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Leadership Team

Shelley Rouillard,
Chief Deputy Director

Shelley Rouillard was appointed by Governor Brown as the chief deputy director for the Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) on September 1, 2011. She is responsible for overseeing all of the day-to-day operations of the DMHC, working with the director to improve the operation of California’s managed care system and ensure that consumers get the right care at the right time.

Prior to her appointment to the DMHC, Rouillard was the deputy director for benefits and quality monitoring at the California Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board, where she oversaw the contractual and clinical quality performance of 33 health, dental, and vision plans and a contracted third party administrator.

She previously was the founder and director of the Health Rights Hotline, an independent consumer advocacy program. She has also held the positions of chief of health policy at the California Public Employees Retirement System, director of network development for a national preferred provider organization, and legislative advocate working on health and long term care issues affecting low income seniors and persons with disabilities.

She has a bachelor of arts degree in social work from Rutgers University.

Marta Bortner,
Deputy Director, Communications and Planning

Marta Bortner is the Deputy Director for Communications and Planning and is responsible for developing, directing and implementing the department’s comprehensive media and public affairs programs.

Prior to her appointment to the DMHC, Bortner served as the associate secretary of media relations at the California Health and Human Services Agency, which provides health care services, public health protection, rehabilitative services, behavioral health treatment and social services to the people of California. At the agency, she led a multi-departmental communications initiative designed to increase awareness and understanding of the federal Affordable Care Act and its impact on the state’s health care system.

She previously led a variety of external affairs programs at state departments such as CaliforniaVolunteers, the California Department of Rehabilitation and the California Department of Transportation.

She holds a bachelor of arts in dramatic art from the University of California at Santa Barbara.

Holly Pearson,
Deputy Director, General Counsel

Holly Pearson serves as the DMHC General Counsel. In this capacity, she advises the Director and Chief Deputy Director on general legal matters, coordinates legal activities among the various office divisions, and acts as liaison to the Health and Human Services Agency (CHHSA), the Governor’s Office, and major stakeholder organizations.

Pearson has been with the DMHC since 2006, most recently serving as acting Assistant Deputy Director of the Office of Legal Services (OLS), where she contributed significantly to major policy development. She joined the DMHC as Chief of Personnel and Employment Litigation and Appellate Defense. Following a brief period as Staff Counsel III in the Office of Provider Oversight, she returned to OLS as Assistant Chief Counsel, where she quickly gained the confidence and support of the Executive team.

While in OLS, she developed a high level of understanding of the Knox-Keene Act and its corresponding regulations including administrative and civil litigation, analyzing requests for public records and claims payment issues. She developed and organized a comprehensive in-house training program on all aspects of the Knox-Keene Act for DMHC staff counsels.

With a focus on public agency law throughout her career, she served as general counsel to K-12 school districts and community colleges prior to joining the DMHC, and most recently as a shareholder and manager of the Education Practice Group at Kronick, Moskovitz, Tiedemann & Girard of Sacramento.

Pearson received her juris doctorate at McGeorge School of Law, where she was a member of the Traynor Honor Society and received several American Jurisprudence Awards. She received her bachelor’s degree at the University of Southern California, and is conversant in Spanish and Arabic.

Anthony Manzanetti,
Assistant Deputy Director, Office of Enforcement

Tony Manzanetti is the Assistant Deputy Director and Chief Counsel in the Office of Enforcement for the Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC), responsible for handling the litigation needs of the DMHC and representing it in actions to enforce the managed health care laws, in referrals from other DMHC divisions that review the activities of health care service plans for compliance with the managed health care laws, and in actions that are brought against the DMHC.

He previously served as a senior counsel at the Help Center, assisting enrollees in resolving difficult and challenging complaints. Prior to joining the Help Center, he served in the Office of Enforcement representing the DMHC in a variety of areas, including rescission litigation, unlicensed discount plans, solicitors selling fraudulent Medicare policies, and grievance system failures.

Manzanetti came to the DMHC from the City of Elk Grove as its first city attorney, where as general counsel to the city council and executive staff he developed strategies regarding complex litigation and directed external law firms on various specialty issues for the City. Prior to that, he was in private practice with Kronick, Moskovitz, Tiedemann & Girard, representing businesses and public entities in litigation, litigation avoidance, and strategic planning on their behalf.

He received his juris doctorate from the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law and is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, California State Supreme Court, and all trial and appellate courts of the State of California.

Dennis Balmer,
Deputy Director, Financial Solvency Standards Board

Dennis Balmer serves as the Deputy Director of the Financial Solvency Standards Board, interfacing between the DMHC and stakeholder groups to address matters of financial solvency that affect the delivery of health care services. He also advises the Director on current issues and potential solutions to enhance the economics of healthcare delivery for Californians. He brings more than 28 years of both public and private sector experience in finance, senior management, and healthcare to the DMHC.

Prior to his appointment, Balmer worked as an auditor in the DMHC’s Office of Provider Oversight. Previous positions included serving as the Director of Finance for the Americas Channel Sales at Hewlett-Packard Company, where he led the worldwide integration of the Hewlett-Packard and Compaq channel finance organizations, as well as the implementation of Sarbanes-Oxley compliance reporting for the Americas Partner Sales organization, and provided financial leadership for more than $10 billion in annual sales and expenses.

He has a bachelor of arts in economics and a master of administration from Willamette University in Salem, Oregon.

Maureen McKennan,
Deputy Director, Plan and Provider Relations,

Maureen McKennan is the Acting Deputy Director, Plan and Provider Relations, at the California Department of Managed Health Care, responsible for fostering proactive and effective relations between the DMHC and its licensed health plans, while serving as primary advisor to the Director on critical plan and provider issues and providing strategic planning and policy direction on emerging issues and industry trends.

She previously served as the Assistant Deputy Director, Office of Health Plan Oversight, where she directed all activities of the 60 staff in the Division of Financial Oversight and the Division of Licensing. After joining the DMHC in 2005, she first worked in the Office of Legal Services and the Licensing Division of Health Plan Oversight.

McKennan is uniquely qualified to work in the health care field, having extensive experience as both an attorney and a nurse. She came to the DMHC from the Office of the Attorney General, where she had worked as an attorney in both the correctional law section and the licensing section. She has also worked as an attorney at the Department of Health Services and in private practice at Porter, Scott, Weiberg and Delehant.

In addition to her juris doctorate at McGeorge School of Law, she has a master of science degree in nursing from the University of California, San Francisco, and worked as a registered nurse and an adult nurse practitioner for 14 years at the University of California, Davis Medical Center.

Andrew George,
Assistant Deputy Director, Help Center

As Assistant Deputy Director of the Help Center, George is responsible for overseeing the operations of the Help Center, which assists consumers with health care issues and ensures that managed health care patients receive the medical care and services to which they are entitled.

George has been a practicing attorney in state government for the past eleven years and served as a senior staff counsel in the Help Center for eight years. Throughout these years, he has developed a strong commitment to Help Center customers, staff and the public in general. He has played a prominent leadership role in the development of the Help Center while acquiring broad operational knowledge of all five of its divisions.

He then moved to the Office of Provider Oversight where he was instrumental in streamlining the provider complaint process and enhancing efficiency.

Previously, he served at Department of Corporations where he investigated and resolved consumer complaints regarding health plan compliance with the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act.

Additional prior experience has included serving as an attorney in private practice performing all phases of civil litigation including representation of clients before state appellate courts, federal courts, trial courts and administrative agencies.

George received his bachelor of science in finance from University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, and a Juris Doctorate from University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law.

Barbara Garrett,
Assistant Deputy Director, Office of Technology & Innovation

Barbara Garrett serves as the Assistant Deputy Director for the Office of Technology and Innovation and as the Chief Information Officer for the Department of Managed Health Care. She manages a staff of 20 technical professionals dedicated to the support of the information technology infrastructure and systems that support the delivery of mission critical services provided by the DMHC.

Prior to her appointment at the Department of Managed Health Care in June 2005, she spent 17 years at the Stephen P. Teale Data Center, where she held a number of management positions in support of the data center's network and help desk services. She has also held positions in information technology at the State Controller's Office and the Department of Motor Vehicles. She brings to the position extensive experience in the planning, implementation, operation, and management of information technology solutions, and has a strong commitment to customer service with an innate ability to motivate and lead people.

She is a graduate of the Information Technology Manager's Academy, is Vice Chairman of the Board for the California Association of Information Technology Managers (CAITM), and is certified in IT Service Management.

Debbie McKinney,
Assistant Deputy Director, Office of Administrative Services

Debbie McKinney was appointed as Assistant Deputy Director for Administrative Services of the Department of Managed Health Care in January 2008. She has more than 25 years of state agency budget experience, and manages a staff of 44 who provide accounting, budgeting, personnel, contracts, and business services to the Department.

Prior to her current appointment, she was the Chief of Budget Operations for the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, after serving as the Fiscal Officer. Prior to that, she was the Fiscal Officer for the Department of Personnel Administration, where she managed the accounting, budget, and contracts administrative offices. She has also held management positions in the administrative offices at the California Workforce Investment Board, where she established statewide work programs for the program's participants, and the Department of Consumer Affairs, where she was a team leader and coordinated the transition of the administrative activities for the Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education to the Department of Consumer Affairs.

She holds a bachelor of science degree in business administration, with a concentration in accounting.

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