Jennifer Velez
Executive Vice President, Health & Network Solutions, Horizon BlueCross BlueShield of New Jersey
Jennifer Velez is the Executive Vice President of Health & Network Solutions at Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey. Prior to joining Horizon BCBSNJ, Ms. Velez served as the Chief Impact Officer of Shatterproof — a national not-for-profit organization dedicated to transforming addiction treatment and reversing stigma. Prior to Shatterproof, she served as an EVP of RWJ Barnabas Health, with responsibility for Community and Behavioral Health, during which time she led their interdisciplinary response to the opioid epidemic. During her tenure, she expanded the peer recovery specialist model and medication-assisted treatment as effective interventions to combat the disease of addiction and introduced the community health worker model as an evidence-based, effective workforce model to address social determinants of health. Ms. Velez is a deeply experienced community health executive focused on improving the societal and economic issues that impact vulnerable communities. Ms. Velez has the distinction of being the state’s longest-serving Human Services Commissioner, where she managed the largest state agency with budget, personnel and operational responsibility for eight divisions, including Medicaid, developmental centers and psychiatric hospitals. Ms. Velez received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Drew University and holds a Juris Doctorate from Rutgers School of Law, Newark.
