MAHP Staff

Lora M. Pellegrini, Esq.
President and CEO

Lora joined MAHP in 2009 and is now MAHP’s President and CEO.  She has served on the staffs of two Governors, most recently as Chief Advisor for Government Affairs for Governor Deval Patrick, and on the legislative staff under Governor Michael Dukakis.  She also was an Assistant Attorney General in the Consumer Protection Division under Attorney General Scott Harshbarger.  Prior to joining Governor Patrick’s staff, Lora served as Vice President for Government Affairs & Community Relations at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care.  While at Harvard Pilgrim, Lora covered government affairs activities in three New England states as well as the federal level.  Lora holds a Bachelors degree from Wheaton College and a JD from the New England School of Law.  Lora is the immediate past president of the Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus (MWPC), a multipartisan organization dedicated to promoting women to elected and appointed office. She currently serves on the MWPC board and chairs the Caucus’ Political Action Committee. Lora also serves on the Board of Directors for the Massachusetts Health Council and was selected by Boston Magazine in February 2011 as one of the 50 most powerful women in Boston.

Eric Linzer, Esq.
Senior Vice President of Public Affairs and Operations

Eric joined MAHP in 2002 and current serves as Senior Vice President of Public Affairs and Operations, overseeing media relations and communications, legislative and regulatory issues affecting commercial carriers, and business planning and operational activities within the organization. He has more than 15 years of public affairs and media relations experience.  Prior to joining MAHP in 2002, he was an account supervisor in the public relations division of Arnold Worldwide handling providing crisis communications and strategic counsel for a variety of regional and national clients.  Before joining Arnold Worldwide, Eric worked in the public affairs department of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, handling media relations for the health plan.  He serves on the board of directors of the MA eHealth Collaborative and Massachusetts Health Data Consortium and has served on a number of state commissions, most recently the Special Commission on Provider Price Reform.  He holds a JD from Suffolk University Law School.  Eric also received his Masters degree from Suffolk University and earned his Bachelors degree from Boston College.

Sarah G. Gordon, Esq.

Vice President of Legal Affairs

Sarah joined MAHP in 2006, shortly following passage of Chapter 58 of the Acts of 2006. As a Public Policy Analyst, she was promoted to Director of Government Programs in 2008 and then to Vice President of Legal Affairs in 2009.  Sarah brought with her two years of litigation experience in criminal, financial, and insurance litigation.  Since joining MAHP Sarah has been intimately involved in implementation of Chapter 58 , working with issues related to commercial, Medicaid and Connector programs.  Sarah is responsible for coordinating MAHP’s public policy agenda, including all issues related to Medicaid and MassHealth and MAHP’s payment reform and cost control policies.  Sarah is MAHP’s representative to the Advisory Committee to the Health Care Quality and Cost Council, where she has served as both Vice Chair and Chair for the Committee.  Sarah also serves as MAHP’s general counsel and advises MAHP on compliance with state Ethics laws and regulations.  Sarah currently serves on the MWPC PAC Board,  and also serves as the co-chair for the MassGap Health and Human Services and Elder Affairs Task Force.  Sarah received a BA, Honors, in Environmental Policy from the University of Kansas and holds a JD from Vermont Law School.

Jason A. Aluia
Government Relations Manager

As Government Relations Manager, Jason directs legislative activities and advances the industry’s legislative priorities at the State House.  Joining MAHP in May 2010, he also works on promoting grassroots campaign efforts among MAHP member plans and employers.  Jason previously served as Deputy Chief of Staff and Legislative Director to former Speaker Sal DiMasi and prior to that served as his Director of Constituent Services.  Jason is attending Suffolk University for Public Policy, and currently serves as the chairman of the Ward 3 Democratic Committee in Boston.

Kara Cotich

Public Policy Analyst

Kara joined MAHP in April 2011 from Harvard University Health Services where she was an Administrative Fellow in Healthcare Management working on issues related to federal Health Care Reform.  Prior to that, she served as an intern at the MA Department of Public Health and was a teaching fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health.  Kara holds a Masters Degree in Health Policy Management from the Harvard School of Public Health and received her bachelor’s from Union College in Schenectady, New York.

Liz Fluet

Public Policy Analyst

Liz joined MAHP in May 2011 as a Public Policy Analyst.  Liz comes to us from the Office of State Representative David Torrisi, where she served as his Chief of Staff and Legislative Director for more than 10 years.  In that capacity, she was responsible for legislative and policy development, as well as committee research and constituent services.  Liz received her law degree from Suffolk University School of Law and her Masters Degree in Public Affairs from UMass Boston's McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies.  She received a Bachelors in Political Science at Boston University.

Suzanne Lebel
Office Program Manager

Suzanne joined MAHP in February 2010, bringing with her many years of business and marketing experience across the high-tech, financial, retail, internet and health care fields.  In addition, she has owned and operated several businesses.  Suzanne received her Bachelors degree in Business Administration Marketing from the University of Vermont.  Prior to joining MAHP, Suzanne offered small business consulting services, and was Director of Marketing at Cape.com, a regional internet and website development firm.

Brian M. Quigley, Esq.
Legislative Counsel

Brian joined MAHP in 2002.  He has 30 years experience in health care law and legislation, first with Travelers and then with UnitedHealthCare, where he was responsible for state legislative activity in all 50 states.  Brian received his JD from the University of Connecticut School of Law and his Bachelors degree from the College of the Holy Cross.

Ann LaBelle

Staff Writer

Ann joined MAHP in November of 2010 as a freelance staff writer.  She received her Bachelors degree in Government with a focus in Communications from Suffolk University.  Most recently worked as a writer and intranet editor for a medical device company and has many years of experience in government and media relations.