NAMD Staff

Kate McEvoy became Executive Director of NAMD in January 2023. In this role, she will work with the Board of Directors to establish a post-pandemic vision for the association and to continue to support and elevate the interests, perspective, and voices of Medicaid Directors from every state and territory in United States as well as the millions of Americans served by the program.

At Kate’s former position, she led the Milbank Memorial Fund’s work in support of state executive branch staff and policymakers, and also guides its work on healthy aging. Prior to joining Milbank, she was the Director of Health Services for Connecticut’s Department of Social Services, where she oversaw delivery and payment reform for Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and long-term services and supports. During this time, she served as president and vice president of NAMD’s Board of Directors. Previous to her service as a Medicaid Director, she contributed to state health reform efforts in the Office of the State Comptroller, which oversees state employee benefits.

An elder law attorney by training, Kate’s early career was dedicated to working with and for older adults and people with disabilities at the Connecticut Association of Area Agencies on Aging. She also served as a past chair of the Elder Law Section of the Connecticut Bar Association and on the Steering Committee of the Reforming States Group. Kate holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Connecticut School of Law and a B.A. in English and Economics from Oberlin College.

Dianne Hasselman joined NAMD as the Deputy Executive Director in February 2017. In this position, she supports the Executive Director’s strategic leadership and member and public relations. She is responsible for the organization’s programmatic performance in the areas of leadership, communications, and events.

Before joining NAMD, Dianne led multi-stakeholder initiatives for regional health collaboratives at the Network for Regional Healthcare Improvement. Prior to that she led technical assistance programs for state Medicaid agencies at the Center for Health Care Strategies.

Dianne has a Master in the Science of Public Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a B.A. from the University of California at San Diego.

Lindsey Browning joined the National Association of Medicaid Directors in May 2014. In her role as program director, she leads various grant-funded projects to support Medicaid Directors and their senior staff in navigating the Medicaid program’s most pressing policy issues. These projects focus on issues ranging from delivery system and payment reform to behavioral health integration and Medicaid managed care.

Before coming to NAMD, Lindsey worked at the Children’s Hospital Association where she conducted research and analysis on state policy trends in Medicaid and CHIP. She also supported the association’s work to analyze and respond to regulations implementing the Affordable Care Act.

Lindsey received her Master of Public Policy from George Mason University and graduated from McDaniel College with a Bachelor of Arts in political science and international studies.

Jack Rollins joined NAMD in April 2014. He is responsible for the association’s policy work, including analysis of legislation and regulations impacting the Medicaid program, convening Medicaid Directors and their staffs to identify and build consensus around policy objectives, and articulating members’ consensus positions via comment letters and other communications to federal policymakers and Medicaid stakeholders. In his time at NAMD, Jack has focused specifically on the areas of Medicaid prescription drug coverage, managed care, and long-term services and supports.

Prior to joining NAMD, Jack interned at a safety net hospital association, a small lobbying firm specializing in healthcare issues, and performed policy work for a nonprofit organization of women state legislators.

Jack received an Masters of Public Health focused on health policy from the George Washington University and a B.A. in philosophy and government from the College of William and Mary.

Karen Seaver Hill joined NAMD as Director of Leadership Development in September 2021. As Director, she is responsible for design and delivery of a suite of programming for Medicaid Directors, their senior teams and mid-level staff to strengthen their competency and impact as leaders.

For the past 20 years, Karen worked at the Children’s Hospital Association (and its predecessor organization, NACHRI) managing a portfolio spanning population health management and community health initiatives, designed to improve health outcomes and child wellbeing. She spent another 8 years at the Children’s Defense Fund engaged in issue-based advocacy, development and educational programming.

Karen earned a B.A. from Boston College and credits a post-baccalaureate experience in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps with truly activating her political science degree.

Tess Moore joined NAMD as the Operations Director in July 2011. In this position, she manages the day-to-day operations of the office including meeting planning, budgeting, invoicing, billing, office management, website, newsletter distribution, and personnel. Tess is also responsible for the NAMD Alumni members.

Prior to joining NAMD, Tess spent 20 years working as the executive assistant to the executive director of the National Governors Association (NGA). Before working at NGA, she worked in a governor’s office, both in their Washington, DC office and the state office.

Michele Ames is the first Director of Communications for the National Association of Medicaid Directors. In her role, she provides support to Medicaid communicators across 56 Medicaid programs in all 50 states, the territories and the District of Columbia. In addition, she leads association efforts to lift the value of Medicaid and a deeper understanding of the program.

Prior to joining NAMD, Michele provided communications support to a variety of public policy issues and political campaigns. She also worked as a print journalist covering the Colorado legislature.

Michele received her Master’s in Journalism from the University of Minnesota and graduated from Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio with a degree in English Literature.

Dawn-Cutler Tran joined NAMD in January 2019. In her role as Manager, Programs and Projects, she manages some of the Association’s infrastructure development projects, including procuring a new CRM platform and launching a new website in Spring 2022. Dawn also supports NAMD’s growing leadership development portfolio for state Medicaid leaders.

Before NAMD, Dawn worked for the Horatio Alger Association, administering scholarships and supporting partnerships and scholar services. She also currently volunteers on the Board of the Dream Project, a Virginia scholarship providing charity.

Dawn received a Dual Master’s degree from the University of Kent in Brussels in International Conflict and Security, and Virginia Tech in Public and International Affairs. She received a B.A. from Virginia Tech in Political science.

Hannah Maniates joined NAMD in August 2021 as a Policy Analyst. In this role, she supports NAMD’s federal policy efforts.

Prior to joining NAMD, Hannah worked on substance use policy for the City of Boston, served as a research assistant with the Bloomberg American Health Initiative, and interned with a Maryland state senator.

Hannah received a Master of Public Health with a concentration in Health Systems and Policy from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a B.A. in neuroscience and biology from Wesleyan University.

Neda joined NAMD in August 2021. In her role, she supports NAMD’s portfolio of state-to-state learning programs, including conducting research and analysis on emerging issues and trends, supporting the development of workshops and webinars, and developing issue briefs, blogs, and other written resources. She also collaborates with the NAMD team on content development for the Fall and Spring Conferences and supports other core association activities.

Before joining NAMD, Neda worked in Medicaid managed care consulting, supporting procurement, strategy, and implementation projects. She received her Master of Science in Public Health in health policy from Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor of Science in Political Science and Biology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Typhani joined NAMD April 2023. In her role she assists in managing the day-to-day operations in office, providing administrative support and assisting with member services. She also supports other core organization activities.

Prior to joining NAMD, Typhani has spent 10 years working in various customer service and member-based organization roles. She received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Management from Johnson C. Smith University located in Charlotte, NC.

Stephany joined NAMD in September 2023. In her role, she supports NAMD’s state-to-state learning programming efforts, through conducting research and analysis on emerging policy issues, developing written resources/communications that inform the membership regarding effective Medicaid program management strategies. Further, she also supports in delivering in-person/virtual programming that facilitate connection and learning among Medicaid leaders.

Prior to joining NAMD, Stephany was a UCLA Public Health Scholar through the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Public Health Scholars Program (CUPS), worked as a Public Health Research Fellow for the Alliance of Citizen Engagement creating policy briefs examining emerging public health issues/trends. She also served as a Community Organizing intern, for La Defensa (a non-profit organization in LA county) assisting in the development of policy recommendations that supported the investment in community-based services.

Stephany received a B.A in Sociology with a concentration in Latin American, Latinx, and Caribbean studies from the College of the Holy Cross.