Leadership

John is President and CEO of the Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care (AFMC), an organization working with individuals and health care providers in all settings to improve health and consumers’ experience of care, while reducing health care costs. Prior to joining AFMC, John was Vice President of Optum Public Sector, where he led business development efforts in the Southeastern United States. From 2005 to 2016 John served as the Director of the Arkansas Department of Human Services. His previous positions include serving as the State’s Director of Behavioral Health and Director of In-Home Health Services.

Ms. Strickland is AFMC’s Chief Operating Officer and is the executive responsible for Outreach, Information Services, Health Information Technology, Clinical Review, Beneficiary Service Center, Enterprise Project Management and Quality Programs. She came to AFMC with almost 40 years’ experience in public sector health care. Before joining our team she gained extensive experience in the public sector serving in various roles during her more than 30 years with the Arkansas Department of Human Services. Her last position within Arkansas DHS was Chief Operating Officer of Arkansas Medicaid.

Ms. Rogers is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of AFMC. She previously served as the CFO of Delta Dental of Arkansas for 17 years and as CFO for Forevercare. She earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Arkansas, Little Rock, and gained her CPA in 1987. In 2017, Rogers was named Distinguished Alumni of the Year by the UA Little Rock College of Business. In 2013, she was honored by Arkansas Business as CFO of the Year for Large Private Companies and by the Arkansas Society of CPAs as Outstanding CPA in Business and Industry. Ms. Rogers serves on the board of Ronald McDonald Charities of Arkansas where she is also treasurer. She is a member of the UA Little Rock College of Business Advisory Council, Rotary Club 99, International Women’s Forum – Arkansas Chapter, Arkansas Executive Forum, and Arkansas Women’s Leadership Forum.

Dr. Rodgers is a board-certified pediatrician and physician at Little Rock Pediatric Clinic. He received his medical degree from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and completed his residency at Arkansas Children's Hospital, also serving as Chief Resident of Pediatrics. He has served as president of the Arkansas chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and on the board of directors of the Arkansas Medical Society. Dr. Rodgers served on AFMC's board of directors from 2011 until 2015 when he resigned to become AFMC's chief medical officer.

Ms. Moore has been with AFMC since 1997. She develops, implements and oversees AFMC’s corporate compliance program. Her responsibilities include maintaining and expanding visibility for the program at all levels within the company, training the senior management team regarding corporate compliance, recommending and implementing compliance initiatives to match the health care regulatory environment, and evaluating processes for compliance impact.

Moore previously served as AFMC’s director of human resources. She has also worked for the state of Arkansas in case management, which involved developing, implementing and directing a state-funded program that included state regulatory and compliance components. She graduated from Henderson State University with a bachelor of science degree in human services. She is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management and the Health Care Compliance Association.

Ms. Starling has more than 25 years of experience in all phases of physician/clinic practice management and medical billing. Her background comprises all executive managerial functions and responsibilities, including operations, medical billing, marketing and human resources, clinic management and development and management of rural health initiatives. She maintains an extensive and current knowledge of state and federal regulations relating to physician offices and rural health clinics. She served in a leadership role with a physician practice management company, where she was instrumental in the success of a major hospital’s development, as well as implementation of electronic health records in medical offices. Ms. Starling earned a degree in health service management and is a Fellow in the American College of Medical Practice Executives (FACMPE). She is also a graduate of the University of Arkansas leadership program LeadAR.

Mr. Ray is responsible for managing AFMC’s information services, analytics and business intelligence departments. Ray began his career at AFMC in 2008 as a primary care physician profiling specialist in AFMC’s Medicaid Managed Services Division. He then became data manager for HITArkansas, the Regional Extension Center for Health Information Technology in Arkansas, before being promoted to director in 2013. In 2014, he was featured by Arkansas Business in its annual “20 in Their 20s” spotlight. Ray earned a Master of Business Administration from Harding University and a bachelor’s degree in business from Arkansas State University.

Ms. Bain is a member of the executive leadership team responsible for developing, implementing and achieving the goals of the corporation. In her role as Senior Vice President of Administrative Services, she is responsible for special projects, managing legal and contract issues, overseeing AFMC’s Little Rock facility and mentoring administrative support staff. After serving as a pediatric registered nurse, she began her career in AFMC’s Fort Smith office more than 20 years ago. During that time, her responsibilities have included managing the medical affairs office, coordinating medical and legislative events, and providing information and management support to four different chief executive officers and their leadership teams. In addition, she has served as a member of the American Health Quality Associations’ (AHQA) national committee responsible for developing recommendations on future priority activities and operational processes for implementation of the AHQA strategic action plan.

Ms. Boone is Vice President of Beneficiary Services where she oversees AFMC’s Service Center, which helps Medicaid beneficiaries with resources and services, and beneficiary education and outreach. She has worked with AFMC since 2007 in provider relations and as AFMC’s liaison with the Arkansas Medical Society and the Arkansas Division of Medical Services.

Boone has more than 20 years of experience in administration and practice management, working at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) in Magnolia and at the UAMS Area Health Education Center (AHEC) in El Dorado. She developed and implemented the practice management program curriculum for resident physicians as well as the patient-centered medical home and episodes of care payment models, which are part of the federal initiative to transition health care from fee-based to value-based care.

Ms. Ray is responsible for government and stakeholder relations at the state and federal level. During legislative sessions, she oversees the organization’s public policy efforts, monitors bills and conducts policy analyses. Prior to joining AFMC, she spent several years as an agency and legislative liaison in the Office of Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson with a portfolio consisting primarily of public health, workers’ compensation and the opioid epidemic. In this role, Ray was responsible for the coordination of short-term and long-term public policy agendas, as well as outreach with legislators, advocacy groups and other key stakeholders.

Ms. Easterly is the Vice President of Communications & Strategy and is a results-oriented leader with a passion for building engaged, cross-collaborative and multi-functional results. Ms. Easterly holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from Athens State University in Alabama. She brings over 25 years of knowledge and experience in strategic assessment, planning, problem-solving, and marketing and over 14 years of health care operations experience to AFMC. Before joining our team, Ms. Easterly was the marketing manager at Acxiom, where she defined internal and external communications strategies to support business strategies and objectives. She has also worked closely with internal and external staff and key stakeholders. She has extensive experience in launching strategies for stakeholder support, lead generation, and planning, implementing, and maintaining clinical information systems across the health care continuum.