Dental Medicaid Conference Speakers

Ms. Brazzel has been the clinical director for Acentra Health’s Utilization Management contract for 1.5 years and became the program director in August 2024.

Mr. Brickey assumed the role of provider enrollment manager with Gainwell Technologies in August 2019. He joined Arkansas Title XIX in October 2015 as an enrollment analyst and business analyst working with Patient-Centered Medical Homes. Mr. Brickey is driven to ensure Arkansas Medicaid providers receive the best service.

Mr. Jones is a 1991 graduate of the University of Arkansas Little Rock with a Bachelor of Science in biology. He started his career with AG Edwards as an investment advisor in 1992, working primarily with retirees in Northwest Arkansas. In 2000, he joined Citistreet and served as their Arkansas principal and state government plan manager. He joined Stephens Capital Management in 2004 as a retirement and pension plan advisor, working primarily in government markets and was promoted to vice president of Stephens Inc in 2007.

Mr. Jones provides the day to day oversight for the Arkansas Diamond plan and also serves as the primary contact for the Medicaid provider participants in the plan. Mr. Jones earned the designation of Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist (CRPS®) in 2012. Mr. Jones is a FINRA Registered Representative (Series 7 & 63) and a Registered Investment Advisor Representative (Series 65).

Ms. Kinggard joined AFMC in 2005 and currently serves as the manager for provider relations, DPSQA provider relations, and ConnectCare escalated Outreach Services teams. Ms. Kinggard and her team educate Arkansas Medicaid providers on policies, procedures, and various initiatives and complete primary care assessments for Arkansas Medicaid beneficiaries. Ms. Kinggard is a registered nurse with more than 25 years of experience in health care, including home health, labor and delivery, and pediatric settings.

Ms. Santifer is the director of the Office of Health Information Technology (OHIT). She has nearly 13 years of experience in the operations, development, and policy-supporting Medicaid quality improvement programs. Ms. Santifer is experienced in program management, value-based programs and data and information technologies supporting health care and social service programs.

Ms. Smith started her career as a journalist for newspapers in Illinois and Arkansas, covering health care for seven years. She led the policy analysis and research section of the Arkansas Bureau of Legislative Research, which serves as non-partisan staff for the Arkansas General Assembly. She joined the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) in 2021 as an assistant director for the Division of Medical Services (DMS) and became the Division's deputy director in April 2023. Ms. Smith has a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University in New York and a master's in public health from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Bozeman College of Public Health.

Ms. Young has been with AFMC since August 1, 2017. Through her 35 years of experience with Arkansas health care contracts, she has developed extensive knowledge of Medicaid claims processing, common billing issues, and provider training needs. Ms. Young has led efforts to implement virtual training and the health care portal for providers and works consistently to improve services and support to Medicaid providers.