Camille Dobson and Nanette Relave to Join ADvancing States 

For Immediate Release                                                                                               

WASHINGTON, DC - ADvancing States is pleased to announce that Camille Dobson and Nanette Relave will join the ADvancing States team on July 1. Ms. Dobson and Ms. Relave have decades of experience in aging and disability policy, having worked in a variety of roles in federal and state government, as well as in the private sector. Their collective expertise will enhance the capacity of ADvancing States and its members to design, improve, and sustain state systems that deliver home and community-based services and supports to people who are older or have a disability, and their caregivers. 

Camille Dobson will serve as the Deputy Executive Director for ADvancing States. In this position, Ms. Dobson will lead ADvancing States’s efforts to provide technical assistance to states on the full array of long-term services and supports (LTSS) programs. Ms. Dobson comes to ADvancing States from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), where she is currently the Senior Policy Advisor for Medicaid Managed Care in the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services. In this role, she has served as the agency’s policy expert on Medicaid managed care delivery system issues, and has directed the agency’s regulatory and technical assistance efforts regarding managed care. During her tenure at CMS, Ms. Dobson also led a team of analysts charged with reviewing and approving Medicaid managed care waivers, state plan amendments, and section 1115 demonstrations. Prior to joining CMS in 2005, Ms. Dobson spent 12 years working on Medicaid managed care issues for a variety of entities, including the Maryland Association of HMOs; CareFirst; BlueCross BlueShield; and Maryland Physicians Care. In welcoming Ms. Dobson, ADvancing States’s Executive Director Martha Roherty stated, “As state aging and disability agencies prepare for the expansion of integrated care and work to develop the business acumen necessary to evolve along with the rapidly changing health care landscape, Camille’s considerable Medicaid managed LTSS experience, as well as her proficiency in federal managed care regulations and health plan operations will truly be an asset to ADvancing States and to the states.” A certified professional in healthcare quality, she received both her Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs and Master’s degree in Public Administration from George Washington University.

Nanette Relave will join ADvancing States as the Director of the National Information and Referral Support Center. Currently, Ms. Relave is the Director of the Center for Workers with Disabilities (CWD) at the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA). Designed to support state efforts to develop or enhance work incentives and strengthen programs serving people with disabilities, the CWD provides a locus for information exchange, policy and program development, and direct technical assistance to and between states. Prior to joining APHSA, Ms. Relave worked at The Finance Project, where she focused on workforce development for low-income individuals, welfare reform, and youth development. She is the author of numerous publications on these issues, and has written extensively on financial programming strategies. “Having worked with Nanette at APHSA, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to do so again.  Her experience in, and dedication to, improving the lives of older adults and individuals with disabilities makes her a perfect fit for ADvancing States,” said Martha Roherty. Ms. Relave holds a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree from the Catholic University of America, and a Bachelor of Arts in Government from Georgetown University. Her MSW field practicum work included placements with the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services (MCDHHS) and the National Council on Aging (NCOA).   At MCDHHS, Ms. Relave worked with a multidisciplinary team from the agency’s Long-Term Care and Adult Protective Services divisions to provide case management to clients and family caregivers. She assessed needs and environmental supports through home visits, and developed and implemented plans of care.  At NCOA, Ms. Relave provided support to Senior Community Service Employment Program centers on programmatic and legislative issues.