Connecting health systems, employers, and carriers through smarter, simpler administration.
01.08.26 | In The News
Employers are ready to lower the cost of health insurance and they’ll do anything to make it happen.
At Brighton Health Plan Solutions, we’re committed to supporting health systems as they tackle today’s challenges and prepare for the future. Learn how we can help your organization thrive in a rapidly changing healthcare landscape.
Vice President of IT
Vice President of Account Management
Ashley Stefanski is an experienced account management leader with 20 years of experience in employee benefits. She specializes in the public sector and is known for her strategic approach, analytical skills and ability to build strong client relationships.
Ashley joined BHPS in 2022 as an Account Executive and was promoted to Director, Account Management in 2025 and most recently VP of Account Management in 2026. In her current role, she provides leadership and guidance to the Account Management team, helping ensure clients receive responsive service, strategic support and solutions aligned with their goals. A collaborative and client-focused leader, Ashley promotes accountability, professional development and continuous improvement across the team.
Before joining BHPS, Ashley worked as an Employee Benefits Consultant, where she developed tactical solutions that improved client service and generated significant cost savings. She also has carrier-side implementation experience, giving her a well-rounded perspective on plan changes, member onboarding and benefits administration. Her ability to analyze complex benefit structures and identify practical opportunities for improvement continues to support positive client outcomes.
Ashley holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Quinnipiac University.
Chief Operating Officer
Chief Operating Officer Brian Murray has direct oversight and accountability for the company’s day-to-day operations and is responsible for the growth, health, and financial initiatives of daily operations across all lines of business. He ensures that our team delivers solutions that significantly reduce healthcare costs while improving quality. Brian is charged with successfully executing the company’s mission and short- and long-term strategies.
Prior to joining this company, Brian served as Chief Operating Officer of Anthem’s Empire BlueCross BlueShield HealthPlus Plan in New York, where he oversaw operations for a $2 billion Medicaid plan in New York that represented 460,000+ members. From 2012 to 2014, he ran statewide operations representing more than $600 million in annual revenue as Chief Operating Officer for Anthem’s Amerigroup Community Health Plan of New Jersey. Brian also served as Senior Market Director at WellCare Health Plan of New York. Additional experience includes The Brooklyn Hospital Center, New York Presbyterian Health System, and Creative Health Concepts. Brian graduated from St. John’s University with a bachelor’s degree in speech.
Vice President, New Jersey Market Lead
Colleen is responsible for negotiating and managing the contractual relationships with health systems and other providers in New Jersey. A veteran with more than 20 years’ experience in managed care on the insurer/payer side, Colleen specializes in negotiating for high-quality care at competitive costs.
With a focus on cost-containment initiatives, Colleen works hard to negotiate better pricing for the company’s clients, something she considers especially important given the high costs of healthcare. Along with her dedicated team, she also oversees out-of-network negotiations and special initiatives such as telehealth programs and developing centers of excellence.
Senior Vice President, Analytics
Senior Vice President of Analytics with the company since 2021, Daniel Vaughan is an accomplished insurance professional with 25 years’ experience within our industry. Daniel is responsible for the company’s risk structure, managing client Stop-Loss programs and custom-designing reports for our clients. His team of actuaries and analysts delivers member and trend analysis, assesses risk, and generates strategic monthly and annual reports. This information supports the advice we offer clients on plan performance, financial risk, and benefits strategy.
Previously Daniel served as the Vice President of Underwriting, Sales Operations and Implementation at EmblemHealth, where he was responsible for large case underwriting of fully insured and self-insured clients, as well as supporting sales functions, including revenue forecasting, developing automated reporting and underwriting tools, and forming new Stop-Loss partnership programs. Daniel also worked as the Director of Sales Strategy and Development at ConnectiCare and held several roles over a 13-year span with Anthem, including Manager of Underwriting, Business Change Manager, and Data Analyst.
Daniel holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management from Western New England University.
Vice President, Customer Support
As Vice President of Customer Support, David Jacobs and his team support all clients, members and providers through a multitude of channels including phone, chat, email and portal. David also leads the training, learning development and workforce management teams as well as other shared service team members.
David has more than 20 years of experience running contact centers and service organizations in various industries, with a heavy focus on healthcare and hospitality. Prior to joining MagnaCare, he oversaw client support at a cloud-based homecare technology company, was VP of Global Support and Services for Guest-tek Interactive and was VP of Contact Center Operations for SONIFI Solutions. He is experienced in building, developing and leading highly productive metric-driven teams with world class levels of quality and customer satisfaction.
David believes motivation and the willingness to change, adapt and improve are the keys to driving operational excellence.
Senior Vice President of Marketing and Business Development
As Senior Vice President of Marketing and Business Development, Dina Jordan’s responsibility is to shape what a prospective client sees when they first approach the company. Over the past five years, she and her team have successfully created the company’s multifaceted digital marketing strategy from scratch with the goal of expanding the brand as a nationwide third party administrator.
Dina’s wide-ranging experience shaped her into the marketer she is today. She started her career in retail before moving into the publishing world, where she worked with a literary agent who had represented luminaries including Jack Kerouac and Ken Kesey. Next she took on a position in publicity for Penguin Putnam before becoming Director of Marketing and Publicity at M. Evans. She also served as Director of Online Marketing for EBSCO, where she transformed marketing and analytic strategies across 40 brands and 26 divisions. Prior to arriving at MagnaCare, Dina spent two years at Argyle Executive Forums, where she honed her skills in public relations and event creation for companies ranging from Fortune 500 corporations to startups.
Dina resides in Manhattan—the best place in the world to live, as far as she is concerned—with her son. She is an avid tennis player and foodie.
Chief Medical Officer
As Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Nancy Klotz is responsible for all medical affairs and related operations, as well as clinical strategies across various business segments. Dr. Klotz provides oversight of our company’s clinical programs and strategy while addressing client-specific needs.
Dr. Klotz has an impressive background in managed care. Prior to joining the company in October 2021, she served as Chief Clinical Officer and held a dual clinical leadership role in managed care and direct care domains at HealthCare Partners and Heritage NY Medical, PC. During her 11-year tenure, she led efforts in areas of utilization management, high-risk case management and disease management, quality and risk adjustment program development, clinical analytics and data management, provider education, contracting support, peer review, and credentialing. Along with 10 years of private practice experience, Dr. Klotz also developed and managed a successful healthcare information technology company, Clinical Data Technologies. She has spent more than 23 years in various clinical roles at managed care organizations, including Oxford Health Plans/UnitedHealthcare and Fidelis Care New York.
Dr. Klotz is a board-certified specialist in Internal Medicine, and her training includes bachelor’s degree in biology at New York University, Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa; a Doctor of Medicine from Albert Einstein College of Medicine; and a residency in Internal Medicine at Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center. Dr. Klotz also holds a Master of Business Administration with a healthcare concentration from Quinnipiac University and is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians.
Vice President, Deputy General Counsel
Liz Hardy serves as the Deputy General Counsel for the company, where she has been a key member of the legal team since joining the organization in 2019. With a deep understanding of the healthcare industry and its evolving landscape, she works closely with senior leadership and various departments to align the company’s legal initiatives with its strategic goals, helping facilitate growth while safeguarding the organization’s interests.
Before joining the company, Liz built a solid foundation in litigation as an associate at Dughi, Hewit & Domalewski, a prominent general practice firm. During her tenure, she represented clients across various industries in complex commercial disputes, including healthcare-related matters and medical malpractice defense.
Liz obtained her law degree from Washington and Lee University and is also a proud graduate of Colgate University. She is passionate about supporting the company’s mission to deliver high-quality healthcare solutions while navigating the complex legal challenges of the industry.
Senior Vice President, Network Solutions
In her role as Senior Vice President of Network Solutions, Jennifer oversees a team that ensures providers are set up correctly from a rate and provider directory perspective and claims are paid in a timely and accurate fashion. Internally the team interacts closely with the company’s network, claims, sales and account management, and IT groups. With IT, Jennifer’s team turns the provider agreement into language IT can use to code it into the company’s claims system.
Jennifer enjoys the challenge of solving issues by finding a root cause and implementing a change in how the team operates to improve the situation. Having worked at BHPS for almost two decades, she enjoys the spirit of collaboration with her team members. Previously, Jennifer started as a claims processor. Since arriving here, she has held five different positions, gaining experience and responsibility, before her current role—an example, she points out, of the great opportunities for growth to be found within the company.
Jennifer lives in Seaford, Long Island, with her husband, three sons, and two dogs.
Chief Financial Officer
Before arriving at Brighton, Jeremy Schoettle worked for a decade at Anthem before serving for nine years as CEO of specialty benefits at United Health Care. Jeremy loves that at Brighton —unlike the larger corporations at which he was employed — he is involved in an all-around CFO role that includes cash management, meeting with bankers, and even closing the books. He also appreciates the entrepreneurial spirit at the company, which allows him to put his extensive experience in the healthcare business to good use as he and his team members rally around an issue or a task that needs to be solved or addressed. Recognizing that each customer has individual needs, Brighton is also very flexible in the solutions they provide to each one, which Jeremy feels bodes well for the company’s continued growth and success.
Jeremy, who has an MBA from Butler University, was born and raised in Indianapolis, where his home office is located. He has a wife, three children, and a dog named Minnie, and is an avid Pacers, Colts, and Hoosiers fan. In his spare time, Jeremy loves to golf and spend time with family at their lake house.
Chief Executive Officer
As Chief Executive Officer, Jim Cusumano is responsible for the day-to-day running of the business, financial planning and analysis, business performance reporting, human resources, and risk management functions. He led ownership/debt reorganizations and oversaw efficiency reviews that led to savings of $3 million yearly. Revenue almost tripled during his time at the company.
Previously Jim served as Chief Financial Officer of National Healthcare Resources, a startup episode management company focused on managing care for work-related injuries on behalf of property and casualty insurers. During his tenure, the company developed a specialty preferred provider group, built a telephonic case management strategy to manage episodes, and hit $170 million in annual revenue before being sold to Concentra Managed Care. Jim began his career at Deloitte and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (CPA) and the New York State Society of CPAs.
Jim has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Pace University.
Chief People Officer
Julie is an influential human resources leader with more than 20 years’ experience managing all aspects of HR for growing businesses. Since joining the company, Julie has continually developed and implemented strategic approaches to recruiting, hiring, and retaining career-oriented, talented people. She is regarded as a valued strategic advisor to the executive leadership and operational leadership teams.
In prior roles, Julie served as a consultant, managing all aspects of human resources for hundreds of employees in multiple locations.
Vice President, Strategy and Key Account Initiatives
Joining the company in 2023, Karen brings an impressive record of focused, multifunctional leadership and is available for strategic collaboration as well as day-to-day support for her clients. Karen is an expert in driving strategic initiatives to improve member experience and lowering costs. She has extensive experience supporting Large Market accounts with unique needs and requirements.
She previously served as Vice President of Account Management for a Connecticut-based health plan, where she oversaw all aspects of plan design and account administration, to ensure high levels of service and performance. Karen holds a Bachelor of Science in Health Services Administration from Providence College and an MBA in Health Care Management from the University of New Haven.
Chief Legal and Compliance Officer, Brighton Health Plan Solutions
Kate Paradise serves as the Chief Legal and Compliance Officer, where she leads the organization’s legal, regulatory, and compliance strategy. She oversees all legal operations and provides executive counsel on matters spanning regulatory compliance, corporate governance, employment law, data privacy, and enterprise risk. With more than 17 years of combined law firm and inhouse experience, Kate advises on a broad range of issues, including legislation, litigation management, contracting, and both operational and transactional initiatives.
Kate’s portfolio includes oversight of HIPAA compliance, data privacy, ethics, and corporate policy development. She maintains primary responsibility for ensuring adherence to federal and state requirements, including ERISA, COBRA, HIPAA, the Affordable Care Act, the Internal Revenue Code, and applicable employment and privacy laws.
Before joining the company, Kate served as Managing Counsel at Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, where she advised on complex regulatory and compliance matters affecting health plan and pharmacy operations. She previously practiced as an Employee Benefits Attorney at Poyner Spruill LLP, specializing in health and welfare benefit plans, retirement plans, fringe benefit programs, executive compensation, and severance arrangements.
Kate holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Emory University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.
Vice President Application and Product Engineering
Laura joined BHPS in 2024, bringing with her extensive experience in Healthcare Payer Systems and Operations. As Vice President of Application Support, she leads the technical activities for our core claims processing system, which includes managing membership, benefits, provider networks, and claims processing. In this role, Laura is responsible for ensuring that our claims processing platform meets the evolving needs of the business.
Before joining BHPS, Laura spent more than 25 years with a New York BlueCross BlueShield company and its affiliates, where she held various executive leadership roles. Her work focused on driving innovation and operational excellence, with a particular emphasis on improving customer experience, enhancing the quality of care for insurers, and ensuring operational system efficiencies.
Additionally, Laura has played a key role in setting strategic and tactical direction for the IMA Group’s Payer Services division. She supported Commercial Insurers, Third-Party Administrators (TPAs), and Corporate Clients with services dedicated to Workers’ Compensation Independent Medical Evaluations, Occupational Health, Fitness for Duty, and Pre-Employment Services.
Senior Vice President, Account Management
Lavender Rouzier, who serves as Senior Vice President of Account Management, has extensive experience providing high-touch service to clients. Lavender is highly regarded in the industry for her Labor expertise, sound advice, and accessibility to her groups. She is an industry veteran with more than 30 years of health plan/third-party administration experience and an extensive background in managing all aspects of Taft-Hartley and Labor plans. Lavender is a trusted Labor expert in the tri-state area and will continuously advocate for her clients.
VP, Total Quality Management and Process Improvement
As Vice President of Total Quality Management and Process Improvement, Madhu Belagoor and his team ensure quality is controlled and sustained in the services offered to the company’s clients, whether call center performance or claims processing outcomes. At the same time, his team identifies potential opportunities where their input can help improve workflow to achieve more efficient results.
Madhu has had broad experience across the company’s operations. After joining in 2015, he formed and managed the Quality team until 2019, at which point he went to work on the IT side before returning to Quality in 2022. Whether in IT or operations, Madhu has been fortunate to work with an excellent collaborative team.
Madhu came to the United States from India in 2011 as a liaison manager for TriZetto (now Cognizant) and became Director of Quality & Business Planning. Formerly of Westbury, Long Island, Madhu lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife and son.
Vice President, RFPs and Proposals
Maura has led Brighton’s high-performing RFP and Proposals team since 2018. She is an experienced proposal management professional who is passionate about delivering compelling, customer-focused proposals. With an ongoing focus on quality and results, Maura and her team expertly manage all company RFPs and finalist presentations. Having over two decades of healthcare and employee benefits proposal experience, Maura brings to her role extensive industry knowledge, a collaborative mindset, and enthusiasm to support new customer opportunities. Maura and her skilled team are proud to contribute to the company’s continued growth nationwide.
Prior to joining Brighton, Maura served as Supervisor of Proposal Writing at Horizon BCBSNJ and held several positions within the Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield (now Elevance Health) Proposals department, including Proposal Development Director, Health and Wellness Content Manager, and Lead Proposal Development Consultant.
Maura holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Fairfield University. She is a proud member of the Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP) and Proposal Industry Experts (PIE). Maura achieved RFP and executive summary training certification from Shipley Associates and previously received Project Management Professional certification. She is also the recipient of Brighton’s Raising the Bar Award for integrity in 2019.
Senior Vice President, Account Management
Michael Tufo, Senior Vice President of Account Management, is an industry veteran who first joined the company in 1999. He has a comprehensive understanding of all elements of the healthcare industry. He has experience supporting some our largest, most complex accounts. Throughout his tenured career in healthcare, Michael has held management positions in project management, process improvement, operations management, account management, and sales. He has experience implementing complex TPA groups, as well as vast operations expertise to ensure a smooth implementation process and ongoing account performance.
President, Labor and Chief Sales and Marketing Officer
As President of Labor and Public Sector as well as Chief Sales & Marketing Officer, Michelle Zettergren and her team work tirelessly to deliver personalized service and custom-fit solutions that prioritize the needs of her clients and members. Michelle joined the company in 2017 because of her desire to renew her career-long commitment to Labor with a trusted company that appreciates the value of delivering on its promise to its Labor clients.
Michelle brings more than 20 years of experience in the health insurance industry, most recently as Chief Sales Officer at HPOne and Senior Vice President and Chief Sales and Marketing Officer for ConnectiCare, a subsidiary of EmblemHealth. Michelle led ConnectiCare’s efforts in the commercial and Medicare segments, with ownership of sales, account management, product, underwriting, group reporting, marketing, communications, and public relations. Prior to ConnectiCare, she spent nearly 14 years at Anthem BCBS in various leadership roles in sales and underwriting focused on Labor.
Michelle completed Labor Relations training with the University of Connecticut’s Office of Labor Relations. She is a certified Mediator and has consulted in numerous Labor negotiations, and has served as an expert witness for Labor in several arbitration and mediation disputes.
Senior Vice President of IT
As Senior Vice President of IT, Rajneesh Sethi manages multiple teams: the design development and solution architecting for Create®, medical management, and data warehousing and electronic data interchanges to vendors and partners. Rajneesh’s teams aid in the critical task of keeping unified experience for clients, members, and providers by providing features like ID cards, eligibility and benefits, precertification, claims, accumulators, spend, cost transparency, machine readable files, and provider directories that aid members in finding providers within their network. Ultimately the goal is to help members find most information through self-service.
In his role, Rajneesh must understand the data from different systems and departments and connect everything to provide software as a service (SaaS) solution and self-service platform. Having worked here for more than two decades, Rajneesh loves that the company encourages an entrepreneurial spirit and gives him independent decision-making power.
Rajneesh has had diverse experience, both geographically and professionally. He has worked in Denver in the automotive industry and Ohio in the energy sector, and other jobs have taken him to New York, California, and Georgia. He is currently based out of Long Island.
Rajneesh has bachelor’s degree in computer science from Delhi University.
SVP Network Strategy and Contracting
Sean Burns has more than 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry. As SVP Network Strategy and Contracting for BHPS, his team focuses on the development and execution of the provider network for BHPS members.
Prior to joining BHPS, Sean was the Chief Network Officer for Carelon Behavioral Health, worked as Vice President of Value Based Reimbursement and Network Design at Highmark Health, led a consulting practice at Optum, and held several different roles with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota. His expertise includes provider contracting strategies, innovative payment solutions, high-performing network strategies, and directing the management and operational business units and large projects across many healthcare segments. Sean is also adept at communicating the impact of initiatives with internal stakeholders, as well as with state and federal legislators, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, employer groups, and consulting houses.
Sean earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and an M.B.A. from the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota.
VP, Product & Portfolio Delivery
Steve Bradley is the Vice President of Product & Portfolio Delivery. He has more than 25 years of expertise in the healthcare technology industry. With a mission to revolutionize the healthcare experience and efficiency, Steve specializes in strategic program management, technology, and strategy. He leads efforts to build scalable, high-performing teams and works to simplify healthcare delivery.
Since joining the company, Steve has been responsible for overseeing our enterprise product roadmap, managing portfolio prioritization, and directing end-to-end client implementations. He partners with cross-functional teams to ensure seamless transitions from product development to client success.
Steve holds a bachelor’s degree in Actuarial Science from Colorado State University.
VP, Clinical Operations
Suzanne Price, VP, Clinical Operations, is a seasoned healthcare executive with more than 25 years of experience leading strategic clinical and operational initiatives across the industry. She has a long track record of designing and implementing effective processes that support clinical policy management and advance healthcare costs and quality goals. Throughout her career, Suzanne has built deep expertise in utilization management (UM), case management and population health (CM), appeals management, training and development, NCQA accreditation for UM and CM, and pharmacy operations. Her leadership is defined by a commitment to operational excellence, regulatory compliance, and creating systems that improve member outcomes.
Prior to her role at the company, Suzanne served as Vice President of Clinical Operations at Evolent. She holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Illinois Wesleyan University, as well as a Master of Science in Public Health and a Family Nurse Practitioner degree from the University of Illinois.
Vice President, Claims
In her role as Vice President of Claims, Tamara Fuller and her team manage claim operations and client services, processing claims for the company’s self-insured clients. She has the all-important purpose of ensuring that claims are processed quickly and accurately for members and providers while meeting quality measures and adhering to clients’ benefit design.
Previously Tamara worked in the finance industry for JP Morgan Chase and Axa Advisors. During her more than 20 years here, she managed customer service, then jointly customer service and claims, before arriving at her current position. She loves the culture, the open-door policy, and access to individuals of all levels, as well as the support and the opportunity to grow.
A former Army reservist, Tamara lives in Queens. She likes to spend time with family and friends, read, shop, and attend church activities.
Vice President of Sales
As Vice President of Sales, Tom Malczewski focuses on the expansion and business development of the company’s plan products. He enjoys the flexibility of the products we sell, which give him the ability to meet with clients, understand their specific challenges, and offer a custom-built solution for their needs. Tom especially likes the idea that he is helping provide services to Labor organizations and hospital systems that are trying to better the healthcare experience for their employees and members.
Coming from a sales environment—his father owns a small hardware store in Buffalo—the act of selling is a natural one for Tom. Previously he was National Accounts Director at HealthPlan One, where his focus was providing outsourcing (agents, marketing services, call centers) that helped Medicare companies serve their members.
Tom lives in Fairfield, Connecticut, with his wife and daughter. He played football at the University of Rochester and loves all things sports, especially the Buffalo Bills.
