HSRI Unveils New Senior Leadership Team

The Human Services Research Institute announced today the new senior leadership team that has been selected to lead HSRI’s strategic direction. The new team balances continuity and forward-thinking, promoting the next generation of HSRI leaders from within the organization and providing a platform for continuing HSRI’s mission of assisting health and human services agencies to improve the quality and availability of programs and services that help people live independent, healthy, fulfilling lives.

“The opportunity that HSRI has to guide clients through exciting advances in health and human services—including integrated health, system outcome tools, self-direction, advanced resource allocation models, and improved health data analytics—is incredible. We have four decades of experience helping agencies and service systems make data-driven decisions regarding the best ways to deliver services and supports. And with the leadership team I’m announcing today, I’m confident that HSRI is on the path for another 40 years of innovation and influence,” said David Hughes, who was named incoming HSRI president in October 2015 and officially stepped into the role on January 1, 2017.

The six leaders who will sit on HSRI’s new senior leadership team are:

Alixe Bonardi, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Services

Alixe will continue to lead the organization’s National Core Indicators efforts, a 20-year partnership with the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services. National Core Indicators is a voluntary effort on the part of states to measure and track their performance on services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The effort has resulted in the world’s largest dataset on outcomes for people with IDD. She will also help direct other initiatives aimed at promoting health equity and quality management.

Julie Bershadsky, Aging and Disabilities Services

Julie joined HSRI in 2010 and applied her expertise as a statistician and methodologist to the organization’s National Core Indicators project. After managing NCI’s dataset for many years, she took the lead in adapting the tools for the National Core Indicators – Aging and Disabilities project. This new initiative, a collaboration with the National Association of States United for Aging and Disabilities, measures outcomes for people receiving long-term services and supports.  She will also direct other initiatives aimed at improving aging and physical disability services, supports and outcomes.

Leanne Candura, Population Health Services

Leanne has been with HSRI for 10 years and has specialized in meeting the data management and reporting needs of federal and state agencies. Leanne will direct HSRI’s services aimed at improving the quality and availability of population health data for states, providers, policymakers, researchers, and consumers. She will also continue to oversee the organization’s consulting and systems architecting services related to all-payer claims databases and the creation of healthcare cost and quality reporting websites and other consumer tools.

Teresita Camacho-Gonsalves, Behavioral Health Services

Terry joined HSRI in 2000 and has focused on meeting the evaluation and technical assistance and training needs of federal agencies, states, and counties. She brings expertise in cultural competency and ethical guidelines for human subjects research, and she serves as chair of HSRI’s Institutional Review Board. Terry will oversee HSRI’s efforts to improve services and supports for people with behavioral health needs.

Nilufer Isvan, Behavioral Health Services

Nilufer joined HSRI in 2009 as a senior research fellow. With over 20 years of research and evaluation experience in the behavioral health field, Nilufer brings outstanding leadership credentials to her new role. Her areas of focus include substance abuse prevention interventions, complex care needs, community integration, and the integration of physical and mental health. She will lead HSRI’s efforts to identify and promote services and supports that protect youth and adults from substance abuse disorders.

Linda Newton-Curtis, Child and Family Services

Linda also joined HSRI in 2009. She has extensive experience as an independent evaluator of human services interventions. Linda will oversee HSRI’s efforts to enhance the delivery of child welfare services and reduce the rates and impact of childhood trauma. She will continue to lead the evaluation of programs and emerging practices such as community-based collaboratives and drug courts at the county level, and she'll work closely with team members on the organization’s evaluations of states’ waiver-funded intervention services.

Along with the announcement of its new senior leadership team, HSRI also announced that John Agosta, who was been with HSRI for 33 years and leads the organization’s West Coast office in Portland, Oregon, has been promoted to executive vice president.  And as previously announced, Valerie Bradley, HSRI founder and former president, stepped into the role of president emerita on January 1—though she will remain actively involved in the organization’s project operations for the foreseeable future. 

Click on the links below to view the individual announcements:

/files/uploads/news/Alixe_Bonardi_named_to_senior_leadership_team.pdf

/files/uploads/news/Julie_Bershadsky_named_to_senior_leadership_team.pdf

/files/uploads/news/Leanne_Candura_named_to_senior_leadership_team.pdf

/files/uploads/news/Terry_Camacho_Gonsalves_named_to_senior_leadership_team.pdf

/files/uploads/news/Nilufer_Isvan_named_to_senior_leadership_team.pdf

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