Supporting State and Local Health Policy Leaders in a Polarized Policy Environment

Welcoming the 2025-26 Milbank State Leadership Program Cohorts 

As federal health agencies contract and fewer federal dollars are allocated to health services and coverage, state and local leadership takes on a larger role in population health. Each year, the Milbank Memorial Fund invests in the development of state and large city/county leaders who are committed to improving population health through its two nonpartisan legislative and executive branch leadership programs. The Milbank Fellows Program (MFP) and Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) have given more than 300 participants leadership and policy skills to implement evidence-based policy across state and party lines.  

Today, Milbank announces the members of the 2025-26  ELP and MFP cohorts, who were selected from the largest group of applicants to date; three state officials applied for every spot available. The current cohorts include state senators and representatives, agency commissioners and secretaries, division directors, chief medical officers, and state epidemiologists. Cohort members come from 32 states and include 35 members of the executive branch and 21 legislators evenly split across political parties.  

“These leadership classes, which are highly representative in terms of geography, background, and political perspective, demonstrate both the expertise and openness needed to help pass and implement policies that can improve health in today’s politically polarized environment,” said Morgan McDonald, MD, Milbank’s National Director for Population Health.  

Throughout the program and long afterward, participants connect with colleagues across the political and geographic spectrum in meaningful ways. They have also leveraged the program to advance priorities like maternal health initiatives in Kentucky; community health worker certification in Mississippi; and improved prescription drug price transparency in Illinois. Participants have also helped change or stop policies harmful to population health as a result of the program.   

Independent evaluations of the programs find that they empower participants to introduce legislation, implement evidence-based programs, and cultivate relationships across parties, branches of government, and states. Nearly all (93%) of MFP and ELP graduate survey respondents agreed that the program equipped them with skills for depolarization that assist with effective policy implementation.  

Now in its fifth year, MFP is designed for senior executive branch and legislative state leaders and is administered in collaboration with the Colorado Health Institute and consultant Michele Lueck. ELP, now in its ninth year, engages early and mid-career legislative and executive branch state and large-county government officials. ELP is facilitated in partnership with nationally recognized academic and leadership consultant Rich Callahan. Both programs focus on professional and personal growth, leadership skills, best practices from health and leadership experts, and the development of a network of colleagues from across the country.  

Congratulations to the members of this year’s cohorts for both MFP and ELP, who are listed below. 

Milbank Fellows Program

	Sarah Aker, Executive Director, Division of Medical Services, North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services
	Jonathan Ballard, Chief Medical Officer, New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services
	Andrea Barton Reeves, Commissioner, Connecticut Department of Social Services
	Isaac Benowitz, Chief Medical Officer and State Epidemiologist, Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention
	Kim Bimestefer, Executive Director, Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing
	Ben Bowman, House Majority Leader & State Representative, Oregon
	Joshua Cantrell, State Representative, Oklahoma
	Erin Drinnin, Division Director, Community Access and Eligibility, Iowa Department of Health and Human Services
	Laura Hall, State Representative, Alabama
	Martin Hickey, State Senator, New Mexico
	Jeff Huebner, Lead Medical Officer, Division of Medicaid Services, Wisconsin Department of Health Services
	Hannah Kane, State Representative, Massachusetts
	Jonathan Kromm, Executive Director, Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission
	Djinge Lindsay, Chief Medical Officer, Maryland Department of Health
	Katherine Marks, Commissioner, Kentucky Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities
	Julie McGuire, State Representative, Indiana
	Michelle Morse, Acting Commissioner and Chief Medical Officer, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
	Brach Myers, State Senator, Louisiana
	Bisola Ojikutu, Commissioner of Public Health and Executive Director, Boston Public Health Commission
	Cynthia Roe, State Representative, Oklahoma
	Zane Seals, Chief Financial Officer, TennCare
	Celia Segel, Chief of Staff, MassHealth
	Dinah Sykes, State Senator, Kansas
	Trinidad Tellez, State Representative, New Hampshire
	Sarah Valencia, Assistant Deputy Secretary, Wisconsin Department of Health Services
	Sarah Willson, Director, Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services
	Ryan Yamane, Director, Hawaii Department of Human Services

Emerging Leaders Program

	Michelle Au, State Representative, Georgia
	Jona Bandyopadhyay, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, TennCare
	Kourtney Bettinger, Medicaid Medical Director, Department of Health Care Financing, Kansas Department of Health and Education
	Eden Bezy, Assistant Commissioner, Indiana Department of Health
	Margareta Brandt, Assistant Deputy Director, Office of Health Care Affordability, California Department of Health Care Access and Information
	Ashleigh Caseman, Director, Office of Medicaid Coordination and Health Systems Innovation, Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities
	Shelly Choo, Director, Bureau of Maternal and Child Health, Maryland Department of Health
	Gary Crum, State Senator, Wyoming
	Renia Dotson, State Epidemiologist, Mississippi State Department of Health
	Amy Dybas, Deputy Chief Operating Officer, System Operations and Development, MassHealth
	Shannah Tharp-Gilliam, Director, Area Agency on Aging, Allegheny County Department of Human Services
	Graciela Guzmán, State Senator, Illinois
	Caleb Hemmer, State Representative, TennesseeCaleb Hemmer
	Timaka James-Jones, State Representative, Mississippi
	Cyrus Javadi, State Representative, Oregon
	Chaquetta Johnson, Assistant Health Director, Preventive Health, Mecklenburg County Health Department
	Marvia Jones, Director of Health, Kansas City Health Department
	Emily King, Senior Policy Advisor & Deputy Director, Office of Saving People Money on Health Care, Office of the Governor of Colorado
	Jeffrey Lunardi, Chief Deputy Director, Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services
	Anquam Mahamoud, State Representative, Minnesota
	Tristan McPherson, Medical Director, Communicable Diseases, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
	Tara Peters, State Representative, Missouri
	James Rajotte, Director of Strategy and Innovation, Rhode Island Executive Office of Health and Human Services
	Annie Spell, State Representative, Louisiana
	Megan Srinivas, State Representative, Iowa
	Ryan Templeton, Division Director, Legislative and Governmental Affairs, Colorado Behavioral Health Administration
	Jennifer Trail, Director, Office of Strategic Initiatives, Tennessee Department of Health
	Tangela Womack, Assistant Secretary, Office of Women’s Health and Community Health, Louisiana Department of Health
	Jamila Woods, State Delegate, Maryland