Leadership

Dunston Almeida is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of triValence. Dunston has over 25 years of experience with a track record at best-in-class healthcare companies, including Zelis ($5.7 billion recap), eviCore ($3.6 billion sale), and Medco (Evernorth/Cigna). He was a member of the executive team at Zelis, a leading provider of healthcare payments for health plans and consumers. Previously, he was that part of the core team at eviCore which grew from a few hundred million to $3+ billion in revenues in under 4 years. He also headed up Medco’s Emerging Markets strategies, including Brazil, India, and China. 

He sits on the Board at PurpleLabs, a leading no-code healthtech analytics company for Real-World Evidence solutions. He graduated from Cornell University with a degree in Electrical Engineering.

Brian Giessler serves as SVP of Operations at triValence. Brian has more than 22 years of healthcare experience in financial management, operations, and administration. Most recently, Brian served as Health System VP and Chief Administrative Officer of ASCs and Perioperative Optimization at Johns Hopkins Health System. Before joining Johns Hopkins, he was the senior vice president of operations and business services for Sovereign Healthcare in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he oversaw the financial and operational functions of their surgery centers and four anesthesia groups. He was a supply chain consultant with Navigant, with a focus on spine and orthopedic procurement strategies for large health systems and Academic Medical Centers. He was a business analyst and surgical centers business manager at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona, and a labor and senior financial analyst at Caritas Christi Health Care System in Boston, Massachusetts.

Brian earned a master’s degree in business administration and a Master of Legal Studies in health care and compliance and transaction law. He obtained his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Finance from Bryant College. 

Steve Smerz serves as Chief Technology Officer at triValence. Steve is a 38 Year IT veteran. He has worked in numerous industries including banking, manufacturing, software and transportation. He transitioned to Healthcare Technology and has successfully led 5 companies from startup to significant financial events. These companies include Stratyc (lab supply-chain), Definity Health (consumer-driven health plan sold to United Health), Ability Network (secure data transport for Medicare/Medicaid sold to Inovalon), Icario (member engagement platform for Payers), and Halo Health (Clinical Communication Platform sold to Symplr).

Steve attended the University of Minnesota in Aerospace Engineering and Computer Science.

Piper Su serves as Chief Growth Officer at triValence and brings over 20 years of experience as a healthcare attorney and strategic advisor to healthcare providers, payers, and manufacturers. Focused primarily on payment and delivery policy, Piper is a sought-after expert on market strategy and federal and state policy issues. Most recently, she served in senior leadership roles at Mayo Clinic and the Advisory Board Company and acted as counsel to Fortune 500 companies and health systems at top international law firms. Earlier in her career, she served as health care counsel to U.S. Senator Ken Salazar during his tenure on the Senate Committee on Finance, clerked for Ranking Member Henry Waxman on the House Committee on Government Reform, and served as a private sector advisor to former U.S. Senate Majority and Minority Leader Tom Daschle.

Piper is also committed to supporting non-profit organizations and currently serves as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for United of Olmsted County and on the Board of Trustees for the Science Museum of Minnesota. She is also the Director of Healthcare Finance at the Byers Center for Biodesign at Stanford University.

Piper earned her Juris Doctor, cum laude, at American University Washington College of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science at the University of North Carolina at Asheville.

John Mwangi serves as VP of Fintech Product Development at triValence. John has over 11 years of experience in various areas of product development, product management, and strategy. John currently leads triValence’s Fintech Product Development team responsible for all aspects of fintech products and strategy. Prior to triValence, John spent his career in multiple roles spanning product management and strategy at Mastercard and previously held various roles in multiple global organizations including PayPal, Deloitte, and Action Against Hunger.

John holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from University of Virginia Darden School of Business and a bachelor’s degree in Information Technology from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya.

Meredith Truitt serves as VP of People and Culture at triValence. Meredith has over fourteen years of HR experience and over 20 years of experience in career leadership roles with solving problems, aligning to the greater enterprise strategy, and building programs that meet the needs of the people and the business. Meredith started as an HR Generalist, gained exposure to each functional area, and increased expertise in designing and managing Total Rewards strategies, Talent Management/Learning programming, and leading HR Project Management teams. During her career, Meredith has worked for three Fortune 500 Companies and is now working for a start-up. She has served in various leadership roles during nine mergers and acquisitions, built a TR program that received numerous awards from the ground up and stood up two HR PMOs, one for a Fortune 13 Company.

Meredith earned her bachelor’s degree from DePauw University and Master’s degree from Villanova University in HR Development.

Katie St. Onge serves as the Head of Product at triValence. Katie has nearly 20 years of experience in healthcare; she started her career in healthcare supply chain at a large IDN, which evolved to a consulting role where she had the opportunity to collaborate and create with some of healthcare’s most innovative supply chain leaders and health system executives. Most recently before joining triValence, Katie served as an account executive at a predominant GPO and technology firm.

Katie earned her bachelor’s degree in Biology and master’s in business administration and Health Management Systems at Duquesne University.

Tonia Kraus serves as VP, Head of Strategic Supplier Engagement at triValence. Tonia has over 30 years in non-acute healthcare leadership with over 20 years as an executive in group purchasing organizations. Prior to triValence, she served as a Vice President of AdvantageTrust, the non-acute division of HealthTrust/HCA.  She had operational responsibility for strategic planning and development for the ambulatory surgery center program and direction of the Non-Acute Care sales unit. She served as the Vice President of Industry and Customer Relations for Provista a wholly owned subsidiary of Vizient, after the MedAssets acquisition.  Prior to the MedAssets sale, she was the Senior Vice President, Alternate Care Group (ACG) at MedAssets and worked for MedAssets for 15 years, developing their non-acute division from acquisition.  ACG represented over 26% of the bottom-line revenue to MedAssets, supporting over 170,000 members.  MedAssets acquired RPI and retained Tonia to build their alternate care business, managing the full P&L. Tonia was a partner in Radiology Partners, Inc, a radiology-specific GPO that serviced the diagnostic imaging and alternate care markets. Representing over 50% of the Independent Diagnostic Testing Facility (IDTF) market.  Selling to MedAssets in 2002.

Tonia is a University of South Florida graduate and lives in Nashville, TN. She is a Contributor, Board Member, and Volunteer for various Service organizations.