Margaret A. Murray, Chief Executive Officer
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Margaret A. Murray is the founding CEO of the Association for Community Affiliated Plans (ACAP). She has led the organization since its inception in 2001, steering it through tremendous growth from its origins as an Association of 14 community health center-owned plans to 82 Safety Net Health Plans across the nation, covering more than 25 million people through Medicaid, Medicare and Marketplaces.
Ms. Murray is a national expert on health care policy for people with low incomes and is a frequent speaker on these issues at national conferences and in the media. She has published several articles on the German health care system as a result of an Alexander von Humboldt fellowship in Berlin in 1992 and more recently in the Summer of 2018. Ms. Murray received her M.P.A. from the Woodrow Wilson School of Princeton University and her B.A. cum laude in Economics and Classical Civilization from Wellesley College.
Prior to leading ACAP, Ms. Murray was the Medicaid Director for the State of New Jersey under the administration of Governor Christine Todd Whitman, where she oversaw the expansion of the FamilyCare program to cover all children under 350% of poverty. She was also a senior budget analyst for the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, with responsibility for negotiating the budget neutrality agreements for Medicaid managed care waivers.
Ms. Murray is a member of the National Academy of Social Insurance and serves on the Board of Directors of the Alliance for Health Policy. Meg also serves on the Medicaid Policy Center Advisory Committee of the New Jersey Quality Institute.
She has previously served on the Institute of Medicine’s Committee on the Public Financing and Delivery of HIV Care, the Maryland Community Health Resources Commission and on the board of a Community Health Center in southern Maryland.
Samantha Anderson, Communications Manager
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Samantha joined ACAP in June 2023 as Communications Manager. She holds a B.A. magna cum laude in Journalism from Temple University and a Master’s in Journalism with honors from Georgetown University. She previously worked as Communications Manager at a DC-based education policy and advocacy non-profit, and as a reporter for The Washington Informer.
Samantha is also a Teach for America alum and served as a public school teacher in Delaware, New Jersey and Washington, DC.
She is thrilled to join the ACAP team in their work to improve the health and well-being of people with low incomes or significant health needs.
Fabiola Attime, Business Operations Manager
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Fabiola joined ACAP in June 2022 as its Operations Specialist. She brings more than 15 years of operations management and strategic planning experience to her role. Fabiola originates from Boston and received an M.S in Counseling Psychology from Northeastern University in 2013.
Previously Fabiola worked at the University of Maryland as a Program Management Specialist overseeing department operations, talent acquisition and program management.
Jennifer McGuigan Babcock, Senior Vice President for Medicaid Policy
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Jennifer McGuigan Babcock is ACAP’s Senior Vice President for Medicaid Policy. She also spent over four years as ACAP’s Vice President for Exchanges. In 2010, she served the Eligibility and Enrollment team within the Office of Health Insurance Exchanges in the Department of Health and Human Service’s Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (OCIIO, now known as CCIIO), focusing primarily on the interplay between Medicaid and Exchange coverage. Before joining OCIIO, Jennifer served as ACAP’s Director of Policy, working on Medicaid and CHIP health plan issues. Previously, she worked on policy related to Medicaid, CHIP, the uninsured, and private health insurance in the Office of Health Policy for the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) at the Department of Health and Human Services.
She has also held positions with CHIP at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services as special assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Health Care Financing at the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and as an associate consultant with The Lewin Group in Falls Church. Jennifer also served as an MPH Fellow at the Consumer Health Foundation in Washington, D.C., and as Executive Director of the Lovelight Foundation, an anti-poverty organization in Detroit. She has a Masters of Public Health from the University of Michigan, Department of Health Management and Policy, and a Bachelor of Arts in English from Kalamazoo College in Michigan.
Tanara Blanchard, Executive Assistant
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Tanara Blanchard joined ACAP as an Administrative Assistant in September 2013. She brings 12 years’ experience in the non-profit sector to ACAP.
Previously, Tanara worked for the National Association for Conservation Districts, the National College Access Network, the American Insurance Association and the National Association of Home Builders, in both administrative and membership capacities.
Jennifer Chontos, Administrative Assistant
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Jennifer Chontos joined ACAP in January 2023. She brings many years of administrative support to ACAP, including not-for-profit as well as government contracting industries.
Before moving to the Greater Washington area, Jennifer spent her time between Colorado and Arkansas and studying at the University of Arkansas. In her spare time, Jennifer enjoys traveling and the great outdoors.
Heather Foster, Vice President for Marketplace Policy
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Heather Foster serves as ACAP’s Vice President for Marketplace Policy, where she leads the Association’s policy and advocacy efforts related to the Affordable Care Act, state Marketplaces, and most recently, ACAP’s successful fight to protect consumers from short-term, limited-duration insurance plans masquerading as comprehensive coverage. For her work on this issue, Heather was named a finalist for the 2024 Women in Government Relations Excellence in a Federal Issue Campaign award.
Before joining ACAP in 2015, she served as the Deputy Director of Federal Affairs at the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC). Her portfolio included federal legislative and regulatory policy focused on financing of entitlement programs and contracting and payment policies for Community Health Centers participating in Qualified Health Plan networks.
Previously, Heather was a Congressional Fellow with the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and served as Senior Health Policy Advisor for Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-CO), then-Vice Chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee. Heather represented Congresswoman DeGette throughout the development of the Affordable Care Act, with a particular focus on children’s coverage and development of the Health Insurance Marketplaces. Notably, she was also responsible for the Congresswoman’s landmark work on stem cell research, leading to an Executive Order protecting the research.
Heather began her career in health policy by working in the Office of Child Advocacy at Children’s Hospital, Boston, where she worked on Medicaid-focused topics affecting children. She also spent many years as a Board Member for a Community Health Center in Washington, DC. She received her M.P.H. in Health Policy from George Washington University, where she was named their Distinguished Scholar in Health Policy. Heather received her Bachelor’s Degree in Child Development from Tufts University with a public policy minor of Law & Society.
Sharon Gibson, Chief Administrative Officer
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Sharon Gibson is ACAP’s Chief Administrative Officer; she oversees accounting and administrative operations. Sharon received a Bachelor in Business Administration, summa cum laude, from Strayer University and has 20 years experience in the credit union industry. She comes to ACAP from her post as Director of Finance at the National Association of Postmasters of the United States Federal Credit Union (NAPUS FCU). Prior to her work at NAPUS FCU she was the Chief Financial Officer at Patent and Trademark Office Federal Credit Union (PTO FCU).
Sharon served as Treasurer on the Board of Directors of her local Homeowners Association which is in historic Anacostia in Washington, DC. In addition to her 14 years of volunteer work with her local church, Sharon is an experienced event coordinator.
Maria Cecilia Gudino, Marketplace Program Associate 
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Maria Cecilia joined ACAP in August 2024 as its Marketplace Program Associate. She holds a BA in Political Science with double minors in Public Health and Finance from Catholic University.
Maria has experience working in both the private and public sectors, particularly in health care and technology. Previously, she worked with Senator Casey on the Senate Aging Committee, focusing on Medicaid, Medicare, and issues related to the elderly. Additionally, she has worked with various trade associations in D.C., including ACHP, where she was a part of the market competitiveness team specializing in policy and data analytics for insurance plans nationally.
Prior to joining ACAP, Maria worked for a global trade association headquartered in D.C. that represents AI and technology companies. Her passion includes researching the importance of technology in health care systems worldwide.
Hannah Lascano, Quality and Operations Manager
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Hannah joined ACAP in October 2022. She joined ACAP from the Rappahannock Area Health District, where she served as a case investigator for the District’s long-term care facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to that, she served as a Senior Environmental Technician with an environmental consulting firm in Washington State, overseeing the identification and removal of hazardous building materials.
Hannah recently completed her Master’s of Public Health from Central Washington University with a focus on the agricultural worker experience during the COVID-19 pandemic and poor air quality events. In 2024, Hannah was promoted to Quality and Operations Manager.
Christine Aguiar Lynch, Vice President for Medicare and MLTSS Policy
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Before joining ACAP, Christine Aguiar Lynch served as Senior Vice President at the SNP Alliance, and worked as a senior analyst with the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC). Her work there focused on dual-eligible beneficiaries, Medicare Advantage special needs plans, and Medicare beneficiaries’ access to care.
Prior to joining MedPAC, Christine was a Manager in the Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Practice at Avalere Health, where her work centered around conducting research and advising clients on the Medicare and Medicaid payment systems. Christine also worked at the Lewin Group, where she focused on qualitative and quantitative analyses in health policy for a variety of government and private clients.
Christine holds a M.P.H. in Health Policy from the University of Michigan and a B.S. in Human Biology, Health and Society from Cornell University.
Enrique Martinez-Vidal, Vice President for Quality and Operations
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Enrique Martinez-Vidal joined ACAP in September 2018. Mr. Martinez-Vidal joined ACAP from AcademyHealth, where he served as the organization’s Vice President for State Policy and Technical Assistance. During his 13-year tenure as Vice President, he spearheaded numerous projects, grants and initiatives in collaboration with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Commonwealth Fund, developed state-based learning collaboratives and presented nationwide on issues involving coverage expansion, quality improvement and the redesign of delivery and payment systems.
Previously Mr. Martinez-Vidal was the deputy director for performance and benefits at the Maryland Health Care Commission, an independent state agency and, prior to that, was a policy analyst with the Maryland Department of Legislative Services staffing the House Economic Matters Committee.
He holds a B.A. in political science and international studies from Dickinson College, and a master’s degree in public policy from Georgetown University.
Peter Olsen-Phillips, Medicaid Policy Manager
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Peter Olsen-Phillips comes to the Association from the Majority staff of the Senate Finance Committee, where he worked primarily on Medicaid issues. Prior to this, he worked as a research fellow for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. His work is motivated by his lived experience as a former Medicaid beneficiary and a patient with a chronic illness.
Before Medicaid policy, he was a journalist and member of the National Press Club, working at U.S. News & World Report, The Chronicle of Philanthropy and other publications. He holds a Masters of Public Health with a specialization in Health Policy from George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree in Government from Georgetown.
Robin Perry, Director of Conferences and Events
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Robin Perry is a skilled project manager and event planner with 17 years of nonprofit experience. Prior to joining ACAP, Robin worked for AARP in the Organizational Learning and Performance group managing, planning, and supporting corporate, training programs and projects.
In her past role as Project Manager, Robin led and supervised project teams in the design, development, execution, and evaluation of AARP conferences and events at the national and regional levels.
Pramila Shrestha, Director of Accounting Operations
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Pramila joined ACAP from the Institute for Health Policy Solutions, a group whose overarching goal is achieving affordable coverage by and for all Americans by developing and analyzing workable innovations to address health system problems.
In her fifteen years of service there, she managed foundation and state grants as well as other contracts.
Maya Valadez, Medicare Program Associate
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Maya Valadez joined ACAP in August 2024 as a Medicare Program Associate. Previously, Maya worked for various health policy organizations, most recently the Network for Excellence in Health Innovation (NEHI), where she developed a report of policy recommendations to better assess early detection of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias in the US.
Prior to that, she worked in the Massachusetts House of Representatives in the office of Representative Lindsay Sabadosa, and the Boston Public Health Commission.
Maya holds a Master of Public Health degree with a Health Policy specialization from Boston University, and a Bachelor of Science in Public Health and a minor in Psychology from Syracuse University.
Jeff Van Ness, Vice President for Communications
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Jeff Van Ness has served at ACAP for more than a decade. He is ACAP’s point of contact for the media and responsible for all internal and external communications pieces at ACAP, including the member newsletter, the Web site, fact sheets and other initiatives that support ACAP’s operational and policy objectives. Notable among those was the award-winning Medicaid is US campaign against cuts to safety net programs.
Jeff is an experienced communications professional with more than 25 years’ experience in health care and communications. His past roles include serving as Director of Communications for the National Committee for Quality Assurance and Vice President of Communications and Marketing at the Healthcare Distribution Management Association, a group representing pharmaceutical wholesale and specialty distributors.
His first job in Washington was working in enrollment at the Medicaid division of a Northern Virginia health plan. He holds degrees in English and biology from the University of Virginia.