Peter M. Marino | President and Chief Executive Officer
Peter M. Marino started his tenure as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island in September 2014. As CEO, he oversees all aspects of the health plan. Before joining Neighborhood, Mr. Marino was Director of the Rhode Island Office of Management and Budget. Previously, he was the Rhode Island Senate Fiscal Advisor, Director of Research and Policy for the Providence-based RDW Group, and Director of Policy and Municipal Affairs for the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council (RIPEC). Mr. Marino also served as an Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy at Brown University’s Taubman Center for Public Policy and American Institutions. He holds a Bachelor’s in Science degree from James Madison University and a Master’s in Public Administration from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. As a leader engaged in the community, he serves as chair of the board of directors for the Rhode Island Quality Institute, immediate past chair of the board for the Northern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce and holds several board seats, including the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, RIPEC, AMICA and the Association for Community Affiliated Plans (ACAP). Mr. Marino is also chair of ACAP’s Marketplace Policy Committee and is a strong advocate for Rhode Island Meals on Wheels, the YMCA of Greater Providence, and Rhode Island’s federally-qualified community health centers.
Talia Brookshire | Chief Diversity Officer
Talia Brookshire became Neighborhood’s first-ever Chief Diversity Officer in March 2022. In this role, Mrs. Brookshire serves as the champion and thought leader to help strengthen Neighborhood’s ongoing investment in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). She also leads the strategic and day-to-day operational advancement of Neighborhood’s DEI culture and practices. Neighborhood took the bold step in late 2022 to reconfigure its organizational structure by aligning its Human Resources department and the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to report to the chief diversity officer as executive leader. The organization believes this framework will help us to look at all of our human resource management through a diverse, equitable and inclusive lens. She brings to this work more than 15 years of strategy development and program execution experience in diversity initiatives, multicultural marketing campaigns, and community-building outreach. She has executed many grassroots programs to grow awareness and participation within a variety of industries, including professional and Olympic sports governing bodies, universities, manufacturing and non-profit agencies. Mrs. Brookshire joined Neighborhood from Western Governors University where she worked with senior leaders to develop its DEI strategy and pathway. Previously she held senior positions at USA Track & Field, USA Swimming and NASCAR, with responsibilities in community outreach, multicultural marketing campaigns, and fundraising to build membership and/or participation of underserved communities.
David Burnett | Chief Growth Officer
David Burnett is Neighborhood’s Chief Growth Officer (CGO). Mr. Burnett oversees the company’s three product lines: Medicaid, Medicare-Medicaid, and Commercial. He is also responsible for Neighborhood’s strategic planning and business development, marketing and communications, provider relations, and customer experience. Prior to his role as CGO, Mr. Burnett joined Neighborhood as its first-ever Chief of Staff in 2015. In that role, he worked closely with the CEO and senior leadership to support Neighborhood’s mission by improving interdepartmental communications, measuring success, and ensuring accountability. In May 2017, Mr. Burnett assumed the role of acting Chief Operating Officer to oversee Neighborhood’s operational areas including Provider Network Management, Member Services, and Claims. Prior to joining Neighborhood, he served as the Associate Director for Governmental and Public Affairs, and then as the Deputy Secretary, for the Rhode Island Executive Office of Health and Human Services. Additionally, he held government affairs-related positions with Tufts Health Plan (MA), the administration of Rhode Island Governor Donald Carcieri, and the Rhode Island Department of Health. Mr. Burnett holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Rhode Island and a Master of Business Administration from Bryant University.
Karen Carlson | Chief Operating Officer
Karen Carlson is Chief Operating Officer of Neighborhood. Ms. Carlson has spent half her career in human services and half in healthcare—which makes her uniquely qualified and an exceptional fit for the Neighborhood team. As COO, she applies both of these lens to leading the Operations Division which includes oversight of Information Systems, Member and Provider Call Centers, Claims processing departments and Operations Support. With 20 years of involvement in building efficient and effective cross functional teams, she brings to Neighborhood deep experience in Medicare and Commercial health plans and is skilled in building a lean management culture to decrease manual processes and increase consistency in procedure performance. Prior to joining Neighborhood in 2021, Ms. Carlson served as managing director at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Rhode Island and also held positions as business solutions architect leading large scale initiatives within Client Operations and manager of Technical and Business Analysis directing the research team in resolving medical and pharmacy benefit issues. Earlier in her career, Ms. Carlson advanced through direct care positions at the Walker Home and School and the YWCA of Northern Rhode Island before joining Family Service of Rhode Island. Ms. Carlson received her undergraduate degree from the University of Massachusetts and holds a Master’s degree from Nova University. She has been Project Management Professional (PMP) certified since 2005.
Melissa Husband | Chief of Staff
Melissa Husband is Neighborhood’s Chief of Staff to the CEO. As Chief of Staff, Melissa works with the CEO and the broader Executive Leadership Team (ELT) to develop and implement strategies in all areas of the business to carry out corporate goals. Mrs. Husband oversees the company’s Regulatory Division, which includes the Legal and Compliance departments, as well as Vendor Management and Government Affairs. Her career has been focused on public policy, nonprofit management, effective leadership, and public administration. She has received numerous awards from the YWCA of Rhode Island; NAACP Providence Chapter; Leadership Rhode Island; Roger Williams University; University of Rhode Island; and Providence Monthly’s 10 to Watch, to name a few. Prior to joining Neighborhood in 2021, Mrs. Husband served as deputy secretary of state and director of administration appointed by Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea. In this role, she led the work and operations of the Elections Division; Business Services Division; Rhode Island State Archives; Rhode Island State Library; Civics and Education Unit; Administrative Rules Office; and Finance and Personnel Division. Mrs. Husband previously served as Executive Director at Community Action Partnership of Providence (CAPP) and has also held roles at Roger Williams University, as an adjunct professor teaching nonprofit management and leadership, and at Rhode Island Housing and Mortgage Finance Corporation. Mrs. Husband received her undergraduate degree from Roger Williams University and holds a Master’s degree from the University of Rhode Island.
Kristin Russell, MD, MBA | Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Kristin Russell is Neighborhood’s Chief Medical Officer, providing leadership and clinical vision across the company. Dr. Russell joined Neighborhood in May 2023 from Humana where she served for four years as the Associate Vice President of Enterprise Outcomes Management and was responsible for managing medical costs while improving quality for Humana’s eight million Medicare Advantage members. Prior to joining Humana, Dr. Russell spent ten years as a faculty member at Harvard Medical School and as an attending psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Russell is also an experienced entrepreneur with a passion for innovation and technology. She has held leadership positions at startups focused on clinical analytics and behavioral health and has advised more than 20 digital health companies. Dr. Russell holds a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University, a medical degree from Columbia University, and a Master of Business Administration from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She completed her residency at Brigham & Women’s and Beth Israel Deaconess Hospitals and her fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital. She is board-certified in both psychiatry and child and adolescent psychiatry.
Michelle Sears | Chief Financial Officer, Senior Vice President
Michelle Sears is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for Neighborhood. In her role as CFO, Ms. Sears leads Risk Adjustment, Accounting and Budgeting, Provider Contracting, Actuarial Services and Internal Audit. She also oversees our health plan’s financial close and audits, revenue recognition, budgeting, and financial analysis and serves as the finance contact for external entities, including the Rhode Island Executive Office of Health and Human Services and the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation. Michelle brings more than 22 years of finance and accounting experience to her role leading the Finance Division. Before joining Neighborhood in 2020, she held several finance leadership positions at Health New England – a non-profit health plan in Massachusetts – during her 20-year tenure. As director of financial services, she was responsible for serving as the chief financial officer for Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Baystate Health Care Alliance, providing oversight of internal and external actuaries, Finance Optimization Committees, and line of business variance analytics; as well as crafting financial models to support the strategic planning and execution of the executive leadership team. Ms. Sears also held the position of interim chief financial officer at Health New England. Additionally, she shares her time and talent with the community, serving from 2017 through 2020 on the board of directors as well as the executive and finance committees for the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts, which connects donors with the lives of local women and girls through strategic grant making and leadership development. Ms. Sears received a Bachelor of Science in business administration with a concentration in accounting from Westfield State College and a Master of Business Administration from Our Lady of the Elms College. She is a Certified Health Insurance Executive (CHIE).
Board of Directors
Chairwoman
Brenda Dowlatshahi
Chief Operating Officer, Tri-County Community Action Agency
Vice-Chairwoman
Alison Croke
President & Chief Executive Officer, Wood River Health Services
Treasurer
Merrill R. Thomas
President & Chief Executive Officer, Providence Community Health Center, Inc.
Secretary
Keith Oliveira
Executive Director, TIMES2 Academy
Peter J. Bancroft, CPA
President & Chief Executive Officer, WellOne Primary Medical & Dental Care
Daniel Da Ponte, AIF®
Founder and Managing Principal of Axis Advisors, LLC and Axis Risk Management
Rilwan K. Feyisitan, Jr.
President & CEO, East Bay Community Action Program
Gary E. Furtado
President and Chief Executive Officer, Navigant Credit Union
Dioscaris Garcia, PhD
Assistant Professor of Orthopedics, Brown University
Elena Nicolella
President and Chief Executive Officer, Rhode Island Health Center Association
William Hochstrasser-Walsh
Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, Comprehensive Community Action Program
Jeanne LaChance
President & Chief Executive Officer, Thundermist Health Center
Peter M. Marino
President & Chief Executive Officer, Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island
Yahaira Placencia
Senior Vice President and Private Client Advisor, Bank of America
Lisa Ranglin
Vice President and Regulatory Compliance Program Manager, Citizens Bank
Pablo Rodriguez, MD
Chief Executive Officer, Nuestra Salud Productions