Dr. Caroline Blaum, MD, MS

Dr. Caroline S. Blaum joined NCQA from NYU Langone Health, where she was the Diane and Arthur Belfer Professor of Geriatric Medicine and Director of the Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Care. At NYU, Dr. Blaum maintained an active clinical practice and supervised clinical education for medical trainees in geriatrics and palliative care. She led a program in translational research that was supported by the NIA, AHRQ, PCORI and The John A Hartford Foundation concerning models of care for vulnerable populations, multiple chronic conditions, frailty and diabetes in older adults. Prior to NYU, Dr. Blaum was Professor and Assistant Dean for Population Health at the University of Michigan Health System. Dr. Blaum has been active in national policy work related to delivery system redesign and quality of care for older adults and people with multiple chronic conditions and has worked with the American Geriatrics Society, the AMA PCPI and NQF.

Dr. Bryan Buckley, DrPH, MPH

Bryan O. Buckley, DrPH, MPH, is a health equity-focused and systems-oriented leader in health delivery system redesign, performance improvement, and change management. Currently, Dr. Buckley is the Director for Health Equity Initiatives at the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), where he supports NCQA’s Health Equity strategy across multiple departments to better integrate health equity concepts into existing programs and projects. Before NCQA, Dr. Buckley was a Research Fellow with Medstar Health’s Institute for Quality and Safety (MIQS), where he led and supported healthcare delivery research, education, and consulting related to community health, patient safety, and quality. Dr. Buckley serves as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Georgetown University School of Medicine, where he teaches, coaches, supports, and supervises graduate students at the School of Medicine and Biomedical Graduate Education.

Dr. Buckley holds a Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, focused on management, strategy, leadership, and organizational change. In addition to his DrPH, he holds a Bachelor of Science degree (BS) in Microbiology from Michigan State University and a Master of Public Health (MPH) with a concentration in Infectious Diseases and Administration from Michigan State University’s College of Human Medicine. As a member of the American Public Health Association, he serves as an Executive Board Member and Immediate Past Chair of the Community Health Planning & Policy Development (CHPPD) section. Locally he serves as a Board Member of the American Heart Association (AHA) Greater Washington Region and Food & Friends.

Dr. Adrianna Nava, PhD, MPA, MSN, RN, NAHN

Adrianna Nava PhD, MPA, MSN, RN is a Research Scientist at the National Committee for Quality Assurance. Dr. Nava serves the Latino community as President (2021-2024) of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses (NAHN). In this role, she is focused on building the leadership capacity of nurses, with a focus on Latino nurses-who continue to be underrepresented in health care leadership positions across the country. Dr. Nava also serves our nation’s Veterans as the Chief Nurse of Quality and Systems Improvement at the Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital. Dr. Nava has a MPA’20 from Harvard University; PhD’19 in Nursing and Health Policy from the University of Massachusetts Boston; a MSN’12 in Health Leadership with a health policy focus from the University of Pennsylvania; and a BSN’09 from Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing. She completed a pre-doctoral VA Quality Scholarship (VAQS) fellowship at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice in 2019 and the U.S. Latino Leadership Fellowship from Harvard Kennedy School in 2020. Her professional interests include: health equity, access to primary care and workforce development. For her leadership in advancing Veteran and Latino Health, Dr. Nava has been awarded the 2021 Latina Style Leadership Award; the 2020 U.S. Latino Leadership Fellowship from Harvard Kennedy School; the 2020 Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) Award for Excellence in Nursing; the 2017 Outstanding Alumni-Excellence in Leadership Award from OSF Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing; the 2017 NAHN’s 40 under 40 Recognition Award; the 2016-2018 PhD Jonas Nurse Leader Scholar Award; the 2014 Community Education Service Award from AARP-IL; and the 2011 VA Going the Extra Mile Service Award.

David White, Patient Advocate

I heard the words "your kidneys are no longer working" after an emergency room visit in 2009, and I was not prepared to accept that news. My first six months as a dialysis patient were challenging at best and, at times, perilous. I was fortunate to have a loving family and support system that did not give up on me when I tried to give up on myself.

A care plan meeting in 2010 changed my attitude and my outlook. My care team used shared decision-making and root-cause analysis techniques to develop a plan of care that has enabled me to pursue the achievement of my full potential as a human being and as a person living with a serious illness. Most importantly, I was told in no uncertain terms that I had to own my plan of care for it to work. Thankfully, I listened, took charge of my health, and eventually thrived on dialysis before receiving a kidney transplant from a deceased donor in 2015. I serve or have served in leadership roles in the American Association of Kidney Patients, the Kidney Health Initiative, the Patient Advocate Foundation, Quality Insights Renal Network 5, and the Veterans Transplantation Association. I chair the Kidney Health Initiative Patient and Family Partnership Council, am a past chair of PCORI's Advisory Panel on Patient Engagement and Quality Insights Renal Network 5's Patient Advisory Council, and am an inaugural member of the FDA Patient Engagement Collaborative, an advancement in the FDA's efforts to strengthen its relationship with patient communities. Most importantly, I recently celebrated the sixth anniversary of my kidney transplant.

I believe that the best way to reduce disparities in health outcomes is to empower communities to take collective responsibility for improving their own well-being.