Trusted Leadership in Palliative Care

Roberta Achtenberg, JD, has more than 30 years of senior-level leadership experience in business, government, and law. She serves on private and public-sector boards and as a corporate advisor in public policy. She is a former Commissioner of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Trustee Emeritus and past Chair of the California State University Board of Trustees, and Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of the Bank of San Francisco. She also served in the Clinton Administration—first as Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity and later as Senior Advisor to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). She headed the HUD Agency Review Team for the Obama Transition and is a former member of the San Francisco County Board of Supervisors. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Berkeley and a JD from the University of Utah College of Law.

Patricia F. Appelhans, JD, is the CEO of the Association of Professional Chaplains (APC) and works closely with APC’s leadership teams, pastoral cognate groups, and other organizational leaders in allied health and human services organizations. Previously, she was director at Smith Bucklin Corporation, one of the leading association management companies in the United States, where she served as an Executive Director to multiple not-for-profit organizations. Over her 35 years as a nonprofit professional, she has worked with trade, professional, and service organizations. She is also a licensed attorney and has served as counsel for several not-for-profits. She is an active member of volunteer groups such as Association Forum, where she served as Chair of the Board, and she was previously awarded the John C. Thiel Distinguished Service Award. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois Chicago and her JD from Northern Illinois University.

Davis Baird, MSG, is the Policy and Advocacy Manager for the Coalition to Transform Advanced Care (C-TAC). He oversees and guides C-TAC’s policy and advocacy initiatives, legislative and regulatory policy analysis, cultivates relationships with Capitol Hill staff and Administration officials, helps manage the Congressional outreach plan for C-TAC, and collaborates with members and partners to offer policy recommendations and gather stakeholder support for policy campaigns. Prior to his role at C-TAC, he was a Program Manager at the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a), and previously worked with the Altarum Institute’s Center for Elder Care and Advanced Illness (CECAI), focusing on supporting state-level family caregiver public policy. He received his bachelor’s degree in Psychology at The College of Charleston, and his master’s’s degree in Gerontology from the University of Southern California.

Samira K. Beckwith, MSW, is the President and CEO of Hope HealthCare Services. As a dedicated champion for palliative care and end-of-life issues, she has served as Chair for both the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and the National Hospice Foundation. In addition, she is the Founding President of the Florida PACE Association and a Founding Director of the National Hospice Work Group. She was granted a Doctor of Humane Letters by Southwest Florida College, and she earned a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and a master’s degree in Social Work from The Ohio State University, where she currently serves on the Alumni Association Board of Directors.

Lori Dangberg is the Vice President for the Alliance of Catholic Health Care, the public policy and advocacy organization of California’s Catholic health systems and hospitals. She has been working in the public policy arena for Catholic healthcare since 1982 and has worked extensively on health reform, nonprofit community benefit, end-of-life, and bioethics issues. Prior to joining the Alliance, she served as the Director of Advocacy and Community Partnerships for Mercy Healthcare Sacramento. Before joining Mercy, she served for 10 years with the California Association of Catholic Hospitals as the Director of Communications. During her career in the Catholic health ministry, she has directed advocacy efforts at the federal level, working with members of Congress. She has also worked at the state Capitol of California and on local government issues in the Sacramento region.

Rory Farrand is responsible for strategic and operational direction of all program initiatives related to palliative care for NHPCO; ensures the development and implementation of premier resources for providers and other organizations that offer community-based palliative care services and/or education; provides expertise, guidance, and support to internal and external stakeholders around the delivery and financing of palliative care programs and how it influences NHPCO quality, education, philanthropy, policy, and innovation activities; serves as a thought leader in the hospice and palliative care community by representing NHPCO at key conferences and in the media. She has previously held positions with VITAS Healthcare, Pennsylvania Health and Wellness, Matrix Medical Network, and the Center for Pain Relief/Butler Memorial Hospital, among others. Rory earned degrees from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, Washington State University, Lesley University, and Boston College.

Jean Picker Firstenberg is a member of The California State University Board of Trustees (2016–2026). She retired as President and CEO of the American Film Institute (AFI) in late 2007 after serving for 28 years. Upon her retirement from AFI, she was honored with an AFI Life Achievement Award for service to the Institute and was named President Emerita and a Lifetime Trustee. Before AFI, she spent four years as a program officer at the John and Mary R. Markle Foundation in New York City. She also served as Director of Princeton University’s Publications Office. Among the numerous boards she has served on are the University of Georgia Peabody Awards Committee, the U.S. Postmaster General Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee, and the Executive Committee of the Women’s Sports Foundation. Firstenberg is a summa cum laude graduate of Boston University’s College of Communications and served on Boston University’s Board of Trustees for 12 years.

Barbara Jones, PhD, MSW, is Assistant Dean for Health Affairs and Associate Professor at the UT Austin School of Social Work. She is also Co-Director of the Institute for Collaborative Health Research and Practice. She is a clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Texas Galveston Medical School and a collaborating faculty member at the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio. She is a Distinguished Scholar and Fellow of the National Academies of Practice, where she is also the Vice-Chair of the Social Work Academy. She is the 2014 recipient of the American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS) Outstanding Training and Education award. She is the Past President of the Association of Pediatric Oncology Social Workers (APOSW) and recipient of the 2013 APOSW Social Worker of the Year Award.

Judith Redwing Keyssar, RN, BA, is the Director of Patient and Caregiver Education at the Center for Education in Palliative Care at UCSF. As a “midwife to the dying,” she draws upon 25+ years of nursing experience in oncology, critical care, and hospice care. She presents nationally on palliative care and end-of-life issues and is the author of the award-winning book, Last Acts of Kindness: Lessons for the Living from the Bedsides of the Dying. She was the recipient of the 2015 Compassionate Care Individual Leadership Award from the Coalition for Compassionate Care of California, the 2015 UCSF Ernest J. Rosenbaum Commitment to Patient Care Award, and the 2019 Humanities Award from the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.

Margherita C. Labson, BSN, MS-HAS, is a veteran healthcare professional and registered nurse, who has specialized in the provision of healthcare services in the home since 1977 from multi-operational and academic perspectives. She is an experienced lecturer and educator as well as a published author. In 2020, she concluded her career with the Joint Commission after serving 25 years first as a representative in the surveyor cadre and then 14 years as the Executive Director of the Home Care Program. She has continually served as a member of various expert technical review panels, advisory, and steering committees for the Home Health Quality Initiative(HHQI), the Center for Home Care Policy and Research of the VNSNY, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation(AAMI), and others.

Angelo McClain, PhD, LICSW, is the Chief Executive Officer of the National Association of Social Workers and President of the National Association of Social Workers Foundation. NASW is the largest membership organization of professional social workers in America with 140,000 members. McClain previously served as Commissioner for the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families for six years, a position appointed by Governor Deval Patrick. While there, he oversaw a budget of $850 million and a workforce of 3,500 employees to address reports of abuse and neglect for the state’s most vulnerable children, partnering with families to help them better nurture and protect their children. McClain grew up in Texas and is a distinguished alumnus of Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Social Work from West Texas State University, a Master of Science in Social Work from the University of Texas at Arlington, and a PhD in Social Work from Boston College Graduate School of Social Work.

Michael W. Rabow, MD, FAAHPM, is a Professor of Clinical Medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine, the Department of Medicine, at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Board-certified in internal medicine and hospice and palliative care, he directs a leading outpatient palliative care consultation program—the Symptom Management Service—at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. He is a national expert in outpatient palliative care research and service delivery. He also serves as a consultant to U.S. hospitals and hospital systems working to develop or expand their palliative care services and is a consultant to numerous prominent professional or philanthropic organizations dedicated to expanding outpatient palliative care access and quality. He serves as the lead of the project advisory board for the “Improving Palliative Care in the Outpatient Setting” (IPAL-OP) initiative at the Center to Advance Palliative Care. He is a past recipient of the Soros Project on Death in America Award and the Hastings Center Cunniff-Dixon Physician Award.

Monique Reese, DNP, ARNP, FNP-C, ACHPN, is Senior Vice President, Home and Community Care, for Highmark Health, a diversified health and wellness enterprise located in Pittsburgh, PA, that serves an estimated 35 million people nationwide. She is a progressive healthcare executive with expertise leading innovative design and transformation to an interdisciplinary care platform focusing on population health. She is a nurse practitioner with triple board certification in family practice, hospice, and palliative care, and has a certificate in chronic care leadership. Her nursing background includes experience in community health, school nursing, post-secondary education, medical-surgical, orthopedics, and palliative care. She has an associate’s degree in Nursing from Des Moines Area Community College and a master’s degree in Nursing and a doctorate of Nursing Practice from the University of Iowa.

Karl Steinberg, MD, serves as Medical Director for Mariner Health Central, Carlsbad by the Sea Care Center, Hospice by the Sea, and Life Care Center of Vista. A self-described “SNF-ologist,” Dr. Steinberg has been a medical director for skilled nursing facilities, continuing care retirement centers, and hospice agencies in the San Diego area for over 20 years. He has served as an active member, committee chair, officer, and board member for a number of professional organizations, including AMDA, AMA, AAHPM, American Geriatrics Society, National POLST Advisory Task Force, National Quality Forum, California Medical Association, California Association of Long-Term Care Medicine, Coalition for Compassionate Care of California, and others. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology from Harvard College, an MD from The Ohio State University College of Medicine, and he completed his family medicine residency at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Medical Center. He is board-certified in Family Medicine and in Hospice and Palliative Medicine.

Judy Thomas, JD, is CEO of the Coalition for Compassionate Care of California, a statewide partnership of healthcare providers, nonprofit organizations and associations, state agencies, and individuals working to ensure all seriously ill Californians receive quality, compassionate care. The Coalition for Compassionate Care of California brings together multiple organizations, often with divergent interests, to develop, implement, and promote improved healthcare practices and standards across the continuum of care. Thomas is an attorney with over 20 years in healthcare. Before law school, she worked in the early field of managed care as a computer programmer for the nation’s first preferred provider organization. Later, as a lobbyist for LeadingAge of California and the California Hospital Association, she focused on aging and long-term care issues. She was formerly a partner in the Sacramento-based law firm Hunter, Richey, Di Benedetto & Brewer, and is a graduate of the University of California, Davis, where she received both her bachelor’s degree and JD.

Angelo Volandes, MD, MPH, leads a group of internationally recognized researchers who create and study video decision aids to empower patients and families to make informed decisions at the end of life. He is a faculty member in the General Medicine Unit at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. His research is focused on improving decision making at the end of life and is supported by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the National Cancer Institute, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the Alzheimer’s Association, and the Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making. He received his bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from Harvard College, his MD from the Yale School of Medicine, and a master’s degree in Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health. He was named the Edmond J. Safra Faculty Fellow in 2004–05 at the Harvard University Center for Ethics.