Team Members

Tom Cooper

Chief Financial Officer, Interim

Tom Cooper is the Interim Chief Financial Officer of CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield Community Health Plan, District of Columbia (CF CHPDC). Prior to this position, Mr. Cooper served as Vice President of Finance for CF CHPDC where he led strategic financial planning and analysis for the company. Mr. Cooper played an integral role in helping grow Trusted Health Plans, Inc., before the company's eventual sale to CareFirst. He has been with the company since 2017.

Before joining Trusted Health Plans, Mr. Cooper spent 10 years on Wall Street where he advised senior executives and boards of Insurance and health services companies on strategic acquisitions, equity & debt capital raises, and other strategic financings. He rose to the level of Vice President of M&A where he led a myriad of transactions for his clients.

Mr. Cooper has a BS in Finance from the University of Maryland (Robert H. Smith Business School) and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Ieisha Gray

Chief Operating Officer

Prior to joining CareFirst, Ms. Gray was the Director of the Long-Term Care Administration at the District of Columbia's Department of Health Care Finance (DHCF) for five years. More broadly, Ms. Gray has over 19 years of experience in healthcare operations management, largely in sub-acute and long-term care provider services. Prior to her work at DHCF, she was a Regional Director with Global Healthcare Services Group, LLC based in Howell, NJ. The course of her professional tenure has seen her in roles in public health, acute, sub-acute, and long-term care, home health, and school-based care settings. Her leadership experience also includes instruction at the university level, and within the broader lens of care, her passions include advocacy and access for historically underserved populations.

Ms. Gray holds a BA in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Hampton University, an MS from Howard University, and a Healthcare MBA from The George Washington University.

Seiji Hayashi, MD, MPH, FAAFP

Chief Medical Officer, Interim

Dr. Hayashi is the Interim, Chief Medical Officer for CareFirst Community Health Plan District of Columbia.

Prior to this appointment, Dr. Hayashi was the Lead Medical Director for Government Programs at CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield that serves 3.5 million individuals and groups in Maryland and the Washington metropolitan area.

Dr. Hayashi is board certified family physician and is an experienced leader in primary care, quality improvement, and health policy at the local and national levels. Prior to CareFirst, he spearheaded health services integration and transformation at two area community health centers (Mary's Center and Unity Health Care). Hayashi's national health policy experience comes from his role as Chief Medical Officer for the federal Health Center Program at the Health Resources and Services Administration. He started his career at Georgetown University and at George Washington University teaching public health and conducting health policy research.

Hayashi has received a number of awards and honors, including the Samuel U. Rodgers, MD Achievement Award from the National Association of Community Health Centers.

Dr. Hayashi graduated with honors in Studio Art from Vassar College, received his M.D. with Alpha Omega Alpha distinction from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and completed his family medicine residency training at the University of California San Francisco. He received his M.P.H. from the Harvard School of Public Health while a fellow with the Commonwealth Fund/Harvard University Fellowship in Minority Health Policy.

Cindy O'Neill

Chief Information Officer

Cynthia O'Neill brings over 30 years of healthcare information technology experience to her role as Chief Information Officer at CareFirst CHPDC. She provides leadership for the continued development of an innovative, robust and secure information technology environment that meets all regulatory requirements for the company and the clients we support. Ms. O'Neill is charged with creating the CareFirst CHPDC Information Technology strategic initiatives that align with the short- and long-term CareFirst corporate goals. On a daily basis, she directs the CareFirst CHPDC's IT program, which includes enterprise architecture, policy and standards development, IT business plan implementation, information management, security and workforce development. She manages and oversees the CareFirst CHPDC IT resources including, System Configuration, Encounters, HealthCare Analytics and reporting, Network Administration and outsourced Network, and Security and Programming vendors. Ms. O'Neill partners with our regulatory agents to ensure compliance with federal and state regulations while using innovative technology to support the company's overall strategic vision.

Brian Geesaman

Chief Compliance Officer

Brian Geesaman is an experienced Compliance and Program Integrity professional with more than 20 years of experience in managed care, corporate compliance, and program integrity for government-funded health care programs. As the Chief Compliance Officer and Program Integrity Director for CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield Community Health Plan District of Columbia (CHPDC), Mr. Geesaman also serves as a liaison from the health plan to the District of Columbia's Department of Healthcare Finance (DHCF's) Program Integrity Office.

Mr. Geesaman possesses extensive expertise in identifying operational risks, developing remediation plans, and implementing programs that prevent detection and deter fraud, waste, and abuse (FWA) of health care funds. He is also highly effective in managing privacy and information security programs to ensure that Protected Health Information is maintained in accordance with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations and documented company policy.

Belinda Zhang

Chief Quality Officer

Belinda is the Chief Quality Officer at CareFirst CHPDC. She provides oversight to quality improvement activities throughout the entire organization, from performance measurement to initiative development/deployment. Ms. Zhang holds a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering and an MHA degree from the University of Missouri - Columbia. She has a great passion for improvement of health care for all people in different communities.

Ahna Millat

Director, Strategy and Development

As the Director of Strategy & Development, Ahna Millat is responsible for working with the company's Executive Leadership team and departmental leaders to help develop and drive CareFirst CHPDC's strategic initiatives. She brings to this role the experience and knowledge acquired from her previous position as Sr. Director of Operations for CareFirst CHPDC. As Sr. Director of Operations, Ms. Millat oversaw the key operational areas of Claims, Enrollment, Enrollee Services, and Provider Appeals.

Ahna Millat holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Miami University, and Juris Doctorate from The University of Toledo College of Law. She has earned a Certificate of Project Management from Georgetown University.