Emmilyn Lawson

Emmilyn Lawson

Market President

As AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware's Market President, Emmilyn Lawson is responsible for the Medicaid health plan's strategic direction, growth, and leadership. She oversees AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware's operations and is its primary point of contact with the state of Delaware.

Lawson is a longtime health care executive with more than 20 years of experience in Medicaid managed care in Delaware and Pennsylvania. She most recently served as Vice President of Delaware Medicaid markets and Chief Operations Officer for Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware Health Options Inc. At Highmark, Lawson led all core operations for the insurer's Medicaid, Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and long-term services and supports (LTSS) products.

Lawson holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics from the University of Delaware and a Master of Business Administration in finance from Goldey-Beacom College. She participated in the AHIP Foundation's Minority Management Development Program, now part of AHIP's Executive Leadership Program.

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Deborah Allen, MD

Deborah Allen, MD

Market Chief Medical Officer (CMO)

Dr. Allen is the Market Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware.

As CMO, Dr. Allen leads Care Coordination activities, Quality initiatives, Credentialing, and Utilization Management collaboration. She also works with Provider Network Management to increase collaboration between the health plan and the Provider Network.

Prior to joining AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware, Dr. Allen worked in Family Medicine with an interest in Urgent Care and Emergency Medicine. She then became a Utilization Management (UM) Medical Director for AmeriHealth Caritas. Most recently, Dr. Allen became the Corporate Manager of one of the two UM physician teams.

Dr. Allen earned her Doctor of Medicine from Indiana University School of Medicine and completed her Residency in Family Medicine at Methodist Hospital of Indiana (Now Indiana University Health).

Dr. Allen is a Board-Certified member of the American Academy of Family Physicians. She is also a member of the National Medical Association.

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Bernard M. Cohen, M.D., MBA, FAAFP

Bernard M. Cohen, M.D., MBA, FAAFP

Long-Term Services and Supports Chief Medical Officer

Bernard M. Cohen is the Long-Term Services and Supports Chief Medical Officer for AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware. He provides clinical leadership of Long-Term Services and Supports and is responsible for advancing initiatives to drive clinical excellence and delivery of cost efficient care.

Prior to joining AmeriHealth Caritas, Dr. Cohen served as Vice President of Quality with MVP Health Care in New York and as Regional Chief Medical Officer with Evolent Health in Arlington, Virginia. He has previously served as Vice President of Quality Management and Care Management with WellCare Health Plans in Tampa, Florida, and as Vice President of Managed Care for Shands Jacksonville and the University of Florida Jacksonville Physicians.

Dr. Cohen earned his Doctor of Medicine from Tulane University and Master of Business Administration from the University of South Florida. His family-practice residency was in the U.S. Navy at Pensacola, Florida, and he is a board-certified family physician. Dr. Cohen is a Physician Reviewer with the National Committee for Quality Assurance and serves on several committees.

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Jordan K. Weisman, Psy.D.

Jordan K. Weisman, Psy.D.

Behavioral Health Chief Medical Officer

Jordan K. Weisman, Psy.D., is the Behavioral Health Chief Medical Officer for AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware. Dr. Weisman is responsible for overseeing the clinical policies, clinical programs, and quality initiatives related to behavioral health, and partnering with the Physical Health Chief Medical Officer and Market Pharmacist to implement integrated care. 

Dr. Weisman regularly interfaces with members, clinicians, government representatives, and community-based organizations. He is a member of the Credentialing Committee, Appeals Committee, Clinical Policy Committee, and Trauma-Informed Care Committee.

Prior to joining AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware, Dr. Weisman held senior positions with national behavioral health organizations, overseeing the implementation of evidence-based treatment in correctional and re-entry facilities, and in residential treatment and outpatient centers. He has worked in both inpatient and outpatient settings, providing facility-based individual and group therapies and community-based therapeutic services to clients spanning the life continuum. Dr. Weisman has taught for the Rowan University Department of Graduate Psychology.

Dr. Weisman received his doctoral degree in clinical psychology from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM), a Master of Science in clinical psychology from PCOM, and a Master of Arts in counseling psychology from LaSalle University. He is a member of the American Psychological Association (APA), Juvenile Justice Alliance, and Delaware Psychological Association, and a fellow of the Pennsylvania Psychological Association.

He holds certifications in cognitive behavioral therapy, Lean Six Sigma, and the NIATx Behavioral Health Process Improvement strategy. His research interests include the assessment and implementation of empirically validated treatment protocols. Dr. Weisman is a licensed clinical psychologist in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Florida, and New Jersey.

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Margaret DeFeo

Margaret DeFeo

Chief Operating Officer and Director, Plan Operations and Administration

Margaret DeFeo is Chief Operating Officer and Director of Plan Operations and Administration for AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware. DeFeo is responsible for overall operations for AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware. 

Her responsibilities include day-to-day health plan operations, contractual requirements execution, provider network management, and oversight for data and technical services. She acts as a liaison between state, health plan, and enterprise functions.

Prior to joining AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware, DeFeo served as Director of Information Solutions, Facets Business Solutions, for AmeriHealth Caritas. She also held several other technical and operational management positions during her tenure.

DeFeo has more than 25 years of experience in health care, 21 of which were spent with AmeriHealth Caritas Family of Companies. Her strong background in operations and information technology led to several key management positions within AmeriHealth Caritas and Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina.

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Mark A. Landis

Mark A. Landis

Chief Financial Officer

Mark A. Landis is the Chief Financial Officer for AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware. He is responsible for all local accounting, finance, budgeting, financial reporting, regulatory reporting, and reconciliation activities for AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware.

He has worked closely with health plan leadership to move the organization forward from startup to sustainability.

Landis is a health care finance professional with 20 years of Medicaid managed care experience. Before joining AmeriHealth Caritas, Landis served as Director of Finance at Gateway Health Plan, Chief Financial Officer at Aetna Better Health of Pennsylvania, Finance Manager at Unitedhealth Group, and Assistant Controller for Health Partner Plans, formerly Health Partners of Philadelphia.

Landis earned a Master of Healthcare Administration from the University of Phoenix and a Bachelor of Science in accounting from Elizabethtown College.

Landis lives in Pittsburgh with his wife, and enjoys hiking, bicycling, kayaking, riding motorcycle, and bowling.

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Fury Fecondo, Pharm.D.

Fury Fecondo, Pharm.D.

Market Pharmacist

Fury Fecondo, Pharm.D., is the Market Pharmacist at AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware. He serves on the state's Pharmaceutics and Therapeutics Committee and the state's Drug Utilization Review Committee to provide clinical and financial insight on pharmacy decisions.

Fecondo also oversees the Pharmacy Benefit Manager in implementing clinical policies and meeting financial goals. Many of the current policies being implemented center on the opiate epidemic and limiting opiate exposure, excessive quantities, and dangerous interactions around the products.

Fecondo's experience in the pharmacy field has been diverse. He began in retail pharmacy, moved into long-term care, and then worked in pharmacy benefit management at the state's fiscal agent.

Fecondo has a Doctor of Pharmacy from Duquesne University, with a certification in health care management. He graduated in 2002 and was the Class President and commencement speaker.

He has been part of the American Drug Utilization Review Society for the past 10 years, and has served as a program chairman and on their Board of Directors for the last three years.

Fecondo lives in Wilmington, Delaware. His hobbies include the local adult sports league and paddle boarding. He has volunteered with Habitat for Humanity and Big Brothers of Delaware.

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Brooke Nowell

Brooke Nowell

Director, Quality Management

Brooke Nowell is Director of Quality Management for AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware.

She is responsible for the operational and strategic leadership of the Quality Management program and initiatives within the health plan. The initiative includes member outreach for gaps in care, quality of care, performance improvement projects, and the implementation of performance improvement initiatives for health outcome metrics. These metrics include Healthcare Effectiveness and Data Information Set (HEDIS) and Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS).

She began her career with AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware as Manager of Community Outreach and Manager of Quality Management, prior to transitioning to the Director role. She is also the Delaware liaison for Care Crew and organizes volunteer opportunities for AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware Associates.

Nowell earned a Bachelor of Science degree in human resources with a concentration in individual and family studies from the University of Delaware. She has completed the Leadership LINC program, a collaboration with Dale Carnegie, as well as Lean In’s Allyship at Work program.

She also serves as the President of the Board of Directors of Prevent Child Abuse Delaware and as Board President of Sherwood Park Pool. Nowell has been recognized with the 2019 Service Award by Suburban Swim League and the 2022 Cornerstone Award by Delaware Charter School Network/Delaware House of Representatives Tribute. She also is the assistant swim team coach at Charter School of Wilmington.

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Megan Coalson, MSN, RNC-MNN

Megan Coalson, MSN, RNC-MNN

Maternal Child and Health Director

Megan Coalson is the Maternal Child and Health Director for AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware.

She is responsible for assisting in the development, implementation, and ongoing improvement of the Maternity and Pediatric Care Coordination programs to achieve the established organizational goals and vision, and to maintain compliance with applicable standards and regulations. She supplies clinical oversight to the drafting and application of processes to ensure that infants, other children, and reproductive-age women receive appropriate and timely care. She assists with and consults on the development and completion of regulatory and ad hoc reporting.

Prior to joining AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware, Coalson served as a Registered Nurse at area hospitals for almost two decades, achieving recognition as an Registered Nurse Level 3 (RNIII) on the clinical ladder and a charge nurse. She also served as a clinical educator at a university, teaching Nursing Care of the Childbearing Family. While working for AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware, Coalson has brought her extensive maternal-newborn nursing background to the Bright Start and Pediatric Care Coordination teams as supervisor and then manager.

Coalson earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from La Salle University and a Master of Science in Nursing Leadership: Educator from Wilmington University. She holds certification in Maternal-Newborn Nursing.

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Nanett Dempster

Nanett Dempster

Nanett Dempster, Director, Regulatory Affairs

Nanett Dempster is the Director of Regulatory Affairs for AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware.

She is responsible for oversight of all external audits and acts as a liaison between the state and the plan.

Prior to her current role of Director of Regulatory Affairs, Dempster served as Manager of Appeals and Manager of Member Experience (Correspondence, Mobile App Tech Support, Complaints and Grievances). She has been an employee of AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware since November of 2014.

Prior to joining AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware, Dempster accumulated over 20 years of health care experience in operations. She worked for Cigna as Manager/Site Lead for Customer Service, Claims, Adjustments, Recoveries, and Correspondence
She also participates in the Urban League of Philadelphia Leadership Forum.

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Tiffany Earle, B.A., M.S.W., LCSW

Tiffany Earle, B.A., M.S.W., LCSW

Director, Long-Term Services and Supports

Tiffany Earle is Director of Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) for AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware. Earle is responsible for the leadership, direction, and strategic vision for the LTSS team.

She coordinates and implements the development of recommended policies and programs while monitoring the achievement of departmental goals and objectives. She is responsible for departmental success in assigned LTSS National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) requirements, compliance with all applicable state and federal laws, and the achievement of assigned health outcomes. She also identifies and evaluates new programs and services to address cost effectiveness and proposed process improvements.

She began working with the Delaware LTSS population in 2012. Earle went on to support other LTSS implementations and programs in New Jersey, New York, Florida, Ohio, and Virginia before joining AmeriHealth Caritas. She is committed to assisting members in getting the services and supports they need.

Earle earned a Bachelor of Arts in sociology from the University of Delaware and a Master of Social Work from the University of Maryland. She is a licensed clinical social worker who has been working with vulnerable populations for 19 years.

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Kevin A. Faison, Sr.

Kevin A. Faison, Sr.

Director of Member & Community Engagement

Kevin A. Faison, Sr. is Director of Member & Community Engagement for AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware.

Faison is responsible for the development and execution of comprehensive community and member engagement and enrollment strategy. He works with external partners and health plan leadership to establish and/or strengthen health plan presence in community. In addition, he provides leadership for the operation, which promotes discussion and education on the issues that our community stakeholders face.  He also collaborates with plan departments that require both member and provider outreach support to include Quality, Communications, Integrated Health Care Management, Government Relations, and Provider Network Management.

Faison began his career with AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware as Manager of Rapid Response and Outreach Team, prior to transitioning to the Director role. Faison has more than 15 years of experience in health care. Prior to joining AmeriHealth Caritas, he has worked several managerial positions for Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware, Christiana Care Health Systems, CIGNA International, and the Department of Defense.

Faison also serves as chair for the Member Advisory Council, is a committee member for the Diversity and Inclusion Employee Committee, BAND ARG, and is a mentor in the Building a Mentoring Culture Enterprise Program.

Faison lives in Wilmington, Delaware with his wife and three children. His hobbies include coaching in local children soccer and basketball sports leagues, volunteering in the community. He is also an amateur DJ.

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Ed McLaughlin, MBA

Ed McLaughlin, MBA

Director, Data and Technical Services

Ed McLaughlin is Director of Data and Technical Services for AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware. He is responsible for overseeing and managing AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware's portfolio of information technology programs and projects; leading various mobile and text initiatives; and tracking plan-level operational, project, and compliance tasks to ensure timely delivery.

In addition, McLaughlin is responsible for aligning existing and identifying new programs and initiatives to leverage technology to help improve the quality of care and mitigate gaps in operational and compliance performance.

With more than 30 years of information technology (IT) experience, McLaughlin has held leadership roles in finance, insurance, and technology organizations. Before he joined AmeriHealth Caritas in 2014, McLaughlin served in various leadership positions at Unisys, Wilmington Trust, and The PMA Group in business analysis, operations, project management, and IT. During his tenure with AmeriHealth Caritas, McLaughlin worked on a number of technology enablement projects supporting innovation for use in several markets. While at Wilmington Trust, McLaughlin served as the Chair for their national United Way campaign, leading an effort that raised more than $1 million for social service agencies.

McLaughlin earned a Bachelor of Science in business management from Widener University and an M.B.A. from Saint Joseph's University. He is the proud father of four professional daughters and enjoys time with his wife and grandchildren.

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Stephanie Miller

Stephanie Miller

Stephanie Miller, Director, Provider Network Management

Stephanie Miller is the Director of the Provider Network Management for AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware.

She is responsible for contracting and provider education oversight.

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Susannah Roberts

Susannah Roberts

Director, Provider Network Operations

Susannah Roberts is the Director of Provider Network Operations for AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware.

She is responsible for the oversight of the local plan’s Provider Network Operations team. Provider Network Operations works with the Enterprise teams (Claims, Appeals, Complaints, COB, TPL, etc.) to ensure that we are meeting all contractual obligations set forth in the contract with the state of Delaware. Provider Network Operations maintains all fee schedules and agreement updates and manages all related claims projects. She is also the Chairperson of the Quality of Service Committee and works with all internal teams to report, discuss, and remediate any operational quality concerns.

Prior to joining AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware, Roberts served as Director at Cotiviti for six years. Prior to this role, she was the Senior Manager of Operations at Boston Medical Center HealthNet Plan (BMCHP). Prior to BMCHP, she was a Manager of Operations at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts for 13 years.

Roberts earned a Bachelor of Science in business management from the University of Massachusetts, Boston.

She serves as a member of Delaware Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Roundtable and recently joined VALOR (Veteran Associates Leveraging Our Resources, an associate resource group at AmeriHealth Caritas Family of Companies aimed at supporting veterans and their families).

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Jacqueline Rowe

Jacqueline Rowe

Director, Compliance/ Market Compliance Officer

Jacqueline Rowe is the Director, Compliance/Market Compliance Officer for AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware.

She is responsible for the strategic direction and leadership for the AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware Compliance Department, ensuring compliance with policy, process, and control activities. In addition, she provides oversight of all operating division and subsidiary compliance, privacy, and regulatory functions.

Prior to joining AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware, Rowe served as Director of Compliance and Special Investigations Unit for Centene Pennsylvania Health & Wellness and the Director for the Bureau of Human Services Licensing in the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, and she was a long-term care provider for 15 years. She served active duty in the U.S. Navy for eight years.

Rowe earned a Master of Arts in management from Webster University and a Bachelor of Science in health care management from Southern Illinois University, and she is a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) from the worldwide Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.

Her tour in the U.S. Navy was served in Clinical Nuclear Medicine. Rowe is an active volunteer and Care CrewSM member with AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware.

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Devon Vitti

Devon Vitti, MSW, LCSW

Director of Care Coordination

Devon Vitti is Director of Care Coordination for AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware.

He is responsible for oversight of the Care Coordination program. The Care Coordination program seeks to
help members with physical and/or behavioral health conditions manage their overall health and well-being. AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware assigns members a Care Coordinator, who may be a Registered Nurse or Licensed Social Worker and who will educate the member about their conditions and assist in coordinating their care.

Prior to joining AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware, Vitti served as Manager of Social Work at Bayhealth Medical Center; Director of Behavioral Health and Social Work Services at Union Hospital of Cecil County, Maryland; and in other behavioral health-related roles. Vitti is also an adjunct instructor at Delaware State University in the Social Work Department.

Vitti earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from Stony Brook University, a Master of Social Work degree from Adelphi University, and a Master of Science degree in human service administration from Wilmington University. Vitti is also pursuing a doctorate in social work from Kutztown University.

He has served on the Board of Directors for the Delaware Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.

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