Assistant Corporation Counsel.  In his prior roles, Steve focused on City operations and brings expertise in a broad range of matters such as contracts, procurements, real estate and land use matters. Steve has worked closely with the Mayor’s Office and City agencies representing New York City and implementing strategic initiatives, ideas and economic development projects.

Steve earned a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Washington University in St. Louis.

Date of Appointment: February 28, 2019
End of Term: February 28, 2029

Mrs. Sally Hernandez-Piñero was appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio to the New York City Health + Hospitals Board of Directors on January 1, 2019; subsequently, Mrs. Hernandez-Piñero was appointed Chair of the MetroPlus Health Plan Board of Directors. Mrs. Sally Hernandez-Piñero began her career at Bedford-Stuyvesant Community Legal Services as a Staff Attorney and went on to become General Counsel to the State of New York Mortgage Agency and Deputy Borough President of Manhattan. She subsequently joined former Mayor David Dinkins’ Administration as Deputy Mayor for Finance and Economic Development. There, she was involved in all key policy, legislative and budgetary decisions made by the administration.

Following her career in the public sector, Mrs. Hernandez-Piñero transitioned into the corporate world, working at Fannie Mae as a Managing Director, as counsel for Kalkines, Arkey, Zall & Bernstein and as Senior Vice President for Corporate Affairs for the Related Companies. She served as a member of the Board of Trustees of Con Edison for 23 years.

Dr. Talya Schwartz is President & CEO of MetroPlusHealth since 2019. During her tenure, MetroPlusHealth has achieved a 35% growth in membership, a five-star rating from New York State’s Consumer Guide and a 4-star rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. She spearheaded the organization’s transformation by bringing its behavioral health services in-house, overhauling its public website, modernizing legacy technology with a single integrated platform, and expanding virtual visits to its over 700,000 members. Dr. Schwartz’s ongoing commitment to addressing the social determinants of health among New York’s most vulnerable communities is the pinnacle of her leadership, especially around supportive housing and food insecurity.

Before being President and CEO, Dr. Schwartz served as the Chief Medical Officer at MetroPlusHealth. In the private sector, she was the founding member of a behavioral health technology startup company. She was a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Pennsylvania. She served as a Fellow at the National Institutes of Health. A trained physician, Dr. Schwartz earned her medical degree from the Sackler School of Medicine, completed her residency in Pediatrics at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, and practiced at the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC. She holds a graduate Health Services Management and Leadership certificate from George Washington University.

Board Member (NYC Health + Hospitals President’s Designee)
Member of the Customer Experience & Marketing Committee
NYC Health + Hospitals Senior Vice President of Managed Care & Patient Growth

Mr. Matthew Siegler is Senior Vice President for Managed Care at NYC Health + Hospitals. Mr. Siegler develops and implements NYC Health + Hospitals’ patient and revenue growth strategies, with a principal focus on managed care market share and external payer and provider relationships.

Mr. Siegler comes from Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., the national health plan arm of Kaiser Permanente, where he led key strategic and advocacy efforts across Kaiser Permanente’s commercial and government business, with a focus on public exchanges, large national employer groups, and leading planning for and response to federal efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

Earlier, Mr. Siegler served in the Obama Administration as an operational, policy, and communications leader on the staff of the White House Domestic Policy Council. He has also served on the staff of Congressman Henry Waxman, the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School, Johns Hopkins University, and Harvard College.

Board Member
Chair of the Customer Experience & Marketing Committee
Member of the Audit & Compliance Committee
Date of Appointment: January 28, 2021
End of Term: January 28, 2026

Ms. Vallencia Lloyd was appointed by the New York City Health + Hospitals Board of Directors in January 2021.  Ms. Lloyd worked for the New York State Department of Health as the Director of the Division of Managed Care A/K/A the Division of Health Plan Contracting and Oversight where she was responsible for the certification, regulation and oversight of the State’s managed care industry, including the Medicaid managed care and Child Health Plus programs. After 34 years of State service, Ms. Lloyd retired from the Department of Health. Post retirement, Ms. Lloyd worked for Partners Health Plan (PHP) in New York City where she was the Chief Operating Officer and Interim Chief Executive Officer. PHP is a Fully Integrated Duals Advantage (FIDA) health insurance plan for individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities. She has extensive knowledge of New York State’s health care delivery system and regulatory framework relating to the operation of Managed Care Organizations (MCOs), Medicaid MCOs, and traditional indemnity health insurance.

Member, Board of Directors
Member, Customer Experience & Marketing Committee

Original Date of Appointment: April 27, 2023
End of Term Date: April 27, 2028

Mark Power is an artist living and working in the Lower East Side for the past 25 years. Mark holds an MFA from the School of Visual Arts, and a BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University. Mark attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, the Johnson Atelier Technical Institute of Sculpture and was awarded a residency at the Edward Albee Foundation. Mark has been a visiting artist/critic at the University of Wisconsin, College of Creative Studies, Saint John University, Princeton University, and is a member of the College Art Association.

At his studio building, The Clemente, Mark has actively served on several committees and working groups including the Sustainability and Affordability Work Group, is a member of the College Art Association, and a founding Board Member and recent Chair of Artists Alliance, Inc (AAI). During his tenure as Chair of AAI, Mark attended the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs and Libraries (DCLA) series on Community Arts Leadership programming.

Prior to moving to NYC in 1991, Mark grew up in Virginia, racing motocross from age 9 until starting college. Inspired by the work of conceptual artist and composer John Cage, issues of perception and representation are paramount in his work, which he exhibits extensively.

Frederick E. Covino
Board Member
Chair of the Finance Committee
He/Him

Date of Appointment: February 29, 2024
End of Term: February 28, 2029

Mr. Frederick E. Covino, MBA, joined MetroPlusHealth’s Board of Directors in 2024. He spent 20 years of his career with the New York City Health + Hospitals Corporation, culminating as its Vice President of Central Office Finance until June of 2020. In this role, he led key projects such as a systems transformation plan and played a leadership role in Superstorm Sandy disaster recovery efforts. He has extensive experience developing, implementing, and analyzing financial plans, budgets, and initiatives.

Prior to joining New York City Health + Hospitals, Frederick served as the Health & Human Services Policy Coordinator for the NYC Office of the Deputy Mayor for Operations where he was the principal analyst for New York City public health policies and initiatives and served as the Mayoral liaison to over ten City agencies. Earlier, Frederick served as the head of the Miscellaneous Budget and Pension Analysis Unit at the NYC Office of Management and Budget, where he oversaw New York City’s $4 billion miscellaneous budget, including employee fringe benefit costs and associated trust funds.

Frederick holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Connecticut and a Master of Business Administration from St. John’s University.

Hillary Jalon
Member, Board of Directors
Chair, Quality Assurance & Performance Committee (QAPI)

Hillary Jalon – Vice President and Chief Quality Officer at NYC Health + Hospitals

Hillary Jalon is Vice President and Chief Quality Officer at NYC Health + Hospitals, with responsibility for overseeing core quality functions, including quality assurance, performance improvement, accreditation, patient safety, risk management, and more recently, with oversight of care experience and wellness. In this role, she is responsible for developing a cohesive strategy for the roll out of quality improvement capacity building across the continuum of services in the System including a Quality Academy, with the goal of building quality leaders and sustaining a culture of improvement across NYC Health + Hospitals. Hillary is also responsible for overseeing aspects of the Quality Assurance/Performance Improvement Committee to the Board and the hospital core measures reporting program, as well as developing the performance improvement framework across the System, including to incorporate a health equity lens in improvement efforts, aligning to the five NYC Health + Hospitals’ strategic pillars. Hillary has been in the Office of Quality & Safety at NYC Health + Hospitals since 2018 in progressive leadership positions, and prior to this, she was Associate Executive Director of Quality Improvement at the NYC Health + Hospitals’ Community Care division, where she was responsible for developing and implementing the quality program for community-care services with interdisciplinary staff members.

Previously, Hillary was at the United Hospital Fund (UHF) for over ten years, most recently as Director of Quality Improvement, responsible for providing strategic direction of UHF’s quality improvement initiatives. She worked in partnership with the Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA) in designing and managing hospital-based quality improvement initiatives across the Greater New York region, including efforts to reduce preventable readmissions and hospital-acquired infections. In this role, Hillary worked with GNYHA and clinical leaders across the region to develop the Clinical Quality Fellowship Program, quality improvement leadership training for mid-career physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. Prior to joining UHF, Hillary was employed at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, including as Manager of Service Improvement and Performance Improvement Specialist. There, she was responsible for managing accreditation activities, and designing, testing, and implementing quality improvement initiatives with leadership and frontline staff to improve clinical performance for asthma, diabetes, behavioral health outpatient treatment programs, and perioperative services.

Hillary serves on the Advisory Board and as faculty for the GNYHA/UHF Clinical Quality Fellowship Program. She is also a member of The Joint Commission’s Health System’s Corporate Liaisons. Hillary is an Associate Professor at New York University Wagner School in Health Policy and Management, where she has been for ten years as adjunct faculty, teaching the Continuous Quality Improvement course. In these roles, she mentors students and clinicians on approaches to become impactful leaders in improvement efforts. She also previously served as a volunteer at The Churchill School and Center for five years. Hillary received a BA in Sociology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and a Master of Science in Health Administration from Russell Sage College in Rensselaer, New York.

Kathleen Shure
Member, Board of Directors
Chair, Chair, Audit & Compliance Committee

Kathleen Shure – Retired, Senior Vice President for Health Finance and Managed Care

Kathleen Shure retired in 2023 from the Greater New York Hospital Association after serving 14 years as Senior Vice President for Health Finance and Managed Care. In that role, she worked with GNYHA member hospitals, legislators, regulators, and insurers on a broad array of health insurance issues including pandemic response, development and implementation of major health reforms around Medicaid managed care, surprise medical bills, insurance expansion, claims denials and value-based payment. Prior to joining GNYHA, Ms. Shure served as Director of the Office of Managed Care in the New York State Department of Health where she was responsible for regulation of HMOs, implementation and oversight of the State’s Medicaid managed care program and negotiation of Federal waivers. Ms. Shure also held a variety of leadership positions over 11 years with HIP (Emblem) beginning as Medicaid Director and ending as Senior Vice President for Medical and Corporate Affairs with responsibility for managing all government programs as well as provider contract negotiations. She began her career with the Health Care Financing Administration working in Medicaid reimbursement.

Ms. Shure has a BA in economics from Colgate University and an MPA in in health policy and administration from New York University.