The board of directors of beWellnm, New Mexico’s health insurance exchange, have named Linda Wedeen as interim chief executive officer.
Wedeen, who has been the organization’s senior director of communications, marketing and outreach, will take over in late September, when current CEO Amy Dowd leaves for a new job with Molina Healthcare in California. Board Chairman J.R. Damron has appointed a search committee to recruit a new CEO.
“To ensure continuity of existing operations, the board felt that the right solution during this time of transition was to appoint a member of the existing leadership team,” Damron said. “Linda’s leadership experience, both with the exchange and in her prior roles, gave us the confidence we needed to ask her to lead beWellnm while the search committee initiates the process.”
Wedeen has been a member of the beWellnm leadership team since 2014, primarily responsible for strategic direction and oversight of exchange efforts to raise awareness and promote enrollment. Following the close of the last open enrollment period, beWellnm connected nearly 55,000 New Mexicans with healthcare coverage through the exchange.
“I am honored to have been selected for the role of Interim CEO of beWellnm,” said Wedeen. “With just two months before the 2017 open enrollment begins, alongside the board of directors, the beWellnm leadership team and our partners around the state, we will continue our mission of expanding access to coverage for New Mexicans.”
Date: August 31, 2016