Speakers

Medical Liability in Minnesota – Emerging Trends, Risks, and Reforms 

Jean Martin, MD

Martin is a physician and an attorney who was instrumental in drafting and supporting legislation in 2019 to enact the Colorado Candor Act. Martin is board certified in emergency medicine and served on active duty in the U.S. Army Medical Corps at Brooke Army Medical Center and as an attending physician at Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center, where she was director of emergency department quality assurance/risk management, and Walter Reed Army Medical Center. She was an emergency department medical director in the Denver area for 10 years and served on the medical executive committee of the Medical Center of Aurora in Aurora, CO, for seven years before deciding to pursue her law degree. She is currently a deputy general counsel for Copic, a physician-directed professional liability insurer. In that role, she addresses legal issues affecting health care professionals and healthcare facilities, provides seminars on various health law topics, and is actively involved in reviewing legislative and regulatory changes in multiple states.  

Michael C. Stinson

Stinson is the senior vice president, public policy and legal affairs for the Medical Professional Liability Association, where he oversees all aspects of the association’s interactions with various levels of government and counsels on interactions with other policy-related organizations. Stinson also manages the organization’s engagement with the legal community and advises on legal matters before the association. In addition, he serves as the chair of the Health Coalition on Liability and Access, the largest coalition in Washington, DC, dedicated to achieving federal medical liability reforms. Prior to joining the MPL Association, Stinson had extensive federal public policy experience having worked on the legislative staffs of four U.S. senators, including six years as the health and judiciary policy advisor to Sen. Dirk Kempthorne (R-ID).  He later served as the associate director for health and welfare in Gov. Mark Schweiker’s (R-PA) federal affairs office. Stinson received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of New Hampshire and a Juris Master degree from the George Mason University School of Law. 

Mark Whitmore, JD

Whitmore is a Minnesota trial lawyer who represents health systems and professionals in litigation, risk management, licensing, governmental investigations, and compliance matters. Representing a majority of the health systems in the metro, Whitmore has also successfully represented many physicians and other professionals in licensing disputes before regulatory entities.

The Cost of Cuts – How H.R. 1 Could Reshape Minnesota’s Health System 

Jonathan Watson

Watson has served as chief executive officer of the Minnesota Association of Community Health Centers (MNACHC) since 2017, after joining the organization in 1996 as associate director and director of public policy. He brings nearly three decades of experience in health policy, financing, and advocacy, with expertise in Medicaid, Medicare, rural health, community health center operations, and state and federal health policy. 

Before joining MNACHC, Watson served as a budget and policy analyst for the Wisconsin Department of Health & Family Services, where he focused on healthcare financing and public policy analysis. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Saint Olaf College, and a Master of Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. 

Watson is recognized nationally for his leadership in community health center policy. He has served as chair and vice chair of the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) Health Policy Committee and has contributed to numerous national advisory groups focused on health policy, financing, and quality improvement. 

Rahul Koranne, MD

Koranne serves as president and CEO of the Minnesota Hospital Association. Before joining MHA in 2015, Koranne served as a leader with HealthEast Care System and prior to that he served as a primary care physician in Starbuck, MN. Koranne completed his residency in internal medicine, a fellowship in geriatrics and his MBA from the University of Minnesota. He currently serves on the Minnesota Zoo Board of Directors. 
 

Stephen T. Parente, Ph.D., MPH, MS

Parente is a professor in the department of finance and the Minnesota Insurance Industry Chair of Health Finance in Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota and associate dean of the Global Institute. He is the president of the American Society of Health Economists (ASHEcon).  From 2014-2017, he served as associate dean of MBA and MS programs. Parente is the longest-serving director of the Medical Industry Leadership Institute (2006-2017). As a professor in the finance department, he specializes in health economics, information technology, and health insurance.  Parente has been the principal investigator on large funded studies regarding medical price transparency, consumer-directed health plans, health information technology, and health policy micro-simulation.  In Washington, DC, he served as chief economist for health policy and senior economist on the Council of Economic Advisers in the executive office of the president at the White House in Washington, DC, from 2019 to 2021. Previously, he was senior adviser to the secretary for health economics in the Department of Health and Human Services, vice-chair of academy health, and the governing chair of the Health Care Cost Institute from 2013 to 2017.  He is the founding director of the Medical Valuation Laboratory, a nine-college interdisciplinary effort to accelerate medical innovation from scientists, clinicians, and entrepreneurs.  Parente was a health policy advisor for the McCain 2008 Presidential Campaign and served as a legislative fellow in the office of Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D‑WV) in 1992/93.  He has a doctorate from Johns Hopkins University. 

Keynote Dinner

Regina Martinez Lorenzo, MD

Martinez Lorenzo is an emergency medicine physician, epidemiologist, and Olympic cross-country skier who embodies the intersection of medicine, resilience, and human performance.

Originally from Mexico City, Martinez Lorenzo earned her undergraduate degree in biochemistry from Baylor University, followed by a Master of Public Health in epidemiology from Columbia University. She went on to receive her medical degree from the University of Minnesota, where she discovered cross-country skiing—eventually transforming a new hobby into an elite athletic pursuit. She completed her residency in emergency medicine at Jackson Memorial Hospital/University of Miami.

It was during medical school, in the midst of long winters and demanding medical training, that she first stepped onto cross-country skis—beginning a journey that would ultimately lead her to the world stage. While balancing the intensity of clinical training and practice, she qualified for the 2026 Winter Olympics, becoming the first Mexican woman in history to compete in Olympic
cross-country skiing.

Martinez Lorenzo’s path is a testament to resilience, courage, and the belief that it is never too late to pursue a new dream. Today, she continues to practice emergency medicine while training for future Olympic competition and inspiring audiences to pursue their dreams, push beyond perceived limits, and redefine what is possible through her work as a speaker.

Questions or need assistance? Give us a call at 612-361-3755 or email mma@mnmed.org.