Leadership Team
Our Executive Leaders bring years of experience to IEHP, cultivating our team culture and driving us to become a 5-star health plan.
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Jarrod McNaughton, MBA, FACHE
Chief Executive Officer
Jarrod B. McNaughton is the Chief Executive Officer of Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP). In this role, he works collaboratively with the IEHP Governing Board to set the strategic vision and provide executive leadership for one of the 10 largest Medicaid health plans and the largest not-for-profit Medicare-Medicaid Plan in the U.S. He cultivates IEHP’s strong partnership with Providers, hospitals and hundreds of community partners to deliver quality whole-person care to more than 1.5 million Members. He ensures financial stewardship and stability for IEHP’s more than $5.4 billion operational budget.
A visionary health care leader, Mr. McNaughton joined IEHP in 2018 as Chief Operating Officer. In this role, he was responsible for the operations, claims, provider contracts, enrollment and eligibility, performance improvement and Member services departments, supporting IEHP’s organizational directives, advancing IEHP’s LEAN transformation, and ensuring IEHP’s mission to deliver quality service to our Members and Providers effectively and efficiently.
Prior to IEHP, Mr. McNaughton served in several roles of increasing responsibility in hospitals and large hospital systems. For nearly 20 years, he has led multi-tiered operational strategies and innovation that consistently generated superior results. He has a well-established reputation for building dynamic teams, developing leaders and fostering key relationships in the community. His ability to remove obstacles and empower everyone, from frontline Team Members to Physicians, will help support IEHP’s position of strength in the ever-changing health care environment.
Mr. McNaughton’s roles as President of Kettering Medical Center and Executive Vice President of Kettering Health Network demonstrated his strategic business acumen, empathy and visionary leadership. He developed a coordinated and detailed strategy for the entire network and spearheaded many forward-looking changes in services and delivery of care to patients at those facilities. The Kettering Health Network in Southwest Ohio includes eight hospitals, nine emergency departments, many outpatient clinics and over 11,000 employees.
Prior to his role at Kettering Medical Center, Mr. McNaughton was Vice President at San Joaquin Community Hospital. Among his many achievements there, he developed and implemented a new mission and service department that helped increase patient satisfaction scores from the 40th percentile to the 85th percentile in less than a year.
Mr. McNaughton’s strong commitment to the community fits well with IEHP’s mission and company culture. He is an Assistant Clinical Professor at Loma Linda University and a board member for several educational and non-profit agencies. A volunteer with Global Medical Missions, an international aid organization, he has led short-term mission teams to Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, India, Nepal, Honduras and Mexico. Away from work, he enjoys singing, musical theater and flying single-engine planes.
Mr. McNaughton pursued an undergraduate degree from Pacific Union College where he earned a bachelor’s degree. He earned his master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of La Verne, Graduate School of Business. In addition, he is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Vinil Devabhaktuni, MBA
Chief Information Officer
Vinil Devabhaktuni joined Inland Empire Health Plan as Chief Information Officer in October 2021. In this role, Vinil will provide leadership for the overall information technology architecture, as well as the design, development, implementation, and support of IEHP’s systems.
Vinil joins IEHP most recently from Health New England, where he served as the Chief Information and Technology Officer and was responsible for managing a unique portfolio and elevating the role of technology from a supportive function to a strategic partner that played a major part in the growth of the organization. Vinil also developed and executed an end-to-end operational roadmap for sales, underwriting and accounting. In addition, he rearchitected and streamlined production support and application development operations to bring stability, predictability, and optimizations to the organization.
Prior to his role at Health New England, Vinil served as vice president, digital transformation officer at AIG in New York. While in this role, he led a $50M global digital transformation initiative, which included migration and consolidation of digital properties from 140 countries around the world.
Vinil holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Bay Path University in Longmeadow.
Keenan Freeman, MBA
Chief Financial Officer
Keenan Freeman joined Inland Empire Health Plan as Chief Financial Officer in October 2016. In this executive role, Mr. Freeman is responsible for the overall financial management of IEHP, its financial reporting and transparency, and for multiple plan financial functions including accounting, purchasing, capitation, cost recovery, risk management, and the coordination of fiscal and other operational audits.
Mr. Freeman brings over 28 years of professional finance experience to IEHP which includes 16 years of strategic leadership in multiple functions including financial, operational and strategy development in a provider-owned health plan and a multi-specialty medical group with over 4,000 providers. Mr. Freeman served as Chief Financial Officer for Providence Medical Group in Oregon where he spent 5 years providing operational and financial leadership for over 1,200 physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners. In addition, he served for eight years as Chief Financial Officer and two years as Chief Operational Officer for First Care Health Plans in Austin Texas.
Mr. Freeman understands the importance of developing external relationships with key physicians, health systems, and governmental entities. He enjoys building cross-functional teams to achieve short and long-term objectives and values the importance of developing external relationships with key physicians, health systems, and governmental entities. Mr. Freeman’s leadership in these areas, and in the annual budget process, keeps IEHP financially stable amid healthcare changes and economic volatility.
Mr. Freeman holds a Bachelor’s degree in Administration and Accounting and a MBA from Texas Tech University.
Edward Juhn, MD, MBA, MPH
Chief Quality Officer
Dr. Edward Juhn joined IEHP as Chief Quality Officer in June 2021. In this role, he leads the advancement of the quality journey in transformative ways to ensure the health plan’s commitment in providing the highest quality of care for the communities they serve.
Dr. Juhn brings over 15 years of experience in optimizing the intersection between clinical services, public health, and data and technology. As a mission-driven servant leader, he has had multiple layers of healthcare system experience, including the payer, medical group and hospital. He has been involved in both enterprise strategy and tactical operations and has had success in building private and public sector partnerships.
Prior to joining IEHP, Dr. Juhn served as Sr. Medical Director at Blue Shield of California where he worked on innovative initiatives leveraging big data, advanced analytics and technology-enabled service offerings impacting the quadruple aim and health equity. With this payer, he also managed ACO and non-ACO groups in Northern California and served on the clinical advisory group for the Blue Venture Fund. Additionally, Dr. Juhn has experience as a clinical scientist at an Intel-funded startup company and served as Chief of Healthcare Innovation and Strategy at Premier HealthCare, where he was part of the Accountable Care Coalition of Greater New York that helped establish one of the first ACO’s in the country focusing on the needs of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Dr. Juhn received his BA and MD from George Washington University, his executive MBA from New York University, and his MPH from Johns Hopkins University. He is board certified in Internal Medicine, a fellow of the American College of Physicians, and was a clinical instructor at Stanford Medicine. He has also served as a member of the Interoperability Standards Priorities Task Force, a subcommittee under the Health Information Technology Advisory Committee (HITAC).
Dr. Juhn brings over 15 years of experience in optimizing the intersection between clinical services, public health, and data and technology. As a mission-driven servant leader, he has had multiple layers of healthcare system experience, including the payer, medical group and hospital. He has been involved in both enterprise strategy and tactical operations and has had success in building private and public sector partnerships.
Prior to joining IEHP, Dr. Juhn served as Sr. Medical Director at Blue Shield of California where he worked on innovative initiatives leveraging big data, advanced analytics and technology-enabled service offerings impacting the quadruple aim and health equity. With this payer, he also managed ACO and non-ACO groups in Northern California and served on the clinical advisory group for the Blue Venture Fund. Additionally, Dr. Juhn has experience as a clinical scientist at an Intel-funded startup company and served as Chief of Healthcare Innovation and Strategy at Premier HealthCare, where he was part of the Accountable Care Coalition of Greater New York that helped establish one of the first ACO’s in the country focusing on the needs of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Dr. Juhn received his BA and MD from George Washington University, his executive MBA from New York University, and his MPH from Johns Hopkins University. He is board certified in Internal Medicine, a fellow of the American College of Physicians, and was a clinical instructor at Stanford Medicine. He has also served as a member of the Interoperability Standards Priorities Task Force, a subcommittee under the Health Information Technology Advisory Committee (HITAC).
Michelle Rai, MS
Chief Communications and Marketing Officer
Michelle Rai joined Inland Empire Health Plan as Chief Communications and Marketing Officer in March 2020. She oversees IEHP’s communications and marketing programs and guides the development of long-term communication and marketing strategies. In addition, Ms. Rai oversees the strategic execution of IEHP’s community relations, media relations, internal communications, digital and social media.
Ms. Rai has over 20 years of experience in public relations, communications, marketing, and media relations. Prior to joining IEHP, Ms. Rai served as Chair of the Communication Department at Pacific Union College in Napa Valley, Calif. Before her role as Chair, Ms. Rai acted as the College’s Public Relations Director and Public Information Officer.
Ms. Rai holds a master’s degree in integrated marketing communications from Golden Gate University. She earned bachelor’s degrees in journalism and communications from Pacific Union College, where she received the prestigious Educator of the Year award in 2016.
Ms. Rai’s leadership enables IEHP to increase its brand reach and social media presence, while enhancing perception of the organization and strengthening its place as an industry thought leader.
Ms. Rai has over 20 years of experience in public relations, communications, marketing, and media relations. Prior to joining IEHP, Ms. Rai served as Chair of the Communication Department at Pacific Union College in Napa Valley, Calif. Before her role as Chair, Ms. Rai acted as the College’s Public Relations Director and Public Information Officer.
Ms. Rai holds a master’s degree in integrated marketing communications from Golden Gate University. She earned bachelor’s degrees in journalism and communications from Pacific Union College, where she received the prestigious Educator of the Year award in 2016.
Ms. Rai’s leadership enables IEHP to increase its brand reach and social media presence, while enhancing perception of the organization and strengthening its place as an industry thought leader.
Takashi Wada, MD, MPH
Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Takashi Wada was appointed Chief Medical Officer of Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP) in August 2021. He is responsible for providing clinical and strategic leadership through accountable, collaborative processes to improve the quality-of-care delivery as evidenced by improved external quality metrics. Dr. Wada leads and drives innovative solutions for program development and implementation to improve access, satisfaction and care outcomes that are sustainable and scalable.
Dr. Wada joined IEHP in 2019 as Vice President of Population Health. In this capacity, he oversaw the internal departments of Behavioral Health & Care Management, Community & Family Health, Health Education, and Practice Transformation. He also played a key role in various statewide and regional population health initiatives.
Prior to his role at IEHP, Dr. Wada served as Chief Medical Officer/ Deputy Chief Medical Officer for CenCal Health and Director/Health Officer for Santa Barbara County’s Health Department.
Dr. Wada holds an undergraduate degree in biomedical sciences from University of California, Riverside and a master’s degree in public health from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). After receiving his medical degree at UCLA, he completed his graduate medical education at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center.
Dr. Wada joined IEHP in 2019 as Vice President of Population Health. In this capacity, he oversaw the internal departments of Behavioral Health & Care Management, Community & Family Health, Health Education, and Practice Transformation. He also played a key role in various statewide and regional population health initiatives.
Prior to his role at IEHP, Dr. Wada served as Chief Medical Officer/ Deputy Chief Medical Officer for CenCal Health and Director/Health Officer for Santa Barbara County’s Health Department.
Dr. Wada holds an undergraduate degree in biomedical sciences from University of California, Riverside and a master’s degree in public health from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). After receiving his medical degree at UCLA, he completed his graduate medical education at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center.
Susie White, MBA
Chief Operating Officer
Susie White was appointed Chief Operating Officer of Inland Empire Health Plan in July 2019. She leads the plan’s overall day-to-day operations and is responsible for implementing strategic initiatives and policies which support the Mission, Vision and Core Values of IEHP and the delivery of cost-effective and efficient care to its more than 1.5 million Members. Her areas of accountability include: Member Services, Provider Services, facilities management, security, business systems configuration and support, and delegation oversight.
Ms. White has more than 20 years of experience at all levels of health plan operations. She has demonstrated progressive leadership with a focus on innovation, efficiency and transparency from a collaborative, process-based perspective. She is highly regarded for her commitment to driving IEHP’s team culture, developing new leaders and fostering key relationships across the organization and the community. Her vast knowledge of complex regulations covering Medi-Cal and Cal MediConnect Plan (Medicare-Medicaid Plan) membership, especially network administration and oversight, are integral to the operations and strategic direction of IEHP.
Ms. White embodies the IEHP team culture and is committed to its Vision and Mission, having joined IEHP in 1998 and having served in various roles of increasing responsibility in the Provider Services department. In her position as Executive Director of Health & Provider Services, she directed multiple diverse teams in the integrated delivery of company wide strategic objectives, seamless medical (health care) service operations, process and system improvement and support of IEHP’s LEAN transformational journey. Ms. White was instrumental in the development of the organization’s Provider Call Center, which centralized calls into one location with an emphasis on improving customer service and increasing Provider satisfaction survey scores. She also spearheaded the innovative $45 million Network Expansion Fund (NEF), which resulted in the addition of more than 300 board-certified Primary Care Physicians (PCPs), Specialists and mid-level Providers to the Inland Empire.
Ms. White earned both her Bachelor of Science degree in Health Care Management and her MBA in Management and Leadership from the University of La Verne.
Ms. White has more than 20 years of experience at all levels of health plan operations. She has demonstrated progressive leadership with a focus on innovation, efficiency and transparency from a collaborative, process-based perspective. She is highly regarded for her commitment to driving IEHP’s team culture, developing new leaders and fostering key relationships across the organization and the community. Her vast knowledge of complex regulations covering Medi-Cal and Cal MediConnect Plan (Medicare-Medicaid Plan) membership, especially network administration and oversight, are integral to the operations and strategic direction of IEHP.
Ms. White embodies the IEHP team culture and is committed to its Vision and Mission, having joined IEHP in 1998 and having served in various roles of increasing responsibility in the Provider Services department. In her position as Executive Director of Health & Provider Services, she directed multiple diverse teams in the integrated delivery of company wide strategic objectives, seamless medical (health care) service operations, process and system improvement and support of IEHP’s LEAN transformational journey. Ms. White was instrumental in the development of the organization’s Provider Call Center, which centralized calls into one location with an emphasis on improving customer service and increasing Provider satisfaction survey scores. She also spearheaded the innovative $45 million Network Expansion Fund (NEF), which resulted in the addition of more than 300 board-certified Primary Care Physicians (PCPs), Specialists and mid-level Providers to the Inland Empire.
Ms. White earned both her Bachelor of Science degree in Health Care Management and her MBA in Management and Leadership from the University of La Verne.