BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Guiding a Vision for Maryland’s Health

The Maryland Health Benefit Exchange is a public corporation and independent unit of state government.

MHBE has a nine-member Board of Trustees that includes the secretary of the Maryland Department of Health, the commissioner of the Maryland Insurance Administration, and the executive director of the Maryland Health Care Commission. Three members who represent employer and individual consumer interests and three additional board members are appointed by the governor.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Guiding a Vision for Maryland’s Health

The Maryland Health Benefit Exchange is a public corporation and independent unit of state government.

Board of Trustees

Dennis Schrader

Secretary, Maryland Department of Health

Dennis Schrader

Dennis Schrader, chair of the board, is the chief operating officer and Medicaid director of the Maryland Department of Health. Schrader has served the public his entire life, with a focus on successfully building hospital facilities on time and within budget and managing complex national security logistics assignments.

S. Anthony (Tony) McCann

Faculty of the University of Maryland School of Public Policy

S. Anthony (Tony) McCann is on the faculty of the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, where he teaches courses on leadership and management, policy implementation through networks and public budgeting. He also serves on the faculty of the Liberal Studies Program at Georgetown University. His most recent governmental appointment was as chief financial officer for the Health Resources and Services Administration, an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Rondall Allen

Dean and professor, University of Maryland Eastern Shore School of Pharmacy and Health Professions

As dean of the School of Pharmacy and Health Professions, Rondall Allen serves as the chief academic and administrative officer for four departments: kinesiology, physical therapy, physician assistant, and rehabilitation services. His primary responsibilities as dean include articulating the school’s vision and mission, and overseeing the school’s strategic plan. Prior to his role at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Allen was an associate professor and associate dean for academic quality in the School of Pharmacy at South University in Savannah, Ga.

Kathleen A. Birrane

Commissioner, Maryland Insurance Administration

Kathleen A. Birrane was appointed Maryland insurance commissioner by Gov. Larry Hogan in May 2020. Prior to her appointment as commissioner, Birrane was chair of the Governance and Nominations Committee for the University of Maryland Medical Center Board of Directors. She also worked as an attorney with the global law firm DLA Piper, where her practice focused on insurance and reinsurance transactions, regulatory compliance and related litigation.

Robert D’Antonio

Chief Executive Officer, Circadian Management Corp

Robert D’Antonio is chief executive officer of the Circadian Management Corp., a health care management professional services firm. He also served as executive vice president of the Clinical Performance Enhancement Center for the National Coalition on Health and held various other senior-level positions throughout his career.

Mary Jean Herron

Consultant, Wilmax Consulting

Mary Jean Herron is a consultant for C-level executives as a part of Wilmax Consulting. The firm provides business strategy, risk assessment, and executive coaching to nonprofits and midsize companies. Ms. Herron is an active member of the community, currently serving on boards for several local nonprofits, including Y of Central Maryland and Maryland SPCA. She also participates in state commissions and community organizations.

Ben Steffen

Executive Director, Maryland Health Care Commission

Ben Steffen serves as the executive director of the Maryland Health Care Commission (MHCC) as well as the director of the commission’s Center for Information Services and Analysis. He is responsible for commission programs in hospital and long-term care services, health coverage in the small group market, and health information technology. Steffen serves as a spokesperson for the MHCC pertaining to insurance coverage, state health care expenditures, physician workforce, physician uncompensated care, and information security.

K. Singh Taneja

Chief Operating Officer, St. Elizabeth’s Hospital

K. Singh Taneja is chief operating officer of St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, a publicly funded psychiatric hospital in Washington, D.C. Prior to that, he served as chief operating officer of Prince George’s Hospital Center and held other senior leadership positions at Dimensions Healthcare System. He is an effective professional executive with more than 35 years of senior level experience in healthcare – for-profit, not-for-profit, public, and university-owned or affiliated trauma centers.

Dana Weckesser

Founder and CEO, Global Health Partnerships Consulting

Dana Weckesser is founder and CEO of Global Health Partnerships Consulting in Baltimore. She is an executive manager with 30 years professional multicultural experience including global health, external relations, fundraising and grant-making for nonprofit health and business sectors. She is an entrepreneurial team player who shows repeated success in brokering cross-functional partnerships between and among the private, public, multilateral, and nonprofit sectors and creating cause-related marketing campaigns.

Board Meetings

The Maryland Health Benefit Exchange Board of Trustees meets monthly, or more often as needed. The meetings are conducted in an open forum pursuant to Maryland’s Open Meetings Act. All meeting agendas, materials and minutes are available to the public through this website. Register to address the board during the public comment portion of a meeting.

Upcoming Board Meeting Dates