Dawn Hunter - Senior Consultant. Prior to joining the HSM team, Dawn spent a number of years in physician practice management and served as an account executive for an ancillary benefit plan where she was involved in marketing activities, strategy development, and physician contracting. As a lead focus group moderator for HSM, Dawn facilitates discussions among consumers and industry thought leaders. Qualitative and quantitative studies she has managed include investigations on nursing staff shortages; product development and launch studies; and other studies involving physicians, health plan members, trade association members, employers, consumers, brokers, hospital executives, audiologists, and pharmacy executives.

Wanda B. Vermeer, RN, MBA - Senior Consultant. Wanda’s clinical expertise and intimate knowledge of the provider/physician market segment is integral to helping managed care organizations, pharmaceutical companies, and medical device companies meet marketing challenges. In her 20 years of management and consulting with health systems and provider organizations, she has achieved an enviable track record for new product and new business development. She has particular expertise in women’s health areas. Wanda frequently advises both physician practice groups and health plans, and has a wealth of experience conducting operational and customer retention assessments, as well as developing key strategies and tactics.

Joan Barry, RN - Senior Consultant. Joan brings a unique array of experiences to the health care consulting practice. She co-owned Facilities Development, Inc., the nation’s leading medical equipment planning and management firm. Through Facilities Development, Joan conducted focus groups with clients, including all levels of health care personnel, to define the medical equipment requirements for major health care construction projects throughout North America. Prior to that, Joan was employed by Samaritan Health Services in Phoenix, Ariz. She progressed from a staff nurse to a head nurse in a critical care unit and then was promoted to a nursing administration position and ultimately became the corporate director of the company’s facilities development department.

Trudy Thompson Rice, RN - Senior Consultant. Trudy provides corporate communications support and consulting services to a large number of health and science organizations, including the American Cancer Society, Barrow Neurological Institute, Mayo Clinic Scottsdale, National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association, as well as medical device manufacturers. Trudy is a registered nurse as well as an accredited business communicator.

Cheryl Palay, MBA - Consultant. Cheryl has over 10 years of experience in health care market research. She specializes in quantitative research with expertise in questionnaire design and implementation, Web survey programming, data collection management, in-depth interviewing, data analysis, and project management. Cheryl excels at managing large-scale, complex research studies and has experience in various methods of data collection, including telephone, Internet, IVR, mail, and e-mail.

Jim Cassandro, PhD - Senior Data Analyst. Jim has a background in both academia and professional sports management. He received a PhD from the University of California, Davis, with an emphasis on the advanced quantitative analysis of creative behavior in the historical record. Prior to joining HSM in 2007, Jim was an Assistant Professor at the International Center for Studies in Creativity, a lecturer at the University of Arizona, and the Director of Baseball Operations and Marketing Research for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Jim’s expertise lies in his advanced research and data analytic approaches to questionnaire, marketing, archival, as well as competitive and strategic data sources. Jim has published many professional journal articles and has extensive public speaking experience.

Natasha Elsner, MS – Research Project Manager. Natasha has expertise in planning, design, and implementation of all aspects of research projects. She has a strong academic background in research methods and quantitative analysis. Natasha received an MS degree in Survey Research and Methodology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Prior to joining HSM, Natasha worked at the health care division of J.D. Power and Associates where she was recognized for her contributions to customer satisfaction studies at business-to-consumer and business-to-business levels for a number of health care clients.

June McClung - Senior Project Manager. June has extensive experience in managed care and specializes in the development and implementation of administrative processes, operational systems, and project management. She also has expertise in converting complicated findings into meaningful reports.

Renny Bagchi, MBA - Project Manager. Renny is a project manager and interviewer with The HSM Group. Renny is skilled in the areas of report writing, secondary research, and project management. She has several years of experience as a research analyst working with foundations, corporations, and government grant providers. Her experience also includes writing grant proposals and presentations. Renny received her MBA from the University of Miami and her Bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University.

A Dynamic Team - HSM relies on an outstanding staff of experienced professionals to support the work of accomplishing your goals and objectives. Their expertise and commitment are an integral part of HSM's success. Project teams may include: Judy Friefield; Maria Briseno; Chantal Carlson; Diana Pechman; Diane Schaller; Dorian Stringer; and Lori Neisen.

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