Valerie DeBruin began her career with Careington International Corporation in 2008 and currently serves the company as vice president of Network Operations. During her tenure, she has held leadership roles in Sales, Account Management, Product Development and Network Operations. Valerie was instrumental in the successful launch of the London office for Careington’s affiliate, Munroe Sutton. During her time abroad, Valerie helped build the foundation for a discount dental and optical network, the first of its kind, throughout the United Kingdom. She has extensive experience working with brokers and employers to define needs in the marketplace. Today, Valerie oversees the recruiting, credentialing, quality assurance, DSO relations and analytics divisions of Careington’s Dental Network, which has maintained discount fee-for-service and PPO lease networks for more than 40 years. Valerie works with the primary goal of helping provide an avenue for consumers to receive access to affordable dental care throughout the U.S. and U.K. She and her team are constantly looking for ways to improve the provider and customer experience, as well as the accuracy and adequacy of Careington’s nationwide dental networks.

Rinku Goldberg is the Vice President of Strategic Relation Management in UnitedHealthcare’s Dental Network team. In her position Rinku oversees all strategic provider network relations including Leased Network partnership and National DSO management. She also has a key role in supporting the Private Label and National Account Sales teams.

Rinku has 20 years of experience in the Dental industry specifically in the provider space. She started her career at PacifiCare Health Systems which was later acquired by UHC in 2008. During her tenure, she has held various leadership roles in provider operations, provider relations, sales support, data management, credentialing, government programs, and now provider network management.

Rinku holds a Master’s degree in Health Administration from the University of LaVerne and a Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from California State University, Fullerton.

Michaela Muniz is an accomplished professional with a career spanning over thirty years in the ever-evolving medical and dental provider network marketplace. Currently, she holds the position of Vice President of Payer Relations at Specialty1 Partners, which she assumed after leaving her previous position at Dental Care Alliance (DCA).

In her current role at Specialty1 Partners, Michaela fosters strategic relationships with insurance plan partners, instrumental in enhancing plan participation and revenue. She also leads the payor relations and credentialing departments, overseeing initiatives to streamline and improve interactions with insurance providers and ensuring that all credentialing processes are efficient and compliant.

Before joining Specialty1Partners, Michaela served as the Senior Director of Insurance Plan Management at Dental Care Alliance (DCA) from September 2017. At DCA, she played a crucial role in enhancing the company's plan participation and revenue by managing strategic relationships with insurance partners. She also led the credentialing department and oversaw a dedicated team responsible for delegated credentialing.

Before her tenure at DCA,Michaela served as the Vice President of Provider and network Management at Argus Dental & Vision, where her expertise in provider networks was put to excellent use. Before that, she was the National Director of provider Networks at Ameritas Group Dental.

In addition to her career achievements, Michaela actively contributes to the industry. She chairs the DSOAdvisory Council, has served on the NADP Operations Workgroup since 2012, and played an active role in the Delegated Credentialing and Network Leasing SubWorkgroup within the NADP.

Michaela is a proud graduate ofthe University of Florida.

As Chief Innovation & Growth Officer, John Schaak is responsible for driving profitable growth through the acquisition of new customers and sales of new products and services. John leads company efforts to solve industry problems by identifying new opportunities and markets, as well as innovative new products and services. With his strong commitment to exemplary client service and collaborative approach to both internal and external relationships, he has a demonstrated ability to help players in the healthcare continuum grow their businesses while reducing costs, improving operations, and serving their members more effectively.

John brings extensive leadership experience to his position. He was previously the president of Scion Dental and SKYGEN USA’s chief operating officer. Before that, John was a partner with the national law firm Quarles & Brady.

John has been listed on the Wisconsin Super Lawyers, Rising Stars list multiple times. He holds a Juris Doctorate from Marquette University Law School. He earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Political Science and Criminal Justice with a minor in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.