Millersville, Maryland – The Coordinating Center, Maryland’s statewide, premier nonprofit care coordination organization for children and adults with disabilities and complex needs is excited to announce the appointment of four new Board Members. “I am thrilled to announce that Norma McCowin, Janhavi Kirtane, Marla Farley and Irina Koyfman, four dynamic and accomplished women have joined our Board of Directors. Their three-year term begins today!” said Teresa Titus-Howard, PhD, MHA, MSW, President and CEO of The Center.
Irina Koyfman, DNP, NP-C, RN, Founder and CEO of Affinity Expert, is an Adult Nurse Practitioner with more than 20 years of executive experience. Ms. Koyfman will serve as on The Center’s Board of Directors as its new Clinical Representative. Norma McCowin, MBA, PMP, Senior Director of Program Delivery for Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., has over 25+ years of experience acting as an executive sponsor and program manager in key government and consumer-based not-for-profit and healthcare entities. Janhavi Kirtane, MBA, Founder and President of VJ Health, is a mission-driven and versatile healthcare services leader with 20+ years of experience in strategy and operations across sectors. Marla Facey is an Ordained Minister of the Gospel, a Retired Military Veteran, and a show host for two podcasts with iHeart Radio, focused on Scripture and self-help. With 20 years’ experience working with children with developmental, social, and physical delays through the foster care system and as a parent of a child with developmental disabilities, Ms. Facey will serve as The Center’s newest Parent Representative.
“Irina, Norma and Janhavi bring significant health care experience, having worked in both public and private sectors to improve population health. I’m confident that with their knowledge and Marla’s parent and veteran perspective that we will expand The Center’s footprint and further our mission, to partner with people of all ages and abilities and those who support them in the community to achieve their aspirations for independence, health and meaningful community life,” said Dr. Titus-Howard.
Dr. Irina Koyfman previously ran her own health care business (DME, Medical Spa, Home Health Agency) and worked for large corporations, such as CareFirst and Optum, prior to launching her own health care consulting company.
Dr. Koyfman has a personal connection to The Center, having had a family member was recently a client of The Center. With her passion for health care and coworker retention, Dr. Koyfman recently did some pro bono work for The Center on coworker retention. “I’m excited to serve as a board member at The Center. I feel that my experience in care coordination, patient-centered medical home, employee recruitment and retention, community and chronic care, as well as clinical experience as an adult Nurse Practitioner can bring innovation and “out- of – the –box” thinking to The Center,” says Dr. Koyfman.
Dr. Koyfman, is a member of the International Society for Emotional Intelligence National Coordinators, a board member for the Baltimore County Community College Board and the Life and Breath Foundation Board. In addition, she serves as Chair of the Clinical Advisory Board (CAB) and John’s Hopkins Dementia study titled: “PLAN” since 2020. Dr. Koyfman received her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) from Johns Hopkins School of Nursing and Master’s of Nurse Practitioner from the University of Maryland in Baltimore.
Norma McCowin has worked in healthcare operations, information technology, research and development, and construction throughout her tenure. As Senior Director of Program Delivery for Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., she is responsible for delivering state-of-the-art technology solutions and organizational transformation.
Mrs. McCowin was introduced to The Center through Associated Black Charities, Board Pipeline, Young Leadership Program. “I am excited to serve as a board member of The Coordinating Center and will leverage my experience to further the vision of achieving optimal quality health, affordable housing, and meaningful community life for the members we serve,” says Mrs. McCowin. “You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” – Mae West
Previously, Mrs. McCowin worked for the American Red Cross as the Chief Administrative Officer for the Missouri Illinois Blood Services Region, where she was accountable for day-to-day operations and project management. Mrs. McCowin has her MBA from the Robert H. School of Business at the University of Maryland and Bachelor’s in Biology from Hampton University.
Janhavi Kirtane was most recently General Manager for CareMore Health in Washington DC, a provider of primary care and behavioral health services for vulnerable adults enrolled in Medicaid. In 2021, Ms. Kirtane established VJ Health as a strategic advisory firm to support organizations and innovators who imagine a more modern, aligned, and compassionate healthcare system.
Ms. Kirtane was one of the founders of the Chartis Group, one of the nation’s largest independent healthcare advisory firm, with a unique breadth and depth of capabilities to meet healthcare’s most pressing issues. While at Chartis Group, Ms. Kirtane grew the company from 5 to 60 employees. The Center’s Board Chair, James Karpook states that Ms. Kirtane is “brilliant and passionate about healthcare and building partnerships between health systems and community organizations to support high-risk, vulnerable and underserved populations.” Ms. Kirtane worked with Mr. Karpook at the Chartis Group from 2005-2009.
Presently, Ms. Kirtane is a National Advisory Group member with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Culture of Health Prize, a volunteer with the Waynewood Elementary School Diversity and Inclusion Action Group, a volunteer at Durga Hindu Temple of Northern Virginia as a Sunday School Teacher, and a member of the Harvard Club of Washington DC, Interview Committee. Ms. Kirtane received her BA in Economics from Harvard College and her MBA at The Wharton School, University of PA.
Marla Facey has worked with children with developmental, social, and physical delays for the past 20 years through the States of Washington, Texas, and Maryland’s Foster Care Systems. Since 1993, Ms. Facey has provided foster home services for over 23 children. While residing in Washington, Ms. Facey volunteered as a Court Appointed Special Advocate and Guardian Ad Litem for the Children in Foster Care. In Maryland, Mrs. Facey volunteers at the Church at Daily Bread and as an Ambassador for Maryland State of the Come on In, Inc., both of which support the homeless.
Mrs. Facey began her career as a Certified Nursing Aide (CNA) and later joined the United States Army, where she experienced many difficult missions stateside and overseas, to include a war veteran in Iraq. Mrs. Facey also served as a full-time Veteran’s Employee in Seattle Washington. Ms. Facey has her bachelor’s degree in Human Services Management with emphasis on youth and family services, followed by a doctorate in Christian Counseling and Communications, which she obtained while simultaneously serving as a licensed foster parent with her husband. In 2020, Ms. Facey won the Extraordinary People Writer of the Year in 2020 for writing and publishing three books that are sold on Amazon.
Dr. Titus-Howard says, “Marla is the parent of an amazing young lady, Jada who is 15 years old with Down Syndrome and developmental delays. Marla is such a delight and a passionate person, and it is no doubt where Jada gets her amazing personality, from “her Momma!” Ms. Facey has four biological children and seven biological grandchildren and a host of children and grandchildren that call her Nana or Auntie Marla.
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Founded in 1983 and headquartered in Millersville, Maryland, The Coordinating Center is a statewide, nonprofit organization that provides care coordination services for more than 10,000 children and adults with complex medical needs and disabilities and their families. The mission of The Center is to partner with people of all ages and abilities and those who support them in the community to achieve their aspirations for independence, health, and meaningful community life. Visit www.coordinatingcenter.org for more information.
