About Us - b.well

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We’re transforming how people interact with the healthcare system

There’s a reason b.well starts with a “b.”

Founder and CEO Kristen Valdes has spent her entire career focused on providing quality healthcare to underserved populations in our country. When Kristen experienced the healthcare system as a consumer, she quickly realized that she hadn’t accomplished nearly enough.

Her middle child Bailey suffers from a significant autoimmune disorder. Even as a healthcare “expert,” it took Kristen seven years to advocate for her daughter to get an appropriate diagnosis. Together, they experienced countless misdiagnoses, costly repeat procedures, and diagnoses based on limited and siloed health data.

By day, Kristen was a health plan executive. By night, she was a excel lab-plotting mom.

In fact, Kristen was the only person able to successfully pinpoint her daughter’s medical issue by aggregating, analyzing, and considering all pieces of her daughter’s health data. Specialists continuously brushed off Kristen’s suggested diagnosis until one day, her daughter was hospitalized with a life-threatening complication from a medication contraindicated to that specific disease.

After countless conversations with other individuals and caregivers, Kristen understood her case was not an outlier, but in fact, the norm. People need navigation and personalization through the overly complex and fragmented healthcare system to become successful advocates for themselves and their loved ones.

Kristen launched b.well, named after her daughter Bailey or “B,” to empower consumers to become advocates through access and understanding of their holistic health data. b.well is transforming healthcare into a simple, on-demand experience by putting consumers in the center of the healthcare equation.

Leaders that keep our heart beating.

Founder, CEO

Kristen Valdes

Kristen Valdes is a highly accomplished healthcare executive and founder of b.well Connected Health, recognized as a top innovator and named one of four "Women Transforming Industries" by Accenture and Springboard Enterprises.

Kristen is a seasoned healthcare executive with over 20 years in the industry. Prior to founding b.well, Kristen was a Vice President at United Healthcare running Medicare Advantage plans across 12 states. Kristen started her healthcare career working with CMS on the first national payment integrity programs for Medicare and Medicaid. Kristen then helped to build XLHealth, one of the pioneering Medicare Advantage Plans for the chronically ill. She was instrumental in the acquisition by United Healthcare in late 2012.

Mrs. Valdes has been recognized as one of four "Women Transforming Industries," by Accenture and Springboard Enterprises, is a 40 Under 40 Top Named Healthcare Innovator and b.well Connected Health has won various competitions and awards including being named Top Innovator by Accenture in their Global Health Tech Innovation Challenge. Her dedication to consumer directed health exchange is reflected in her active involvement as a board member of the CARIN Alliance working to liberate data on behalf of consumers. Kristen also serves on several other healthcare boards, advisory boards and serves as an advisor to Springboard and Guidewell women led companies.

Chief Financial Officer

Nathan Weems

Nathan is a seasoned financial management executive with 30+ years of experience and notable achievements as CFO for companies like VitalConnect and Medrio, and helping Natera scale to $200M+ in revenue and go public.

Nathan has over 30 years of extensive financial management experience, including cash forecasting and management, internal control systems, and compliance. He formerly served as VitalConnect’s Chief Financial Officer after working with Medrio, a private San Francisco-based SaaS (software as a service) company, where he was CFO for three years. Prior to his work at Medrio Nathan was Senior Director of Finance for Natera, a biotech company focused on genetic testing, helping them scale from $50 to over $200 million in revenue and go public. He has also held roles at NovoStent, Banc of America Securities and KPMG. Nathan received his undergraduate degree from USC and received his Masters of Business Administration degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Chief Technology Officer

Imran Qureshi

Imran Qureshi is a highly accomplished data science executive with extensive experience at companies like Clarify Health Solutions and Health Catalyst, leading engineering teams and holding key roles in successful exits.

Imran was previously Chief Data Science Officer of Clarify Health Solutions, a pioneer in machine learning-enabled care optimization. Before that, Qureshi was Chief Software Development Officer for Health Catalyst, a provider of data and analytics technology, where he led the engineering team that built the company's Data Operating System (DOS). Prior to Health Catalyst, Qureshi held roles such as CTO of Acupera, a care coordination platform for clinical and socio-behavioral care and VP of Engineering at CareAnyware, the largest SaaS provider to home health care and hospice agencies. He holds 10+ patents and has been part of two successful exits (CareAnyware sale in 2012 and Health Catalyst IPO in 2019). He has been responsible for annual budgets in excess of $20M.

Chief Product Officer

Sara Zywicki

Sara Zywicki is a seasoned leader with over 25 years of experience in healthcare technology and digital innovation, specializing in transforming concepts into successful commercial operations.

Her expertise spans identifying market opportunities, navigating regulatory shifts, and solving complex business challenges through strategic product ideation and execution. Sara has a proven track record of launching and scaling products in VC/PE-backed companies across payer, provider and consumer healthcare markets.
As Chief Product Officer at OncoHealth, Sara drove exponential growth, expanding the health plan customer base by over 600% and delivering a 45% annual revenue increase over three years. She also spearheaded the launch of Iris™, the industry's first digital care platform focused on cancer patients and caregivers. Her leadership was instrumental in securing Series B and C funding and positioning the company for a successful private equity exit in 2022.

Previously, as Vice President of Product Management at SPH Analytics, she developed and launched a SaaS-based population health platform designed for ACOs and providers during the shift to value-based care models driven by MACRA and MIPS Medicare legislation.
As Vice President of Clinical Operations and Product Development at Life Line Screening & Community Healthcare, Sara successfully launched over 15 nationwide healthcare services for the 50+ demographic, including Medicare Annual Wellness Visits, Health Risk Assessments, Advance Care Planning Services, and direct-access lab testing. Her leadership in product-led growth and expansion in consumer-driven healthcare generated more than $50M in incremental annual revenue.

Sara holds an MBA and MPH from Emory University and a BA from Northwestern University. She resides in Alpharetta, GA and enjoys competitive tennis, pretending to be a chef and planning fun family vacations.

Chief Outcomes Officer

Sarah Jones

Sarah, a highly accomplished leader in client success and business development, possesses the expertise and tools necessary to assist clients in achieving growth and success.

As the Chief Outcomes Officer at b.well, she is responsible for overseeing how b.well defines client success and aligns positive patient outcomes with long-term value for its health system, payer, and technology clients.

Previously, Jones was the Vice President of Client Success at Firefly Health, where she worked with employers to help them maximize quality outcomes. Jones also served in a leadership role at Best Buy Health following the company’s acquisitions of GreatCall and Healthsense, where she led efforts to serve Medicare and Medicaid populations.

Sarah’s range of market experience includes employer solutions, Medicare, and Medicaid for a variety of technology-enabled. Sarah holds a bachelor of arts from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and an MBA from the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, MN.

VP, Marketing

Sasha Khan

Palwasha (Sasha) is a seasoned marketing professional with over 16 years of experience in healthcare technology and software.

She began her career supporting Managed Care and Medicare for a nonprofit health plan, later launching commercial business lines with the ACA and introducing telehealth solutions. Sasha played a key role in Zipari's exit and transformed League's focus from Canadian wellness to US payers, scaling their go-to-market strategy. With expertise in healthcare payers, providers, and retail pharmacies, she excels in brand marketing and sales strategies that drive growth. Outside of work, Sasha is passionate about animal rescue and hiking.

VP of Healthcare Interoperability Strategy

Yelena Balin

Yelena is an operational, technology, and product leader, driving sustainable results through applied analytics, process improvements, and quality controls, and a recipient of the Thomson Reuters Healthcare Innovation Award.

Yelena has over 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry, leading operational, technology and product teams while driving sustainable results through applied analytics, process improvements, and quality controls. She was responsible for multi-million dollar program implementations and cost containment at XLHealth, as well as deploying those programs at UnitedHealthcare. She is also Facets certified, and a Medicare claims and data expert. Yelena was the recipient of the Thomson Reuters Healthcare Innovation Award. She holds her BS in Information Systems from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

SVP of Partnerships

Andy Harlen

Andy Harlen is a top-producing results-driven executive with a proven track record of driving rapid growth.

Andy Harlen is a top-producing results-driven executive with a proven track record of driving rapid growth. His expertise lies in developing/executing data-informed strategies, building/scaling valuable strategic partnerships, and navigating the complexities of the healthcare industry.

Andy is currently SVP of Partnerships at b.well Connected Health where he is building the enterprise partner program from the ground up. Before joining b.well, Andy was Global Vice President of Partnerships and Market Development at League, where he played a crucial role in building the platform partner program from its inception. He achieved remarkable success, driving over $200 million in enterprise value with a new product offering, Powered by League. Before his tenure at League, Andy served as the Chief Growth Officer at Bridge Connector, where he joined as the 4th FTE to stand up the commercialization function. He built and led teams to exponential growth of over 1000% year over year.

Harlen has also held senior positions at several fast-growing SaaS-based organizations, including Virsys12, PlayMaker Health (acquired by Trella Health), Shareholder InSite (acquired by Ipreo), and Bernard Health.

SVP of Customer Development

Erin Scales

Erin Sales is a seasoned healthcare executive with a proven track record of identifying key market opportunities and executing on them with precision.

Erin is an accomplished healthcare executive with over 20 years of experience in sales leadership. She is highly respected among her peers for her dedication, exceptional strategic abilities, and talent for aligning go-to-market teams. Erin has a proven track record of identifying key market opportunities and executing on them with precision, cementing her reputation as a true industry leader.

In addition to her strategic talents, Erin stands out as a mentor for sales teams. Her commitment to excellence and passion for healthcare have inspired countless others to follow in her footsteps. Erin's exceptional communication skills and talent for building strong relationships have enabled her to develop and empower sales leaders, bringing out the best in her team members.

Erin has held leadership positions at prestigious healthcare companies, including Vivor, 2bPrecise, NantHealth, CareFusion, and Motorola. Her contributions have made a significant impact on the healthcare landscape, and she continues to be a driving force in the industry today. Erin's passion for healthcare and unwavering commitment to excellence make her a true asset to any organization she works with.

SVP of Privacy, Regulatory, Affairs and Compliance

Jill DeGraff

Jill is a highly experienced attorney with over 20 years of expertise advising companies in financial services, technology, and healthcare sectors, including data protection, corporate compliance, and commercial transactions.

With over 20 years in private practice and in-house, Jill has advised Fortune 100, middle market, growth stage and startup companies at the forefront of transforming their industries in financial services, technology and health care sectors. Jill’s focus on healthcare began in 2010 as general counsel for a digital health startup. She then joined the health law practice for a national law firm, and later founded Aperture Law Group, a boutique practice focused on consumer health technology. Areas of expertise include data protection (privacy, information security and governance), health information law (including Cures Act and implementing regulations), corporate compliance and commercial transactions. She also serves as the Vice Chair for ConnectedDMV, a non-profit dedicated to economic renewal and social equity across the greater DC, Maryland and Virginia region. She also serves as a policy advisor for DC’s Health Information Exchange.

Head of People & Culture

Alicia Raymond

Alicia is a highly experienced business and human resources leader, with expertise in strategic initiatives, organizational design, and executive leadership support, and a focus on creating an inclusive and engaged culture.

Alicia comes to b.well with over 20 years of combined Business leadership and Human Resources experience. Most recently working for Optum as a Human Capital Partner leading work around strategic initiatives, organizational design, and executive leadership support. Prior to Optum, she lead the growth for XLHealth from 80 to 1500 employees which resulted in a successful acquisition to UnitedHealth Group. Alicia is a People operations business leader with a focus on supporting all employees to drive an inclusive and engaged culture. She is a strategic partner who helps to establish and drive a positive productive working environment.She has her bachelor’s in Corporate Communications and Business from Elon University and her PHR certification.

Chief of Staff

Sheri Lamarca

Sheri is a highly skilled healthcare executive with over 20 years of experience in strategic leadership, healthcare startups, and multi-million dollar program development, including her key role in a landmark government program to redesign Medicare and Medicaid data integrity methods.

Sheri has over 20 years strategic experience solving complex challenges and scaling healthcare organizations. She has a proven track record in healthcare start-ups and multi-million dollar revenue program development. Sheri was a key leader in $67M landmark government program to redesign Medicare and Medicaid data integrity methods at Thomson Reuters (acquired by IBM). In 2012, she was instrumental in the sale of XLHealth to UnitedHealthcare for $2.4B and managed a $20M annual budget working with strategic partners while driving over $150M in annual revenue. She has deep knowledge and experience ranging from health insurance across TRICARE, Federal and Commercial plans, Program Development focused on Quality & Outcomes, Population Health, Consumer Experience and Revenue Optimization.