Senior Staff

Naomi Naierman, MPA - President and CEO
Ms. Naierman has been an executive in the hospice field for over 20 years.  Before coming to the Foundation, she served for 11 years as the Executive Director of the Hospice Council of Metropolitan Washington, a regional association of hospices dedicated to consumer education.  At the American Hospice Foundation since 1995, she has been responsible for forming its founding board of directors, developing long range plans, and raising the national visibility of the organization. 

Ms. Naierman is the author of numerous articles and has lectured before a wide variety of audiences.  She has been interviewed on national television, radio, and newspapers, including NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw, ABC's Good Morning America with Diane Sawyer, National Public Radio's All Things Considered, and the Wall Street Journal.   

Marsha H. Nelson, ACSW, MBA - Vice President
Ms. Nelson is a licensed clinical social worker with extensive experience in community mental health and managed care where she held executive positions in operations and clinical policy.  For several years she served as Vice President for Clinical Policy for ValueOptions (and its predecessor company, Value Behavioral Health, Inc.), one of the largest behavioral healthcare companies in the country.  Just prior to joining AHF, Ms. Nelson worked as Policy Director for the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), an organization that provides oversight for managed care and managed behavioral healthcare organizations and is known for the development of widely accepted healthcare quality measures. 

Ms. Nelson holds Masters’ degrees in Social Work and Business.  She has had a professional interest in hospice since her graduate school days at the University of Chicago when she was privileged to take classes from Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross and observe her interviews with dying people.

Rachel Schmidt - Community Relations Director
As Community Relations Director of the American Hospice Foundation, Rachel Schmidt develops local hospice education programs and conducts professional workshops in communities throughout the country. 

Before assuming this position, Mrs. Schmidt served for four years as the Manager of Provider Relations at Hospice of Virginia.  In this role, she conducted community education and professional training programs in central Virginia.  Prior to joining the hospice field, she worked for over 20 years for Bristol-Myers Squibb in sales and marketing roles.  Mrs. Schmidt graduated from Hunter College in New York City with a bachelor’s degree in Health Education.