Leadership

Dr. Martin Mendoza

Director

Martin Mendoza, PhD, serves as the Chief Health Equity Officer at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and Director of the CMS Office of Minority Health (OMH). In this role, Dr. Mendoza leads OMH in its mission towards the advancement and integration of health equity in the development, evaluation, and implementation of CMS’s policies, programs, and partnerships.

Prior to CMS, Dr. Mendoza served as the first Director of Health Equity for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) All of Us Research Program where he provided leadership and high-level expertise to improve inclusion and equity in precision medicine.

Before joining All of Us, Dr. Mendoza led extramural research for minority health in the Office of the Commissioner at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). He is a recognized expert in clinical trial diversity and has testified on it before Congress. He is also the primary author of the pivotal FDA guidance recommending that clinical trial sponsors submit a diversity action plan to FDA. Dr. Mendoza’s original idea and recommendation became federal public law in December 2022.

Dr. Mendoza has also served as director of the Division of Policy and Data in the Office of Minority Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Secretary, as well as in multiple NIH Institutes including the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the National Cancer Institute, and the National Human Genome Research Institute where he assisted in the genetic mapping of the Human Genome Project.

Dr. Mendoza is a graduate of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and received his Ph.D. in cancer biology from Johns Hopkins University.

If you are interested in connecting with Dr. Mendoza, please complete a speaking or meeting request form.

Pamela J. Gentry

Deputy Director

Pamela J. Gentry is the Deputy Director of the Office of Minority Health (OMH) for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, at the Department of Health and Human Services.  Gentry’s works to advance the agency’s commitment to and investment in health equity for underserved populations, including policy and program innovation to advance health equity.

Gentry led the agency’s team to plan and execute the first Annual CMS Health Equity Conference and is the champion of the long standing OMH Minority Research Grant Program. The grant program is designed to make strategic investments in health care research aimed at advancing CMS’s goal of mitigating barriers to health equity.

As senior advisor to OMH, she focused on outreach and education for minority communities and the development and execution of national education and outreach campaigns for Medicare, Medicaid, Healthcare Marketplace and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Gentry returned to federal service in 2010 after eight years as senior manager in broadcast and online media for BET Networks.  She created BET’s first online political blog in 2005, “Pamela on Politics.” In 2009 she became the networks senior political analyst responsible for the daily coverage of the White House and legislative activity on Capitol Hill.  Prior to BET she worked for C-SPAN, W*USA-TV Channel 9 in Washington, D.C., and provided political commentary for various national and international news networks and was a guest political blogger on The Huffington Post.

Susan Hill

Acting Group Director, Policy & Program Alignment Group

Susan Hill is a career-long public servant serving over 30 years in the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). She has a deep devotion to health equity for underserved communities, including access and quality in a broad array of settings including alternatives to institutional care for people with disabilities and elders. Susan values meaningful engagement of stakeholders in policy making and is also an advocate for strategic planning and continuous process improvement.

Currently, Susan is the Acting Director of the Policy and Program Alignment Group in the Office of Minority Health (OMH), Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). This Group is responsible for working across CMS programs, policies, models, and demonstrations to mitigate barriers to health equity for a wide array of underserved communities.

As a Senior Advisor to the OMH Director, Susan championed an agency response to Presidential Executive Orders on “Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government” including leading a cross-agency Advisory Council on Equity responsible for assessing whether underserved communities and their members face systemic barriers in access and quality.

Susan championed the design, implementation, and management of a cross-agency capabilities in strategic planning and portfolio management. As Director, Strategic Planning Group in the CMS Office of Strategic Planning, Susan provided leadership and executive direction to a staff of strategy management and process improvement consultants who lead a culture shift in the Agency. Susan demonstrated a persistent optimism while driving the development of cutting-edge strategic planning and management, environmental scanning, stakeholder analysis, and performance management capabilities. She worked to inspire creative and innovative approaches to improve program operations within the Agency.

While working in the Medicaid Program, Susan led the development and implementation of the Money-Follows the Person demonstration program, a five-year $1.75 billion grant program to help states “rebalance” their long- term care systems from institutional care and give people the freedom to live in the community. Earlier in her career, she led the charge for the President’s New Freedom Initiative at the Agency, a comprehensive program to promote the full participation of people with disabilities in all areas of society by promoting increased access, respect, dignity and self-determination.

Upon graduating from the University of Connecticut with a master’s in public policy in 1992 she began her career as a Presidential Management Intern at the National Institutes of Health. Today, she resides in Ellicott City MD with her husband of 30 years; She is the proud mother of three young adults who are pursuing various careers in public service.

Meagan T. Khau

Director, Data Analytics & Research Group

Meagan Khau is the Director of the Data Analytics & Research Group (DARG) at CMS OMH. DARG conducts research, data collection, and analyses to identify targets to reduce health disparities and improve quality of care, care transitions, access to care, and beneficiary satisfaction for populations at higher risk. DARG is also involved in developing and implementing initiatives and data analyses to support cross-component/cross-agency collaborations to improve data collection, analysis, and reporting of race and ethnicity, primary language, disability, gender, and other characteristics associated with health disparities.

Prior to joining CMS OMH, Meagan was the Deputy Director of the Division of Pharmacy in the Center for the Medicaid and CHIP Services, managing the operations of the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program, supporting system developments, ensuring program compliance, and implementing new policies and regulations.

Meagan received her Master of Health Administration from the University of Southern California and a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of California, Irvine.

Sherry Armstead

Director, Business Operations Services & Engagement Group

Sherry Armstead is the Group Director of the Business Operations Services and Engagement Group (BOSEG) in the Office of Minority Health (OMH). Sherry came to CMS in 2000 as a Presidential Management Intern (a Presidential Management Fellow). During her time at CMS, Sherry gained extensive experience working on Medicare payment policy in the Center for Medicare (CM) and as a Technical Director in the Center for Medicaid and Chip Services (CMCS) Business Operations. In addition, Sherry served as the Deputy Director of the Division of Budget Formulation and Presentation in CMS’s Office of Financial Management (OFM), providing oversight and guidance on the Agency’s annual budget.

Since 2016, Sherry has worked in the Center for Clinical Standards and Quality (CCSQ). She served in an Executive Leadership role as the Deputy Group Director for the Business Operations Group (BOG). Before coming to CMS, Sherry worked in the private sector as a Financial Manager with Seton Medical Group, a Division of St. Agnes Hospital, and as a Financial Analyst at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Maryland.

Sherry earned her Bachelor’s degree in Finance from George Washington University and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Healthcare Management from the University of Baltimore.