Meet The Management

Chief Executive Officer/President

Dr. Neshat's experience in managed healthcare and dental benefits results from leadership roles at multiple organizations including Preferred Dental Care, Family Dental, Dental Café Mobile Services, and Columbus Dental Group. He has been a professional involved in many different aspects of dental care for approximately 15 years. He comes from a family of health care professional and successful business professionals and has demonstrated his capabilities in dentistry, general business management, and turn-around through various different ventures. Dr. Neshat’s education includes a Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and a Doctor of Dental Surgery Degree from the University of Southern California (USC). He has been an expert consultant/provider in the dental field for a number of health/dental insurance companies, legal firms, and government agencies.

 

Executive Vice President

John has extensive experience in healthcare business, financial, and regulatory matters. Prior to joining LIBERTY Dental’s team, he completed a multi-year project as President and Director of the former Lincoln Hospital Medical Center and related clinic system in Los Angeles, CA. The project included the management of one of the oldest and largest community healthcare delivery systems in Los Angeles County. John has been active in numerous political and campaign activities for over 25 years. He has served as a press aide to a former U.S. Senator and interned on Capitol Hill in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1985, he served as a representative for a member of the California State Assembly. John has served on numerous boards and currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Parents Television Council.

 

Senior Vice President

Randy is a senior operations and finance executive with many years of experience running dental insurance companies. He served as the President of PacificDental Benefits, Inc., a 750,000 member dental insurance company operating in 15 states. Randy was initially recruited as the CFO of this start-up venture and he is credited with developing a final membership base of 750,000 before it was sold to UnitedHealth Group in 2005. Prior to PacificDental, he served as the CFO and COO of Delta/PMI Dental Health Plan which had grown to 1,000,000 members at the time of his departure.

 

Chief Financial Officer

Maja was elected to this position by the LIBERTY board of directors in January 2005. With the extensive background in a variety of business aspects with LIBERTY, Ms. Kapic is responsible for developing and maintaining the annual financial budget and forecasts, managing treasury functions and overseeing operational finance, accounting and reporting of the Company. Ms. Kapic holds a Masters Degree of Science in Business and Economics Administration from the Norwegian School of Business and Economic Administration, Bergen, Norway.

 

Dental Director

Dr. Hague has been the Dental Director of LIBERTY Dental Plan since it's inception. He obtained his dental degree at the Oregon Health Science Center; he did his Endodontic Fellowship training in Norfolk, VA and obtained his Masters in Public Administration from Troy State University. Dr. Hague is primarily responsible for dental policy and decision making for LIBERTY. He directs and supervises LIBERTY’s Quality Management and Improvement Department including, but not limited to, grievance, peer review, quality assurance, quality audits, monitoring, training, credentialing, and utilization management reporting.

 

Vice President, New Business Development

Hugh has been the Vice President, New Business Development for LIBERTY Dental Plan since joining the company in 2002. Hugh has over 32 years of success in the health benefits industry including medical, dental and vision insurance along with Knox-Keene licensed prepaid plans. He began his health benefits career with the Blue plans in New Mexico, Colorado, Northern California and Southern California. He then was a Senior Account Executive with Delta Dental Plan of California for 10 years. Hazlewood joined Maxicare in 1995 as Vice President of National Accounts before accepting the position of Vice President, Western Region for Pacific Union Dental in 2000. Hugh’s primary business focus in the California health benefits market has been Taft-Harley Trust Funds. He is accepted by the labor community as a trustworthy sales and service individual who can deliver the products and the outstanding service he sells. He also has many contacts in the commercial brokerage community.

  

Vice President, Client Services

Marsha, Vice President of Client Services for LIBERTY Dental Plan, has been a member of the management team since 2002. She entered the dental benefits industry in 1989 after a 20 year career as an expanded-functions chair-side dental assistant. Marsha was a Sales Representative and Provider Relations Representative for Delta Dental Plan of Kansas prior to transferring to the Sales Department of Delta Dental Plan of California in 1991. In 1995, she joined Ameritas as a Sales Representative in Southern California. Marsha moved to the medical benefits arena in 1998, working as a Senior Account Manager for Maxicare. She left Maxicare to join the Sales Department of Pacific Union Dental in 2000.

 

Vice President, Business Development

Bill comes to LIBERTY from Houston, Texas where he most recently served as Executive Vice President, Medicare/Medicaid, for First Continental Life and Health/Dental Economics. He has over 15 years of professional management experience in the health insurance Commercial/ Medicaid/ Medicare Managed Care industry. Bill’s other positions include serving as CEO of OptiCare Health System division in Texas from 1994 until 2003 and Senior Vice President of Business Development for OptiCare Health Systems' parent company from 1994 until 2003.

 

Vice President, Professional Services

Lynda provides LIBERTY with over 30 years of healthcare industry experience. She is currently the Vice President of Professional Services and is integrally involved in the executive management of LIBERTY. Bull most recently worked for UnitedHealth Group’s division, UnitedHealthcare (UHC), as the Western Regional Vice President for Professional Network Relations, Dental and Vision. During her 7 year tenure at UHC and its acquired company, PacificDental Benefits (PDBI), Lynda was responsible for regional operations, all professional relations activities, including provider network development and retention, quality management and served as an integration team leader and special project manager.

 

Vice President, National Professional Services

Kay, Vice President of National Professional Services, has 30 years of experience in the dental insurance industry, many of which were served management and executive level positions. She joined LIBERTY in 2010 to assist in growing the provider networks to match flourishing business growth. Kay analyzes the LIBERTY networks and strategically develops them, directs all Provider Relations staff, and fosters relationships with dental group practices to strengthen networks. Prior to her partnership with LIBERTY, Kay was Director, Professional Relations at Delta Dental of California, where she managed the Network and Contracting Department, directed strategic recruitment practices, drafted compensation models and specialty fee schedules. Kay’s leadership and problem solving skills are a huge asset to her success managing LIBERTY’S access networks. Her expertise is in the DHMO product and tailoring custom plans from a network standpoint.

 

Dental Director, Utilization Management

Dr. Benjamin achieved his dental degree from the Loma Linda University School of Dentistry in 1973. He practiced family dentistry in Northern California until he was hired by Delta Dental of California in 1989 as a full time dental consultant. He has been a member of the American Dental Association for over 37 years and has been a Certified Dental Consultant with the American Association of Dental Consultants since 1997. He became a part of LIBERTY’s team in the Spring of 2009. Under the direction of LIBERTY’s COO and the Quality Management Committee, he manages day-to-day operations of the Utilization Management Program and oversees the staff assigned to carry out related Utilization Management activities.

 

Director, Member Services

Beth has 28 years of experience working in Dental Health Maintenance and has held a variety of positions during this lengthy tenure, giving her a rounded perspective of the oral healthcare industry. Her nearly three decades of service in dental health were all loyally served at Private Medical-Care, Inc. (PMI)/Delta Dental, most recently in the capacity of Manager, Customer Service which she had held for 10 years. She managed a call center comprised of 85 union staff members keeping performance rates high with an annual call volume of 1.3 million at 93 percent within 30 seconds and an almost negligible abandonment rate.

 

Assistant Dental Director

Dr. Nguyen, Assistant Dental Director, has nearly 20 years of experience in the dental health industry, over 10 of which she has served as a dental consultant. With a Doctorate of Medical Dentistry, Dr. Nguyen began her vocation as a staff dentist in Oxnard, CA. After years of practice, she began serving as a Dental Consultant for PMI /Delta Dental Health Plan where she used her extensive knowledge as a licensed dentist to resolve grievance and provider disputes, adjudicate specialty authorizations and oversee provider practices to ensure appropriate treatment. She joined LIBERTY in 2010 to lend her expertise to the growing health plan.

 

Vice President, Operations

Angelie, Vice President of Operations, has been a professional serving in the dental insurance industry for 20 years, rocketing to management level positions in a broad range of capacities from Eligibility to Quality Assurance. She started her career at PMI Dental Health Plan, where she dedicated her efforts for 15 years and played a key role in many new developments including major system enhancements and functional restructuring. In 2005, Angelie moved to Delta Dental, where she simultaneously performed the duties of Quality Assurance Manager and Information Technology Lead; her skill for finding new solutions quickly found her a promotion to Development Manager. Now with LIBERTY, Angelie uses her holistic perspective to oversee the Claims, Eligibility and Enrollment, Regional Operations, and IT departments as they function together in smooth synergy.