Reporter Tools - Biographies and photos
Here are brief bios of people who fill high-profile positions in the Oregon Health Authority. If you wish further information, please call 503-947-5050.
Director
Bruce Goldberg M.D., is a family medicine physician who has devoted his professional career to improving the organization, delivery and financing of public health services. He served as the Director of the Oregon Department of Human Services from November 2005 through February 2011, a position he says he was drawn to because of the opportunity it provides for making a positive difference in the lives of so many people. He led the formation of the Oregon Health Authority as the Director-designee and was permanently appointed as the Director by Governor John Kitzhaber in February 2011.
During his time with DHS he has led efforts to improve children's access to health care and reduce hunger and food insecurity among Oregonians, has been instrumental in developing plans for revamping the state's mental health system and constructing two new state psychiatric hospitals, and has promoted education and prevention as the most effective means of protecting and improving the health of Oregonians.
Dr. Goldberg's experience also includes serving as head of the Office for Oregon Health Policy and Research, Medical Director for CareOregon, Health Officer for Columbia County in Oregon, and Director of Community Health Services in Zuni, New Mexico. He also was a faculty member at Oregon Health and Science University for more than 15 years.
Dr. Goldberg has published widely and has served on numerous regional and national advisory boards and committees. He currently is chairman of the American Public Human Services Association's National Policy Council.
He received a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002 from the Oregon Public Health Association, the OHSU School of Medicine's 2000 Faculty Humanism Award, and in 1994 was named a U.S. Public Health Service Primary Care Policy Fellow.
Dr. Goldberg is a graduate of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City and completed his family medicine training at Duke University.
He and his wife, also a physician, are the proud parents of two daughters, one in college and one in high school. In his spare time he plays the harmonica in a rhythm and blues band and roots for the New York Yankees.
Chief Operating Officer
Suzanne Hoffman was assigned as the chief of staff in January 2010. She started at DHS in 1998 as a human resources manager, and subsequently was promoted to the positions of assistant district manager for self-sufficiency programs in the Marion, Polk and Yamhill service area; health services deputy; human resources director; deputy chief administrative officer; and chief administrative officer in March 2008. During the final four months of 2007 she served as interim director of the Oregon State Board of Nursing. In December 2008 she was named the assistant director for the DHS Transformation Initiative. Before joining DHS she held several positions within the child support program at the Oregon Department of Justice. She graduated from Portland State University with a B.S. in social sciences.
Chief of Policy
Tina Edlund, has worked for the last 25 years in health services research and health policy with the Oregon Division of Medical Assistance Programs, Providence Health System, the Oregon Health Policy Institute, and with the Office for Oregon Health Policy and Research (OHPR). She became the Deputy Director for Planning and Policy Implementation at the newly created Oregon Health Authority (OHA) in July 2009 and currently serves as the Chief of Policy. The OHA brings most of Oregon's health and health care services into a single entity, and is responsible for purchasing health care services for more than 850,000 Oregonians. Most recently, Tina was the lead for OHA in negotiating the terms and conditions for Oregon's recent 1115(a) waiver amendment and renewal process, which paved the way for transforming the Medicaid health care delivery system in Oregon. Ms. Edlund is a graduate of the University of Oregon and has a Masters degree in Urban Affairs from Portland State University.
Director for Addictions and Mental Health
Linda Hammond is the interim director of the Oregon Health Authority's Addictions and Mental Health Division. She has served in key leadership roles in AMH and in community services in Oregon and elsewhere. She brings strong administrative experience and a proven ability to lead people through change. For the past four years, Linda was the administrator of the Oregon State Hospital Replacement Project. Prior to that, she was the budget administrator for AMH. To date, Linda has held key leadership positions at Oregon Housing and Community Services and other nonprofit organizations.
She also worked in a community facility in England for children living with mental and physical disabilities. Linda holds degrees in psychology, specializing in child development, and business management.
Director for Medical Assistance Programs - State Medicaid Director
Judy Mohr Peterson was appointed assistant director for the Division of Medical Assistance Programs (DMAP) in September 2009. She joined DHS in 1997, and her experience includes eight years in DMAP as a manager of the analysis and evaluation unit and in research. She also has administered the caseload forecasting and actuarial services team. Before working for DHS and OHA, Judy was on a team that researched and reported on children's mental health in Texas. She received her doctoral degree in sociocultural anthropology from the University of Texas at Austin.
Medical Alignment Director
Cathy Kaufmann, M.S.W., became OHA's Medical Alignment Director in October 2012. In that role, Cathy oversees health policy development and alignment within OHA, DHS, and Cover Oregon, Oregon's health insurance exchange. Cathy previously served OHA as the Administrator of the Office of Healthy Kids and the Office of Client and Community Services. Healthy Kids was the largest expansion of health coverage in Oregon since the inception of the Oregon Health Plan in 1994 and is currently one of the largest expansions of coverage for children nationally. Prior to her joining OHA, Cathy served as the Policy & Communications Director for Children First for Oregon, a statewide child advocacy organization, and co-chaired the Human Services Coalition of Oregon. Cathy and her husband are the proud parents of two active boys, Ben, age 9, and Nate, age 4.
Director for Public Health - State Public Health Officer
Mel Kohn, M.D., M.P.H. of Portland, is the Director for the State Public Health Division and State Health Officer at the Oregon Health Authority. Previously he served as State Epidemiologist and administrator of the Department of Human Services (DHS) Office of Disease Prevention and Epidemiology. He has worked in the public health sector since 1993, including two years as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Before joining DHS in 1999 Kohn was Medical Director for a Section of the Louisiana Office of Public Health in New Orleans where he was also an assistant professor of Pediatrics at Tulane University School of Medicine. Dr. Kohn received a B.A. in Russian and East European Studies from Yale (1981), took pre-med courses at Columbia University, received his M.D. from Harvard (1990), and received his Masters in Public Health (MPH) from Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine (1997). He completed his internship and residency in pediatrics at the Children's Hospital in Boston, completed a preventive medicine residency at Oregon Health and Sciences University, and is board-certified in pediatrics and preventive medicine.
Administrator of the Office for Oregon Health Policy and Research
Jeanene Smith, MD, MPH has been with the Office for Oregon Health Policy and Research since 2000. OHPR provides oversight and coordination for all elements of the Oregon Health Plan and state health trends, providing technical and policy support to the legislative and executive branch decision-making on health policy. This includes the work of Oregon's Health Policy Board which is focused on implementing a state health reform plan, the Health Evidence Review Commission, Medicaid Advisory Council Pain Management Commission, Patient Centered Primary Care Home Program, and the Primary Care Office. She graduated from Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU) School of Medicine, completed a residency in Family Medicine at Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She graduated with a Masters in Public Health from Portland State University in 2001. She has practiced family medicine in both private practice and community clinics for over 15 years, and continues to see patients on a limited basis at an Oregon federally-qualified health center.