Dr. Shawn Baker holds a doctorate of chiropractic degree from Los Angeles College of Chiropractic as well as a bachelor’s degree in biology from the same institution. He worked as a senior manager in the company’s Health Services department for many years. In this role, Dr. Baker managed several projects related to the research, development, and design of the Healthyroads website.

Dr. Baker joined the American Specialty Health consultation team in 2003.

Dr. Wendy Bazilian currently provides nutrition and general health and wellness consultation to American Specialty Health and Healthyroads. In this role, Dr. Bazilian serves as a consultant on professional committees and other ASH projects, and as a nutrition writer and editor for Healthyroads.

Dr. Bazilian is a doctor of public health, registered dietitian, and certified health and fitness Instructor. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Spanish language and literature/Latin American studies from Tufts University as well as a master’s degree in Latin American studies from the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Bazilian received her doctorate in public health and nutrition from Loma Linda University, earning the university’s prestigious Chancellor’s Award for academic excellence in the process.

As a leader in the fields of dietetics and fitness, Dr. Bazilian is currently involved in a variety of writing and research endeavors focusing on sports nutrition, women’s health, and exercise. Additionally, Dr. Bazilian has assisted a wide array of clients of all ages with their nutrition and fitness goals through her private practice in San Diego. As a consultant, Dr. Bazilian has written and translated a variety of health-related and multidisciplinary publications and conference presentations in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. She brings over 10 years of professional writing and health education experience to her work with ASH and Healthyroads.

Dr. Bazilian joined the American Specialty Health consultation team in 2000.

As vice president of consumer health and quality, Dr. Bjornaraa has responsibility for overseeing the clinical aspects of wellness and fitness program quality and consumer health education. These responsibilities include design of health content for wellness and health improvement products and clinical review and oversight of health appeals, grievances, and sentinel event management. She also supports day-to-day operations of ASH’s Health Services department and serves as co-chairperson of ASH’s Health Quality Committee.

Dr. Bjornaraa provides exercise and fitness expertise to Health Services and Healthyroads in the development and review of consumer health content. She provides other clinical support necessary for program implementation, as appropriate. She also provides clinical support to ASH’s physical therapy and occupational therapy network.

Dr. Bjornaraa is a certified athletic trainer and certified strength and conditioning specialist. She holds a bachelor’s degree in physical therapy from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, as well as a master’s degree in physical therapy/athletic training from the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill. Dr. Bjornaraa holds a master of public health degree from San Diego State University. She has received her PhD in rehabilitation science at the University of Minnesota.

Dr. Bjornaraa has held leadership positions on the National Strength and Conditioning Association’s Board of Directors as well as its Certification Commission. She is a faculty member at St. Catherine University in the Doctorate of Physical Therapy Program.

Dr. Bjornaraa brings more than 25 years of physical therapy experience to her work with ASH and Healthyroads. She has worked with ASH since 1998.

Kat Brokaw is a senior coordinator with the Consumer Health Information (CHI) team in the Health Services department. She researches, edits, and writes consumer health content for department projects. She also maintains the web content management system for CHI.

Ms. Brokaw brings 20 years of writing and editing experience to the team. She is a published author and playwright. Her experience with American Specialty Health brings to the team her knowledge of document control, quality improvement initiatives, and regulatory review.

Ms. Brokaw joined the American Specialty Health team in 2000.

Michael Byrd brings to American Specialty Health more than 18 years of experience in the field of health education with special emphasis in tobacco cessation. As a vice president at American Specialty Health, he supports all 3 of the organization’s lines of business, including Clinical Network Products, Fitness Programs, and the Healthyroads suite of health and wellness services that includes the online wellness portal, lifestyle coaching programs, incentive management, and biometric screenings.

Mr. Byrd previously acted as a director in ASH’s Healthyroads department where his oversight of product development and educational resource publications as well as evaluation of outcomes measures, process improvement, and other wellness initiatives helped to propel Healthyroads to a nationally renowned status.

Prior to joining ASH, Mr. Byrd was a manager of the California Smokers’ Helpline, a statewide telephone-based tobacco cessation program funded through the California Department of Health and operated by the University of California, San Diego. He was involved in authoring research articles and in the design of several research studies pioneering the use of telephone sessions as an effective intervention for tobacco cessation.

Mr. Byrd received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from University of California, San Diego and master’s degrees in social work and business administration from San Diego State University.

Tim Curns currently serves as the writer/editor for American Specialty Health’s Marketing Communications team. In this role, Mr. Curns develops press releases, produces content for the company’s promotional materials and websites, manages the editorial content of the company’s corporate media kit, and edits the monthly ASH News Flash e-newsletter on current topics in wellness and complementary health care.

Mr. Curns holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Binghamton University in New York. Prior to his work at ASH, Mr. Curns worked for several years as editor of HPCwire, a news e-zine covering the high-performance computing industry. Here, he interviewed experts in the field and generated weekly content for the website.

Mr. Curns joined the American Specialty Health team in 2005.

Teri Denhart is a senior manager on American Specialty Health’s Clinical Quality Management team. In this role, Ms. Denhart co-chairs the Provider Quality and Credentialing Committee (PQCC), is a voting member of the Corporate Quality Oversight Committee, and manages quality improvement studies and activities for the department. She and her team manage both peer review committees, PQCC and the Clinical Provider Review Committee. Ms. Denhart also participates in Healthyroads Clinical Quality Committee activities, has written several articles, and has assisted in the development of many educational programs.

Ms. Denhart has been a registered nurse in California for over 30 years. She has a bachelor’s degree in health care studies and maintains CPHQ certification by the National Association of Healthcare Quality. She brings over 25 years of experience in the managed care field, including home health, utilization management, accreditation compliance, and the research and development of various complementary clinical specialty programs to her work with ASH. Ms. Denhart also chairs the Center for Insurance Education and Professional Development committee for America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) in Washington, DC.

Ms. Denhart joined the American Specialty Health team in 1997.

Wendy Fluckiger-Brown is currently a director in American Specialty Health’s Health Services department, where she works with a team of writers and editors to develop consumer health information content for Healthyroads personal health improvement programs and company websites.

Ms. Fluckiger-Brown is a registered nurse and licensed acupuncturist, with a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Wyoming as well as a master’s degree in Traditional Oriental Medicine from the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine. Additionally, Ms. Fluckiger-Brown has received extensive training in mind-body interventions such as mental imagery and relaxation skills. Prior to joining American Specialty Health, Ms. Fluckiger-Brown maintained a private acupuncture and massage clinic in La Costa, California. She brings over 20 years of health care and wellness education experience to her work with ASH.

Ms. Fluckiger-Brown joined the American Specialty Health team in 2001.

Page Gaither currently serves as editorial manager for the Health Services department. In this role, she works with consumer health information writers and editors to research, develop, and maintain content for personal health improvement materials, ASH websites, and other ASH products and initiatives.

Ms. Gaither holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature from the University of Texas at Austin and a master’s degree in technical and professional writing from San Diego State University. In addition, she has completed advanced coursework in public health, educational psychology, and medical rhetoric, and holds an advanced certificate in scientific writing.

Before joining ASH, Ms. Gaither worked as a freelance writer and editor, providing copywriting, copyediting, documentation, ghostwriting, and information design services to clients in various industries.

Ms. Gaither joined the American Specialty Health team in 2006

Justine Greene, MD, is a board certified family practice physician with experience in primary care, urgent care, occupational health, and university health care. She graduated from the University of Texas Medical Branch in 1987 and completed her residency training in Family Medicine at the University of California, Irvine in 1990. Dr. Greene also received the degree of master of science in Traditional Oriental Medicine from Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in 1999. In addition, she is certified by the American Board of Holistic Medicine.

Dr. Greene has been a consultant for American Specialty Health since 1999 and is currently the company’s Associate Medical Director.

Brett Hanson joined American Specialty Health in 2006 and now serves as the senior director of Fitness Network Management where he oversees the fitness network for American Specialty Health Networks consisting of Silver&Fit Basic, Silver&Fit Full, Active&Fit, ChooseHealthy Affinity Discount, and the Personal Trainer Benefit networks in conjunction with the design, coordination, implementation, and instructor training and evaluation of the Silver&Fit Full program.

Mr. Hanson brings over 14 years of experience in the fitness industry where he has worked with several high profile fitness organizations, including the Apex Fitness Group – A division of 24 Hour Fitness, ABC Financial Services, Gold’s Gym, and World Gym of the Cayman Islands.

Lauren Duffy Lastowka is an editorial specialist for the Consumer Health Information team in Health Services. In this role, Ms. Lastowka is responsible for developing and editing consumer health content in personal health improvement programs and on ASH websites.

Ms. Lastowka holds a bachelor’s degree in English and anthropology from the University of Virginia. She brings 5 years of experience in print and online media to the company. Prior to joining American Specialty Health, Ms. Lastowka served as a writer and content editor for a network of websites and as an acquisitions editor for an allied health and medical publishing company.

Ms. Lastowka joined the American Specialty Health team in 2008.

As Chief Health Services Officer at American Specialty Health (ASH), Dr. Douglas Metz oversees the clinical aspects of the organization, including:

• Clinical service and clinical quality management
• Medical and physical therapy management
• Health services research administration
• Clinical product design
• Consumer health information development
• Clinical quality assurance
• Clinical guideline development
• Corporate clinical quality oversight

He is chairman of the Corporate Quality Oversight Committee and oversees the Health Quality Committee and Technology Assessment Committee. Dr. Metz has an extensive background in many aspects of clinical managed care, including clinical guideline development, utilization management, quality management, credentialing, consumer health information, benefits design, and network strategy.

Prior to his 16 years with American Specialty Health, Dr. Metz served as a medical director for Aetna Health Plans. He was responsible for the oversight of chiropractic policy and programs for Aetna’s indemnity programs, PPOs, HMOs, point-of-service plans, and managed workers’ compensation nationally.

Dr. Metz has played a critical role in corporate implementation of NCQA and URAC standards within ASH’s clinical networks, wellness, and online programs. Dr. Metz has served on the URAC board of directors and is currently the chairman of the URAC Health Standards Committee; he has served on the Health Standards Committee for 12 years. He also served as chairman of the Wellness Standards Development Committee for URAC.

Dr. Metz led the ASH organization’s award winning Patient Protection QI study that effectively implemented evidence-based x-ray imaging practices across ASH networks resulting in a reduction in imaging utilization. He is a recent winner of the San Diego Business Journal Health Champions Award for Research and Innovation. In addition, Dr. Metz was recognized by the San Diego Business Journal as a 2010 winner of the Health Champions Award for Research and Innovation.

Dr. Metz is a member of several professional organizations, including:

• American Society for Quality
• Disease Management Association of America
• National Strength and Conditioning Association
• American College of Sports Medicine
• American Back Society
• American Public Health Association
• Society for Behavioral Medicine

Dr. Metz is a 1983 graduate of the National College of Chiropractic, where he received a bachelor of science degree in biology and a doctor of chiropractic degree.

Examples of publications include articles or texts published by Nolo Press (2010), Institute of Medicine (2009), America’s Health Insurance Plans (2009), American Journal of Health Promotion (2007), and clinical cost effectiveness in the Archives of Internal Medicine (2004) and Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine (2004, 2007, 2008).

Dr. Mines joined American Specialty Health in 1997 and is currently a clinical services manager. His primary job accountabilities are to support American Specialty Health’s medical necessity verification and quality management processes for Chiropractic.

Dr. Mines is a doctor of chiropractic and a certified strength and conditioning specialist. He holds a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from California State University–Fullerton as well as a doctorate in chiropractic from the Southern California University of Health Sciences (SCUHS) in Whittier, California. Through his study with SCUHS, Dr. Mines has also completed 120 hours of post-graduate course work in physical rehabilitation related to common musculoskeletal conditions of the spine. Additionally, Dr. Mines is licensed as a chiropractor in 7 states (including California) and is certified as a diplomate in Health Care and Quality Management through the American Board of Quality and Utilization Review Physicians. Dr. Mines also practices part–time as a chiropractor in San Clemente, California.

Ann Flora Moses is the senior managing editor of American Specialty Health’s Health Services Consumer Health Information team where she provides process oversight and management and development of consumer health content in personal health improvement program materials, on ASH websites, and in other special projects. She edits guidebooks, online health and wellness articles, and other educational and clinical materials. Prior to joining the CHI team, Ms. Moses managed the policy documentation process and the development of administrative, core, and state-specific policies as well as project activities within the company’s Health Services department.

Ms. Moses holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Old Dominion University. She brings over 20 years of experience in the managed care field to her work with ASH. Ms. Moses joined the American Specialty Health team in 1996.

Dr. Michael Murphy is a senior case manager on American Specialty Health’s Chiropractic Services team. In this role, Dr. Murphy evaluates clinical treatment forms, first-level appeals, member appeals, medical record reviews, and emergent claims reviews. Dr. Murphy also serves as ASH’s liaison to the company's Saint Vincent De Paul Project, which provides volunteer chiropractic care to homeless individuals in San Diego, California.

Dr. Murphy is a doctor of chiropractic, and he holds a bachelor’s degree in physical education from San Diego State University as well as a doctorate of chiropractic from the Cleveland Chiropractic College in Los Angeles, California. Dr. Murphy is licensed as a chiropractor in California, Colorado, and Oklahoma. He has held several key leadership positions in a variety of professional health organizations, including past president of the Orange County Chiropractic Association. In addition to his full-time duties at ASH, Dr. Murphy has maintained a part-time chiropractic practice in Southern California for the past several years. Prior to joining American Specialty Health, Dr. Murphy practiced chiropractic in California and Australia full-time for more than a dozen years. He brings over 25 years of chiropractic experience to his work with ASH.

Dr. Murphy joined the American Specialty Health team in 1997.

Dr. Pelletier is the best-selling author of 12 highly-acclaimed books, including international bestsellers Mind as Health, Mind as Slayer (1977), Sound Mind – Sound Body: A New Model for Lifelong Health (1995), The Best Alternative Medicine: What Works? What Does Not? (2000), Stress Free for Good (2005), and New Medicine: How to Integrate Alternative and Conventional Medicine for the Safest and Most Effective Treatment (2007).

Dr. Pelletier is a Clinical Professor of Medicine, Family Medicine, and Professor of Public Health at the University of Arizona School of Medicine and Clinical Professor of Medicine, Family Medicine, and Psychiatry at the University of California School of Medicine (UCSF) San Francisco. He is also director of the Corporate Health Improvement Program (CHIP), which is a collaborative research program between the University of Arizona School of Medicine and 15 of the Fortune 500 corporations, including American Specialty Health (ASH), IBM, Dow, Ford, Prudential, Mercer, Pepsi, MedStat, Canyon Ranch, Nestle, Corning, NASA, and the University of Texas School of Medicine in Houston. Dr. Pelletier also serves as Chairman of the American Health Association and has appointments on the Board of Directors of several non-profit foundations and for profit corporations.

Dr. Pelletier also serves as a medical and business consultant to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the World Health Organization (WHO), the National Business Group on Health (NBGH), Institute for Health & Productivity Management (IHPM), and numerous major corporations, including IBM, Ford Motor Company, NASA, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and United Healthcare. Dr. Pelletier also currently serves or previously served on the Boards of the Healthtrac Foundation; Health Net; Health Systems International; California Wellness Foundation; the Health Project; Canyon Ranch Resorts, and the Rancho la Puerta/Golden Door Spas. He is a peer reviewer for the Journal of the American Medical Association, the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Annals of Internal Medicine, and the American Journal of Health Promotion.

Dr. Pelletier’s research, clinical practice, and publications have been the subject of numerous national and international television features, including several appearances on “Good Morning America,” “ABC World News Tonight,” “Today,” “48 Hours,” “CBS Evening News,” and “The McNeil-Lehrer News Hour.”

Nancy Strot is a senior manager of training for health coaches. In this role, Ms. Strot develops, designs, and delivers initial and ongoing health coach training. She takes part in corporate quality improvement initiatives for the training of coaches. She is a member of the Healthy Quality Committee for Healthyroads. Ms. Strot helped develop a series of onsite education topics.

Ms. Strot is a registered dietitian and holds a master’s degree in dietetics from the University of Washington as well as a bachelor’s degree in theology from Gustavus Adolphus College. In 1988, Ms. Strot developed an educational tool to assess fat intake as a key component of her master’s thesis, and this tool was later published in a leading consumer fitness magazine.

Prior to joining Healthyroads, Ms. Strot worked as a counselor, group facilitator, program developer, and training and development manager in various weight management education and cardiovascular health care settings. She brings 19 years of nutrition and health education experience to her work with Healthyroads.

Ms. Strot joined the American Specialty Health team in 2004

Elizabeth Thompson leads the Healthyroads coaching team. In this role, Ms. Thompson works closely with the health coaching staff and related staff in all aspects of delivering the coaching programs. She also contributes to program enhancement development, including program content, quality assurance measures, policies and procedures, and benefit design.

Ms. Thompson is a registered dietitian. She holds a bachelor’s degree in nutrition from California Polytechnic University as well as a master of public health degree from San Jose State University. Additionally, Ms. Thompson has extensive experience in the areas of obesity counseling, dietetic research, and managed care.

As a leader in the field of dietetics, Ms. Thompson has held key leadership positions in a variety of professional health organizations, including past president of the California Dietetic Association Foundation and president of Health Care and Education for the Western Region of the American Diabetes Association. She held several national committee posts with the American Dietetic Association, including chair, Quality Management, and is a current committee member on the Coding and Coverage committee. Ms. Thompson brings over 25 years of clinical dietetic experience to her work with Healthyroads.

Ms. Thompson joined the American Specialty Health team in 1998.

Tonia Vyenielo is a board certified internist with experience in urgent care, general internal medicine, and phlebology. She graduated from the University of California, San Francisco in 1977 and completed her residency in internal medicine at the Long Beach VA Medical Center/University of California, Irvine in 1980. She completed medical acupuncture training at the UCLA School of Medicine in 1999. She currently works in compensation evaluation at the Veterans Affairs and has been a consultant with American Specialty Health since October 2007. In her spare time, she engages in yoga and Pilates.

Monica Wiley serves as a senior manager for American Specialty Health’s Marketing Communications team. In this role, Ms. Wiley oversees the development, production, and management of all marketing materials as well as health plan, broker, and employer marketing/communications activities.

Ms. Wiley holds a bachelor’s degree in English and French education from Purdue University. She has also completed several graduate courses in the MBA program at San Diego State University. Ms. Wiley has more than 30 years of experience in marketing and public relations. Prior to joining American Specialty Health, she held several marketing management positions at HomeFed Bank, one of the nation’s largest savings and loans, in San Diego, California. She has received numerous regional and national awards for her marketing materials at ASH.

Ms. Wiley joined American Specialty Health in 1994.

Summer Witt is a health information writer with the Consumer Health Information team of Health Services. Ms. Witt is responsible for researching, writing, and editing consumer health content for educational materials, ASH websites, newsletters, and the annual content review process. In addition, Ms. Witt serves as project coordinator and proofreader for all company translation project requests.

Ms. Witt holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature and a minor in psychology from the University of California, San Diego. Ms. Witt joined the American Specialty Health team in 2007.

Dr. Lars Youngquist is a senior manager on American Specialty Health’s Clinical Quality Management team. In this role, Dr. Youngquist works with quality assurance initiatives, clinical policy development, and clinical credentialing processes. Dr. Youngquist also supports the activities of other departments, including process enhancements and the research and development of various complementary health care programs.

Dr. Youngquist received his doctorate of chiropractic degree from Southern California University of Health Sciences, and he holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Notre Dame. Additionally, Dr. Youngquist holds a master’s degree in Traditional Oriental Medicine from the Emperor’s College of Traditional Oriental Medicine. He also completed a World Health Organization-sponsored acupuncture residency program in China. He is a licensed acupuncturist as well as a licensed massage therapist. He maintains certification through the National Association of Healthcare Quality.

Licensed in California to practice both chiropractic and acupuncture, Dr. Youngquist maintains a private practice in a variety of complementary health care specialties. He brings over 17 years of clinical experience to his work with ASH. Dr. Youngquist joined the American Specialty Health team in 1997.

Jacqueline Jia Zhang is a director of American Specialty Health’s Clinical Care Management team. In this role, she oversees acupuncture, naturopathy, dietetic services programs, and utilization management activities across the clinical services departments. She sits on several ASH clinical committees.

Dr. Zhang joined American Specialty Health in 1998. She was the first clinical services manager for ASH’s acupuncture program and has led the continuous development efforts of this program.

Dr. Zhang is a doctor of medicine and a licensed acupuncturist. She holds a medical degree in Western medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine from the Beijing College of Traditional Chinese Medical, China. Dr. Zhang specialized in geriatric medicine during her tenure as a physician at JiuXianQiao hospital in Beijing. In 1994, Dr. Zhang received her Acupuncture license in the state of California and the NCCAOM certification for acupuncture. She completed her MBA at the University of California, Irvine in 2003.