Management Team

Darren Swenson, M.D. | Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Swenson is a founding partner and the CEO for Optima Credentialing Inc. since 2009, and was named Chairman and Director in 2011. Dr. Swenson is the visionary and architect of the Optima Virtual Office for credentialing, licensing and data repository services. In his role as CEO, he is responsible for the planning and execution of Optima’s operations, while maintaining a strong focus on customer service and business development. Dr. Swenson completed his medical degree in 1998 at Ross University School of Medicine. He completed his post graduate internship training in Surgery in 1999 and Internal Medicine residency training in 2002 at Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah, Georgia. Darren and his wife live in Las Vegas with their 2 children.

Lauren Swenson | President and Chief Quality Officer

Lauren Swenson is a founding partner for Optima Credentialing, Inc. and is the President and Chief Quality Officer (CQO). In her role as CQO, she is responsible for maintaining the company's focus on quality in all areas of the business to better serve Optima's clients. Before Optima, Lauren spent 8 years in healthcare credentialing and licensing for health care providers, and 20 years in the banking sector. She brings to Optima a strong customer service background, policy and procedures knowledge, and identity protection awareness.

Kerry de Vallette | Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing

Kerry de Vallette is a senior executive with more than 30 years experience in healthcare sales, marketing, operations, service and consulting. Kerry joined Optima Credentialing, Inc., in January of 2012, and serves as the Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing.

Before joining Optima, Kerry served as Principal Partner for the JKS Abbott Group, a consulting firm focused in healthcare revenue management and operations. Prior to this, Kerry served as Senior Vice President for Solution Sales at HealthPort. Mr. de Vallette has also served Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the Revenue Management Division at Accuro Healthcare where he guided the division through explosive sales growth prior to the company’s acquisition by MedAssets.

From 1999 to 2002, Kerry was Vice President of National Accounts at McKesson. Kerry managed a team that coordinated the sales for all of McKesson's vertical product lines into national healthcare organizations including: Tenet, Triad, HCA, Ascension Health, HMA, CHE, CHI, UPMCHS, UHS and others.

Mary Schultz | Director of Provider Services

In her role as the Director, she is responsible for oversight of the daily operations of all credentialing and document processing staff for Hospital, State, and Federal Licensure credentialing, Medicare / Medicaid enrollment and compliance, and commercial Health Plan enrollment. Mary joined OPTIMA in March, 2011 initially as a credentialing specialist with the focus of establishing the Medicare / Medicaid credentialing team for Provider Services. Prior to OPTIMA, she served the role of Practice Administrator for the largest nephrology practice in Southern Nevada and has over 8 years of healthcare experience.

Patti Lawrence | Director of CVO Services

Patti Lawrence, CPCS / CPMSM. In her role as the Director of CVO services for Optima Credentialing Inc. since November 2011, she is focused on regulatory and credentialing standards for the OPTIMA CVO. Patti brings 20 years of professional credentialing experience with federal and state health care and has participated in accreditation surveys with NCQA, URAC, CMS and the Joint Commission. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at Webster University. Her paralegal and business background provided a foundation for her role as contract and credentialing manager for a large Midwestern medical school, three national HMOs, the Army Reserve CVO and the TRICARE western region credentialing department which serviced 21 states.

Karl Maisner | Virtual Office Development

As a member of the Optima team since April 2011, Karl is responsible for the oversight and management of the Optima Virtual Office development team. Karl’s responsibilities include maintenance of the company’s website and providing technical support for our clients. His background includes over 15 years in the technology industry which includes a variety of experience from programming to project and team management.

James Britt | Corporate Development

James Britt is a 20 year veteran of the Securities Industry. Jim joined Optima Credentialing, Inc., in February 2012, and serves the role of corporate development.

Before joining Optima, Jim has originated numerous institutional and private-placement transactions for both debt and equity with regard to accredited investors over the last 18 years. He worked for seven years in Chicago, IL, where his career began with Kraft in Chicago. His career expertise also covers qualified plan and asset management services, and was an award winning financial planner with American Express. Jim graduated from Yale University with a B.A. and received his MBA from the University of Chicago.