HERO is a Member Driven Organization
Emeritus Board Members
David Anderson
David Ballard
Andrew Crighton
Tom Fariss
Vicki George
Josh Glynn
Ron Goetzel
Bill Greer
Jack Groppel
John Harris
Kristine Holbrook
Fikry Isaac
Dan Krick
Sue Lewis
Ron Loeppke
Hank Orme
LaVaughn Palma-Davis
Jennifer Posa
Nico Pronk
Margaret Sabin
Betty-Jo Saenz
David Sensibaugh
Seth Serxner
Dave Schweppe
Bob Soroosh
Jeff Warren
Laurie Whitsel
Sue Willette
Shelly Wolff
Lilly Wyttenbach
Mark Dundon, Co-Founder
Bill Whitmer, Co-Founder
Jerry Noyce, President and CEO
Paul Terry, President and CEO
Advisory Group Members
- David Ballard, PsyD, MBA, GhostNote Consulting
- Jack Dennerlein, PhD, Harvard Chan School’s Center for Work, Health, and Wellbeing
- Paul Fronstin, PhD, Employee Benefit Research Institute
- Ron Goetzel, PhD, Johns Hopkins Institute for Health and Productivity Studies
- Jim Klein, American Benefits Council
- Kelly McDevitt, Integrated Benefits Institute
- Nico Pronk, PhD, HealthPartners
- Seth Serxner, PhD, MPH, Independent Consultant
- Laurie Whitsel, PhD, FAHA, American Heart Association
- Shelly Wolff, MBA, Independent Consultant
Board of Directors
The HERO Board of Directors provides the oversight and direction that has made HERO successful and helped us become a leading non-profit health management organization in the country. Our board is made up of corporate executives and individuals from a cross-section of employee health management organizations.
Each board member is a recognized thought leader in their respective area of our industry. HERO is proud to be guided by this distinguished group of professionals.
Joan (Joni) M. Troester, MBA, SPHR, CEBS
Senior Assistant Vice President and Deputy CHRO
The University of Iowa
Chair, HERO Board of Directors
In her current role as Senior Assistant Vice President at the University of Iowa, Joni provides leadership for a broad offering of human resources services for faculty and staff with an emphasis on talent, total rewards employee experience, and data/analytics. She leads a team of staff members responsible for talent acquisition, compensation, health and welfare plans, retirement plans, well-being programs, workers’ compensation services, and data management.
Joni has experience in many areas of human resources with a focus on strategic planning, development, and implementation of system-wide service delivery models, and data analytics. In her work, she is focused on integrating the concepts of total rewards in support of the employee experience and overarching people strategy for the University of Iowa.
Joni earned degrees from the University of Iowa with a BS and MA in Exercise Science; and received her MBA from the Tippie College of Business at the University of Iowa. She is a Certified Employee Benefits Specialist and Senior Professional in Human Resources
Anita Shaughnessy, MEd
Health and Well-being Benefits Strategy Consultant
Wells Fargo
Immediate Past Chair, HERO Board of Directors
Anita Shaughnessy is Health and Well-being Benefits Strategy Consultant at Wells Fargo. In this role she advises and mobilizes the enterprise well-being strategy, driving progress across healthcare expense and employee engagement goals and collaborating across enterprise functions including employee assistance/mental health, work environment/corporate properties, volunteering, and sustainability.
Prior to joining Wells Fargo, Anita was Vice President of U.S. Healthcare and Wellness at American Express. Under her leadership that program was conferred multiple industry awards including an honorable mention for the C. Everett Koop Award.
Before this, she was Director of Welfare Programs at Citi; and also previously led Citibank’s work-life and health promotion programs. While she was with Citibank, the Health Management Program received two C. Everett Koop awards, with published results in the American Journal of Health Promotion and the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
In her early career, Anita led aquatic and physical programming for the YMCA and then consulted on staffing and development of corporate fitness centers for several corporations including General Foods, GH Bass, Titleist, and Footjoy Worldwide.
Anita received her Bachelor of Science degree from Russell Sage College and a Master’s degree in education from Springfield College.
Dexter Shurney, MD, MBA, MPH
President, Blue Zones Wellbeing Institute
Vice Chair, HERO Board of Directors
Dr. Dexter Shurney, MD, MBA, MPH is the Chief Health Equity, Diversity, Inclusion Officer at Adventist Health; and President of the Blue Zones Wellbeing Institute. Prior to Adventist Health, he was Chief Medical Officer of Zipongo. Dr. Shurney has also served as the Chief Medical Director /Executive Director for Global Health Benefits and Corporate Wellness for Cummins, Inc., and Chief Medical Director of the Employee Health Plan for Vanderbilt University and Medical Center where Dr. Shurney held joint faculty appointments. He has an extensive background in health care management and policy and is the immediate Past-President of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. He is co-author of the book “Integrating Wellness into Your Disease Management Programs” which is a “how- to” guide for employers that wish to innovate their approach to chronic condition management. Dr. Shurney is board-certified in general preventive medicine and public health and serves on numerous boards. Other positions that Dr. Shurney has held include Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for Healthways, Senior Health Policy Strategist in the Division of Government Affairs for the biotechnology company Amgen Inc., Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of medical affairs for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, and Editor of the Journal of Managed Care Physicians.
Tamara (Tami) Simon, JD
Senior Vice President, Consulting Leader
Segal
Secretary, HERO Board of Directors
Tami Simon is a nationally recognized health, wellness, and workforce strategy leader. Recently named one of the 25 Most Influential Women in Benefit Consulting by Employee Benefit Adviser, Tami is Segal’s first global corporate consulting business leader. In this role, Tami and her team provide entrusted HR, employee benefits, and insurance advice to large and midsize employers in various industries.
Tami is an accomplished and highly sought-after public speaker and has testified before the US Congress and Federal Government agencies. She has served as a faculty member for numerous programs, including those of the Harvard Business School, American Law Institute, American Benefits Council, ERISA Industry Committee, Society for Human Resource Management, and the International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists.
Tami has authored numerous articles in nationally recognized industry publications such as the Benefits Law Journal, Employee Relations Law Journal and Employee Benefits Journal. She has also been quoted by leading news outlets including the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg BNA, The Atlantic, Business Week, CFO Magazine, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, MSN Money, US News & World Report, Washington Business Journal, and Yahoo Finance.
Tami is on the board of directors for Emeriti Retirement Health Solutions, the advisory board of the ERISA Industry Committee as well as BNA Tax Management’s Compensation Planning Journal. Before joining, Tami worked for Mercer, the law firm of McDermott, Will & Emery, Hewitt Associates, and the Illinois Attorney General’s Office; she also served as a judicial intern for the Iowa District Court. Tami received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign and her law degree, with distinction, from the University of Iowa College of Law, where she was an associate editor of the Law Review. She is a member of the Illinois Bar.
Ryan Sledge, MPH, MBA
Vice President, Workforce Health & Safety
HCA Healthcare
Treasurer, HERO Board of Directors
Ryan Sledge, MBA, MPH, is the Vice President of Workforce Health & Safety at HCA Healthcare. Ryan partners across teams—both clinical and non-clinical including human resources, infection prevention, HCI, and performance improvement—to ensure caregivers receive great care so that they can focus their passion and energy on providing great care. In his previous role as Director of Worksite Operations and Product Development for OhioHealth, he was for creating a sustainable culture of health for OhioHealth’s 29,000 employees, as well as the employers served by the program in the Columbus region. He has over 10 years of experience in wellness and health management working with employer and community populations, including stints at HealthFitness, Trinity Health, and Beaumont Health. Ryan also serves as co-chair of the HERO Healthcare Summit Planning Committee. Ryan’s academic background includes a BS in exercise science, an MPH degree from Michigan State University, and an MBA degree from the University of Michigan.
Karen Moseley
President & CEO
HERO
Karen Moseley is President & CEO of the Health Enhancement Research Organization (HERO), a national think tank dedicated to advancing best practices in workplace health and well-being. In collaboration with HERO members, Karen and thenHERO team provide leadership in research and education by connecting science and practice to demonstrate the value of a health and well-being employer ecosystem.
Prior to being appointed President of HERO, Karen served as the organization’s Vice President of Education and Director of Operations. In these positions, she was instrumental in growing HERO membership, increasing member engagement, and continuously improving educational programming and supporting HERO’s robust research agenda. Karen also managed HERO’s grant-funded projects, which include a multi-stakeholder collaboration to support employer involvement in community health initiatives and another to identify common measures of community health, both funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Having worked in the non-profit sector for nearly 30 years, Karen has managed the development and dissemination of a number of publications and educational conferences. She is the 2021 recipient of the Leader in Workplace Wellness Award presented by the Global Wellness Summit. Karen received her Bachelor of Science in business administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
To stay healthy, Karen enjoys yoga, testing new healthy recipes, and soaking up the great outdoors. Karen and her husband, T.J., are proud parents of two adult children and reside in Wake Forest, NC.
Maggie Biscarr, MSW
Director, Global Partnership Solutions
PepsiCo
Maggie Biscarr has over 15 years of experience developing and managing programs and public-private partnerships designed to serve vulnerable populations. In 2016, Maggie made a move from the non-profit sector to PepsiCo, where she directs a global partnership strategy for PepsiCo’s Public Policy / Government Affairs shop. She and her team work across corporate and commercial business units to develop proactive, shared value partnerships (with retail customers, industry groups, and the public sector) that connect PepsiCo’s commercial, regulatory, and sustainability agendas with a primary focus on health and wellness.
Prior to her role at PepsiCo, Maggie led the development of AARP Foundation’s SNAP and nutrition incentive portfolios, including Fruit and Vegetable incentive and food Rx programs. Most notably, she developed and ran Fresh Savings, an innovative public-private partnership with UnitedHealthcare, Kroger, farmers markets, and USDA that provided monetary incentives for SNAP consumers to incentivize the purchase and consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables. Maggie’s other primary functions while at AARP Foundation were in grantmaking and cause marketing – she played a key role in the development and management of AARP’s Drive to End Hunger program with NASCAR and Hendrick Motorsports. In her early career, Maggie’s direct service experience included a stint working in the DC foster care system, providing behavioral health services for at-risk youth, and serving as a behavioral therapist for children with autism.
In addition to serving on HERO’s board of directors, Maggie holds a board seat on the DC Central Kitchen board to support social enterprise, food security, and job creation in the city where she lives. Maggie received her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Mercer University and a Master’s degree in Social Work from The University of Georgia.
Chris Calitz, MPP
National Executive Portfolio Lead, Health, and Well-being
American Heart Association
Chris is an experienced public health professional committed to promoting health and well-being through forging innovative public-private partnerships that scale up science-based health promotion policies and programs. Previously, he served as the Director of the Center for Workplace Health, providing research, policy, and evaluation support to the AHA CEO Roundtable, 45+ CEOs from the nation’s largest companies who committed to creating a culture of health to improve employee and community health.
Prior to AHA, he was a health policy analyst for the Vitality Group, provider of the internationally recognized Vitality wellness program. Chris co-founded and served as North American Partnership Director for the MEND Program, one of the largest evidence-based childhood obesity programs in the UK, Canada, and Australia. He led the multidisciplinary team that adapted, piloted, and disseminated the MEND Program in the US and Canada.
Chris has published original research, commentaries, and statement articles on disease prevention and workplace health promotion in the Health Affairs, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association, Circulation, and the American Journal of Health Promotion. He is currently the Principal Investigator on a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant on the culture of health. He has served as an expert panelist on workplace wellness for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the national advisory board for the Corporate Health Leadership Program convened by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. He currently serves on the Policy and Education Committees of the Health Enhancement Research Organization (HERO).
Born in South Africa, Chris holds a Master of Public Policy (with honors) from the Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University and a BA Hons (with honors) from the University of Cape Town. He is a member of the Alpha Chapter of the Delta Omega public health honors society.
Janis Davis-Street, M.S., M.A., Ed.D., CHES
Manager, Global Public Health & Special Projects
Health and Medical
Chevron
Janis Davis-Street, MS, MA, EdD, CHES, manages the Global Public Health and Special Projects group of Chevron’s Health & Medical department. This group manages public health programs for the workforce and communities where they operate, provides health education and preventive programs in support of Chevron’s culture of health and safety, and uses epidemiological tools to evaluate health issues. Janis’ qualifications include a doctorate in health education and master’s degrees in nutrition and organizational leadership. She is credentialed as a certified health education specialist, holds a certificate in public health informatics, and managed Chevron’s global wellness portfolio from 2009- 2020. Prior to Chevron, Janis spent 15+ years as a nutritionist at NASA. Her interests include human performance, organizational learning, health disparities, workforce well-being, education outreach, and the prevention of chronic diseases. She has co-authored a middle school textbook – Space Nutrition – and several publications on corporate wellness, nutrition, and spaceflight.
Gerardo D. Durand, MD, MPH
Occupational Medicine and Clinical Services Director
3M
Gerardo Durand, MD, MPH, is Director at 3M Occupational Medicine and 3M Clinical Services. He is responsible for the health services to nonmanufacturing employees, provides medical direction to the Safety and Industrial Business Group and Consumer Business Group manufacturing locations in the United States, and leads the 3M medical team in Latin America. Dr. Durand also leads the deployment of the 3M Health, Safety, and Well-Being standard to generate healthy workspaces, compile meaningful population health indicators, and integrate occupational and non-occupational interventions.
Dr. Durand is originally from Peru, and received his medical degree at Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia. He is board-certified in internal medicine, occupational and environmental medicine, and holds a master’s degree in public health from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Marleece Sherman Estella, MD, MHCM
SVP of Health & Chief Medical Officer
bp
Marleece Estella MD, MHCM is an Occupational and Internal Medicine physician and human capital executive. She is currently SVP of Health and Chief Medical Officer at bp where she is responsible for the health of over 60,000 employees globally. Dr. Estella has earned a reputation as an industry leader in workplace health by creating policies, initiatives, and conditions that enable employees and businesses to thrive. Her prior experience has been in both strategic and operational roles with responsibilities for global wellbeing, management of on-site health centers, occupational health and safety management, crisis management, and workplace accommodation. Her training and experience in Internal Medicine and public health is the basis for her understanding of the many factors that impact the health of employees and the communities where they live and work.
Prior to joining bp, she was Chief Medical Officer at Lockheed Martin, where she developed a robust program of integrated personal and worksite health which led to improvements in preventive care access for employees and decreased absenteeism. At Deere & Company, she served as Global Health and Safety Director. She was responsible for the integration and deployment of health and safety standards, and the development of global wellness initiatives that emphasized the importance of risk factor reduction in the prevention of chronic disease. She has also served as Regional Health Advisor for Shell Health, North America in Norco, Louisiana, and Houston Texas where she was instrumental in building an in-house disability management team. Dr. Estella began her career as a corporate physician with Lockheed Martin in New Orleans at the Michoud facility.
Dr. Estella holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Dillard University in New Orleans, Louisiana; a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in Rochester, New York; and a Master of Science from Harvard University School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts. She is board-certified in Internal Medicine, Lifestyle Medicine, and as a physician nutritionist. She serves on the Board of HERO, The Health Project, and the Leapfrog Group. The proud mother of two is a fitness enthusiast and a musician who enjoys spending free time as a background vocalist and church psalmist.
Steven Noeldner, PhD, MS
Partner & Senior Consultant, Total Health Management
MERCER
Steven has been with Mercer for more than 17 years and has more than 30 years of experience in the well-being and health promotion field. He specializes in strategy development, execution of health and well-being initiatives, and measurement and evaluation. Prior to joining Mercer, Steven amassed broad health management industry experience, including managing clinical cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation programs, hospital administration, university teaching, research, corporate health management, and President and COO of a health promotion vendor. Steven’s leadership within HERO has been significant and longstanding: currently serves as the Chair of HERO’s Research Committee, and former co-chair of the Research Studies Subcommittee; co-author of the HERO Health & Well-being Best Practices Scorecard in Collaboration with Mercer©; has published in peer-reviewed journals on behalf of HERO research; and a frequent speaker at Forum and Think Tanks, as well as other industry conferences representing the HERO Scorecard.
Krystal Sexton, PhD
Americas Regional Lead, Human Performance, and Care
Shell Oil Company
Krystal is the scientific liaison to the business, demonstrating the impacts of positive and organizational psychology, cognitive and social neuroscience, and the science of inclusion on business outcomes. She obtained an MS in biostatistics, PhD in epidemiology from the University of Texas School of Public Health, and completed postdoctoral fellowships at both MD Anderson Cancer Center and Baylor College of Medicine. Krystal has presented on Shell’s program at numerous HERO Forums and Think Tanks.
Erin Seaverson, MPH
Senior Director of Health Research
WebMD Health Services
Erin Seaverson is the Senior Director of Health Research at WebMD Health Services, steering WebMD’s health and well-being research agenda. Erin works closely with employers and health plans to provide meaningful data that informs and guides program strategy and demonstrates the value of investing in well-being for their populations. She serves as research consultant and principal investigator on strategic initiatives, program evaluation, and outcomes studies. Erin has published numerous peer-reviewed, scientific research studies and her work in research and reporting helps to define best practices for the industry. Her research* was recognized as Paper of the Year in 2019 by the American Journal of Health Promotion and as one of the 25 most important studies in workplace health promotion for its contributions to the industry.
Throughout a career that spans more than 20 years, Erin has built a reputation for distilling complex data into meaningful and actional insights. Before joining WebMD Health Services, she worked at StayWell, a leading health and well-being organization acquired by WebMD in 2020. She worked as a cancer epidemiologist for the State of Minnesota and with the Newborn Hearing Screening Surveillance Program for the State of Massachusetts.
Erin earned her bachelor’s degree in exercise and health science from Alma College and her Master of Public Health degree in epidemiology from the University of Massachusetts. She has also studied at the University of North London in London, England.
Erin resides in Tampa, Florida with her husband, Marc, and daughter, Ruby. She has a deep love for endurance running and strength training, finds peace in the great outdoors, and believes in giving back to her community through volunteerism.