Founder, President
Llew Brown, RN, MPA brings over 20 years of experience in Healthcare Informatics, including electronic health record (EHR) implementation, testing bi-directional interfaces, and expertise designing quality measures. He has spent over a decade working at the intersection of health data strategy, research, and analytics.
Llew Brown, RN, MPA brings over 20 years of experience in Healthcare Informatics, including electronic health record (EHR) implementation, testing bi-directional interfaces, and expertise designing quality measures. He has spent over a decade working at the intersection of health data strategy, research, and analytics. Llew has served as a principal lead on a range of federal contracts supporting the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – Center for Clinical Standards and Quality (CMS-CCSQ), the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), and the Office of Population Affairs (OPA). Prior to founding Next Level, Llew held informatics roles at Mathematica, Computer Sciences Corporation, the University of Pennsylvania Health system, and the Johns Hopkins Health system. Llew is a Registered Professional Nurse and a Certified SAFe® 5 Product Owner/ Product Manager (POPM). Llew is actively engaged in his community. He was honored as the Prince George’s County, M.D. High School Father of the Year in 2018 and actively mentors youth in the Washington D.C. metro area. In his leisure time, Llew enjoys quality moments with his wife and three children in Maryland.
Hana Al’Absi, MPH, is a dedicated public health professional with experience in project management, healthcare research, and program coordination. Hana was a Refugee Health Project Coordinator at the Minnesota Department of Health. There, she led a CDC-funded project to enhance surveillance and treatment rates for Latent Tuberculosis Infection (LTBI) among Minnesota status adjusters. Her efforts included coordinating a connection-to-care model, co-hosting an LTBI guidance seminar with the Mayo Clinic, and streamlining reporting procedures to improve data management efficiency.
Hana’s experience extends to her role as a Graduate Administrative Assistant at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, where she managed grant programs, organized professional and academic events, and promoted community and student engagement initiatives. She also served as a Research Assistant at the Institute for Social Research and Data Innovation, analyzing demographic and health survey data to support public health research. Her commitment to public health advocacy is reflected in her published work on healthcare access for pregnant
Yemeni women and her op-ed on diabetes prevention within Michigan’s Hispanic community.
Hana earned her Master of Public Health in Administration and Policy from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, where she was recognized as an SPH Scholar of Excellence. She is passionate about improving public health systems through data-driven program design and implementation, continually seeking ways to make programs more effective and responsive. Outside of work, Hana enjoys crocheting, traveling, and spending quality time with family and friends.
Robyn Davis serves as Next Level Health Innovations’ external Legal Counsel, leveraging her experience in private practice at AmLaw 100 firms and Fortune 250 corporate law departments. With an astute understanding of how legal issues present themselves in the context of business, Robyn focuses on effective risk mitigation through strategic contracting, and regulatory compliance through operational excellence. Her expertise spans beyond transactional matters and encompasses corporate governance, intellectual property, and operational guidance for startups and multinational companies.
Prior to establishing her firm, ProBiz Law, Robyn held senior positions at Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc., Circuit City Stores, Inc., Schott North America, Inc., and Baker & Taylor, a Follett company. Each of these positions provided her with valuable insights into the legal challenges faced by businesses across industries and honed her proficiency in navigating complex legal landscapes to deliver tailored solutions.
Robyn started her career as a structured finance attorney at Kutak Rock. From there she transitioned to Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner where her practice involved M&A, finance and private placement transactions and securities compliance.
She holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia School of Law and graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree from Creighton University.
Tiara Halstead, MPH, is a dedicated public health professional committed to improving the healthcare system and addressing social determinants
of health. She brings a wealth of experience in health policy analysis,
data-driven research, and program evaluation to Next Level.
Tiara holds a Master of Public Health with a concentration in Public Health Analytics from the College of Population Health at Thomas Jefferson University. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Public Health with a concentration in Government and a minor in Sociology from Franklin & Marshall College.
Before joining Next Level, Tiara was a Health Advisory Services Analyst at Mathematica, where she worked on several significant projects for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Her contributions included the 2022 Request for Information on Access to Coverage and Care in Medicaid and CHIP, as well as efforts related to unwinding the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency under the Learning Collaboratives for High-Performing State Health Coverage Programs contract. During her time at Thomas Jefferson, Tiara was a Graduate Research Assistant and co-authored several peer-reviewed journal articles on topics such as neighborhood park access, tobacco retail proximity, and clinical
trial participation.
Vivian L. Horn, MPP joined Next Level as a Consultant after working for 15 years in the Public Policy research arena in the areas of Health Care and Poverty policy work, with a special focus on the Medicaid program and Medicaid data. Vivian brings extensive experience in managing complex Federal contracts, including her former role as the Deputy Project Director for the Medicaid and CHIP Business Information Solutions (MACBIS) contract at Mathematica. In this capacity, she provided in-depth technical assistance to providers, states, and the federal government, regarding Medicaid and CHIP data quality for the Medicaid Statistical Information System (MSIS) and its later iteration, T-MSIS. Vivian led the claims data team responsible for the production of the Medicaid Analytic eXtract (MAX). Alongside her data quality and technical assistance work, Vivian conducted qualitative and quantitative research for projects evaluating various healthcare programs. Vivian led recruitment for early career master’s level staff and supervised analyst level staff. Prior to that, she worked for several years in both Seattle and New York City, where she organized communities to advocate on their own behalf. As a graduate student, she worked for the National Poverty Center and as a Graduate Student Instructor.
Vivian graduated from Boston College where she earned a degree in Political Science, and she completed a Master of Public Policy degree at the University of Michigan. In Boston, she volunteered in the surrounding community and on service trips to Appalachia and Tijuana. Vivian spends much of her free time walking local trails and volunteering in her community for organizations focused on providing critical services to those in need.
Eva Keeling, MSN, PMP, RN is a healthcare quality consultant and project management professional with a background in leadership and regulatory compliance in the inpatient acute care setting. Having more than 20 years in the healthcare field, she is currently supporting projects to promote nationwide interoperability, including analyses for the United States Core Data for Interoperability Plus (USCDI+) initiative. In prior roles, Eva served as Director of Nursing Resources at Inova Health system, with oversight over multiple departments including patient safety associates, wound care, and vascular access nurses. Eva was also responsible for coordinating the implementation of new technologies in the nursing division, and in this capacity was the Principal Investigator for a project evaluating technology acceptance of remote visual patient monitoring. Additionally, Eva served as Clinical Nursing Faculty at Catholic University of America.
Eva earned a BS in Nursing from the University of the District of Columbia and an MS in Nursing from Western Governors University. In her free time, she enjoys trying out new cuisine, traveling, and spending quality time with her family.
Jillian has more than a decade of experience bringing together partners across the health care landscape to advance health information technology, data analytics, and federal health program implementation. Across the years, Jillian has led cross-functional initiatives that help organizations strengthen their digital infrastructure, prepare for value-based care, and align with national interoperability standards. Jillian is known for turning complex technical concepts into clear, actionable strategies that help people and teams put technology to work in meaningful ways.
Jillian joined Next Level Health Innovations from JSI, bringing deep expertise in federal reporting programs—including the Uniform Data System (UDS), Family Planning Annual Report (FPAR), as well as reporting for MCHB and HAB programs—Jillian has supported federal efforts to modernize reporting from static, standalone submissions to dynamic, standards-based, patient-level reporting. She has provided extensive training and technical assistance to end users navigating these systems and brings strong knowledge of federal and national programs such as HIPAA, the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH), and Title X. Jillian is passionate about using data to close care gaps, strengthen infrastructure, and enable high-performing, accessible healthcare nationwide.
Kwekour has worked for over 25 years in information technology, and has hands-on experience implementing decision support systems, robust systems software, and interoperable health information systems, with a goal to use standards to improve individual and public health and empower communities. Her focus on health information technology (HIT) started with the Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel (HITSP), established by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) in 2006 to identify and harmonize data and technical standards for healthcare. She developed various products for implementing interoperable health information technology based on a solid foundation of standards-driven specifications during her time with HITSP, and various initiatives within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). She has also been fortunate enough to oversee and participate in pilot projects aimed at testing and deploying interoperability standards for HIT products used for information exchanges with State Public Health Programs, such as Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI), and Laboratory reporting to Public Health.
Kwekour has also consulted with private organizations, providing project management and oversight on projects to develop standards-based health information technology solutions for public health programs at agencies such as HHS, ONC, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS).
Kwekour started her career as a lead developer at Ellucian where she led customer educational information technology projects. She has a master’s in business administration (MBA) from Johns Hopkins University, and B.Sc. degrees in Decision and Information Sciences, and Finance from University of Maryland.
Emily Spector, MSPH, joined Next Level as a Senior Program Manager after 17 years working in the human services and public health sectors. She was most recently the Director of Data Analytics at Resources for Human Development (RHD), a national human services provider organization, where she developed and led RHD’s first Clinical Outcomes and Data Team. Emily played a leading role in building RHD’s electronic health record including developing reports for measuring and evaluating population level outcomes. She also played an integral role in building RHD’s capacity to measure and report on outcomes under value-based purchasing contracts. Prior to RHD, Emily worked for the Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers, where she led the South Jersey Behavioral Health Innovation Collaborative (SJBHIC), a unique consortium of hospitals and community-based providers working together to improve behavioral healthcare delivery in the region. Emily served as both SJBHIC project manager and research director, overseeing all qualitative and quantitative data gathering and dissemination. Emily also has public health experience working at the Montgomery County (Maryland) Department of Health and Human Services as the Data, Evaluation, and Research Manager for Aging and Disability Services and in consulting with Optum Advisory Healthcare Consulting (formerly The Lewin Group).
Emily graduated from Cornell University, where she earned a degree in Policy Analysis and Management, and she completed a Master of Science in Public Health degree at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Outside of work, Emily enjoys playing with her two small children, reading mysteries, and practicing yoga.
Alexa Williams, MPH is a health informatics analyst with a diverse background in public health, data analysis, bioethics, and cognitive science. Alexa manages data sets of clinical terms, researches value sets and data elements, and contributes to business development and marketing efforts.
Previously, Alexa gained valuable experience as a Data Analyst Intern at Virginia Telehealth Network in Charlottesville, Virginia. In this role, she constructed a data dictionary for the Virginia Telehealth Benchmarking Survey, analyzed data to identify telehealth trends, and provided input for a summary report. She also offered recommendations for effective data presentation. As a Bioethics Clinical Intern at the UVA Center for Health and Humanities Ethics, Alexa demonstrated her commitment to ethical healthcare practices. She identified and addressed ethical issues in the hospital setting, collaborated with healthcare professionals, and engaged in ethics consultations to find solutions for complex medical encounters. Furthermore, Alexa’s background includes a Graphic Design Internship at IDEZINE LLC, where she showcased her creative abilities by developing designs, layouts, and graphics for various clients. She effectively utilized Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign to create visually appealing social media content, logos, and newsletters. Alexa’s studies in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) equipped her with a deep understanding of UX concepts and the ability to develop high-fidelity prototypes to address real-world problems.
Alexa earned a BA in Cognitive Science and an MPH with a focus on Research in Practice and from the University of Virginia. Outside of work, Alexa enjoys attending live concerts and finds balance through practicing mindfulness meditation and yoga.
Michelle Zancan has over 28 years of experience in adult health. She has worked in many healthcare settings, including Johns Hopkins Hospital, National Institutes of Health (NIH), and multiple local care settings. Early in her career, she specialized in oncology, from bench research and clinical trial management to in-patient, outpatient, bone marrow transplant, and oncology critical care. In the last 10 years, Mrs. Zancan has branched out of the traditional healthcare setting to work with the Primary Care Medical Home project by CareFirst, a healthcare consulting to individual providers to align their clinical workflows with federal and third-party payor initiatives, quality improvement consulting covering clinical workflow and electronic documentation for optimum patient care and metric reporting; practice transformation consulting under the Great Lakes Practice Transformation Network (GLPTN) grant from CMS; consulting under the Health Information Exchange (HIE) Connectivity Grant from Department of Health Care Finance (DHCF) as a technical assistant to the BH providers of the District of Columbia; and most recently works as a Clinical Analyst where she is assisting in software development of FHIR-compliant technology to be used in both the healthcare and human services care of a person. In addition, she was elected as a co-chair of the HL7 Human and Social Services (HSS) work group, where she is helping to further the use of the FHIR standard in both healthcare and human services settings.
