Leadership & Governance

Dexter brings to CoOportunity Health more than 40 years of experience working with healthcare provider communities in Iowa and Nebraska. He spent 26 years with Principal Life Insurance Company in various leadership and officer positions within Principal’s healthcare division and local managed healthcare company, Principal Health Care of Iowa, Inc. Prior to joining Principal, Dexter served in various administrative and leadership roles with the Iowa Medical Society and Iowa Foundation for Medical Care. Dexter is a graduate of Drake University with a Bachelor of Arts in sociology.

Lois has more than 36 years of operations and IT experience in healthcare companies like Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield and Delta Dental of Iowa. Her various roles in both organizations included executive leadership of operations, information systems and product development. While at Delta Dental of Iowa, Lois led quality improvement initiatives and developed the HIPAA Privacy and Security compliance programs that included participation in the Iowa insurance coalition involving industry best practices and information sharing among insurance carriers. In her role as the HIPAA Compliance Officer for Delta Dental of Iowa, Lois presented privacy topics at state and national conferences.

Martha has more than 20 years of life and health insurance legislative, regulatory and compliance experience. An attorney, her background includes working for the Iowa Insurance Division as a staff attorney, for Principal Financial Group as counsel in the Government Relations Department, and American Enterprise (American Republic Insurance Company) as counsel in the Legal and Compliance Services Department. Her career, which has included a market conduct and health insurance focus, prepared her to act as the CoOportunity Health compliance officer. Martha holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Iowa State University, and earned both her Master of Arts and J.D. degree from Drake University.

Scott began his legal career as a research attorney for the Iowa Supreme Court, then served as a law clerk in the U.S. District Court, District of Oregon. He next joined the law firm of Lively & Wiswall in Springfield, Ore., specializing in appeals, real estate and land use matters, general litigation and corporate law. Upon returning to Iowa, Scott joined the Iowa Attorney General’s office as an Assistant Attorney General. For nearly 30 years, he represented numerous state agencies and state officials in both non-litigation and litigation matters, including serving as general counsel to the Insurance Division for 10 years. His extensive litigation experience focused on employment and civil rights cases, recovery of stolen securities, prosecution of licensing violations and bankruptcy matters. Scott earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa, and the University of Hull, Hull, England, followed by a law degree from the University of Iowa.

Scott is a certified public accountant with more than 10 years of accounting and auditing experience in the financial services industry for businesses ranging from small, privately owned to Fortune 500 companies. Prior to joining CoOportunity Health, Scott served as an audit senior manager for the Des Moines office of KPMG, providing audit and consulting services to organizations ranging from SEC filers to small, start-up entities. At Aviva USA Scott created and led a team implementing Sarbanes Oxley, then became the vice president of finance responsible for reporting, accounting and sales and distribution analytics. Scott holds B.A. degrees in accounting and marketing from the University of Iowa and recently completed the rigorous curriculum of the Greater Des Moines Leadership Program.

Dana began working with CoOportunity Health in March 2012 as a consultant, and joined the organization full-time in August. Dana has 30 years of experience as a communications professional, including 17 years in the health insurance industry. She worked for Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield for 13 years, in various management positions. During her tenure, Dana was responsible for the marketing strategy for several product launches, including the introduction of a Medicare Advantage and Part D product portfolio across seven states as part of a Blue Plan collaborative. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in English/speech communications at Simpson College, Indianola, Iowa, and has completed graduate studies in journalism/mass communications at Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

Dr. Steve comes to CoOportunity Health with more than 30 years of experience as a practicing family physician with the Kossuth Regional Health Center in Algona, Iowa. After graduating from Drake University’s College of Pharmacy and earning his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree from Des Moines University, he spent the next several years with the U.S. Air Force, earning his “wings” as an active duty flight surgeon, as well as finishing his residency with Broadlawns Medical Center in Des Moines. For most of the last 10 years, Dr. Steve has served simultaneously as a medical director for several insurance and pharmacy organizations and currently still holds that position with Pharmacist Mutual Insurance Company. Over the years Dr. Steve also continued his military service with the Iowa Air National Guard, retiring with the rank of Brigadier General in 2004. He holds licenses to practice medicine in Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska, and is a member of the American Medical Association (AMA), the Iowa Medical Society, the Iowa Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), and the Iowa and American Osteopathic Medical Associations.

Dani has worked in executive and leadership roles in multiple industries in marketing, sales, and information systems capacities. CoOportunity Health is her fourth stint in healthcare marketing and sales, including two prior terms at Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield and consulting at Iowa Foundation for Medical Care. Her total industry experience is about 15 years. Dani’s management expertise in market research and analysis spans many industries beyond health insurance and healthcare, including transportation, higher education, consumer packaged goods, publishing, retail sales, and consulting. Dani holds two Bachelor’s degrees in marketing and computer science, along with an M.B.A. from the University of Northern Iowa.

Judy brings more than 30 years of healthcare experience on both the provider and insurance fronts to CoOportunity Health. As a former Vice President of Health Management at Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Iowa, Judy led health plan accreditation efforts and directed all aspects of the health plan’s medical management division. After retiring from Wellmark Judy started JDS Consulting, a private healthcare consulting firm specializing in accreditation support, where she provided accreditation expertise and consultation to a variety of health plans helping them achieve Medicare certification and National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) accreditation. Judy earned her Bachelor of Science and Masters of Science degrees in nutrition from Iowa State University and was awarded her M.B.A. from Drake University.