Honoring CHI Analyst Jeff Bontrager
Our very own Jeff Bontrager was nominated this week for the Denver Business Journal’s 2013 “40 Under 40,” the best and brightest of our young thinkers and leaders.
Yesterday, the CHI team hovered around the paper to see Jeff’s name in print. Needless to say, we are so very proud.
Jeff has been at CHI for nearly eight years. He is known as a “rock star” data analyst around our offices, in Colorado and beyond the state’s boundaries. When I traveled with him to Academy Health’s National Health Services Research conference last year, other researchers would stop to ask me if I knew where Jeff was. He has a national network that admires his work as much as we do.
Why is Jeff such an outstanding contributor to our health policy dialogue? Much of the answer to that question has to do with his underlying motivation. Jeff works to serve his fellow Coloradoans, and his own personal mission of service is in evidence in all of his work. From his contributions to safety net providers to leading discussions and providing “lessons learned” on Medicaid’s Accountable Care Collaborative, his work is infused by a true sense, a true commitment, of doing right by others. This commitment is palpable – day in and day out.
So, a very big Colorado Health Institute hip-hip-hooray to Jeff. His nomination is well deserved. And regardless of next week’s announced winners, he is “First Under 40” in our book.