Melisa Byrd is the Senior Deputy Director / Medicaid Director of the Department of Health Care Finance (DHCF). Throughout her career, Byrd has demonstrated strong leadership in public health administration, health care reform implementation, and program management across multiple states. In her current position, she advises on major policy and budget issues related to DHCF’s health care programs, leveraging her comprehensive background in both public and private health care sectors.

Melisa brings extensive health care policy expertise developed through her roles at the National Governors Association, as Policy Advisor to Louisiana’s Department of Health where she led insurance expansion efforts and post-hurricane health care rebuilding efforts, and as a Senior Consultant with Health Management Associates.

Melisa also currently serves as the President of the Board of Directors for the National Association of Medicaid Directors. She has been a member of the Board since 2022.

Tony Coleman, DHA, is Chief Executive Officer of Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center GW Health. He joins the CHRMC team from Broadlawns Medical Center where he served as President and CEO from 2021 until 2023.

Tony was born and raised in Southern California and enlisted in the U.S. Navy, serving onboard warships in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. After completing two full sea tours, Tony was commissioned as a Naval Officer. While in graduate school, Tony worked in a rural South Carolina hospital where he discovered his passion for eliminating health disparities among vulnerable populations.

Some highlights of his 20-year military career include Medical Administrative Officer onboard USS HARRY S. TRUMAN (CVN 75), Minesweeping Boatswain’s Mate onboard USS PIONEER (MCM 9) and USS ARDENT (MCM 12), earning the Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist designation, Surface Warfare Medical Department Officer qualification and the Executive Medicine additional qualifying designator. While in the military, Tony received a Secretary of Defense appointment to serve as a United States Senate Youth Program Military Mentor and served as Treasurer of the National Association of Health Services Executives (NAHSE), a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the advancement and development of African American healthcare leaders and to elevate the quality of healthcare services rendered to minority and underserved communities.

After being honorably discharged, Tony transitioned into the role of Vice President of Operations Support for Kaiser Permanente’s largest and fastest growing service area. In this role, he oversaw multiple departments in two medical centers and partnered with 1,100 Permanente physicians to provide care to over 653,000 covered lives. His leadership was instrumental in the 48-bed build out and expansion of Ontario Medical Center, as well as the construction of a brand new 55,000-square-foot medical office building designed to address growing social health needs and inequities in the high desert area.

In Tony’s previous role as President and CEO at Broadlawns Medical Center he created a 5-year strategic plan; oversaw the completion of several significant projects including the construction and opening of a Medical Office Building, growing volume in key areas such as surgical women services; and led various construction projects across the facility. Tony was also very active in the Iowa community, serving on local boards such as the Des Moines Symphony and Des Moines University.

Tony is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) and holds the dual distinction of being an Executive Development Program Fellow and Executive Diversity Scholar. He is also a Marshall Memorial Fellow (MMF) of the German Marshall Fund, a nonprofit organization designed to increase transatlantic cooperation.

Naseema Shafi (she/her) is the CEO of Whitman-Walker Health, one of the nation’s oldest LGBTQ health centers, where she works to implement the strategic vision, goals, and initiatives of the Board of Directors. She has held the CEO position since 2019 and leads and supports the growth and oversight of the health center with a focus on the provision of high-quality, affirming care that embraces the community and maintains the vitality of Whitman-Walker. Before her current role, Naseema first served as Chief Operating Officer and then Deputy Executive Director for Whitman-Walker. In addition, she has served as Director of Compliance, overseeing various matters related to corporate compliance and risk management. She joined Whitman-Walker in 2007.

Naseema holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland, College Park and a law degree from the University of Maryland School of Law. She is a member of the Maryland State Bar. In 2016, Shafi was honored as a Minority Business Leader by The Washington Business Journal. In 2024, Naseema was also recognized as one of the 2024 Washington Business Journal Women Who Mean Business.

She currently is a Board Member of The Center for Medicare Advocacy, the DC Primary Care Association, and the DC Connected Care Network. An adamant believer in the values of community, Naseema views her work as embracing the strategic opportunities that will improve the health and wellness of the communities Whitman-Walker Health serves with the affirming culture within the Whitman-Walker team.

LaQuandra S. Nesbitt, MD, MPH is a board-certified family physician with more than a decade of experience leading population health initiatives in governmental public health agencies. Most recently, she served as the director of DC Health and led the District’s COVID-19 pandemic response. In this role, she mobilized organizations and community to implement innovative solutions to promote health and wellness and achieve health equity. She also served as the interim director of the District’s Department of Behavioral Health. As a highly sought-after expert in population health and wellness, she has held leadership roles within major federal and local health care organizations, including the Centers for Disease Control, among others.

She earned a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from the University of Michigan, her Doctor of Medicine from Wayne State University School of Medicine, and a Master of Public Health in Health Care Management and Policy from the Harvard School of Public Health. She completed an internship in family medicine at the University Hospitals of Cleveland/Case Western Reserve University and served as chief resident in the family medicine residency at the University of Maryland and completed the Commonwealth Fund Harvard University Fellowship in Minority Health Policy.

“Throughout my career, I’ve been fortunate to serve patients and communities in a number of ways — as a clinician in the exam room, as an educator in the classroom and at community town halls, and as an advocate for health equity with key decision makers. Serving as the Inaugural Executive Director of the new Center for Population Health Sciences and Health Equity, affords me the opportunity to combine those experiences in new and exciting ways,” said Nesbitt. “I look forward to working with many colleagues and community members I have known throughout the years, in continued service to the residents of the District of Columbia and beyond to achieve better health and equity in the health care space.”