Senior leaders

Arnold works to collaborate with enterprise call centers, population health, and behavioral health staff to ensure health plan requirements and cultural competencies are met, and that the member’s voice is included as part of the feedback loop to enhance member satisfaction with plan support. He is also responsible for member communications and materials, including member education, member advocacy, support for enrollment and eligibility functions, health education, analysis of action plan disenrollment rates, grievance tracking and reporting, and member satisfaction.

Prior to joining AmeriHealth Caritas Ohio, Carter worked for another Ohio Medicaid managed care organization as Senior SIU Investigator and Program Integrity Officer. She has also been a Special Agent for the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, working as a lead investigator in the Intelligence Unit.

After her 16 years with the state, Carter served for three years as an employment law investigator for a private law firm. She also held the position of Operations Manager at a local transportation company.

Carter is a Certified Professional Coder (CPC) and an Accredited Health Care Fraud Investigator (AHFI). Carter studied Criminal Justice and Organizational Communications at Capital University.

Chisholm previously worked at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center as a Clinical Case Manager in the Psychiatric Emergency Services department. She has worked with two county agencies in the state providing crisis intervention services. While at OSU Wexner Medical Center, Chisholm also provided supervision in her appointed role as Instructor ― Practice for Psychiatry and BH through the College of Medicine at The Ohio State University.

Chisholm holds a master’s degree in social work and is a licensed independent social worker with supervisory distinction within the state of Ohio.

Clutter has most recently served as Deputy Director at the Ohio Department of Aging, where she directed and coordinated home- and community-based initiatives, programs, and services to support the health and well-being of at-risk older Ohioans and caregivers. Clutter holds a Master of Science in clinical nutrition, is a registered dietitian nutritionist, and serves on the State Medical Board of Ohio’s Dietetic Advisory Council.

Daggett will not only help her team focus on building a robust, accessible network, but also play a significant role in our health value optimization process.

Davis has multiple years of experience working in community mental health and managed care serving individuals with both mental health and substance use needs. She is a licensed independent social worker with supervisory designation and received her Master of Social Work from The Ohio State University.

Davis joined AmeriHealth Caritas Ohio in November of 2022 after holding several key senior leadership roles in state health and human services agencies. She holds a master’s degree in wellness management and is a registered dietitian nutritionist.

Friesen has over 13 years of experience in healthcare and over seven years of experience in healthcare compliance. Prior to joining AmeriHealth Caritas Ohio, she served as the Midwest Clinical Compliance Manager for a large-scale outpatient behavioral health company, overseeing four states in behavioral health compliance. In addition, Friesen has extensive experience with home health and skilled nursing compliance via managed care.

Friesen holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a healthcare focus.

Most recently, Dr. Greco served as Vice Chair of Behavioral Health at OSUWMC, where she was responsible for overseeing behavioral health services and training in integrated primary care and specialty care clinics, in addition to establishing and directing OSU’s Interdisciplinary Pain Clinic and Immigrant-Refugee Health Clinic.

Dr. Greco earned a doctorate in clinical psychology from West Virginia University and completed her residency in clinical health psychology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

In his 25 years of health care leadership, Grippi has held positions including Chief Operating Officer, Regional Director, and Director of Network and Sales at several leading managed care organizations, and he spent nearly a decade in the long-term care industry as a nursing home executive director. He remains committed to improving outcomes by reducing administrative burden and focusing on culturally relevant health care delivery models.

Grippi earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and history from Heidelberg University.

Prior to joining AmeriHealth Caritas Ohio, Heitkamp served as Director, Financial Systems and Reporting for another Ohio Medicaid managed care organization. She is a finance leader with over 15 years of finance and health care experience. She also has 10 years of expertise in government health insurance programs, including Medicaid, Medicare, and Marketplace products.

Heitkamp has worked in two large Ohio hospital systems, in roles that included decision support, business analytics, and cost analysis.

She earned a Master of Public Administration from University of Dayton and holds a Bachelor of Science in business management.

Most recently, Lyons worked with a leading managed care organization as director of its Social Determinants of Health Innovation Center. Prior to that, she served as Health Equity Program Manager at Columbus Public Health, where she designed and implemented education and training for health and social service providers to address disparate birth outcomes for African American/Black mothers and improve the delivery of maternal healthcare services.

During Lyons’ 16 years with Nationwide Children’s Hospital, she held positions such as Executive Director of Prevent Child Abuse Ohio, where she was responsible for the statewide child abuse prevention campaign Pinwheels for Prevention, and led the community-based Behavior Health Services team, providing 24-hour crisis management focused on reducing hospitalization and increasing family stability and safety.

Lyons earned a Bachelor of Arts in rehabilitation counseling from Wilberforce University, a Master of Social Work from The Ohio State University, and a doctorate in public health from Walden University. She serves as an active and immediate past president for the National Association of Black Social Workers’ Columbus, Ohio, chapter. She is a member of the American Public Health Association and an active member and past president of the College of Social Work Alumni Society at The Ohio State University.

Lyons led the development of the Commission on Black Girls and was the lead author of the inaugural Report on the Quality of Life of Black Girls in Columbus, Ohio, envisioned by retired Columbus City Councilmember Priscilla R. Tyson. Lyons is a 2021 Hall of Fame inductee of the College of Social Work at The Ohio State University.

Dr. Madden’s work also includes dental consulting in community health settings, including Hamilton County Public Health, where he developed a countywide strategic dental plan.

Dr. Madden’s achievements span 25 years as a private dental practitioner and 14 years of local and international dental mission work. He earned his Bachelor of Science from the University of Notre Dame and his Doctor of Dental Surgery at The Ohio State University.

She has 16 years of Medicaid managed care experience in the Ohio market. She previously served as the Manager of Provider Network for another managed care plan. McConnell also has experience in healthcare reporting, claims, call center, and project management, and she has helped to implement several key Ohio Medicaid programs and initiatives. McConnell achieved her project management professional certificate in February of 2018.

She has a passion for volunteering and logged many hours volunteering her time to organizations that help support our mission and vision, including the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) Family Center, Furniture Bank of Central Ohio, Mid-Ohio Food Bank, and Children’s Hunger Alliance.

Peterson has a passion for assisting people and communities that are often underserved so that they can have their needs met and reach their goals. She is a member of the Ohio Military Reserve and has been on state active duty serving the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic to make sure the most vulnerable citizens of Ohio are being taken care of, tested, and vaccinated.

Peterson is a registered nurse and a certified national healthcare disaster professional. She has a master’s degree in nursing leadership and management.

Phillips has a passion for process improvement and driving innovation in healthcare. She holds two bachelor’s degrees in business administration and human resource leadership and an MBA with a concentration in healthcare.

Skaggs is responsible for collaborating with multiple departments within AmeriHealth Caritas Ohio to provide high quality support and oversight to enrollees 0 – 20 years of age who are eligible for EPSDT services. She also serves as a resource for our providers who are delivering these most important services to our members.

Prior to joining AmeriHealth Caritas, Skaggs worked in the maternal child space as a front-line caregiver, providing service coordination, and as a manager. Her entire 33 years of professional work have been dedicated to the care of women, children, and infants.

Skaggs earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Chamberlain University and is certified by the Commission for Case Management as a CCM.

Prior to joining AmeriHealth Caritas Ohio, Dr. Spalding served as the Vice President of Population Health and Director for the Center of Pediatric Rheumatology at Akron Children’s Hospital. He has also served as Chief Medical Officer at Phoenix Children’s Hospital and Medical Director for Enterprise Analytics and Business Intelligence at Cleveland Clinic.

Dr. Spalding earned his medical degree from the Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine and completed his categorical pediatric residency and fellowship in pediatric rheumatology at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.

He serves as a board member for Countryside Food and Farms and is an assistant professor of pediatrics at Northeastern Ohio Medical University.

Stearns has worked in the health care field for over 11 years. He is driven by integrity, hard work, and commitment, and he takes pride in creating a positive experience for our members, with the goal of providing value and personalizing the right communication to the right people, at the right time.

Prior to joining AmeriHealth Caritas Ohio, Stearns served as a member advocate for a major health plan in Columbus.

Stearns earned a Bachelor of Arts in communications from the University of Cincinnati and a Bachelor of Arts in social media design from Franklin University. He also serves as a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., a national Black fraternity focused on achievement in every field of human endeavor.

Vickers has more than 18 years of experience in managed care, including eight years in the Ohio Medicaid market, and has expansive knowledge of health plan operations, network development, contract negotiations, and provider and member relations. He has worked with numerous Fortune 500 managed care organizations during his career.

Prior to joining AmeriHealth Caritas Ohio, Vickers served as Director of Health Plan Operations, Regional Director of National Vendor Contracting, Director of Reimbursement, and Director of Provider Contracting for multiple managed care organizations.

Vickers earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in management information systems and a Masters of Business Administration from Marshall University, home of the Thundering Herd.

Prior to joining AmeriHealth Caritas Ohio, Walters was Manager of Provider Services at another managed care organization. He is a people-focused and results-oriented leader. He is also known for his superior relationship-building, strong communication skills, training, issue resolution skills, and collaboration, which makes him a perfect fit to work with our providers to empower those in need, especially the underserved and the disabled, across their full life journey.

Woodard worked as a clinical registered nurse for four years before moving into managed care. She has been a certified professional in healthcare quality for six years.

Woodard earned a Bachelor of Science in nursing from Youngstown State University. She received a dual master’s degree from the University of Phoenix: a Master of Business Administration in health care management and a Master of Science in nursing.