Leadership Team &
Board of Directors
You can learn more about each member of the Rocky Mountain Health Plans (RMHP) Leadership Team and Board of Directors below.
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RMHP Leadership Team
Steve ErkenBrack - President & Chief Executive Officer
Steve ErkenBrack currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Rocky Mountain Health Plans. Prior to assuming this position, he served as Vice President of Legal and Government Affairs for the organization since 2002.
For more than three decades, Mr. ErkenBrack worked as an attorney with an emphasis on health care, civil litigation, and government affairs. Mr. ErkenBrack maintained a private practice with offices in Grand Junction and Denver, and served six years as Mesa County’s elected District Attorney and four years as Colorado’s Chief Deputy Attorney General.
His significant legal and health care acumen has been recognized on a regional, statewide, and national basis. The Colorado legislature appointed Mr. ErkenBrack as the only health plan representative to serve on Colorado’s Blue Ribbon Commission for Health Care Reform. Mr. ErkenBrack currently is Chair of Club 20’s Health Care Committee, and in the past has served as Chairman of the Board of Law Examiners for the Colorado Supreme Court, President of the Colorado District Attorneys Council, and as a member of the Board of Governors of the Colorado Bar Association. He is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court.
Mr. ErkenBrack received his undergraduate education at the United States Naval Academy and Washington & Lee University, and his law degree from the University of Colorado.
Laurel Walters - Chief Operating Officer
Laurel Walters serves as the Rocky Mountain Health Plans (RMHP) Chief Operating Officer. In her role, she is responsible for overseeing all components of the organization's operational functions that include Customer Satisfaction, Professional Payment and Recoveries, Information Technology, Provider Relations, Quality Improvement, Pharmacy and Home Health.
Ms. Walters joined RMHP in 2001 as Director of Front Range Provider Administration. In that role, she brought more than 16 years of Colorado health plan experience to the organization. Previous positions include leadership roles in regulatory affairs, marketing, and service integration at PacifiCare Health Systems, TakeCare, FHP Health Care, and Comprecare.
Since joining RMHP, Ms. Walters has contributed to the expansion and growth of Rocky Mountain Health Plans on the Front Range. In addition to her responsibilities as COO, Ms. Walters chairs the RMHP Operational Excellence Implementation Team.
Pat Duncan - Chief Financial Officer
In 2002, Patrick Duncan, CPA joined Rocky Mountain Health Plans as the Director of Finance. In September 2003, he assumed the role of Chief Financial Officer (CFO). His previous experience includes management and administration of audit and transaction engagements; oversight, preparation, and distribution of financial, accounting, administrative reporting, compliance and risk management; and budgeting and forecasting at such companies as Coopers & Lybrand and Republic Resources, Inc.
Mr. Duncan received a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting in 1988 and has been a CPA since 1990.
Kevin R. Fitzgerald, M.D. - Chief Medical Officer
Kevin R. Fitzgerald, M.D. joined Rocky Mountain Health Plans as Chief Medical Officer, in 2009. In this role, Dr. Fitzgerald oversees all clinical programs and medical policies, while focusing on expanding the organization’s innovative programs in quality improvement, care management, and pharmacy utilization.
Dr. Fitzgerald has been a physician in Colorado since graduating from the University of Colorado School of Medicine in 1989. After completing his residency in Family Medicine at Mercy Hospital in Denver, he continued on as Chief Resident. He later joined a Family Medicine practice in the Denver area, where he practiced full time and part time for 15 years. He is a former medical director and Vice President of Utilization Management at Physician Health Partners, a large Denver-based physician-owned management group. In 2007, he assumed the position of Medical Director at United HealthCare.
Neil Waldron - Chief Marketing Officer and Vice President of Strategic Initiatives
Neil Waldron joined Rocky Mountain Health Plans in January of 2009. Serving as the Chief Marketing Officer and Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, Mr. Waldron is responsible for statewide Commercial sales and marketing and driving increases to membership and market share through strategic initiatives. As a highly regarded industry leader, Mr. Waldron brings to the organization an outstanding reputation for innovation and improvements to financial performance.
Mr. Waldron is the former President and CEO of Sloans Lake Managed Care, where he won acclaim for bringing the company to profitability after five years of losses and positioned Sloans Lake as an innovative health plan. More recently, he was national head of sales and marketing for Aetna’s small group and mid-sized divisions, as well as Senior Vice President at Great West HealthCare in charge of sales, underwriting, product development, and marketing.
Waldron began his career in the insurance industry with Metropolitan Life in New York in 1975, before assuming the position of Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for MassMutual in 1988. He has managed multi-million dollar budgets, supervised teams of hundreds of employees, improved relationships with brokers, Members and providers, and launched innovative, consumer-driven products focused on wellness and preventive care.
Mr. Waldron holds a B.A from Eisenhower College where he graduated magna cum laude.
Jan Rohr - Vice President, Human Resources and Corporate Services
Jan Rohr has been with Rocky Mountain Health Plans since October 1991 and is responsible for developing strategy and monitoring performance related to human resources, training and development, internal auditing, purchasing, and facilities management. Ms. Rohr began her career in 1973 in the life insurance industry and has been involved in all aspects of business operations related to policy and program development, implementation, and administration. She owned and operated her own small business for 10 years. She is an active community member and has served on a variety of non-profit boards and in many volunteer roles. Ms. Rohr is currently serving on the Horizon Drive Business Improvement District Board and is a volunteer for the Women's Foundation of Colorado. She has served in leadership roles on the boards of Western Colorado Human Resources Association, United Way of Mesa County, Marillac Clinic, and Colorado Performance Excellence.
Mike Huotari - Vice President, Legal and Government Affairs
Mike Huotari serves as the Vice President of Legal and Government Affairs for Rocky Mountain Health Plans. Mr. Huotari is a nationally recognized attorney, with nearly 30 years experience in health care business and law. Previous to his position with Rocky Mountain Health Plans, he served as Executive Director for the Colorado Association of Health Plans. Prior to that, he held the positions of Vice President and General Counsel for DMCare, Inc., a disease management company and as Executive Vice President and General Counsel for Blue Cross Blue Shield Plans and affiliated companies in Colorado, Nevada, and New Mexico. Additionally, he was in private practice of law in Denver, Colorado.
Mr. Huotari’s public service in Colorado included two years as Chairman of the Colorado Hospital Commission. He also served as an Assistant Attorney General representing the Colorado Department of Health. Mr. Huotari has served as a member of the board of directors of several health care companies and civic and charitable organizations. Mr. Huotari received a B.B.A. from the University of Michigan, School of Business Administration. He received his J.D. cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School.
Jim Swayze - President and Chief Executive Officer, CNIC Health Solutions, Inc.
Jim Swayze serves in the role of Vice President and General Manager of Rocky Mountain Health Plans Front Range operations, a position he has held since 2001. Additionally, in May of 2007, Mr. Swayze became the President and Chief Executive Officer of CNIC Health Solutions, Colorado’s largest third party administrator of employee benefit plans. He has served as a member of the CNIC Board of Directors since 2004, when CNIC became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rocky Mountain Health Plans.
With more than 20 years of self-funded and fully-insured health care experience in the Colorado marketplace, Mr. Swayze brings to RMHP and CNIC extensive leadership capabilities and the ability to develop strong and positive working relationships with employers, brokers, and providers.
Mr. Swayze holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Ursinus College, where he majored in Economics and Business Administration.
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RMHP Board of Directors
Michael (Mike) Blackburn
Mr. Blackburn is an owner of Callahan-Edfast Mortuary in Grand Junction and a graduate of the California College of Mortuary Science.
Pamela Hanes, PhD
Dr. Hanes, President and CEO of Colorado Health Institute, has many years of experience in health policy formulation, health services research and program evaluation. Her PhD is from The University of California at Berkeley. She also holds degrees from California State University at Sacramento and West Virginia University.
Corinne M. Johnson
Ms. Johnson is an attorney and the executive director of the Colorado Health Facilities Authority. She is a graduate of Vanderbilt and has a J.D. from Georgetown University.
William (Bill) Kelley, MD
Dr. Kelley is a practicing pulmonologist in Grand Junction and a graduate of Rutgers and the University of Alabama School of Medicine.
William J. (Bill) Kirven III
Mr. Kirven is an attorney and insurance consultant. He was formerly a Commissioner of Insurance for the State of Colorado. He is a graduate of Loyola University of Los Angeles and has a J.D. from the University of Denver School of Law.
Gary Knaus, MD
Dr. Knaus is a practicing family physician in Carbondale and a graduate of Colorado State University and the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
Chris Launer
Mr. Launer is president of the Bank of Colorado in Grand Junction and a graduate of Washburn University.
Arthur Curtis Robinson
Mr. Robinson is a retired CPA and a graduate of Western State College in Gunnison.
Diane Schwenke
Ms. Schwenke is President and CEO of the Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce. She is a graduate of Briar Cliff University.
Dennis Stahl
Mr. Stahl was a founder of Hilltop Health Services Corporation in Grand Junction and served as its CEO from 1970 until he retired in 1998. He is a graduate of Huron College in South Dakota and the University of Southern California.
David Terry, DO
Dr. Terry is a practicing family physician in Grand Junction and a graduate of Emporia State University in Kansas and the University of Health Sciences in Kansas City.
Jay Want, MD
Dr. Want is a practing internist in Denver. He graduated from Wabash College and Nothwestern University Medical School
Anne Warhover
Ms. Warhover is President and CEO of the Colorado Health Foundation. Received her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Colorado.
Robert G. (Bob) Wilson
Mr. Wilson is a CPA and graduate of Western State College. Prior to his retirement, he served as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Rocky Mountain Health Management Corporation for 17 years.
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