James
M. Mead, Managing Director
Michael J. Merenda
Barbi J. Rogonia, RN
Our Team Bios
James M. Mead, Managing Director
James M. Mead, Managing Director, established the firm in 2004
following a career of over thirty years with Capital BlueCross (Harrisburg,
PA), having served as President and CEO of Capital BlueCross for the last
twenty of those years. He currently continues on the board of
directors of Capital BlueCross, serving as Vice Chairman since 2009. From 1988 to 2004, he was a member of the
board of directors of the BlueCross BlueShield Association (Chicago, IL).
Mr. Mead is a Venture Partner with Radius Ventures, LLC (New
York, NY), a private equity firm focused on leading edge health services and
life science investments. He also serves on the boards of directors of several
health services and related companies including PinnacleCare International (Baltimore, Maryland), Management Health
Solutions, Inc. (Fairfield, CT), and Inpatient Medical Services (Fairlawn, OH). He is a trustee and Secretary/Treasurer of
the International Life Sciences Institute-North America (Washington, DC)
Mr. Mead is a member of the board of directors of The Hershey
Company (Hershey, PA). In addition, he
is a member of the board and chairman of the Trust Administration and
Investment Committee of the Hershey Trust Company (Hershey, PA), which manages
the $10 billion trust established by Milton S. Hershey for the benefit of the Milton Hershey School. He is also
a member of the Board of Managers of the School.
Early in his career, Mr. Mead served as a member of the faculty
of the Pennsylvania State University and a research economist for the
Pennsylvania Insurance Department. He is
also a former member of the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of
Philadelphia serving as its Chairman from 1994 to 1996.
Mr. Mead holds BS and MA degrees in economics from the Penn
State University, and was appointed an Alumni Fellow of the University in 1986.
Michael J. Merenda
Michael J.
Merenda is an affiliate of the firm. He
has had a varied career in the fields of corporate law, healthcare and
insurance.
Most recently, Mr. Merenda served as Chief
Executive Officer and President of Geneia, LLC, a healthcare innovations
company specializing in the development and deployment of clinical, analytic, and technical solutions for healthcare. At Geneia, he oversaw a staff of
nearly 200 seasoned professionals including 100 physicians and nurses with
significant experience in many aspects of healthcare.
Prior to his tenure at Geneia, Mr. Merenda
served as Executive Vice President of Strategy for Capital BlueCross
(Harrisburg, PA), a not-for-profit health plan with approximately 2,000
employees. In nearly 20 years with Capital, he served in various capacities.
This included service for a time as the company’s regulatory liaison with the
Pennsylvania Departments of Health and Insurance, and then as General Counsel,
Corporate Secretary and head of the Corporate and Medicare compliance office.
Following passage of the Affordable Care Act, he was charged with overall
responsibility for the company’s implementation and compliance efforts in
connection with the new law.
Prior to joining Capital BlueCross, Mr.
Merenda was a partner in the corporate department of the New York City law firm
of Breed Abbott & Morgan, where he represented a number of domestic and
international companies in connection with mergers and acquisitions, securities, and commercial law matters.
Mr. Merenda is a graduate of Dartmouth College
and Harvard Law School.
Barbi J. Rogonia, RN
Barbi
J. Rogonia, RN is the Research and Administrative Coordinator for the
firm.
Ms.
Rogonia received her clinical training at Vassar Brothers Hospital,
Poughkeepsie, NY and Hudson River Psychiatric Center both in Poughkeepsie,
NY. After one year of clinical
experience in the emergency department, Ms. Rogonia became involved in practice
management working directly with the Chairman of the Pegasus Emergency Medicine
Group, Putnam Hospital Center, Carmel, New York. While at Pegasus, her duties ranged use of the
Emergisoft electronic medical records system to assessing patient satisfaction
and developing recommendations to maintain and improve Press Ganey scores. Prior to leaving the position, she was
responsible for physician credentialing, orientation, and training of new
providers, internal statistical reporting, and chart documentation to ensure
compliance to JCAHO. While maintaining
her full-time position, she assisted in the start-up of a new internet
telemedicine service, SwiftMD. Ms.
Rogonia has served as a Registered Nurse at St. Vincent’s Hospital (Westchester,
NY), a Division of St. Joseph’s Medical Center and Montefiore Medical Center
(Bronx, NY). Her interests include new
approaches to wellness and the application of new technologies to improve the
quality and cost effectiveness of patient care.
Ms.
Rogonia began her career in nursing as a Certified Licensed Practical Nurse
receiving her certification from Boces Technical Center, Yorktown Heights,
NY. She subsequently received her
Associate of Science Degree in Nursing from Dutchess Community College and a
Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing from Penn State University. She is a licensed Registered Nurse in the
state of New York.
