Faculty

Rick Aguayo, FNP-C
Rick Aguayo is a nurse practitioner in Nashville. Meeting and loving people where they are is the focus of Rick’s philosophy personally as well as professionally. Rick is trained in the whole-person model of nursing care and is a former practice owner. He also had extensive management experience prior to entering health care. Working with people in a variety of settings and roles has solidified his desire to connect and to provide encouragement and support as a health care provider. Rick received a Master of Science in Nursing from Vanderbilt University in 2007 and has practiced in both primary care and pain management. Rick believes the rewards from working with people and relationships built are greater than any success we can achieve as humans. 

Rajiv Arya, MD, MBA
Dr. Arya's work is focused on providing specialized direct care for members with complex social, medical and behavioral health needs, including integrated care and housing services, home-based primary care and advanced complex care training. He is currently a direct care emergency medicine provider. His career has focused on reducing variation and improving clinical quality at a large hospital and in academic leadership positions. His publications have addressed emergency department operations, clinical outcomes, clinical informatics and emergency department crowding. He completed his undergraduate studies at Columbia University, School of Engineering, received his MD from Rutgers-New Jersey Medical School, and earned his MBA from the University of Delaware. 

Charlene Brown, MD, MPH
Dr. Brown is a physician who is board certified in general psychiatry and child and adolescent psychiatry. She has worked with UnitedHealthcare members housed through our Health & Housing Program and those enrolled in home-based primary care. Dr. Brown has also served as the medical director for a rural community mental health clinic treating adults and children in six counties in west Tennessee. She has also worked as a child psychiatrist treating children and adolescents in both inpatient and outpatient settings in a Chicago suburb. Additionally, she has provided psychiatric care at Cook County Juvenile Detention Center and Bay Pines VA Healthcare System. Dr. Brown received her BS from Tennessee State University and her MD from University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, TN. After medical school, she received her Master's in Public Health from St. Louis University where she also completed an NIH Health Disparities Fellowship. She completed her psychiatry residency at the University of South Florida and her child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She has a special interest in working with children and families.

Melissa Bruhl, DO, CMD
Dr. Bruhl is a primary care physician who has spent the past four years in home-based primary care and hospice service. She has over 16 years of experience in long-term care with a focus on caring for patients and families navigating the complexities of dementia. She has a passion for listening to the individual regarding goals for health and partnering with the patient to provide whole-person centered care. In her free time, she enjoys outdoor activities such as camping and hiking with her spouse and three children. 

Shayla Combs, LCSW
Shayla Combs is a licensed clinical social worker who has worked in social services for over 10 years. Before coming to UnitedHealthcare, Shayla spent six years in Chicago working with people experiencing homelessness within supportive housing programs. Shayla worked as a direct service provider, supervisor and program manager working with individuals and families who experienced chronic homelessness, those living with HIV and those with complex medical and mental health diagnoses. While working in Chicago, Shayla served as the Housing Committee Chair on the Chicago Area Integrated HIV Services Council and as a member of the Chicago Continuum of Care’s System Performance and Evaluation Committee. Shayla is licensed in the state of Illinois, and she has facilitated clinical supervision groups for Master’s level social workers pursuing their clinical license. Shayla also worked as a crisis intervention trainer for her organization. Shayla received her Master’s in Social Work from the Silberman School of Social Work in New York, NY, in 2013. Prior to earning her degree in social work, Shayla worked as an intake specialist in a substance use treatment clinic, as a mental health aide in an acute hospital setting and as a home care worker for seniors. 

Amy Fynmore
Amy Fynmore is a certified workforce development professional. She has 10 years of experience in social services serving individuals and families with complex behavioral and social needs in the fields of family welfare, workforce development and housing/homeless services. She is passionate about closing the equity gap through strategic collaboration, innovation and evaluation. While at UnitedHealthcare, Ms. Fynmore has led and supported clinical innovation projects to improve complex care delivery and developed programs to enhance occupational training access and post-secondary attainment for individuals with disabilities. She has also supported cross-sector collaboration to impact systems change at local and state levels. She is based in Phoenix, AZ, where she enjoys volunteering, spending time with family and riding her Peloton bike.

Kerianne Guth, MSW
Kerianne Guth has 10 years of experience working with vulnerable and underserved individuals and families. Her work focuses on the translation of trauma-informed clinical care into organization and leadership strategies. She previously served as the Administrative Director for Behavioral Health and Addiction Medicine at Cooper University Health Care in Camden, NJ. There, she co-led the start-up of the Division of Addiction Medicine that offered medication treatment for substance use disorders, behavioral health support, inpatient consultation and trauma-informed population health initiatives. Ms. Guth was also a founding team member of the Urban Health Institute at Cooper, a dedicated business unit transforming health care delivery. Early in her career, she worked as a maternal-child health home-visiting social worker after receiving her Master’s of Social Work degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Ms. Guth is based outside of Philadelphia with her husband, son, daughter and two rescue dogs. 

Chelsey Jones, LCSW
Chelsey Jones is a licensed clinical social worker with the desire to help people navigate their life decisions. She has over 10 years of experience working in the field of mental health. Ms. Jones received her Master's of social work from Radford University in Radford, VA, and holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA. Her professional expertise includes working with individuals with an acute mental illness and providing crisis intervention services in outpatient and inpatient settings. Her approach to treatment is to assist individuals and families with finding their own strengths and building upon these strengths through mindfulness and cognitive behavioral therapy techniques. She believes in empowering individuals to have the confidence to make decisions that are best for them and to develop positive coping skills. Ms. Jones is based in the Jacksonville, FL, area and enjoys the outdoors with her two dogs, hiking, yoga, lifting weights and running. 

Nakeesha Longmire, LCSW
Nakeesha Longmire is a licensed clinical social worker and a Behavioral Health Advocate based in Memphis, TN.  She has close to 12 years of experience treating both children and adults using an eclectic, person-centered approach tailored to the unique needs of each individual. She has experience working in a variety of settings including the child welfare system, the education system, crisis mental health intervention services, acute psychiatric care and the military. She believes innovation and flexibility are two essential keys to success. Her love of learning lead her to pursue an Associate of Nursing degree at Southwest Tennessee Community College with the goal of becoming a registered nurse. She believes an individual’s overall success is impacted by both their behavioral and physical health outcomes. She plans to combine her nursing and clinical social work skills in a holistic approach to support clients in achieving their goals. She is always seeking to provide a compassionate and supportive environment to help individuals and families overcome obstacles to succeed and thrive.   

Myra Miller, LCSW
Myra Miller is a licensed clinical social worker with 30 years of experience in the medical and social service fields. She has worked with a diverse population of clients including active military, veterans, adults in an in-patient setting with behavioral health and substance use disorders and in outpatient Intensive Outpatient Program/Partial Hospitalization Program settings for those with comorbidities. She maintained a private practice for many years assisting those in a rural setting with limited access to services, partnering with primary care providers and other specialists. She is a past president of the Upper Cumberland Social Service Association and producer/host of “In the Meantime...Exploring Life’s Transitions,” a weekly radio program aimed at building mental health awareness and education. Ms. Miller has performed public speaking engagements with community organizations to improve mental health awareness and resources along with volunteering with local women’s groups to support healthy relationships, self-care and developing talents. She enjoys working with UnitedHealthcare members in the stabilization program and is working on innovative new programs, such as a telebehavioral health program. Effective communication, conflict resolution skills and mind-body connection education are fundamental elements in developing the person-centered, strengths-based goals she uses with clients. Her motto is “Change your mind and your life will follow...” 

Kelly Nelson
Kelly Nelson is a health coach and public health professional. Her passion for holistic health has led her to work in various capacities, coaching and empowering individuals to achieve their highest state of health and well-being, build resilience and overcome social barriers. Through her work at a non-profit in Boston, MA, Kelly taught youth and children social-emotional skills, health, nutrition and gardening through outdoor education and service-learning programs. She served for 2 years as a full-time volunteer in both Tanzania and Peru, where she worked closely with communities and individuals to develop self-reliance, resiliency and healthy coping skills. Kelly studied public health and non-profit management at Brigham Young University. She lives in Arizona with her husband and loves every excuse to get outside and run, bike, hike or swim. 

Rodrigo Olivares, MSW
Rodrigo is a master level social worker with close to 20 years of experience in child welfare, direct behavioral health treatment, suicide care and leading large behavioral health organizations. Before joining UnitedHealth Group, Rodrigo served as Chief of Operations and Clinical Officer for the Crisis Response Network (CRN) in Tempe, AZ, in addition to a number of leadership positions with La Frontera of New Mexico and Arizona. He has previously served on several boards and committees at the local, statewide and national levels, and he currently serves on the board of directors for the Children’s Action Alliance. Mr. Olivares holds a Master's in social work with major concentration in family-focused practice with Latino individuals and families from the University of Texas Pan American in Edinburg, TX. 

Irena Stjepic, LCSW
Irena Stjepic is a licensed clinical social worker who is a trained eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) psychotherapist. She has over 13 years of health care and behavioral health experience serving individuals with complex behavioral and social needs. She has participated in multiple diverse roles within the behavioral health field, including inpatient psychiatric treatment, individual therapy, group therapy and evaluating individuals' psychiatric needs to aid in selecting an appropriate level of care. Ms. Stjepic also has experience with outpatient psychiatric treatment, case management, utilization management, supervisory and private practice experience. Throughout the years, she has helped grow a psycho-social program for adults with serious and persistent mental illness by implementing policies and program changes using a patient-centered model. She notes that her greatest reward as a psychotherapist is maintaining a positive approach throughout the therapeutic process and valuing positive reinforcement with clients’ capacities and aspirations. She meets her patients where they are and guides them along their life journey by helping them to focus on proactive steps towards a brighter future. She is based in Nashville, TN, and she enjoys reading, traveling, hiking, CrossFit and hot yoga.

Kate Warren
Kate Warren’s career and personal experience has led her to work with our complex care members via the Clinical Redesign's housing program. She started her career as a project manager leading technology projects and process operations for large corporations. When her passion called her to do more to help the most vulnerable populations, she took several years to volunteer for groups that worked directly with our community. Currently, she integrates her project management skills and passion for people as the Housing Operations Advocate, working to ensure the program is sustainable and has the capacity to assist many more vulnerable people. Ms. Warren holds Master's degrees in geography and pastoral ministry. In her free time, she is a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer, advocating for children in foster care.

Planning Committee

Sarah Chart, RN
Vice President
OptumHealth Education
Eden Prairie, MN

Rebecca Gleason, RN, CCM
Activity Manager
OptumHealth Education
Eden Prairie, MN

Tina Rydland, PharmD
Crystal Clear Rx
Denver, CO