Take Command Health was born when Jack (one of our founders) and his wife Brittany were surprised with a twin pregnancy.
On a graduate school budget, Jack sought additional student loans to pay for the twins. He spoke with doctors, hospital administrators, and insurance experts and was shocked no one could give him a ballpark answer about how much the twins would cost. Read our launch story in the New York Times.
We use data and design to help independent professionals and small employers take command of their health insurance.
Jack
Co-Founder & CEO
“Insurance was never meant to be this complicated.”
The impetus for starting Take Command Health stemmed from personal headaches and frustrations dealing with the healthcare system. There had to be a better way. Prior to co-founding Take Command Health, Jack was a strategy consultant at the Boston Consulting Group and an intelligence officer for the FBI and CIA. Jack twice received an innovation award from the Director of the FBI and was awarded for distinguished service overseas by the Director of the CIA. Jack earned his MBA from the Wharton School of Business where he focused on entrepreneurial management and has an engineering degree from Texas A&M University. He’s a proud Aggie, so you can always start there if you need a conversation starter with Jack.
Jack’s practical insurance advice has been featured in The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Dallas Morning News, Forbes, and others. He is regularly invited to speak at healthcare conference and panels and is a champion for healthcare transparency and thoughtful reforms. When not being a total nerd about health insurance, Jack can be found with his family or watching college sports. Jack is married to his better half, Brittany, and has three boys and a dog named Moose. Jack is a licensed health insurance professional (NPN: 17414586).
Ryan
Director of Sales
With more than 10 years’ sales experience across various industries including technology, energy, advertising, education, the arts, Ryan brings a proven track record in relationship building, strategic growth, and expertly managing the client relationship across multiple touch points. In her role, she leads communication with all small business prospects, educates potential customers on QSEHRA and its benefits, and guides them through the enrollment process with a hands-on, tailored approach. Ryan also oversees and manages channel partner relationships and supports marketing efforts to drive awareness for the Take Command Health platform. She’s passionate about sharing the tax-free health reimbursement benefits of QSEHRA with small businesses and helping them overcome the benefits hurdle.
Ryan has a B.A. in Communication Studies and Art History from Vanderbilt University. When she’s not in the office, you can find Ryan traveling the world and experiencing new, diverse cultures with her husband Shane. She’s also an art enthusiast who’s passionate about ballet, Broadway shows, and modern art.
Vishal
Director of Engineering
Vishal joined Take Command Health in July 2016. He brought with him a customer-focused product philosophy and approach that focuses on building products that address specific customer needs and feedback.
Vishal has over 10 years of professional software development experience. Prior to joining Take Command Health, Vishal was a consultant at Slalom and Avanade where he worked on building software solutions for several Fortune 500 companies.
Vishal earned his Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of Texas at Austin. He is disappointed that the Longhorns cannot continue the tradition of beating up on the Aggies but is optimistic that the rivalry will continue at some point in the future.
Vishal is a licensed health insurance professional (NPN: 18546545)
Elyse
Director of Success
With a customer-first attitude, Elyse sets the standard for customer service and satisfaction at Take Command Health. In her role, she manages the clients on Take Command Health’s platform and helps with client-facing operations, sales, partnerships, and support. As the main point of contact for many of our clients, Elyse represents their voice in our product development, sharing valuable insights as we improve and target our product offerings to better address our clients’ needs. She’s known around here for her problem-solving abilities, her affinity for putting out fires, and for being the favorite among our clients.
A recognized expert in QSEHRA and its benefits, she leads educational and onboarding courses for the small business HRA and enjoys digging into the exciting details of compliance and QSEHRA tax code.
Before joining Take Command Health, she worked as a financial fraud analyst, a commercial loan underwriter, and most recently the director of underwriting and operations at a startup FinTech company called Able Lending. She has a BA in Finance from Texas A&M University.
An advocate for encouraging women in their career and faith, Elyse serves as director of the non-profit Polished Austin, which empowers women in business. In her free time, Elyse volunteers with 1 Dog 1 Hour and spends time exploring the ever-expanding list of new Austin restaurants with dog-friendly patios with her chocolate lab, Livy.
Elyse is a licensed health insurance professional (NPN: 18932584)
Bobby
Director of Operations
With more than eleven years of technology and leadership experience, Bobby is a jack of all trades at Take Command Health. In other words, there is no aspect of our business in which Bobby isn’t engaged. Before joining Take Command Health, he worked as a consultant at Credera, where he partnered with companies to implement infrastructure solutions.
He specializes in streamlining processes, implementing automation for improved efficiency, and applying creative approaches to operational bottlenecks.
His leadership skills and hands-on approach didn’t just happen by chance; Bobby was a Signal Officer in the United States Army, where he served in Korea and the 75th Ranger Regiment. He received his Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Stanford University. When he’s not at the office, he’s spending time with his family or taking his road bike for a spin.
Bobby is a licensed health insurance professional (NPN: 18935306)
Sarah
Sales Manager
Sarah is a Sales Manager at Take Command Health. She engages with small business prospects and potential partners, fielding questions about and highlighting the value of QSEHRAs and the Take Command Health platform. She assists the Director of Sales in creating and updating sales collateral and managing workflows. Sarah brings a decade of experience working in sales and fundraising roles for the American Heart Association and Merck Pharmaceuticals.
As a part-time team member, when Sarah is not working, she is busy raising her two young children and enjoys traveling with her husband. She loves to stay active and occasionally gets a wild hair to run a half marathon.
Sarah has a B.S. degree in Marketing and Business Administration from the University of Missouri.
Sarah is a licensed health professional (NPN: 18939052)
John
Senior Developer
John is a technology consultant and entrepreneur. As a part-time member of the Take Command Health team, we rely on John's passion and experience building awesome software.
Ali
Success Manager
A licensed Texas insurance agent, Ali specializes in simplifying health insurance for individuals and small businesses and helping them decode confusing insurance jargon and the fine print. When she’s not lending her expertise on the customer service side, she’s penning blogs to help small businesses understand the benefits of QSEHRA. A recognized QSEHRA expert, Ali’s insights into the wonders of the small business HRA have been featured in Accounting Today and Accounting Web. Her peers look to Ali for her proven problem-solving skills, her creative approach, and her knack for identifying future needs before they arise.
She’s a proud graduate of Miami University, in Oxford, Ohio, where she earned a degree in Public Administration. In her free time, she practices yoga, fantasizes about travel, and cleans up after her daughter and husband.
Ali is a licensed health insurance professional (NPN: 18158879).
Amy
Content Editor
With more than 10 years of experience in public relations, marketing, and brand strategy for a diverse range of clients including Procter & Gamble, ExxonMobil Foundation, Victoria’s Secret, Habitat for Humanity, and vitaminwater, Amy knows a thing or two about how content can shape a brand. In fact, she launched her own consulting firm two years ago to bring brand story-telling and content strategy to small businesses and personalities.
As content director, Amy offers overall messaging strategy to convey the Take Command Health story through blog posts, social media, and traditional media outreach. From her experience supporting Kaiser Permanente’s Reimagining Ambulatory Care initiative and the opening of the new Parkland Health & Hospital System, Amy brings fresh insights into the much-needed changes in the healthcare industry, from shifts in care delivery models, the pivot toward a consumer-driven approach, and the big ideas that will fix a broken system.
Still very involved in her alma mater, Vanderbilt University (B.S., Political Science and Human & Organizational Development), she is currently president of the alumni association in her home state. A mother to two and wife to one, she’s passionate about everyday adventures, viral memes, fixer uppers, and getting her kids to eat broccoli.
Ronnie
Design Consultant
Ronnie has a deep fascination with people and an obsession with how technology and design alter the ways by which we live and achieve our goals. Ronnie is a free-lance digital product designer that spends a lot of time with Take Command Health.
With decades of design experience, Ronnie has been instrumental in shaping Take Command Health's online presence and products. Making complicated insurance seem simple isn't easy. Ronnie has experience working with a wide range of clients including L'Oréal, Hilton, Match.com, The National Breast Cancer Foundation, Universal Republic Records, Stamp’d Los Angeles, and has been featured in both local and international publications.
Ronnie attended New Mexico State University and has a Digital Graphics Technology degree from Dona Ana Community College.
Lauren
Success Manager
Lauren is a Client Success Manager at Take Command Health. She assists the Director of Success with client facing customer support in an effort to make the onboarding process and implementation of your QSEHRA seamless and stress free.
For the last three years, Lauren has been at home full time with her two baby boys, but prior to that, she spent 7 years at Southwest Airlines in various customer service and sales roles, so the commitment to exceptional customer service and a friendly, transparent client experience is in her DNA.
She graduated from Texas A&M with a degree in Marketing. As a part-time employee, she spends the rest of her time as the only female in a house full of boys; she’s married to Ryan and they have two sons and a German short-haired pointer named Newman. You’ll likely find her at the park, on a nice long run at the lake, or relaxing with a good book or podcast.
R.A.
Front-end Developer
RA is an experience front-end developer and helps us keep our marketing websites, educational guides, and blog looking awesome. RA is a successful free-lancer, but we try to keep him around Take Command Health as much as we can. He has design and development experience from multiple firms including Lifeblue, Kalkomey, and Unit Interactive. You can also find RA teaching development and design at high schools and workshops around North Dallas.
RA has an Environmental Design degree from the most prestigious university in the world, Texas A&M University. Gig'em!
Matt
Co-Founder & Advisor
Matt is a co-founder of Take Command Health and was instrumental in its early days and creation. Matt brings a "let's figure it out" attitude to any problem he approaches.
Matt is now pursuing his PhD at the University of California Berkeley in materials science. Although we don't see him around Take Command Health much any more, we always appreciate when he drops by to talk about the glorious early days of Take Command Health.
Ellie
Advice Team
Dannie
Advice Team
Larissa
Advice Team
Larissa is a member of our advice and content team. She shares her experiences as a professional in the health industry and as a mom to help our readers and members make smarter health insurance decisions.
Larissa has a degree in Public Relations from Southern Nazarene University and lives in Oklahoma City.
