2026 ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM

Dr. McCarrick helps independent providers succeed under value-based care in New Jersey as Vanova Health’s Chief Medical Officer. He co-founded Vanguard Medical Group and served as its Chief Informatics Officer and Chief Medical Officer. There, he led electronic health record implementation, population health analytics, and the rollout of patient-focused tools such as a secure portal, e-visits, and a personalized referral navigator. His medical stewardship programs boosted Medicare Annual Wellness Visit rates. 
 
He earned his MD from NYU School of Medicine, completed residency at Mountainside Hospital, and holds board certification in family medicine, geriatric medicine, and clinical informatics. He also holds a Master of Biomedical Informatics from Oregon Health & Science University. Named NJAFP Family Physician of the Year in 2017, he contributed to the 2024 NJ Health Care Quality Institute primary care study. He founded Connections at Home New Jersey, a nonprofit serving homebound patients and caregivers. 

Dr. Dan Frogel is an experienced healthcare leader with more than 20 years’ experience in healthcare operations, emergency medicine, and urgent care. As Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Frogel leads Thriveworks’ mission to become America’s most valued mental health care company. He is passionate about simplifying and expanding access to health care services and helping people build whole health.

Dr. Frogel started his career as an attending physician in the department of emergency medicine before pivoting to urgent care. Prior to joining Thriveworks, he was co-founder and president of CityMD, one of the largest urgent care providers in the northeast.

Dan is dedicated to building high impact organizations that focus on efficient care delivery models, supportive work environments for clinicians and support teams, and optimizing the client and patient experience.

Dr. Frogel earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Yeshiva University and a Doctor of Medicine from Albert Einstein College of Medicine. A lifelong New Yorker, Dan lives on Long Island with his wife Rachel and five children.

Edward J. Licitra, MD, PhD, is a board-certified medical oncologist with deep expertise in community-based cancer care and value-based delivery models. Dr. Licitra has a special interest in developing clinically innovative programs, such as cellular therapy, in the community and leveraging clinical innovation for value-based contracting.

He earned his PhD in Organic Chemistry and Molecular Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was a National Cancer Institute Predoctoral Fellow. He received his medical degree from the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey (Robert Wood Johnson Medical School), where he also completed his internship and residency in internal medicine. During medical school and residency, Dr. Licitra was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society, received the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Research Award, and was named the Department of Internal Medicine Outstanding Resident.

He completed a fellowship in Medical Oncology at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey and served as an attending physician at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. In 2006, he entered private practice in New Jersey, where he has focused on building high-quality, patient-centered community oncology programs with an emphasis on value-based care.

Dr. Licitra is the founder of Vantris Oncology (also known as Vantris Health), a value-based contracting startup. He serves as Chief Executive Officer of Astera Health Partners and Astera Cancer Care. He previously served on the Board of Directors of OneOncology and is actively involved with the Community Oncology Alliance (COA).

He is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in Medical Oncology and has been repeatedly recognized as a Top Doctor in Oncology & Hematology by New Jersey Monthly magazine.

As President and CEO, Linda Schwimmer leads the Quality Institute’s work and advances its vision of a world where everyone receives safe, equitable, and affordable health care. Linda is a leading voice in health care quality and health care equity in New Jersey. She regularly advises leaders in the State’s legislative and executive branches on health care policy. Linda also is a noted national advocate for patient safety and health care quality.

Linda routinely is called upon by media outlets to engage on health care issues — from maternal child health to health care access and affordability. She lends her voice and service to many nonprofit and government boards and commissions that advance health equity and quality in New Jersey and nationally.

Linda serves as Vice Chair of the Leapfrog Group’s board of directors, a national patient safety advocacy group. She also serves as Vice Chair for Parker Health Group, Inc., a not-for-profit, aging services organization committed to empowering older Americans. Linda is also the Vice Chair of the recently formed Center for Health Equity, the Public Health Institute for NJ. Previously, Linda served on the board of the National Quality Forum (NQF) and was co-chair for Governor Phil Murphy’s transition team on health.

Before joining the Quality Institute, Linda worked in all three branches of government across state and federal levels, experience that supports her work to drive sustainable policy change. She also worked in the private sector, including serving on the leadership team of Horizon Healthcare Innovations, a subsidiary of Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey. Linda served as Director of Legislation and Policy for the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance and in counsel positions with the New Jersey Senate Majority Office.
 
For over a decade, she practiced ERISA, bankruptcy, and commercial law, representing the federal government, individuals, and businesses.
 
Linda received a B.A. with honors from the University of California, Berkeley, and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.

Dr. Jenny Zhang is a primary care internist and the Associate Chief Medical Officer at Vanova Health. She most recently served as Senior Advisor of the Patient Care Models Group (PCMG) at the CMS Innovation Center (CMMI), where she advanced CMMI's specialty strategy and designed and implemented a broad portfolio of value-based payment models, including the Making Care Primary model, the Ambulatory Specialty Model, and the Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction model.

Dr. Zhang began her career at Northwell Health, where she implemented various CMMI initiatives including Independence at Home, Bundled Payments for Care Improvement, and Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement.

She received her undergraduate degree from Harvard University and her medical degree from the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. Dr. Zhang completed her internal medicine residency in the Osler Medical Residency at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. She is a practicing primary care physician at NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County in Brooklyn.