MEET THE SPEAKERS

Devin Thomas is a Senior Policy Analyst on Taxes & Budget at Hawaiʻi Appleseed. He first joined Hawaiʻi Appleseed in 2019 as an AmeriCorps VISTA. Since then, he has primarily been involved in the organization’s research and advocacy around progressive tax policies at the state level. Generally, he has advocated for an equitable tax system that reduces the financial burden on low-income individuals and working families, allowing them to achieve long-term economic security. In addition, Devin has occasionally collaborated with his colleagues on affordable housing and food security issues.

During his tenure at Hawaiʻi Appleseed, Devin has supported a number of successful legislative efforts, which include: increasing Hawaiʻi’s minimum wage to $18 by 2026, expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit, and combating regressive tax measures, such as proposed increases to the General Excise Tax and tax cuts for the wealthy.

Inspired by the success of the federal Child Tax Credit, which lifted 2.9 million children out of poverty in 2021, Devin has recently been convening a diverse group of advocates for the creation of a state-level Child Tax Credit in Hawaiʻi. This refundable credit would target low- to middle-income families with children. In line with Hawaiʻi Appleseed’s “People First” initiative to place community input front and center in policy discussions, Devin has also been engaging organizations that work directly with community members who are affected by the tax policies being proposed at the legislature.

Kyu (“Q”) Rhee, MD, MPP, joined NACHC in 2023 to lead efforts to advance health equity and support the mission of community health centers, which provide high-quality, affordable, transdisciplinary primary care services to more than 31.5 million people at over 14,000 sites across the nation.

As a purpose-driven physician executive, scientist, teacher, and entrepreneur, Dr. Rhee has a reputation synonymous with leadership, innovation, and transformation across the nonprofit, public, and private sectors. Throughout his career, Dr. Rhee has actively worked to advance primary care, public health, and health equity for underserved populations.

Before joining NACHC, Dr. Rhee held the position of Senior Vice President and Aetna Chief Medical Officers at CVS Health. He led a team of over 1,500 doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other health professionals in the integration and delivery of clinical and population health solutions to improve the health and delivery of the “Quintuple Aim” for up to 65 million people via commercial, Medicare, Medicaid, behavioral health, digital health, student health, vision, dental, and voluntary health plans. Dr. Rhee served for a decade as the Chief Health Officer at IBM, where he and his team led IBM’s global efforts to transform health using data, analytics, artificial intelligence, services, and research.

During the time of the Affordable Care Act, Dr. Rhee held the office of Chief Public Health Officer at the Health Resources and Services Administration. Dr Rhee also worked at the National Institutes of Health as the Director of Innovation and Program Coordination.

Prior to his public service, Dr. Rhee was the Chief Medical Officer at Baltimore Medical System and worked as a National Health Services Corps primary care physician and Medical Director for Unity Health Care.

Dr. Rhee was Chief Resident and completed his medical residency training in both internal medicine and pediatrics at Cedars-Siani Medical Center in Los Angeles with dual board certification. He earned his medical degree from the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, and also holds a master’s in health care policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. He has a Bachelor of Science degree from Yale University in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry