Meet Our Team

dave@employersforumindiana.org

David E. Kelleher

President and CEO, Employers’ Forum of Indiana

Mr. Kelleher, founding CEO of the Employers’ Forum of Indiana, is currently serving as President and CEO. He holds a Master of Science degree in Economics and has managed health care organizations since completing his military service in 1972. He was one of the founders of the first prepaid group practice in Indiana and served as its Executive Vice President from 1973 to 1986. He then founded HealthCare Options (HOI) and is its president. Since 1986 HOI has developed and managed health care organizations and provided consulting services to health plans, medical groups, hospitals, academic medical centers and employers in 38 states.

HealthCare Options managed the Employers Forum from 2001 until 2015 and was one of the organizers of Quality Health First of Indiana. Quality Health First was a statewide, multi-payer, quality reporting and pay-for-performance program developed and managed by the Indiana Health Information Exchange. Mr. Kelleher was also the program manager of the Central Indiana Beacon Collaborative.

Lauren Vela

Consultant

Lauren Vela is a passionate advocate for a more rational and sustainable health care system and recognizes the influence had by employers and other commercial purchasers through their oversight of employer-sponsored insurance plans. As an independent consultant, she partners with entities that are committed to changing the ineffective status quo.

Previously, Lauren was the Director of Health Care Transformation with Walmart, where she partnered with the Walmart Benefits team to identify solutions concerning low value care, site of care, and vendor evaluation. Prior to her tenure at Walmart, Lauren led market strategy and member initiatives for the Purchaser Business Group on Health, where she cumulatively spent two decades working within various health care sectors including health information technology, provider organizations, and pharmacy benefit management. Lauren also served, for seven years, as the Executive Director of the Silicon Valley Employers Forum, a trade association of high-tech employers collaborating on innovative delivery of both domestic and international l benefits.

Jennifer Hallowell

Consultant

Jennifer Hallowell is the President of Hallowell Consulting, LLC, a government relations and communications consulting firm with extensive experience developing and executing successful initiatives for corporate, nonprofit and political clients. She currently represents clients at the state level in various areas including technology, clean energy, and health care. She serves as the Executive Director for the Indiana Technology & Innovation Association (ITIA) and as the Executive Director for the Indiana Leadership Forum (ILF).

Jennifer provides expertise in government relations, association management, lobbying, communications, public relations, issue advocacy, and project management. She is an accomplished professional with nearly twenty-six years of experience managing organizations and advising elected officials and business leaders at the federal, state and local levels. She has also managed crisis communications, message development, marketing and grass-tops issue advocacy efforts for several corporate clients.

Sabra Northam

Consultant

Sabra B. Northam is Vice President of Hallowell Consulting, LLC, where she combines her strong legal background, knowledge of the government process and broad range of relationships to provide exemplary client service. An attorney with over 15 years of experience in legislative and executive branch lobbying, Northam focuses much of her time developing and executing government relations strategies on behalf of our clients. Sabra also assists with association and program management and development. 

In 2012, Ms. Northam earned her J.D. from the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. She graduated from Butler University with a B.A. in political science in 2009. Ms. Northam is admitted to practice law in the state of Indiana.

Sarah Stewart

Consultant

Sarah is a cross-functional HR and communications professional at Indiana University, where she leverages data, creativity, and innovation to engage employees with their health and benefits. She is passionate about creating a more transparent and equitable healthcare system by empowering employers with the data and tools needed to make informed purchasing decisions.

Sarah provides creative design services for the Forum and fills various support roles on initiatives including Sage Transparency and the National Healthcare Price Transparency Conference. She graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University with a BS in Business Administration, specializing in Human Resources Management.

Julie Reyes

Website Consultant

Julie Reyes provides consulting services for the technology and administrative aspects of small businesses including helping to launch and run several ventures in the midwest. She is experienced in website development, business analytics, and data management. Julie graduated from Purdue University with a degree in Pharmaceutical Science and is passionate about the intersection of healthcare and technology.

Christan Royer

Board Chair, Employers’ Forum of Indiana

Christan Royer is the Director of Benefits and HR Strategic Communications at Indiana University where she manages employee benefit programs and helps lead university-wide human resource initiatives. Christan has also taught courses on health information management in the School of Informatics at IUPUI. She holds a M.Ed. with a focus on eLearning and a BS in Business Administration, both from the University of Illinois.

Candace Shaffer

Board Member, Employers’ Forum of Indiana

Candace Shaffer’s commitment to improving the well-being of others is at the core of her professional successes, as well as her personal motivation. In her current role as Associate Vice President (AVP), Benefits & Payroll at Purdue University, she provides visionary, strategic leadership to plan, develop, maintain and enhance the university’s comprehensive benefits package and payroll processes. Candace earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in child development and family studies from Purdue University and prior to her career in benefits, supported early childhood programs on quality of care and planned statewide early education conferences for professionals.

Since 2014, Shaffer’s dedication to employee wellness at Purdue has resulted in several personal and organizational awards. Recently, Purdue was named the 2023 and 2024 Healthiest Employer in Indiana, Rank 1 for employers with 5k+ employees and is certified as a 2024 Bell Seal for Workplace Mental Health – Silver Level.

Gloria Sachdev, PharmD

President and CEO of the Employers’ Forum of Indiana

Gloria Sachdev currently serves as the Secretary of Health and Family Services for the State of Indiana. Sachdev began this role in January of 2025. Prior to this, she served as President and CEO of the Employers’ Forum of Indiana from 2015 – 2025. In her role, she was instrumental in creating the RAND Hospital Price Transparency Studies and the creation of Sage Transparency. Other Forum initiatives focused on value-based health benefit & payment strategies, and health policy. She served as Adjunct Associate Professor at Purdue College of Pharmacy, a member of the Board of Governors for the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions and as Board Vice Chair for Hoosiers for Affordable Healthcare.

Dr. Sachdev received her BS and Doctor of Pharmacy degrees from the University of Oklahoma and completed a primary residency at the VA in Madison, Wisconsin. Thereafter, she practiced in primary care physician offices managing patients with chronic diseases for 12 years, followed by consulting in the space of incorporating clinical pharmacists into team-based care for 6 years. She retired from Purdue College of Pharmacy after 15 years, but still teaches a few classes for fun. She enjoys traveling, taking her dog on long walks, and playing board games when her 3 kids are home from college.