Board of Directors
Steve Poizner
Healthcare Consumer Advocate/Chairman
Mr. Poizner is an entrepreneur who co-founded four technology companies. He also co-founded and served on the Board of Directors of two other nonprofits, the California Charter School Association and the Alliance for Southern CA Innovation. Mr. Poizner also has public sector experience, having served as California Insurance Commissioner and as a White House Fellow at the National Security Council. Mr. Poizner has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas, and an MBA from Stanford University.
Jeff Cherniss
Treasurer and Director
Mr. Cherniss is the chief executive officer of Financial Administrative Support Services, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Health Trust that provides accounting services to nonprofit organizations. Before that, he worked as the CFO of the Indian Health Center of Santa Clara Valley, a clinic providing direct health care services. Mr. Cherniss is a graduate of Occidental College and earned an MBA from Northwestern University.
Long X Do
Secretary and Director
As Secretary, Mr. Do supervises the keeping of a complete record of the proceedings of the Board of Directors and its committees, supervises the giving of such notices as may be proper or necessary, supervises the keeping of the minute books of the Foundation, and has such other powers and duties as may be prescribed by the Board or the Bylaws. Mr. Do will serve without compensation as many hours as necessary to complete his responsibilities as Secretary.
Mr. Do is a partner with Athene Law, LLP. Mr. Do has substantive knowledge in the areas of managed care, health insurance, medical board enforcement, medical staff governance, corporate practice of medicine, peer review, and trade association advocacy and governance. Prior to joining Athene Law, Mr. Do served for over a decade as Legal Counsel and Director of Litigation for the California Medical Association. Mr. Do has a B.S. degree from Northwestern University and a law degree from UCLA.
Lanhee Chen
Member
Mr. Chen is a fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and is also the Director of Public Policy Studies and a lecturer at Stanford’s Public Policy Program. In addition to his academic appointments, Chen is a Senior Counselor at the Brunswick Group, a global business advisory firm; an Operating Partner at New Road Capital Partners, where he helps to direct healthcare investments for the private equity firm’s current fund; and, Chair of the Board of Directors at El Camino Hospital in the Silicon Valley. Previously, Chen practiced law at two major law firms and was the Winnie Neubauer Visiting Fellow in Health Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation.
Mr. Chen has a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University; he also earned a Ph.D. in Political Science from Harvard and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.
Adam Cole
Member
Adam Cole is the former chief counsel at the California Department of Insurance and was a litigation partner at Heller Ehrman, working on complex litigation cases including claims against insurance companies. Among his roles at the Department of Insurance, he was on leadership teams analyzing health insurance issues, reviewing health insurance policies for compliance with California law, supporting consumer rights, reducing health insurance rates and implementing the Affordable Care Act in California. He is currently on hiatus from practicing law while he pursues his second career as a novelist and screenwriter. Mr. Cole has a bachelor’s degree from Yale and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. He was a visiting professor of insurance law at U.C. Berkeley and Hastings College of the Law.
Amy Bach
Member
Amy Bach has been a professional advocate for insurance consumers since 1984 and an attorney since 1989. A native of Brooklyn, New York residing in San Francisco, she co-founded United Policyholders in 1991. She currently serves as the organization’s Executive Director and primary spokesperson; shaping and overseeing the Roadmap to Recovery™, Roadmap to Preparedness, and Advocacy and Action programs.
She is a nationally recognized expert on insurance claim and legal matters and a respected voice for policyholders in legislative and professional forums and in print and broadcast media. Bach is the author of numerous publications including “Wise UP – The Savvy Consumers Guide to Buying Insurance”, “The Disaster Recovery Handbook,” articles and guidance at uphelp.org and “friend of the court” legal briefs.