Dave Chase

Author, “CEOs Guide to Restoring the American Dream” Creator of HealthRosetta and Co-founder of Avado
Dave Chase has quietly become one of the most influential figures in healthcare today.

Dave founded Microsoft’s $2 Billion healthcare ecosystem that currently has 28,000 partners. He is the Co-founder of Avado, which was acquired by & integrated into WebMD/Medscape, the most widely used healthcare professional site. He is a contributor to Reuters, Fast Company, Forbes, The Health Care Blog, TechCrunch, KevinMD, The Doctor Weighs In, The Washington Post, and other publications.

More recently, Dave Chase is the author of two books: “The CEO’s Guide to Restoring the American Dream: How to Deliver World Class Healthcare to Your Employees at Half the Cost” and his new book to be released this fall, “The Opioid Crisis Wake-up Call”, which outlines how this health crisis is a tragic yet logical byproduct of a catastrophically dysfunctional healthcare system. In both books, Dave details how the healthcare system has been the catalyst for financial devastation of the American middle class – and what employers can do about it.

Most recently Dave Chase has created Health Rosetta, a non-profit organization dedicated to the identification and adoption of simple, non-partisan fixes for our healthcare system. Health Rosetta acts as an open source blueprint for a next generation healthcare ecosystem, and its principles have been enthusiastically adopted by a cascade of employers and employee benefit consultants/advisors on behalf of their employer clients.

Ryan Leaf

Former College & NFL Quarterback, Behavioral Health Advocate
The presence Ryan Leaf holds in a room is not simply due to the 6-foot-6 frame of a football player, but to the impassioned commitment he has made to serve those who are struggling with addiction and mental health issues.

Ryan was one of the most promising collegiate football players of his time, rivalling Peyton Manning for the 1998 Heisman trophy. He was the Number 2 pick in the 1998 NFL draft, chosen by the San Diego Chargers. Football was Leaf’s life, but the pressure to perform at an elite level was more than he was prepared to deal with, ultimately leading to the demise of his professional football career.

After his official retirement from the NFL in 2003, Ryan received his bachelor’s degree and took a coaching job with the West Texas A&M football team in 2006. Unfortunately, he struggled with his mental health and began to abuse prescription opiates due to a previous football injury. He solicited pain medication from West Texas A&M football players. Ryan eventually was caught stealing from the home of one of his players in order to feed his addiction, resulting in termination. His personal problems began to mount and Ryan was given the opportunity to seek help.

He received help for his substance abuse in Canada in 2008, but later he returned home to face criminal charges. He relapsed on prescription drugs in 2010. He entered drug treatment again in January of 2011 in Montana. Although it seemed Leaf’s struggles were behind him, in May of 2011 doctors found a mass in Ryan’s brain. After surgery and the associated emotional toll, he relapsed. By 2012, he was breaking into people’s homes to feed his addiction once again. Prison followed.

When Ryan first entered prison, he had no motivation. His cellmate urged him to use prison time as an opportunity to accomplish something of greater importance. Leaf describes his time in prison as a time of “spiritual growth and humility”. He says, “I started helping other inmates to read and it was the first time I’d ever done something for anyone other than myself.”

Today, Ryan Leaf is the voice for the recovery community – for anyone affected by addiction and mental health issues. His mission is to reach anyone in need of hope. At his lowest times in life, Ryan felt completely consumed by his mental health issues. He believed that the only way to pacify his pain was with drugs. Out of that desolation and desperation, he hopes to inspire others to begin their road to recovery and to see that happiness and health are attainable. He chooses to share his story dealing with mental health issues and substance abuse in order to reach those people who cannot yet imagine a better life for themselves. Ryan’s wish is to be an example that a better life is always possible.

Ryan is also a strong advocate for military service men and women. His father is a veteran and works with the foundation Merging Vets & Players (MVP), an organization comprised of a blend of combat veterans, players, coaches, and mentors, who understand what it means to overcome adversity, and who rise to face every challenge affecting the veteran community.

Jeff Waxman

Co-Creator of Living WELL Aware
Jeff Waxman is the co-creator of Living WELL Aware, a comprehensive, scientifically based wellness educational program. Dr. Waxman often joins Dr. Patricia Sulak in conducting wellness conferences around the country, sharing scientific information on wellness & how Living WELL Aware has elevated their lives to degrees never dreamed possible.

Dave Contorno

Founder of E Powered Benefits
Health Rosetta Founding Advisor
Forbes 2016 “One of America’s Most Innovative Benefits Leaders”
Founder & Former CEO, Lake Norman Benefits
David is a native New Yorker and entered this field at the young age of 14 doing marketing for a major life insurance company. His customer focus, passion for his work, technology experience and performance plunged David into what would become a career of success. During his 19 years in the insurance business, David has engaged in providing group insurance in various types of markets and industries ranging from manufacturing companies to privately held investment management companies. He has received numerous levels of recognition. To name a few: In 2004, he received a broker spotlight and was recognized by Blue Cross Blue Shield as an outstanding broker of service and in 2005 through 2014, United Healthcare honored him with the Echelon Award reserved for the top 1% of agents nationally. David is a licensed agent in multiple states.

David serves on the Board of Directors for Healthreach Community Clinic. He also serves on the NC Insurance Commissioners Life and Health Agent Advisory Committee, as well as participating in the Technical Advisory Group that helped with the Market Reforms required under the Affordable Care Act in North Carolina. He is an active member in the Lake Norman and Moorseville-South Iredell Chambers of Commerce, and is also a member of the National, North Carolina, New York and Long Island Associations of Health Underwriters. In addition, he enjoys being a part of Rotary International, part of the membership drive for the United Way, assisting the local Habitat for Humanity Chapter, The Dove House Child Advocacy Center and participating in networking functions.

Patricia Sulak, MD

Physician, Author & Founder of Living WELL Aware
Founder of Living WELL Aware™, is a nationally recognized practicing physician, researcher, speaker, and medical school professor. She graduated from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio School of Medicine and was named the 2006 Distinguished Alumnus. In addition to her busy clinical practice, she presents throughout the country to businesses, organizations, schools, and healthcare institutions on disease prevention through healthy living.

Sean Foy

President, Personal Wellness Corp.
Sean Foy is an internationally renowned authority on fitness, weight management and healthy living. As an award winning author, exercise physiologist, behavioral coach and motivational speaker, Sean has earned the reputation as “America’s Personal Wellbeing Coach”. With an upbeat, positive and sensible approach to making fitness and personal wellbeing happen, even with the busiest of schedules, he has taken his message of “Transformation at the Speed of Life” all over the world.

Foy is an exercise physiologist, behavioral coach, and author and creator of the proven metabolic makeover book, “The Burst Workout” and coauthor of the New York Times #1 bestseller, “The Daniel Plan”. Foy has also authored the Wellness Councils of America’s award winning physical activity and exercise books, “Fitness That Works” and “Walking 4 Wellness” and is the co-creator of the Wellness Councils of America national “On the Move” Initiative, inspiring and training over 200,000 employees throughout the United States. Foy is also the Founder and President of “Stronger U Academy”, an international personal development organization dedicated to transforming the lives of millions of people all over the world.

Among numerous awards, Sean has received the “Nike Go” Top National Health Education Program Award and the California Governor Health Educator of the Year Award. Foy also developed an award winning children’s health and fitness program, “LEAN KIDS” with best selling author Dr. William Sears. Foy is also the developer and trainer of the signature fitness program for The Biggest Loser® Pro Training program. As a husband and father of two, as well as President and founder of Personal Wellness Corporation, an international health and wellness education and consulting firm, Sean understands “busy” and brings his real life fitness and wellbeing solutions to audiences wherever he goes. Appearing on ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS and other popular national television outlets, he has spent the last 25 years testing, researching and sharing his findings on how to crack the code to making transformation work and maximizing potential.

Sean has helped thousands of individuals all over the world with their wellness needs as an author, personal trainer, counselor, motivational speaker and business owner and is committed to encouraging everyone to attain optimal well-being for body, mind and spirit!

Wendy Lynch

Founder, Lynch Consulting
For over 30 years, Dr. Wendy Lynch has been making the connection between human and business performance. At heart, she is a sense-maker and translator: nerd-to-corporate and corporate-to-nerd.

A consultant to numerous Fortune 100 companies, her career includes positions of faculty at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Vice President of Strategic Development at HCMS Group, Principal at Mercer Human Resource Consulting and Board of Directors for two publicly-traded firms. Now Dr. Lynch runs her own consulting firm and holds an adjunct position of Associate Professor at IUPUI. Her current research efforts focus on the application of Big Data solutions in Human Capital Management.

As a research scientist working in the business world, Dr. Lynch has learned to straddle commercial and academic goals, converting analytic results into market success. Through her experience in diverse work settings—including digital start-ups, century-old insurers, academic medical centers, consulting firms, health care providers and the board room—she became familiar (and fascinated) with the unique language of each.

That experience led to her true passion of promoting clear and meaningful conversation that promotes mutual understanding and success.

A frequent speaker, and author of over 100 articles and reports, Dr. Lynch has also published three books: Who Survives, Aligning incentives, information and choice and, most recently, Get to What Matters.