TEFCA Expansion Drives New Opportunities for Secure Health Data Exchange

Natalie Birindelli is a seasoned healthcare cybersecurity, privacy, and resilience leader with more than 25 years of experience advising provider, payer, and regulated organizations.

She is known for translating complex cyber and regulatory risk into practical, executive‑level strategies that protect patient safety while enabling innovation.

Before joining CDW, Natalie held senior leadership and advisory roles at Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Bon Secours Mercy Health System, where she led enterprise cybersecurity programs, ransomware response, privacy governance, and large‑scale digital transformation initiatives across global and multi‑hospital environments.

Natalie has advised CIOs, CISOs, CMIOs, and Boards on embedding resilience into enterprise architecture, aligning technology investments with clinical outcomes, and navigating evolving regulatory requirements while maintaining trust and continuity of care.

Sean Fry is the Executive Advisor for Health IT at the SSA.

Maggie Gaddis is Director of the Interoperability Division at the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), where she leads efforts to advance nationwide health information exchange and interoperability. In her current role, she oversees implementation and growth of the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA), including expanding participation across the federal government and the broader health care ecosystem and aligning TEFCA activities with ONC priorities.

During nearly 14 years at ONC, Maggie has worked on a wide range of health IT initiatives, including the Regional Extension Center Program, workforce development, federal grant programs, and efforts to improve interoperability across the care continuum. Prior to joining ONC, she spent 15 years in public health and academia. Maggie holds master’s and doctoral degrees in Public Health from the University of California, Berkeley, and a bachelor’s degree in Human Development from the University of California, Davis.

Jay Ortis was appointed Chief of Disability Adjudication (DA) for the Social Security Administration (SSA) in December 2025. He previously served as the Acting Chief Administrative Law Judge (CALJ) beginning in November 2024, and later concurrently led DA as the Acting Deputy Commissioner starting in February 2025.

Originally appointed as a SSA Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) in 2016, Jay served in both the Baltimore Hearing Office and the Baltimore National Hearing Center. He later served as Executive Counsel to the Commissioner and was named Associate Chief Administrative Law Judge in 2020, providing leadership and policy guidance across the hearings program.

Before becoming an ALJ, Jay was a Supervising Attorney and National Litigation Coordinator in SSA’s Office of the General Counsel, where he represented the agency in Maryland state courts and before federal administrative bodies, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Merit Systems Protection Board, and the Federal Labor Relations Authority.

Earlier in his career, Jay was an Investigating Attorney with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel in Washington, D.C., following several years in private practice. Since 2011, he has also taught numerous college courses as an adjunct professor within the University of Maryland system.

A veteran of the U.S. Navy, Jay served a deployment in the Middle East shortly after graduating from high school. Jay earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Maryland School of Law, graduating Order of the Barrister, and holds a bachelor’s degree in jurisprudence from the University of Baltimore.