Leadership - Aphora Health™

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Meet the experts behind Aphora health.

Aphora has assembled a leadership team with decades of experience from both the health insurance and health care provider sectors who are deeply committed to improving people’s lives. The leadership team areas of expertise include technology, sales, marketing, operations, provider network development and clinical care & quality.

This team is supported by a group of well-respected business executives and entrepreneurs serving as advisors who bring additional experience and guidance to Aphora Health. We believe that every individual should have access to affordable, high-quality medical care.

Our Executive Team

James Song | MBA

Founder | President & CEO

James Song founded Aphora Health Inc. in July 2022 to lower the cost of healthcare and provide access to the best global healthcare providers in the US market.

James Song | MBA

Founder | President & CEO

James Song founded Aphora Health in July 2022 to improve health equity and lower costs by bringing global healthcare to US markets. He wanted to help the millions of Americans who cannot afford to pay for expensive surgeries and other procedures even though many have health insurance.

He most recently served as a technology Vice President at Blue Cross Blue Shield North Carolina, working five years in the health insurance industry. Prior to Blue Cross North Carolina, James worked on the healthcare provider side of the business as a Vice President at NYU Langone Medical Center for seven years. While there, NYU Langone grew revenues from $2.4 billion to $9 billion and became the number one hospital in quality for five years in a row, placing NYU Langone as the premier healthcare system in the New York tri-state area.

James also served in a leadership capacity to some of the largest global Fortune 100 companies, including PNC Bank, Coventry Health Care/Aetna, Safeco Insurance/Liberty Mutual, and DPWN/DHL and currently serves on the board of advisors for global GAVS Technologies.

He holds an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Arizona.

John Roos

Co-founder & EVP

Former SVP & Chief Growth Officer, Blue Cross NC

John Roos

Co-founder & EVP

John Roos joined Aphora Health in September 2022. After retiring from Blue Cross Blue Shield North Carolina at the end of 2020, he formed Thirty-Four Consulting, LLC, to offer his industry expertise to health plans, employers, providers, and health technology companies. At Blue Cross, Roos was the Senior Vice President and Chief Growth Officer. In his 22-year career at Blue Cross, the company’s revenue grew from $1.5 billion to $9.5 billion while adding 1 million members.

Other milestones under Roos’s leadership include the company’s launch of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) products to individual customers and significant investments to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in communities across North Carolina. Investments included nursing and first responders, food security, domestic violence prevention, and safe, healthy housing.

As Chief Growth Officer, Roos was responsible for the following:

• Customer segment revenue and earnings
• New business and customer retention
• Consumer brand and corporate reputation media campaigns
• Marketing, product, and member digital solutions

John Roos

Co-founder & EVP

Former SVP & Chief Growth Officer, Blue Cross NC

John Roos

Co-founder & EVP

James Song | MBA

Founder | President & CEO

James Song founded Aphora Health Inc. in July 2022 to lower the cost of healthcare and provide access to the best global healthcare providers in the US market.

James Song | MBA

Founder | President & CEO

Kay Dickason | RN, MBA

Chief Quality Officer

Former ACIO, Cleveland Clinic
Former Senior Director, NYU Langone

Kay Dickason | RN, MBA

Chief Quality Officer

Kay Dickason joined Aphora Health in January 2023 because she believes every individual should have access to affordable, high-quality care.

Kay is a skilled leader with 30+ years of experience in the healthcare industry. Her career has included a range of roles, including hands-on patient care as a Registered Nurse, C-level Operations and Technology Leadership, and Healthcare Consulting.

Before starting a healthcare consulting firm in 2022, Kay served as the Chief Operating Officer for a leading Data Management and Data Analytics company. Prior to that, Kay was the Associate Chief Information Officer for the Cleveland Clinic, one of the world’s top healthcare organizations.

Kay holds an MBA with honors from the University of Rochester’s Simon School of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Health Science from the State University of New York at Brockport.

Dan Atherton

Chief Operations Officer

Former VP & Head of Business Operations, Blue Cross NC

Dan Atherton

Chief Operations Officer

Dan Atherton joined Aphora Health in March 2023. He is an experienced healthcare insurance executive, having held diverse senior-level roles in sales and Operations throughout his 38-year career, including 23 years with Blue Cross NC, a 3.9M member health plan. As a Sales leader, Dan led teams in Kentucky, Tennessee, and North Carolina focused on commercial, fully insured, and self-funded new business acquisition and account management in the large group market. As an Operations executive, he led teams supporting key operational functions, most recently serving as an Operations Vice President for Blue Cross NC.

As Operations Vice President, Dan had the following responsibilities:

Led 1000+ person team with a $140m operating budget supporting enrollment, billing, claims, provider data management, and system configuration for both commercial and government lines of businessConsistently achieved top-tier quality and productivity metrics supporting business retention and growthAchieved operating efficiency and expense reduction through the use of automation technology and vendor outsourcing to achieve a 25% reduction in operating expense while also improving qualitySignificantly reduced medical expenses through the implementation of various claims editing tools and software in partnership with the healthcare teamAchieved improved system configuration capabilities and expanded provider data management abilities to support the development of new network productsOperational business lead for operating platform migration, ensuring a balanced focus on process and technology to support successful migration and improved performance

Prior to his work with Blue Cross NC, Dan was Vice President of Sales for Cigna Tennessee and Healthsource Tennessee and Vice President of Corporate Sales and Marketing for ACMG, Inc, a third-party administrator and health plan management company based in Ohio. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration/Healthcare Emphasis from Transylvania University in Lexington, Ky.

Dan has served on the Boards of Alexander Children’s Center, Transylvania University Board of Regents, and the NC Theatre.

Kay Dickason | RN, MBA

Chief Quality Officer

Former ACIO, Cleveland Clinic
Former Senior Director, NYU Langone

Kay Dickason | RN, MBA

Chief Quality Officer

Preston Edmondson

Chief Financial Officer

Former Managing Partner,
Trinity Fund Partners

Preston Edmondson

Chief Financial Officer

Preston is a business development finance professional with a unique and diverse career in financial services, including "Big 4" public accounting. He has been a part of M&A deal teams executing nearly $600 million in transactions and served as Controller, CFO, VP Biz Development and CEO for various early-stage companies in a multitude of industries, from logistics to high-tech. He’s a creative thinker who views every problem as an opportunity.

He created Trinity Fund Partners, LLC in 2010 which is a boutique merchant bank which assists emerging and middle market companies in cost savings, tax incentives, revenue capture, and investment banking services, including capital formation, ESOP's, valuations, buy-side services as well as transitioning the company to new ownership.

Previously, he was Senior Vice President at Paragon Bank, Senior Audit Partner for Coopers & Lybrand/PWC and for Deloitte & Touche.

Jennifer Dunivent | NP

SVP, Care Management & Digital Platform

Former VP, Operations, Clearsense
Former Director of Operations, Rochester Regional Health

Jennifer Dunivent | NP

SVP, Care Management & Digital Platform

Jen Dunivent is a seasoned operations leader with over 25 years of experience in the healthcare and healthcare technology space. Her career has included roles ranging from hands on patient care as a Nurse Practitioner, to Nursing and Operations Leadership, and Healthcare IT Consulting. Most recently as Vice President of Operations for a leading Data Management and Data Analytics company, Jen has led both clinical and technical teams through operational transformations throughout her career.

As a transformational leader, she is a visionary and mentor, creating cultures of innovation and positive change. Past successes include efforts focused on clinical quality improvements, organizational restructuring, healthcare reform, process improvement, technology implementations, and building cross functional teams from the ground up.

Jen holds Master’s degrees in Business Administration from the U of R Simon School of Business and Nursing (Nurse Practitioner) from the U of R School of Nursing. With her training in both clinical and business, her background as a Nurse Practitioner and Operations Executive brings a unique combination of clinical expertise and business acumen. Driving change through servant leadership is her passion, ensuring that at the end of the day the work we do has a positive impact on people's lives.

Jen is also involved in her community as an avid volunteer, holding several leadership roles and driving programs focused on providing opportunities and resources to the underserved.

Bonnie Hildebrandt | MHA

SVP, Provider Network

Former Executive Director of Network Development, UNC Health

Bonnie Hildebrandt | MHA

SVP, Provider Network

Bonnie has devoted over 20 years of her professional career to the healthcare industry. She most recently served as the System Executive Director for Network Development & Physician Relations for UNC Health, where she supported physician relations programs across North Carolina, including eleven community hospitals, one tertiary hospital, and a large academic medical center in Chapel Hill, NC.

During her time with UNC, the healthcare system experienced tremendous growth. Bonnie was instrumental in developing the UNC Physicians Network, the employed REX Specialty Physician groups, and the UNC Health Alliance (UNC’s clinically integrated network). She was also at the forefront of developing UNC into a statewide system patient logistic center for patient transfers, which has grown tenfold in the last five years.

Bonnie is a graduate of East Carolina University and holds a Master’s in Health Administration from Pfeiffer University. She is also a graduate of the UNC Health Care System Advanced Leadership Academy. Bonnie serves on the Board of the American Association of Physician Liaisons. In her spare time, she enjoys time with her husband and children traveling and enjoying the ocean.

Our Advisory Board

David Boucher, MPH FACHE

Chief Executive Officer,
Bumrungrad International Hospital Phuket & Market

David Boucher, MPH FACHE

David Boucher has worked in healthcare for 45 years; he currently serves as Chief Partnerships Officer at Bumrungrad International Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand.

David served for the two years prior to January 2023 as Chief of Service Excellence and Medical Value Travel (MVT) at the corporate level with Dubai-based Aster DM Healthcare. From June 2018 until June 2020, David served as Chief Business Transformation Officer at Bumrungrad. Between 2000 and 2017, he served in several capacities as an executive of the insurance company BlueCross Blue Shield of South Carolina. From 2012-2017, David served as President of UCI Medical Affiliates in Columbia, SC – managing 80 retail medical care centers- treating over 740,000 patients in 2017. From 2006 through 2016, Mr. Boucher concurrently served as President of Companion Global Healthcare, Inc. – the world’s only medical tourism facilitator owned by a major health insurer. Prior to 2000, David served as CEO at several hospitals in the United States.

Mr. Boucher earned his BS degree from Slippery Rock University (Pennsylvania) and a Master of Public Health from the University of South Carolina; he has been named a distinguished alumnus by both institutions.

David has been quoted in over 250 newspapers and journals, including The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, The Economist, and U.S. News & World Reports. He has been interviewed on NBC Nightly News and Fox Business News. He has delivered lectures on disruptive innovation in healthcare at Harvard Business School, Yale School of Management, and Harvard Medical School.

Abie Ekangaki, PhD

Vice President of Statistical Consulting, Premier Research

Abie Ekangaki, PhD

Abie is Vice President of Statistical Consulting at Premier Research, a leading clinical research organization in the biotechnology space, where he brings expertise in advanced clinical trial designs and provides strategic direction in optimizing drug development programs.

With over 30 years of experience, Abie has worked in different capacities around the globe – in the pharmaceutical industry, academia, and within the international organization system. During his over 22 years in pharma, he has held several senior technical and senior leadership positions. Before that, he was Lecturer in Statistics at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, and previously worked as a research scientist with the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland.

As a strategic technical leader, he has led, overseen and consulted on multiple global drug development programs across a range of diseases and participated in several FDA advisory meetings. He has served on data monitoring boards and was an at-large advisor to the executive committee of the Biopharmaceutical Section of the American Statistical Association. Driven by his interest in leadership development, Abie founded the Section’s Leadership-in-Practice Committee. In addition, while in Australia, he was Chair of the Australian Pharmaceutical Biostatistics Group (APBG), which he founded. He is passionate about leadership development and continues to serve as a dedicated mentor within the ASA BioPharmaceutical Section.

Abie earned his doctorate and masters degrees from the University of Southampton, UK, and more recently, impelled by his interests in the business of healthcare innovation, he completed a mini-MBA in BioPharma Innovation through Rutgers Business School.

As an investor, Abie focuses his interests on the healthcare space, where he places keen emphasis on investments that help bring global access to treatment for patients who need them.

David Gardner

Serial Entrepreneur & Early-Stage Fund Manager

David Gardner

David is a serial entrepreneur, writer, adviser, and early-stage fund manager with over thirty years of experience in creating and building software technology companies.

After failing at retirement twice, David became the Triangle’s most active angel investor spending his time as a volunteer coach and mentor to startup founders and managing a free accelerator he sponsors with the Town of Cary. To combat the lack of early-stage capital in NC, David created and runs Cofounders Capital, a $12M seed fund, the success of which led to a second $31M fund.

As an entrepreneur, David was the founder or co-founder of seven companies, including PeopleClick (purchased for $100 million) and Report2Web, which sold for $12M in less than eleven months from inception. He has demonstrated a record for consistency across multiple industries with six successful exits in a row… and one he refuses to talk about.

David served as the Executive VP and Thought Leader for Compuware, a Fortune 1000 Corporation, after it acquired ProviderLink, a healthcare IT exchange he founded.

As a writer, David is the author of a popular book on entrepreneurship called The StartUp Hats. He has published many articles and forward-thinking white papers on technical innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic development. Among other firsts, David is credited with founding and launching the first software-as-a-service venture in NC.

As a lifelong learner, David is constantly researching new technologies and challenging traditional ways of thinking. In addition to several years of full-time computer science and business-related postgraduate studies at NCSU, Mr. Gardner holds degrees in Philosophy and Music with a postgraduate concentration in theology and dead languages. What drives David today is his passion for helping smart, coachable, first-time entrepreneurs build their businesses, watching them succeed, and witnessing their life-changing transformations.

Bob Greczyn

Chair ECU Health Board of Directors, Retired CEO Blue Cross NC

Bob Greczyn

Bob Greczyn retired on February 1, 2010, as chief executive officer of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, the state’s largest health insurer. Greczyn joined the company in 1998, bringing 20 years of leadership experience in healthcare and a solid understanding of the North Carolina healthcare market.

In his role at BCBSNC, Greczyn served on both the Board of Trustees for BCBSNC and on the board of the National Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. He was the chairman of the board of directors for The Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare (CAQH), an alliance of the nation’s leading health plans working on simplifying healthcare transactions.

Greczyn serves on many boards, from healthcare organizations to higher education. He is also the owner of several Mellow Mushroom franchises and Fortnight Brewery in Cary. Greczyn earned a Master of Public Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from East Carolina University. He also completed the executive program in healthcare finance management at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Maureen O'Connor

CEO of ZealCare
Former President of Whiterabbit.ai

Maureen O'Connor

Maureen O’Connor is an entrepreneur and healthcare industry veteran passionate about driving transformational change in our healthcare system to improve access, health, and well-being through scalable technology, delivery redesign, and payment innovation.

Currently, Maureen serves as CEO of ZealCare, a tech-enabled healthcare services company spun out of Duke, with a mission to empower individuals with complex chronic conditions to make necessary lifestyle changes to allow therapeutics to work and to live a more vigorous life. Through a highly scalable virtual platform, the company provides intensive, personalized coaching and peer support to participants

Prior to her role with ZealCare, Maureen served as president of Whiterabbit.ai, an early-stage Silicon Valley company with a mission to eradicate late-stage breast cancer using artificial intelligence. Before joining Whiterabbit.ai, Maureen spent 17 years as an executive with Blue Cross Blue Shield North Carolina, serving as executive vice president of diversified businesses and president of Mosaic Health Solutions, the corporate venture arm of the company (now Echo Health Ventures); chief strategy and innovation officer; chief administrative officer; and general counsel.

Maureen serves in board and advisory roles for a number of healthcare technology, biotech, and investment companies. She currently chairs the board of APIE Therapeutics and serves on the board of Carolina Angel Network. She is a venture partner with Spring Tide Ventures and is a founding member of OnBoardNC. During the past decade, Maureen has been active on many professional and community boards.

She received a law degree from Suffolk University Law School and a bachelor’s degree in English from the College of the Holy Cross. In her free time, Maureen enjoys traveling, hiking, and photography and is a regular contributor to LinkedIn, writing posts that integrate lessons of leadership, life, and photography.

Leo Spector

Orthopedic Spine Surgeon, OrthoCarolina
Incoming CEO OrthoCarolina

Leo Spector

Leo Spector, MD, MBA, is a practicing orthopedic spine surgeon at Orthocarolina in Charlotte, NC. He previously served as the practices’ chief quality officer overseeing its value-based care program. He currently serves on the board of directors of the lumbar spine research society, where he chairs the ethics committee.

Additionally, Dr. Spector is a member of the cervical spine research society and a fellow of the American academy of orthopedic surgeons and the American Orthopedic association. He also served as the spine fellowship co-director at Orthocarolina and is the past president of the North Carolina spine society.

Dr. Spector earned his medical degree from the University of Massachusetts medical school, where he then completed his internship in general surgery and residency in orthopedic surgery. Following residency, he completed a one-year fellowship in spine surgery at the Orthocarolina spine center. He completed the North Carolina physician institute for quality enhancement program (NCPIQE) through the North Carolina medical society (NCMS). He earned his MBA from Duke Fuqua School of Business.

Michele Stone

Co-founder & President of Seez Integrated Marketing

Michele Stone

Bio coming soon.

Maureen Sullivan

President, Balestrand Strategic Advisors
Former CSO, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association

Maureen Sullivan

President of Balestrand Strategic Advisors. Maureen Sullivan provides senior advisory and facilitation services to Boards, CEOs, and C-Suite executives. With over 30 years of experience, most recently as Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer for the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA), Maureen has worked with senior leadership in all 50 states and Puerto Rico across different sectors, including healthcare, business, and government.

At Balestrand Strategic Advisors, Maureen has worked with several early-stage companies to accelerate growth and strengthen strategic positioning. The companies share the fundamental drive to improve the quality and affordability of healthcare. Maureen is also helping Civica on the market access strategy for the first insulin products with transparent pricing.

In her position at BCBSA, Maureen developed the strategic partnerships group that spearheaded the development of new market solutions, including CivicaScript, GeoBlue, and Blue Health Intelligence. She fostered partnerships with major consumer companies entering healthcare and other innovators striving to improve healthcare. During her tenure, Maureen also oversaw a broad range of functions, including strategy, communications, brand marketing, group purchasing ($1.5B in spend), educational programs, and international.

Maureen has served on many Boards and Advisory Committees, including the CivicaRx Board (Finance Committee) and the GeoBlue Board (Chair of CEO Search Committee; Chair of Strategy Committee). Maureen graduated with a Master’s in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School and a BA with honors from Albertus Magnus College.

Our Strategic Advisors

Steve Crist

Consultant, USI
Former Group Segment VP, Blue Cross NC

Steve Crist

Steve is an accomplished healthcare insurance business leader with 26 years of leading distribution, marketing, and operations for the largest health insurance company in North Carolina. Today, Steve serves as an advisor at USI providing strategic health insurance solutions for the commercial and higher education sectors.

Before USI, Steve served as the Vice President and an officer at Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC), managing a $1.4 billion of $8.8 Billion health solutions portfolio serving over 3.9 million members.

Steve received his Bachelor’s degree in economics from the College of William and Mary.

Patrick Getzen

Former SVP & Chief Actuary, Blue Cross NC

Patrick Getzen

Patrick Getzen has 30 years of experience in the Health Insurance Industry. Most recent focus when at Blue Cross NC included areas that included data quality, stewardship and governance, as well as analytics enablement. His technology-focused teams ensured that actions were efficient and information-driven to run businesses, collaborate with healthcare providers, and serve customers.

Previously Patrick served as Vice President and Chief Actuary for Blue Cross NC. His responsibilities included pricing for individual customers and employers, valuation, underwriting, product development, and financial planning.

Patrick is also a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

Patrick currently serves as an advisor to Citius Tech, PASCO Advisors, Wisdo, IntoValue Group, Heads Together Health, and Vision Consultants. Prior to that, Patrick served as a Board Member for Appalachian State University’s Walker College of Business Advisory Council, Blue Health Intelligence, GNS Healthcare, IBM Watson Health Payer Advisory Board, and the Congressional Budget Office’s Panel of Health Advisors.

Patrick is an advocate for improving lives through better health, education, personal development, and leadership.

Estay Greene, PharmD, MBA

SVP of Strategic Initiatives, AMWINS Rx

Estay Greene, PharmD, MBA

Estay Greene, PharmD, MBA, is Vice President of Pharmacy for Zing Health. He is responsible for establishing a pharmacy department and strategy focused on providing high-quality, cost-effective care for a new Medicare Advantage Plan. Areas of responsibility include formulary management, Part D Star ratings, Diabetes Management Program, PBM oversight, and Part B drug programs.

Prior to his current position, he was Vice President of Pharmacy Services for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (Blue Cross NC) and a Director of Pharmacy Benefits for the Cleveland Clinic/Cleveland Health Network.

Other positions were as a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist for Kaiser Permanente of Ohio and as Pharmacy Manager/Clinical Pharmacist for Rite Aid Pharmacies.

He received his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Duquesne University and MBA from the University of Phoenix.

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