Shelly B. Braun, Ph.D., M.S.,
Reform Initiatives Director

Shelly Braun brings over 20 years of experience as an educator of health and healthcare issues. In particular, she focuses her expertise and influence in areas characterized by vulnerable populations—as a practitioner working directly with people, a consultant on issues of public policy, and researcher of healthcare systems. 

Shelly’s passion lies in helping people understand how culture affects their health and the health of their communities, as well as the role the medical system plays in US society.  She believes knowledge is most useful when combined with action: whether helping low-income women and children as a nutritionist for the federal Women, Infants, & Children (WIC) program; exploring teaching models to prolong breastfeeding habits among Latinos; taking a key role with Utah Issues in shaping and promoting Utah’s Children’s Health Insurance Program; teaching University courses centered on such issues as poverty, disease, medical models, and behavioral science and health; or volunteering to facilitate physical climbing activity programs for autistic children through the non-profit organization Splore. Shelly strives to show people how they can find empowerment and be a force for change, even if they are in some way disadvantaged.

Shelly holds a doctoral degree in Cultural and Medical Anthropology from the University of Utah, and adds that to an MS in both Health Services Administration and Medical/Cultural Anthropology and BS degrees in Clinical Dietetics and Nutrition Sciences.  For the past 15 years Shelly has been teaching undergraduate Cultural & Medical Anthropology courses at the University of Utah, Utah State University, and Westminster College, while also conducting research about health care and serving as Academic Program Advisor and Internship Coordinator for the Behavioral Science and Health program at the University of Utah.  Prior to her academic pursuits, Shelly spent almost ten years as a Nutrition Educator for the Federal WIC Special Supplemental Food Program in New York, Ohio, and Utah. To maintain her own health and perspective, Shelly is an avid climber and loves to trail run with her dog.

Jason Cooke,
Medicaid Research and Policy Director

Jason Cooke’s 33-year career in public policy has given him both a deep appreciation for the impact of government decision-making on the everyday lives of the people those decisions are intended to benefit, and a commitment to bringing together people of differing perspectives to find common ground in support of access to affordable, quality health care for all.  A former Medicaid and SCHIP Director for the State of Texas, Jason most recently has worked with state and local governments, foundations, provider associations, health plans, and technology companies to improve the performance of publicly financed health care programs around the country.  He has been and remains a strong advocate of common sense responses to the cost management, access, and quality improvement challenges faced by state Medicaid and SCHIP programs.  Jason approaches his work in health policy with a core belief in the critical role that communities can and often do play in assuring access to affordable, quality health care for the insured, the uninsured, and those enrolled in publicly financed programs.  That belief was strengthened by his experience in the multi-cultural Texas environment, as was his appreciation of the interdependence of cultural competency and quality in the delivery of health care services.

As Texas Medicaid and SCHIP Director and prior to that, as Director of Medicaid Operations, Jason was responsible for the management of contracts with a dozen health plans and with the program’s fiscal intermediary, external quality review organization, marketing, and eligibility and enrollment vendors.  During his tenure, he oversaw the modernization of the Medicaid drug rebate program, led the single greatest state-initiated expansion of children’s enrollment in Medicaid, increasing by more than 300,000 the number of children covered, and headed the state’s SCHIP design and implementation effort which achieved the fastest enrollment pace in the nation.  Jason served as Co-Chair of the National Alliance of State CHIP Directors, on the CMS Technical Advisory Group on SCHIP, and was a member of the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP), serving on the Academy’s Steering Committee on Managed Care and Purchasing Strategies.  He was recognized for his health policy work in Texas by United Cerebral Palsy of Texas, Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions of Texas, the Texas Association of Community Health Centers, and the Texas and Gulf Coast CHIP Coalitions.

A native of Ohio, Jason grew up in Pennsylvania and began his career working in Congressional staff positions in Washington, D.C., where he earned a BS degree in international politics with honors in American diplomatic history from Georgetown University and continued his study of international politics on a Konrad Adenauer Foundation scholarship at the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, Germany.  After relocating to Texas in 1990, he directed the state’s federal relations efforts in support of the Texas Medicaid program, working closely with the Texas Congressional delegation to promote the state’s Medicaid agenda in Washington and served under Governors Richards, Bush, and Perry.  Jason and his wife, Heather, are the parents of a 21-year-old daughter completing her senior year of film studies at the University of Southern California.  A mostly rusty violin player, Jason is studying violin-making in Salt Lake City and enjoys exploring Utah’s many hiking, cross-country skiing, and golfing venues.

Judi Hilman, M.A.,
Executive Director

Judi is Executive Director and co-founder of the Utah Health Policy Project, a 501-C-3 nonprofit organization dedicated to creating quality, comprehensive, affordable health care coverage for all Utah residents.  Prior to starting the UHPP in 2006, Judi served as Health Policy Director and then Research Director for Utah Issues, Center for Poverty Research and Action. In 2008 Judi was selected as 1 of 10 Community Health Leaders by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and just this year she was named Consumer Advocate of the Year by Families USA (“the voice for health care consumers”).  These and other awards from CMS (then HCFA), the University of Utah College of Social Work, Utah Children, and the League of Women Voters were given in recognition of her leadership in Medicaid and health policy advocacy.

Judi was born in Los Angeles and raised there and in Israel. She has an MA from Cornell University in History and BA (magna cum laude) from the University of California, Berkeley, where she studied history of medicine and German literature. Before coming to Utah in '99 she managed development and strategic communications at a community rehabilitation agency serving people with disabilities in upstate New York. Judi has co-edited or authored numerous publications, including Utah's Poor: Solutions for Today's Economy, Making Sense of Utah Medicaid, an article for the ethics journal of the American Medical Association, and others. 

Her work covers a broad range of policy issues impacting the uninsured, low-income medically underserved, people with disabilities, and ethnic minorities. Judi is happiest when she is working on solvable problems, and this is why she has dedicated a good portion of her career to comprehensive, ‘post-partisan’ solutions to the health care crisis. When she’s not fighting the good fight for sustainable health reform, Judi enjoys running with her dog Yoffi, gardening, and cooking elaborate meals for friends and family.

Tara Maher,
Deputy Director

Tara Maher brings a combination of experience to UHPP from the healthcare, sustainability, and nonprofit sectors.  She has a BA from the University of California Santa Cruz in Environmental Studies with an emphasis in Community Organizing and Education.  She helped open and run a nonprofit private school for five years.  She also worked for a healthcare provider which increased her knowledge of the health care system.  She is passionate about helping all people have access to affordable, quality healthcare. As someone who cares for the environment, her vision of sustainability includes the integration of social and cultural well being into the sustainability analysis.  She sees a vibrant, accessible healthcare system as the heart of a sustainable society.   Her interests include medicinal herbalism, dance, and green design.

Randal Serr,
Take Care Utah Director

Randal received a BA in Political Science from BYU and a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of Utah.  He also studied Spanish at the University of Valencia, Spain.  He has worked with the homeless and low-income populations for the past three years at Fourth Street Clinic in client services and Central City Community Health Center as an enrollment specialist.  He brings experience in the Medicaid/CHIP application process and considers himself an advocate for the underserved.

Email:Randal