NAMD Board Members

Stuart Portman serves as Executive Director for the Division of Medical Assistance Plans in the Georgia Department of Community Health. In this role, he oversees Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program operations in the state of Georgia. Previously, he served as Senior Health Policy Advisor on the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance for Ranking Member Mike Crapo. In that capacity, he handled all policies related to Medicaid and CHIP, and in the past has led policy development on the Committee on issues related to the ACA Exchanges, rare diseases, health taxes, and health information technology for Senators Chuck Grassley and Orrin Hatch.

He also served as the Senior Healthcare Legislative Assistant and Legislative Correspondent for Senator Orrin Hatch, where he focused on Medicaid, FDA-related policies, and issues affecting individuals with disabilities. Stuart received his Master of Public Health degree specializing in health policy from the Milken Institute School of Public Health at The George Washington University and his Bachelor’s Degree in Biology and Political Science from the University of Denver.

Melisa Byrd is the Senior Deputy Director / Medicaid Director of the Department of Health Care Finance (DHCF). In this role, Ms. Byrd serves as the principal manager for the District’s Medicaid, CHIP, Alliance and Immigrant Children’s programs. Melisa directs the day-to-day organization, planning, implementation, and evaluation of the programs to ensure compliance with federal and District laws. Previously, Ms. Byrd served as the agency’s Chief of Staff and as the Associate Director of the Office of the Public Provider Liaison.

Throughout Melisa’s more than twenty years in health policy and Medicaid, she has focused on state level programs and efforts to expand coverage and reform healthcare systems. She has worked on local, state, and national levels and in both public and private sectors, including Health Management Associates (HMA), the Louisiana Department of Health, and the National Governors Association. She also currently serves as President-Elect of the Board of Directors for the National Association of Medicaid Directors.

Lee Grossman is the Medicaid Director for the Iowa Department of Health & Human Services (HHS). Prior to joining Iowa HHS, he served as Wyoming’s Medicaid Director for 2.5 years. Lee has over fourteen years of experience in state government working in Medicaid executive leadership and home and community based services. Mr. Grossman is passionate about rural health care and supporting thriving rural communities. Lee holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Wyoming.

Michelle Probert serves as the Director of the Office of MaineCare Services within the Maine Department of Health & Human Services. Since 2019, she has led Maine’s Medicaid program, guiding strategic policy, operations, and innovation to advance access and efficiency in health care for underserved populations. Under Michelle’s leadership, MaineCare has expanded eligibility, broadened its scope of covered services with a focus on the behavioral health continuum of care, and proceeded with unanimous legislative support to implement MaineCare Rate Reform, ensuring that payment for all services is adequate, efficient, and helps to drive high value care.

Michelle began her career as a family advocate for women and children experiencing homelessness.  She has a Master’s in Public Policy from UC Berkeley and lives with her family in Brunswick, Maine.

Henry Lipman serves as the Medicaid Director for New Hampshire and has been in that role since November 2017.

His relevant professional experience includes serving as a Hospital CFO, Board Chair of the NH Hospital Association, Board service for an FQHC and CCRC. As a hospital CFO he dealt with complex financial transactions, testified in federal court on financial and reimbursement matters involving Medicaid, and testified for the US Department of Justice in the Anthem-CIGNA Merger trial.

His educational background includes an MBA from Boston University, and BS in Health Care Management & Policy from the University of New Hampshire and is a Fellow of the American College of Health Care Executives. He was the New Hampshire Business Review 2012 Financial Executive of the Year for Not-for-Profits.  In his hometown of Laconia, he served as a City Councilor and Council Chaired the Finance Committee for nine terms.

Emma Sandoe is the Director of Oregon’s Medicaid program. Prior to joining Oregon, Sandoe was the Deputy Director of Medicaid Policy at North Carolina Medicaid and has previously served as the spokesperson for Medicaid and HealthCare.gov at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and worked on ACA coordination at the Department of Health and Human Services Budget Office. She received her PhD in Health Policy focusing on Medicaid from Harvard University, MPH at the George Washington University, and undergraduate degrees from University of California, San Diego.

Tyler Sadwith was appointed State Medicaid Director at the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) by Governor Gavin Newsom in March 2024. As State Medicaid Director and Chief Deputy Director, Mr. Sadwith represents California’s Medicaid program (Medi-Cal) with federal partners at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. He leads DHCS’ ambitious Medi-Cal strategy to provide equitable access to quality health care for 15 million Californians.

Prior to his appointment, Mr. Sadwith served as Deputy Director, Behavioral Health at DHCS since 2022 and Assistant Deputy Director, Behavioral Health from 2021 to 2022.

Previously, he was a Senior Consultant for Technical Assistance Collaborative, Inc. Mr. Sadwith held several positions at the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, including Technical Director.

Mr. Sadwith earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Reed College.

Meghan Groen is the chief deputy director for Health Services for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. In this role, she oversees Michigan’s Medicaid program, services for those with developmental disabilities, and long-term care and aging programs.

Groen has 20 years of experience in government, policy and non-profit administration and previously served as senior advisor to MDHHS Director Elizabeth Hertel.

She also previously served as deputy policy director and health policy advisor for Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, where she helped oversee creation of the Healthy Moms Healthy Babies initiative to address health disparities among women and infants. Prior to that, she started her own consulting firm, served as director of government relations for Planned Parenthood Advocates/Affiliates of Michigan and worked as a policy analyst for the Michigan House of Representatives Majority Policy Office.

She received bachelor’s degrees in philosophy and English from the University of Michigan and a master’s degree in public policy and administration from Northwestern University in Illinois.

Drew Gonshorowski is the incoming director of Medicaid and Long-Term Care for the Department of Health and Human Services in Nebraska.

For the past 12 years, Drew worked as a Senior Research Fellow at Paragon Health Institute and in The Center for Data Analysis at The Heritage Foundation. Over his career, he built and maintained scores of models and databases. These were used to provide reviews of legislation for members of Congress, to supply data and analysis for news organizations, as well as to inform the work of other analysts. His research included health care with a special focus on microsimulation, Medicaid spending, and premium analysis. Additionally, he provided budgetary analysis of entitlement programs such as Social Security.

Drew holds a Master of Science in Economics degree from Suffolk University and a Bachelor of Science in Economics degree from Hillsdale College.

Emily Zalkovsky serves as Chief Medicaid and CHIP Services Officer and as the State Medicaid Director for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. She provides strategic direction and oversight for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), serving over 4 million Texans. Zalkovsky has 20 years of experience in health and human services policy and operations. She previously served as Deputy State Medicaid Director, where she worked closely with leadership to drive strategic initiatives, represent the division with stakeholders, and build the division’s workforce and culture. In addition, Zalkovsky served in a variety of staff and leadership roles at HHSC, including as a policy analyst for women’s health programs, the Director for Program Management for Medicaid managed care, and the Deputy Associate Commissioner for Policy and Program. In these leadership positions, she supervised development and ongoing administration of Medicaid programs and quality initiatives for children, pregnant women, older adults, and individuals with disabilities. Outside of state government, Zalkovsky worked as a health care consultant and in the nonprofit sector, focusing on housing and health policy. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Government and English and a Master of Public Affairs from the University of Texas at Austin.

Seth Gold is the Executive Director of Medicaid at the Louisiana Department of Health, leading the state’s Medicaid program and overseeing policy, operations, and strategic direction for health care services serving low-income and vulnerable populations. Previously, Seth served as a senior health policy advisor in both the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, where he led major Medicaid, long-term care, and substance use disorder legislative initiatives, including bipartisan reforms and large-scale program modernization efforts. Seth holds a Master of Public Health and a Bachelor of Science in Public Health from The George Washington University.

Amir Bassiri is the Medicaid Director for the New York State Department of Health (the Department). He joined the Department in 2019 as Chief of Staff to the Medicaid Director and subsequently served as the Deputy Medicaid Director. As Medicaid Director, Mr. Bassiri is responsible for policy direction, day-to-day strategy, operations, and management for all New York State public health insurance programs, including the Medicaid and Child Health Plus programs, which provide health coverage to approximately half of New Yorkers. Mr. Bassiri also oversees the operation and performance of nine Medicaid Divisions comprised of more than 1,000 State staff, over 300 contracted staff, as well as the management of over 300 contracts, including some of the State’s largest technology, actuarial, and financial contracts. Prior to his work with the Department, he worked as a Senior Policy Advisor for Health in the Governor’s Office under the Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services. Mr. Bassiri earned his B.A. in both Economics and Psychology from the University of California, Davis, before earning a Master’s in Social Work (M.S.W) from Columbia University.

As Assistant Commissioner for the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services (DMAHS) in New Jersey’s Department of Human Services, Gregory Woods leads New Jersey’s Medicaid program and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which together are known as NJ FamilyCare. NJ FamilyCare provides healthcare coverage for nearly two million New Jerseyans – including children, people with disabilities, and low-income adults of all ages – with state and federal funding of about $25 billion.

Prior to becoming Medicaid Director in New Jersey, Greg spent five years leading policy and innovation work at DMAHS. Earlier in his career, Greg worked at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, the federal Department of Health and Human Services, for a health policy consulting firm, and for a non-profit focused on behavioral health issues. He has a Master’s in Public Affairs from Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs, and a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University.

Gary is the Director of Medicaid for the Department of Human Services, Government of the Virgin Islands. He coordinates, leads, and trains staff in the compliance of federal guidelines; creates relationships with providers and vendors to ensure access to medical care for the most vulnerable population. Gary also served as the Project Director, Ryan White Part B/ADAP and HIV Prevention Programs, Department of Health, and brought that program into compliance and generated a revenue stream with a PBM. Gary way managing Director, Insurance Brokerage Firm, Aon Corporation, Virgin Islands office. Gary is a 2020 Fellow of the Medicaid Leadership Institute.