Biographies

Leslie V. Norwalk

Leslie Norwalk is Strategic Counsel to Epstein Becker & Green, P.C., EBG Advisors and National Health Advisors. She is also a principal in Norwalk & Associates. She serves as an advisor to three private equity firms: Warburg Pincus, Ferrer Freeman & Company, and Enhanced Equity Fund, and sits on the boards of directors of Broadlane and Sound Inpatient Physicians.

Ms. Norwalk served the Bush Administration as the Acting Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). She managed the day-to-day operations of Medicare, Medicaid, State Child Health Insurance Programs, Survey and Certification of health care facilities and other federal health care initiatives. For four years prior to that, she was the agency's Deputy Administrator, responsible for the implementation of the hundreds of changes made under the Medicare Modernization Act, including the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit.

CMS has the second-largest budget outlay of the federal government, directly responsible for $1 out of every $3 spent on healthcare in the United States. The organization insures approximately 25% of the population of the United States (more than 90 million beneficiaries) including the elderly, disabled, and some of the lowest income individuals in the country. CMS processes over one billion claims each year and contracts with approximately one million providers.

Prior to serving the Bush Administration, Ms. Norwalk practiced law in the Washington, D.C. office of Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. where she advised clients on a variety of health policy matters. She also served in the first Bush administration in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel, and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

Ms. Norwalk, a native of Dayton, OH, earned a juris doctor degree from the George Mason University School of Law, where she was a Dean's Scholar and an editor of the George Mason Law Review. She earned a bachelor's degree, cum laude, in economics and international relations from Wellesley College.

Michael O. Leavitt

Michael O. Leavitt, the 14th governor of Utah, has led the state through an era of change and unparalleled prosperity. Elected in 1992, reelected in 1996 with the largest vote total in state history and the second governor in Utah history to be reelected to a third term, Leavitt has carried out a vision of improvement and innovation while positioning Utah for success in a new millennium.

Under Leavitt, Utah has been named the "best-managed state" in America, the "best place to locate a business" and host of the 2002 Winter Olympics. Sales, income and property taxes have all been reduced.

Crime is down and student achievement is up. Open spaces are being preserved. Air pollution is diminishing. Highways and public transportation are helping people to move around efficiently. Welfare reliance is shrinking.

Governor Leavitt's leadership extends beyond the state's borders as well. He is past chairman of the National Governors Association and a leading national voice on issues such as welfare reform, federal-state relations, e-commerce and balanced environmental management.

Barry Maher

Originally making his mark as a world-class salesperson and sales manager, then as a management and sales consultant helping clients improve their productivity, Barry Maher is now in demand for business audiences of all types. Selling Power magazine declared, "To his powerful and famous clients, Barry Maher is simply the best sales trainer in the business."

It soon became apparent that the strategies that were so effective in helping managers and salespeople succeed worked every bit as well with the issues all of us face in business.

Whether as a speaker or a consultant, Barry is hired to get results: to improve productivity and attitude, and ultimately, the bottom line—to make his clients money. Those clients include organizations such as ABC, the American Bar Association, the American Management Association, AT&T, Blue Cross, Budget Rent a Car, Canon, Country Kitchen, Infiniti Automotive, Johnson & Johnson, Lufthansa Airlines, Merck, the National Lottery of Ireland, the Small Business Administration, Verizon, and WellPoint, as well as innumerable professional and trade associations.

Barry’s book, Filling the Glass was cited as “[One of] The Seven Essential Popular Business Books” by Today’s Librarian magazine. His latest book, No Lie: Truth Is the Ultimate Sales Tool, from McGraw-Hill, has been translated around the world. His other books include The Prentice Hall Marketing Yearbook, the niche book, Getting the Most from Your Yellow Pages Advertising, and the mini-cult classic novel, Legend.

Barry has as appeared on The Today Show, NBC Nightly News, CNBC and well over 800 local television and radio stations. He is frequently featured in publications such as USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The London Times, Business Week and—what he insists is his personal favorite—Funeral Service Insider.