Honorees: NEBGH's 31st Annual Tribute to Leadership

Richard Allen serves as President of American Corporate Benefits, Inc. (www.acbi.com), a New York-based broker-consulting firm specializing in the design and implementation of cost-effective employee benefit programs. The firm is celebrating its thirty-ninth anniversary, serving non-profit entities, corporate employers, and unions.

Richard has 49 years of experience within the health industry and previously held senior management positions at Blue Cross/Blue Shield and two regional health organizations. Mr. Allen is also a registered Principal with Osaic Wealth, Inc., a member firm of FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority). He holds a master’s degree from the City University of New York and has taught at the Graduate School of Queens College in the field of health policy.

He currently is the longest serving board member and serves on the Executive Committee and Audit Committee of the Northeast Business Group on Health. He was the recipient of the Israel Bonds Peace Medal and received the Theodor Herzl Medal presented personally by the Israel Minister of Finance Yuval Steinitz. Richard has received numerous awards for his commitment to charitable causes, including the Orgullo Award by the Coalition of Hispanic Family Services for outstanding commitment to the Latino community. Richard also serves on the boards of educational institutions and is active in a broad group of charitable and civic causes in New York City. In addition to these engagements, Richard served as executive director of the acclaimed award-winning film “Bau, Artist at War,” recently released by Paramount/Republic Pictures.

Matias Arias-Duval is Senior Director, Health and Wellness Benefits, Global Total Rewards at Colgate-Palmolive Company and serves as the Designated HIPAA Officer. Trained as a Systems Engineer at Universidad Abierta Interamericana in Buenos Aires, he began his career in Information Technology before transitioning into a global benefits role that reconnected him with an early passion for healthcare. Since then, Matias has held roles of increasing responsibility across Colgate-Palmolive’s Global Total Rewards organization, leading comprehensive healthcare, wellness, insurance, and leave programs. Matias brings a visionary lens to employer health prioritizing whole-person care and strives to scale solutions that meaningfully improve access, experience, and outcomes. His work reflects a simple conviction: benefits should meet people where they are and help them live healthier, fuller lives.

Donna Simone Rey is the Executive Director and CEO of the 1199SEIU Benefit and Pension Funds, which provide comprehensive self-insured, self-administered healthcare and retirement benefits to more than 400,000 members and retirees of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East and their dependents. Rey manages more than $2.2 billion a year in healthcare claims, implementing targeted value-driven strategies that keep total family costs 30 percent lower than the New York City average. She also oversees the administrative operations of more than $1 billion a year in pension payments to 115,000 retired healthcare workers and their beneficiaries, supported by over $13.5 billion in assets.

Jeffrey Vacirca, MD, FACP, is a renowned cancer physician and visionary leader with extensive experience and commitment to community oncology.

Dr. Vacirca assumed the role of CEO and Chairman of the Board of New York Cancer & Blood Specialists (NYCBS) in 2008. After two years, the practice emerged as a stronger unified group of physicians dedicated to reinventing themselves as the premier cancer care deliverers of New York.

He has led NYCBS through an unparalleled period of transformation and incredible growth to grow into the leading oncology practice that now sees nearly a million patients a year throughout more than 30 oncology locations and 35 hospital affiliations.

Dr. Vacirca takes action against key billings, including abuse of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and sequester cuts. He formed the Conquering Cancer PAC, which advocates for cancer patients and, most importantly, strives to ensure access and availability for all patients no matter where they live.

Dr. Vacirca is the past president of the Community Oncology Alliance (COA) and continues to be a member of their executive committee. He is a co-founder and board member of OneOncology and serves on the board of directors of Assertio Therapeutics, Inc. and the American Red Cross of Greater New York. Most of his roles in these remarkable companies focus on legislative advocacy for the cost of cancer care and access.

Additionally, Dr. Vacirca serves as a Scientific Advisory Board Member for Caris Life Sciences and is president and co-founder of the National Translational Research Group. He has been part of early funding for some remarkable companies, including Cedar, Thyme Care, and Sherpa Health. In 2016, Dr. Vacirca co-founded Odonate Therapeutics.

Dr. Vacirca is the medical director for Oncology Network Development at Mt. Sinai Health Network and Long Island Aids Care (LIAAC). He serves on the board of directors for PatientPoint and Annexus Health. Previously, Dr. Vacirca served on the board of Spectrum Pharmaceuticals and as the medical director for the International Oncology Network, part of AmerisourceBergen, where he was part of their contracting advisory board for almost 15 years.

In 2014, Dr. Vacirca founded the New York Cancer Foundation, which provides financial assistance to patients undergoing treatment for cancer. He serves as Chairman of the Board.

Dr. Vacirca has received honors such as Humanitarian of the Year by the American Red Cross and its Corporate Leadership Award on behalf of NYCBS. He was awarded the Red Door Award for Leadership and Cancer Advocacy by the Red Door Community and received the Founder's Medalist by The Brooklyn Hospital. Dr. Vacirca also received the Theodore Roosevelt Award for outstanding dedication to patient care and was named Newsday's Top Doctor. He has also been honored for his role in enabling the Long Island Association for AIDS Care staff to bring state-of-the-art HIV testing to New York. In 2023, the Long Island Herald recognized him as a Top Chief Officer.