Office of Program Operations & Local Engagement

Jennifer (Jenn) Shapiro originally joined CMS in 2002 and is currently serving as the Acting Director of the Office of Program Operations and Local Engagement (OPOLE). Previously, Jenn was the SES Director of the Medicare Plan Payment Group (MPPG) in the Center for Medicare (CM) for eight years. As MPPG Director, she was responsible for all payment policy and operations for the Medicare Advantage (Part C) and Prescription Drug (Part D) programs at CMS. In this capacity, Jenn oversaw policy development, program implementation, data collection, and day-to-day management of more than $680 billion in annual federal payments to Medicare health and prescription drug plans. 

Previously, Jenn spent more than a decade in the Medicare Drug Benefit and C&D Data Group (MDBG) in CM, most recently as MDBG Deputy Director. In this role, she oversaw Medicare prescription drug benefit policy and operations, including drug formularies, drug coverage, compliance, applications, clinical issues, as well as quality ratings, system operations, and consumer surveys. In her first MDBG role as Director of the Division of Benefit Purchasing and Monitoring, Jenn was responsible for prescription drug plan account management. She coordinated closely with the regional offices and later helped lead the transition of prescription drug plan account management to the ROs. For years, Jenn led monitoring and routine compliance of Part D plans, and created and implemented both the compliance continuum and past performance review process. 

Jenn also served as the Chief Negotiator for CMS’s 2017 collective bargaining agreement, during which time she developed a strong familiarity with the full range of Agency operations. Jenn holds a Master of Public Health degree from Johns Hopkins University.

Erin Sutton is the Deputy Director for the Office of Program Operations and Local Engagement, Drug and Health Plan Operations. She leads the administration of the Medicare fee-for-service program at the regional level to protect over 60 million beneficiaries, supports over 400 health plans through oversight of Medicare Advantage and Marketplace organizations and ensures the Medicare program’s fiscal integrity. Erin has served at CMS and in the private sector for more than 18 years and has held numerous positions throughout the agency, primarily focused on Medicare Advantage and Marketplace, Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), Part D, special needs products, the intersection of managed care markets, and the No Surprises Act.  During her OPOLE tenure, she has led a functional reorganization of 300 staff, reduced misleading marketing, and improved customer quality and service turnaround across Medicare Advantage and Marketplace for hundreds of thousands of consumer issues each year. Erin’s team also leads regular executive health plan discussions addressing operational issues impacting millions of consumers and delivery of services with taxpayer dollars.

Prior to joining OPOLE, Erin served as the Deputy Group Director for Payment Policy and Financial Management Group in the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, where she created premium stabilization programs and oversaw billions of payments to issuers on and off the Marketplace, and launched the first ever ‘interim reports’, data sets and peer-reviewed articles giving more public access to risk adjustment information.  During this role, she also served in the CCIIO Front Office, working collaboratively in leading the launch of the No Surprises Act alongside the Department of Labor & Treasury Internal Revenue Service; providing early parameters for transparency and consumer relief and protection from surprise medical bills through the patient-provider dispute portal. Erin has served in successive leadership positions, including division director for risk adjustment operations, pre-existing insurance programs, and bundled payments. Additionally, Erin served at the Office of Legislation and as a special assistant to executive leaders in the Center for Medicare (CM) working across Medicare Advantage and Part D fee-for-service programs and detailed at the Office of Management and Budget in the Medicare branch. Prior to CMS, Erin held roles at Avalere Health LLC; a national managed care organization and provider and patient health delivery organizations focused on Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial markets. She holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Tennessee and a Master’s in Public Health Management from the George Washington University.

Sherri McQueen is the Acting Deputy Director for Innovation & Financial Management in the Office of Program Operations and Local Engagement (OPOLE) at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). In this role, she supports the administration and oversight of Medicare operations and financial management activities, helping to ensure program integrity, operational effectiveness, and high-quality service to beneficiaries and providers.

Sherri has served at CMS since 2008 and has held numerous senior leadership roles across the agency, including within the Center for Program Integrity and the Office of Financial Management. Most recently, she served as Director of the Fraud Investigations Group within the Center for Program Integrity, where she led national fraud investigations and enforcement operations across Medicare and Medicaid, overseeing payment suspensions, audit strategy, and high-risk enforcement actions to protect beneficiaries and taxpayer resources.

Prior to that role, Sherri served as Director of the Financial Services Group in the Office of Financial Management, where she led financial operations, debt collection, provider audits, and banking services supporting Medicare compliance. She also served in the Office of the Administrator, leading enterprise efforts in workforce transformation and risk management, advancing data-driven decision-making and organizational performance.

Before joining CMS, Sherri spent nearly two decades in the private sector supporting Medicare operations, including serving as a Project Director for CMS Coordination of Benefits Contractor. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Baruch College, City University of New York.

As Acting Deputy Director for Local Engagement & Administration, Kim Stupica-Dobbs leads outreach, stakeholder engagement, and environmental scanning related to all of CMS' programs. As Regional Administrator and Staff Director for CMS Kansas City, Kim leads and coordinates local external engagement efforts with all regional stakeholders and customers in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska.  She also provides administrative and operational support to all employees in CMS Kansas City, promoting cohesion and collaboration throughout the regional office and with other CMS components. 

Prior to joining CMS, Kim served as the Program Manager for the Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) Program in the Office of Family Assistance, Administration for Children and Families.  The HPOG Program awarded competitive, discretionary grants to organizations to provide education and training to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients and other low-income individuals.  Before joining the federal government, Kim taught in SE Washington, D.C., as part of Teach for America, and held other positions in program management and college recruitment.

Kim holds a bachelor's degree in international affairs and political science from Marquette University and a master’s degree in early childhood education curriculum and instruction from George Mason University.

Ray joined CMS in June 2011 and is currently the Deputy Director for Strategy and Business Operations within the Office of Program Operations and Local Engagement (OPOLE). In this role, he provides executive leadership for OPOLE’s shared business operations for 650 staff in 11 locations across the U.S. His previous role was Deputy Consortium Administrator for the Consortium for Health Plans Operations (CMHPO) and Regional Administrator for the Boston and New York Regional Offices (Regions I & II). As the Deputy Consortium Administrator, he provided oversight and guidance to the 10 CMS regional offices across the country for the administration of Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Plans. As Regional Administrator, he worked diligently to strengthen engagement and partnerships with a variety of CMS stakeholders while promoting awareness of all CMS programs through outreach and education throughout New England, New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Ray served 20 years in the United States Navy as a commissioned officer where he held diverse leadership roles including two successful Commanding Officer tours. Hurd earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from Norwich University and a Master’s Degree in Management from Troy University. 
 

• Serves as the senior level point of contact within each Region for counterparts in CMS, Department leadership (including the HHS Regional Director), as well as external stakeholders. Creates and maintains regional location cohesion and leads regional efforts to improve employee engagement.
• Responsible for consistently and effectively implementing the Agency’s local outreach strategy and messaging.
• Serves as the regional lead for environmental scanning and issue identification, systematically providing a regional perspective in advising the Office of the Administrator on national initiatives and their impact on program beneficiaries, consumers, key partners, and major constituents.
• Responsible for providing the regional voice in the Agency rural health strategy, advising on effective goals, tactics, and success metrics, and implementing the strategy at a local level.
• Serves as the regional focal point for emergency response management for employees in regional locations as well as coordinating the local response to emergencies in accordance with Agency Continuity of Operations, Disaster Recovery, and Emergency Response and Preparedness Operations protocols.
• Implements national policies and procedures to support and assure appropriate State implementation of the rules and processes governing group and individual health insurance markets and the sale of health insurance policies that supplement Medicare coverage.
• Provides Medicare health and drug plans with technical assistance to comply with program requirements, monitoring plan compliance with applicable statutes, regulations, and sub-regulatory guidance.
• Serves as the regional partner in the monitoring and oversight of Qualified Health Plans and Stand-Alone Dental Plans operating in the federally-facilitated exchanges.
• Responds, handles and oversees resolution of inquiries and casework concerning Medicare beneficiary and federally-facilitated exchange consumer rights and protections, enrollment, eligibility, coverage, and costs.
• Serves as the regional focal point for CMS interactions with Medicare Shared Savings Program Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) and innovation models.
• Serves as the regional focal point for CMS oversight of the Medicare Administrative Contractors’ program and fiscal integrity function.
• Implements national policy for Medicare Parts A and B beneficiaries and health care providers.