ICD-10 Curriculum Training Team
Angela Boynton RHIT, CCS, CPC, CCS-P, COC, CPC-P, CPC-I, CPhT
Director 5010/ICD-10 Communication, Adoption & Training, UnitedHealth Group
Angela "Annie" Boynton has served in the health information management field for over 10
years in provider, payer and educational capacities. Currently, she is the Director of 5010/ICD-10
Communication/Adoption and Training at United Health Group, where she helps lead their overall ICD-10
transition. Annie also serves as an adjunct faculty member at Massachusetts Bay Community College,
where she develops curriculum and teaches medical coding, billing, administrative procedures and
medical law and ethics.
Annie was a member the ICD-10 curriculum development team for AAPC. As part of this team, she helped
develop the curriculum that payers will use to facilitate successful 5010 and ICD-10 implementation.
Annie holds an associate’s degree in health information technology and a bachelor’s degree in health
care management from Fisher College and is currently pursuing her Master’s Degree in Health Informatics.
Bonnie G. Schreck, CCS, CPC, COC, CCS-P, COBGC
Bonnie G. Schreck, CCS, CPC, COC, CCS-P, COBGC has been in health care for over 27 years. She started in the field in medical records at an HMO, and then worked at a major University teaching facility, billing and coding, ED, outpatient and inpatient visits. She has worked at AAPC as a Coding Manager and with healthcare data companies, having responsibility for specialty and other coding reference books and healthcare and coding content. She has also performed many seminars and audits for hospitals and physicians, mainly on ICD-9-CM and ICD-10-CM, CPT and HCPCS Level II coding. Bonnie is currently the President of BGS Information Systems, where she consults with physician practices and facilities, manages healthcare data and eLearning platforms and speaks nationally on many aspects of healthcare and coding.
Brenda Edwards, CPC, CPMA, CPC-I, CEMC
Coding and Compliance Specialist, Kansas Medical Mutual Insurance Company
Brenda entered the coding and billing profession 25 years ago. She has been involved in many aspects of coding and billing. Her current responsibilities include chart auditing, coding and compliance education, and contributing articles to the company website and publication as well as articles for coding publications. Brenda is an AAPC-approved PMCC instructor, ICD-10 Trainer and is an AAPC Workshop Presenter. She is a frequent speaker for local chapters and AAPC regional conferences. Brenda represents Region 8 on the AAPCCA Local Chapter Board of Directors.
Brenda T. Griffin, MHSA, CPC, CPMA
President, Griffin Compliance
Brenda T. Griffin has a Master’s Degree in Health Services Administration and 28 years of coding experience in inpatient, outpatient, and physician coding. For 12 years, Brenda was the coding/documentation, audit, and education manager at an academic medical center for a large physician practice. Brenda is a university level instructor, as well as a speaker for AAPC. She currently specializes in physician coding and documentation compliance, audits, and education for all specialties.
Caren J Swartz, CPC, CPC-I, COC, CPMA, CPB
Caren brings with her over 21 years of experience in practice management, coding, billing, and reimbursement. Her background includes 6 years as an active duty Navy operating room technician, where she participated in a variety of surgeries. She has worked in various practice settings, such as Orthopaedics, Oral Surgery, General Surgery, Vascular/Interventional, and multi-specialty practices. She speaks at AAPC and AAMA’s national conventions. She has been a certified coder since 1999 and has been certified as a coding instructor since 2005.
Chandra Lynn Stephenson, CPC, COC, CPMA, CPC-I, CANPC, CEMC, CFPC, CGSC, CIMC, COSC
Chandra is currently employed as a consultant. She started out in health care 10 years ago and has worked in various settings, including a centralized billing office, a family practice office, a
cardiology office, and as a billing and coding instructor at a local technical college. She has worked as a coding and compliance auditor and enjoys conducting audits, researching coding and compliance
issues, developing coding tools, and providing practitioner education.
Corrie Alvarez, CPC, CPC-I, CEDC
Educator and PMCC Instructor
Corrie has 25 years of professional experience in the field of medical coding, auditing and practice settings. In 1998, Corrie obtained her teaching credential and started teaching medical billing and coding courses for the Los Angeles School District. She is also an approved instructor for the AAPC’s PMCC course. Corrie is the founder of the Mission Hills, California Chapter where she has held several officer positions. Corrie earned a Bachelor's degree from California State Northridge.
Cynthia L. Stewart, CPC, CCS-P, COC, CPMA, CPC-I
Cynthia has long been an outspoken advocate for AAPC and is the 2009/2010 President Elect of the National Advisory Board of AAPC. She has been a member of AAPC since 1998 and was the 2006
President of the Central Indiana chapter in Indianapolis prior to being selected to serve as an AAPC National Advisory Board member in 2007.
She has more than 25 years of experience in the medical profession. In the past 15 years she has applied her knowledge and skills in several capacities including Billing Supervisor, Practice
Manager, Senior Coding Specialist, Coding and Reimbursement Consultant, and Director of Medical Billing and Coding Specialist and Healthcare Management programs.
She is an AAPC Workshop presenter and has provided instruction as a reviewer, contributing author and research assistant for various coding and billing text.
Darlene Britton, CPC, CPC-I, CEDC
Darlene received her CPC certification through American Academy of Professional Coders in 2008. She completed her Associates degree from Rasmussen College in September 2009. Realizing the importance of being versatile in the ever changing medical world, she has obtained her CEDC certification in addition to her CPC-I Instructor’s certification as well as being an AAPC approved ICD-10-CM instructor.
This is not just a job to Darlene, this has become a passion and one that she enjoys to share. She is a member of the Capital City Coders, local AAPC chapter (Montgomery, AL) of which she served as the President for the years 2013 and 2012, Vice President in 2011 and also as the Member Development Officer prior to that. She has spoken at her local chapter several times and teaches their CPC Review Classes as well. She taught Medical Coding for several years at Virginia College and is currently teaching the AAPC coding curriculum to students in classes of her own. She has spoken at several different AAPC chapter events helping to prepare coders for the new ICD-10-CM code set.
Believing that knowledge is power that leads to options, she is currently working on her Bachelor’s degree and is working towards her CPMA Certification with AAPC.
Deborah Springwaldt, CPC, COC, CPC-I
Deborah has over 25 years of experience in the professional coding and billing field. Her background includes the formation of a successful billing service which has expanded into the education field. She is a Certified Educator for several entities. Currently, Deborah provides physician coding education, as well as coding and auditing services to a multi-specialty practice. At the present time, she is also the President of her local chapter which she founded two years ago. During that time the chapter has grown from six members to approximately 150 members. Deborah’s passion for educating includes a strong desire to motivate and bring members to the level of expertise needed to succeed in this field.
Diana Yates CPC, COC, CPC-I, CPEDC, CCS-P
Director of Business Services and Compliance, Meridian Medical Associates
Diana’s heartbeat is in coding training/education and physician auditing. She has over 30 years of billing and coding experience, with expertise in Medicare and Medicaid documentation. She has taught coding at Rend Lake Junior College and John A Logan Junior College in southern Illinois. Diana is the founder of the Southern Illinois AAPC local chapter, where she served as President and Vice President. She has also recently served as the Vice President of the AAPC Frankfort Illinois chapter (2012) and on the AAPCCA Board of Directors (2007-2011). She has been a guest speaker at John A. Logan College and Illinois Medical Society Southern District. Her integrity and love for coding extends far beyond the office employee to her passion and expertise in training and education. Diana has taught and certified at least two hundred coders throughout Illinois.
Donna Stewart, CPC, COC, CPC-P, CPC-I, CHCO
Compliance Manager, Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters
President, Professional Impact, Inc.
Donna has nearly 30 years of experience in health care coding, auditing, consulting, compliance, and billing. An AAPC-approved PMCC Instructor, Donna provides training for coders, auditors, managers,
and physicians. She conducts classes and seminars in coding, E/M auditing, reimbursement, compliance, and documentation. She also provides consulting services for medical record auditing and health
care compliance. Donna is very active in AAPC, both nationally and with local chapters, and was recognized as the AAPC Networker of the Year in 2004.
Ellen Risotti-Hinkle
Ellen has over 15 years of medical billing and coding experience. Prior to owning Rizhink Medical Consulting, LLC, Ellen worked for a large hospital network in which she was primarily responsible for chart reviews, provider education and taught several billing and coding classes. In addition to consulting Ellen is also an on-line adjunct instructor for Ultimate Medical Academy in Tampa, Florida. She provides instruction and expertise to her students in the areas of Medical Billing and Coding.
Faith C. M. McNicholas, CPC, CPCD, PCS, CDC, RHIT
Manager, American Academy of Dermatology
Proprietor, Coracle
Faith has a wide range of experience in various medical specialties, both solo and group practice settings ranging from cardiology to endocrinology to dermatology. Her passion however, lies in dermatology. She is the Assistant Editor for Derm Coding Consult – a quarterly coding and regulatory newsletter published by the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), a regular feature contributor to Association of Dermatology Managers/Administrators (ADA/M) Newsletter, Journal of Dermatology Nurses Association (JDNA). She has written extensively on coding, reimbursement and regulatory changes and how it affects the physician practice. She is also a known presenter at the AAD Annual and Summer Meetings, AAPC Regional Meeting, ADA/M, JDNA Annual meetings and AAD monthly webinars and regional symposia.
She is a member of AAPC and is a Certified Professional Coder (CPC) with specialization in dermatology coding and the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA). She has certification in Medical Billing, medical coding, management of medical office and healthcare practice and a degree Health Information and Management Technology.
Hazel M Miller, CPC, COC, CPC-P, CPC-I
Teacher, Bryant & Stratton
Hazel has more than 30 years of experience in professional and facility coding, auditing, consulting, compliance, and billing. She is currently teaching at Bryant & Stratton, Rochester, New York, as well as for numerous national companies and Excellus BlueCross BlueShield. Hazel is also currently employed by New York BlueCross BlueShield Plan where her focus is clinical coding, education, and the Medicare Advantage product. She is a past CMS and BlueCross Senior Provider/Professional Relations Representative, where she focused on clinical coding and billing/reimbursement issues. Hazel has represented BlueCross and BlueShield Plans on the Pennsylvania Uniform Billing Committee, numerous WEDI endeavors, and was part of the initial BCBSA HIPAA ANSI review committee.
Jaci Johnson, CPC, COC, CPMA, CPC-I, CEMC
President, Practice Integrity, LLC
Jaci Johnson has been working in the field of medical coding and auditing for 22 years and has been a CPC® since 1994. She teaches PMCC and manages a national client list, providing compliance
monitoring for provider documentation. Johnson was recognized as Coder of the Year for the State of Virginia in 2006. She is the past president of her local AAPC chapter.
Jana Purrell, CPC, CPC-I, CEMC
Practice Administrator, Mid Coast Medical Group
Jana Purrell has more than twenty-eight years of hands-on and management experience in a variety of
health care settings including primary care and multi-specialty physician practices and emergency
medicine. She is the practice administrator for Mid Coast Medical Group in Brunswick, Maine, where
she oversees the operations of forty physicians and mid-level providers.
Jana has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management and an Associate of Science degree in
Medical Assisting from Westbrook College. She is a certified PMCC instructor for the AAPC. She provides
coding education to students in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts and regularly speaks
to medical organizations at the state, regional and national level.
Jennifer Della’Zanna, MFA, CHDS, CPC, CGSC, CEHRS
Jennifer has worked in the allied health care industry for 20 years. Currently, she writes and edits courses and study guides on medical coding and the use of technology in health care, as well as feature articles for online and print publications.
Jonnie Massey, CPC, CPC-P, CPMA, CPC-I, AHFI
Jonnie Massey has more than 27 years in the healthcare industry. Her experience includes leadership and management roles. Ms. Massey has taught medical coding to students and physician groups both locally and nationally for numerous organizations. She has presented at numerous national and local conferences and workshops for a number of organizations on topics including coding, auditing, healthcare fraud, medical identity theft, RAC audits and foreign claims fraud.
Judy A. Wilson, CPC, COC, CPC-P, CPCO, CPC-I, CANPC, CPPM, CPB
Business Administrator, Anesthesia Specialists
Judy Wilson has been an anesthesia medical coder/biller for more than 30 years. For the past 20 years, she has been working with a group of nine cardiac anesthesiologists who practice at Sentara Heart Hospital. Wilson started the Virginia Beach chapter and continues to be an active participant. She also teaches the Professional Medical Coding Curriculum (PMCC) in Tidewater, VA. In 2011, Wilson was a national speaker for AAPC at regional and national conferences, as well as at local chapters.
Katherine Abel, CPC, CPMA, CEMC, CPC-I
Director of Curriculum
AAPC
Ms. Abel is the director of curriculum for the AAPC. A prior health care consultant, Katherine has over 10 years of practical experience working in health care, including extensive work with billing offices, insurance carriers, and provider offices. Katherine’s experience includes responsibility over coding, compliance, and reimbursement and technology initiatives.
Kathy Rowland, CPC, CPC-I, CEMC
Integrity Compliance LLC
Kathy has over 25 years in the areas of Health Care Administration and Management. Nine years were spent specifically in the development and implementation of practice-based compliance plans, auditing
documentation, and litigation support.
Kimberly Reid, CPC, CPMA, CEMC, CPC-I
Manager of Professional Coding
AAPC
Kim brings over 22 years of progressive coding experience inhealth care to her role as Manager of Professional Coding. She has a vast range of knowledge from working in a variety of professional medical settings, including a large academic medical group in Vermont with 500+ physicians. Her most recent role as a Senior Coding Educator proved her success in leading physicians and students to achieve comprehensive levels of understanding on complex coding and documentation guidelines. She is a national speaker who presents regularly on various coding topics across the country.
Linda Hallstrom, CPC, CPMA, CPC-I, CEMC
Director of Coding and Billing, Texas Health Cardiology Practices
Linda has worked as an auditor for a multi-hospital system and as coding director for three hospitalist practices. She also teaches coding classes at the local community college. She enjoys working closely with health care providers to ensure compliant documentation of and appropriate reimbursement for their services. Linda is a strong advocate for coding education and professionalism and a frequent presenter at AAPC local chapter meetings and workshops.
Maria Rita (Rita) Genovese, CPC, PCS
Director of Operations, Dept of Medical Oncology and Jefferson Infusion Centers, Thomas Jefferson University
Rita currently serves as advisor to the Greater Philadelphia Chapter, after serving as chapter president and vice president in 2008, 2010, and 2012. She is a former member of AAPC’s National Advisory Board.
Maryann Palmeter
Maryann has served AAPC local chapter members numerous times as an officer and frequent speaker. She has lectured at the local, regional and national levels. She served for two years on AAPC’s National Advisory Board and served an additional two years as secretary of that Board. Maryann has over 30 years of increasingly responsible experience in the healthcare industry with emphasis on federal and state government payer billing and compliance regulations. Due to her experience on both the medical billing and government contractor ends of the healthcare industry spectrum, Maryann has developed an extensive understanding of the medical billing revenue cycle. Maryann has provided expert auditing, billing, coding, compliance, and educational support to physicians within a large, academic faculty practice. Maryann has over 20 years of supervision and management experience and has successfully collaborated with individuals at various levels within a large clinical enterprise. Outside of her primary employment responsibilities, Maryann frequently provides educational lectures and webinars, and has written several educational articles for trade publications.
Melanie S. Winders, CPC, CPC-I
Melanie Winders, CPC, CPC-I, began her medical career in 1987 working in a general surgeon’s office for 17 years. Melanie was perfectly suited for the compassionate, fast paced environment. She was one of the first in Roseburg, Oregon to become a Certified Medical Insurance Specialist, Certified Medical Office Manager, and Certified Procedural Coder. She has taught boot camps, medical office billing at Umpqua Community College, and provided instruction for private clinics. Melanie is currently the Chief Executive Officer for Evergreen Family Medicine which provides urgent and family medical care.
Melody S. Irvine, CPC, CPMA, CEMC, CFPC, CPC-I, CCS-P, CMRS
Melody has over 30 years of experience in the medical profession. She is the CEO and founder of Career Coders Online Medical Billing and Coding School. She specializes
in physician auditing, education, curriculum development and is an approved PMCC Instructor with AAPC. She is the co-author of the AAPC CPMA study guide and in the
process of publishing a Basic Physician Auditing book and guideline. Her extensive background includes Director of Coding, Auditing, Compliance, and Urgent Care for a
forty-eight multi-specialty physician practice. She also performs contract audits throughout the United States. Melody is the founder and past President of AAPC Chapter
in Loveland, Colorado and past member/officer of the AAPC National Advisory Board. Her true passion is teaching and motivated by career challenges. She resides in
Loveland, Colorado.
Michael D. Miscoe, JD, CPC, CASC, CUC, CCPC, CPCO, CHCC
Miscoe Health Law, LLC / Practice Masters, Inc.
Michael Miscoe is president of Practice Masters, Inc. and the founding partner of Miscoe Health Law, LLC. He is a past member of the AAPC National Advisory Board (NAB) and current member of the Legal
Advisory Board (LAB). He is admitted to the Bar in the state of California as well as to the practice of law before the U.S. District Courts in the Southern District of California and the Western
District of Pennsylvania. Mr. Miscoe has nearly 20 years of experience in health care coding and over 13 years as a coding and compliance expert testifying in civil and criminal cases. Mr. Miscoe's
law firm concentrates on Medicare and other federal health benefit plan post payment audit appeals as well as HIPAA Office of Civil Rights matters. Mr. Miscoe is a nationally recognized lecturer and
has written dozens of articles addressing a wide variety of coding and healthcare regulatory compliance topics.
Pamela (Pam) Tienter, CPC, CPC-P, CCS-P, CPC-I
ICD-10 Coding Support Manager, UnitedHealthcare
Pam has over 20 years of coding and healthcare industry knowledge from working for providers and health plans, where she has been responsible for coding, office management, education and training, and
business operations projects. Pam is active in the Minneapolis chapter of the AAPC, serving as President in 2013 and previously as Vice-President and Member Development Officer. Currently, she is the
ICD-10 Coding Support Manager for communication and training of the ICD-10 implementation project at UnitedHealth Group.
Paula Dubel, CPC, CPC-I, COC
Paula Dubel is an experienced, credentialed coding instructor. Her licensures include CPC, CPC-I, and COC and she successfully completed ICD-10 Train the Trainer. Through her eighteen years of coding, billing, and instructing she has become a well respected leader in the medical education community.
Sharon J. Oliver, CPC, CPC-I, CPMA
Senior Inpatient Biller, East Tennessee State University Physicians and Associates
Mrs. Oliver has been in the medical profession for over 26 years and a CPC for 9 years. She has held positions as an office manager, CMA, and a nurse in the specialties of Family Practice, OB/GYN, and Pediatrics respectfully. She is currently a senior inpatient biller in the areas of Cardiology, Internal Medicine, Infectious Disease, and Hospitalist’s, as well as teaches the AAPC Professional Medical Coding Curriculum course. She also contributes to Elsevier ICD-10-CM publications.
Susan Ward, CPC, COC, CPC-I, CEMC, CPCD, CPRC
Coding and Billing Manager, Travis C. Holcombe, MD
susan.ward@aapcca.org
Susan Ward started her career more than 20 years ago in billing and has since evolved into coding and management. She is an AAPC workshop presenter and AAPC ICD-10 trainer.
Ward served on the AAPC National Advisory Board from 2007-2009. Her enthusiasm for coding and networking shines when you meet her; she is a "cheerleader" for AAPC, and attends
chapter meetings while traveling. Ward has held offices for AAPC’s West Valley Glendale chapter as well as the Phoenix chapter.
Suzanne Fletcher-Petrich, CPC, CPC-P, CPC-I
Instructor
Suzanne is a PMCC instructor who networks with students and employers to get internships and jobs. She served on the AAPC NAB in
2006-2007, and has been on the AAPCCA Board of Directors since October 2007.
Suzanne Quinton, CPC, CPC-I, COSC
Suzanne Quinton, CPC, CPC-I, COSC resides in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma and has been working in the medical field for over 30 years. As founder of the Pro Tulsa chapter in 1996, Ms. Quinton has served in various officer positions within the chapter and continues to be an active member. Suzanne is a certified instructor through AAPC and served on the AAPC National Advisory Board for two years. She has presented numerous quarterly workshops as well as served as an ICD 10 trainer for AAPC.
Yvonne Dailey, CPC, CPC-I
PMCC Instructor
AAPC
Yvonne has more than 9 years experience in the medical billing and coding field. As she saw the need for internet technology in the physician office setting, she decided to create her own billing, coding, consulting and training agency. She became a Certified Professional Coder (CPC) in order to better teach her clients the key role of correct coding and documentation in the reimbursement process.
She has experience as an adjunct instructor for business schools in her area. She is a PMCC instructor and provides seminars for physicians, their staff and new coders entering the field.
Betty A. Hovey, CPC, COC, CPB, CPMA, CPC-I, CPCD
Consultant
Betty has over 25 years of experience in the healthcare field and has worked in a variety of settings with multiple specialties and health plans. She has worked with solo practitioners and large physician groups to assist them with coding, billing, and reimbursement issues. For many years, Betty has spoken at national and regional conferences, been an AAPC workshop presenter, webinar presenter, and ICD-10 Expert Trainer. She has authored multiple articles on coding, billing, and ICD-10. For health plans, she has been involved in ICD-10 mapping projects and has provided multiple trainings on ICD-10. She assists in the development of AAPC ICD-10 curriculum and trainings. She is also a former AAPC National Advisory Board officer. Prior to coming to AAPC, Betty ran a private consulting company.
Peggy Stilley, CPC, CPB, CPMA, CPC-I, COBGC, ACS-OB
Consultant
Peggy has been employed by AAPC since 2010 and is a member of the AAPC ICD-10 Training and Education team. She was formerly the Director of Audit Services for AAPC Client Services. Peggy has more than 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry and has worked in a variety of positions. Her knowledge is enhanced by experience in multiple specialties including OB-Gyn, Maternal Fetal Medicine, General Practice, General Surgery, and Neurology. Her tenure includes 13 years as practice manager of a University facility as well as a consulting company specializing in OB-Gyn. Peggy is a national speaker for AAPC. She has authored several articles on billing, coding, and practice management, and has served as a local chapter officer in Oklahoma.
Ruby Woodward, BSN, CPC, COSC, CSFAC
Ruby Woodward presents with nearly 40 years of experience in the medical arena. She began her career as an orthopedic nurse transitioning into a dual coding and nursing roll. Ruby has extensive practical experience in musculoskeletal related coding and reimbursement issues as well as issues related to orthopedic ancillary services such as DME and rehab therapy. She is a local, regional and national speaker, providing education in orthopedic coding.
Currently Ms Woodward is the Quality and Data Specialist at Twin Cities Orthopedics.
