WellSense executive team and Board of Trustees

Heather Thiltgen, President

Heather leads and directs the overall financial and administrative operations of WellSense. She works closely with state and federal government entities, regulatory groups, healthcare providers and other external agencies to address the medical and social needs of our membership. Previously, Heather served as Senior Vice President of Strategic Markets for Medical Mutual of Ohio, one of the state’s oldest and largest health insurers. In that role, she oversaw all product lines, which drove more than $1.2 billion in annualized premiums. In addition, Heather launched the company’s Medicare Advantage program in 2016, the largest new plan entrant nationwide that year. Previous to that, she held senior leadership positions at CUNA Mutual Group, United Services Automobile Association, and the M/A/R/C® Group. Heather received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Texas at Austin, and her Master of Business Administration from Vanderbilt University.

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Serina Barkley, Chief Legal Officer

Serina joined as Chief Legal Officer for WellSense in March 2023. Serina was previously at Point32Health (previously Tufts Health Plan) where she specialized in government-sponsored managed-health programs, worked with ACO partners and designed and implemented managed care plans. Prior to her time at Point32Health, she represented physicians and other licensed professionals at Collora, LLP. Serina started her career at the New York County District Attorney’s office. 

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Craig Bennett, Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer

Craig provides leadership for Boston Medical Center Health Systems' enterprise-wide Compliance program that includes oversight for privacy, billing, pharmacy 340B, and research and conflict of interest oversight for Boston Medical Center, WellSense Health Plan, and Boston University Medical Group. Prior to joining, Craig served as Vice President, Chief Compliance and Privacy Officer at Lahey Health System, a nonprofit, integrated healthcare delivery system. Craig also served as Director of Corporate Compliance at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Director of Compliance and Privacy Officer at Boston Children’s Hospital, both nonprofit teaching and research hospitals. Additionally, he is a senior lecturer at Northeastern University in Boston and teaches courses in healthcare policy and health law.

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Jim Collins, Chief Financial Officer

Jim joined WellSense as Chief Financial Officer in December 2019. Previously, Jim was Chief Financial Officer at DentaQuest/Delta Dental of Massachusetts for eight years where he was in charge of finance, corporate strategy, and data analytics. In addition, Jim brings more than 20 years of financial management experience in insurance and financial services with prior roles including Vice President, Financial Analysis and Management Reporting at Sun Life Financial and Vice President, Office of the Chief Executive at John Hancock Financial Services. Jim is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and received his Bachelor of Arts from Dartmouth College.

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Diana (Dee) Cruz, Chief Operating Officer

Dee joined WellSense in 2021 as the Chief Operating Officer. Dee is responsible for improving end-to-end operational processes that drive a better member experience. Prior to joining WellSense, Dee initiated the Office of Consumer Obsession at Cambia Health Solutions, where she employed human-centered design/lean methods and sponsored enterprise programs focused on reducing consumer effort and healthcare costs for members. As Vice President of Operations at Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield, Dee oversaw improved automation and data science-enabled payment-integrity programs focused on reducing provider and member abrasion. Dee has also held leadership roles at Cigna, in finance, operations, network architecture, and operating effectiveness. Dee received her bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Stanford University and is a Six Sigma Black Belt.

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Howard Lu, MD, Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Howard Lu joined WellSense in 2022 as Chief Medical Officer where he provides leadership and clinical oversight to maintain the highest levels of service for our members. He focuses on managing care utilization levels and increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the care teams. Howard has more than 20 years of experience as a physician and a healthcare executive that includes developing value-based programs and technology solutions to improve quality while decreasing cost. He previously served in positions at Health Partners Plans, Horizon NJ Health and University Medical Center at Princeton. He earned his MD from Thomas Jefferson University, MBA from Rutgers and MPH from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.
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Board of Trustees

  • Alastair Bell, MD, President and Interim CEO, Boston Medical Center Health System
  • James Blue, President, Alera Group
  • Amanda Eisel, CEO, Zelis
  • Christopher Gordon, Managing Director, Bain Capital
  • Susan Levine, Managing Director, Bain Capital
  • Paul Mendis, MD, Former CMO, Neighborhood Health Plan
  • Neela Montgomery, Board Partner, Greycroft
  • Jeffrey Schwartz, Managing Director, Bain Capital
  • Robert Sweet, Jr., Retired Partner, Foley Hoag
  • Mark Taber, Managing Partner, Great Hill Partners
  • Heather Thiltgen, President, WellSense Health Plan
  • Tarsha Weaver, COO, Codman Square Health Center