staff

Jon Hager
Executive Director
Jon M. Hager was appointed as the first Executive Director of the Silver State Health Insurance Exchange in January 2012 by unanimous vote of the Exchange Board in an open interview process.  Prior to 2012, Mr. Hager was the Chief Financial Officer of Nevada's Public Employees' Benefits Program and was responsible for the Program's $476 million annual budget which served 72,000 state and local government employees, retirees and dependents.  Mr. Hager served as a pilot in the U.S. Navy for nine years.  He earned his MBA from Texas A&M and a BS in Physics from the United States Naval Academy.
Shawna DeRousse
Chief Operating Officer

Shawna DeRousse brings more than 15 years of financial and operations management experience to the Silver State Health Insurance Exchange as its Chief Operating Officer.  Shawna brings a wealth of knowledge in operational procedures to the Exchange through her tenure with the State of Nevada in the Department of Information Technology, Director’s office of Health and Human Services, and as a Deputy Insurance Commissioner with the Department of Business and Industry.  She has trained as an administrative law judge for the National Judicial College as well as completed the Certified Public Manager program with the State of Nevada.  Shawna possesses a double major, in Strategic Management and Human Resources Management from the University of California, Sacramento.

Damon Haycock
Finance & Research Officer
Damon Haycock joined the Silver State Health Insurance Exchange as its Finance and Research Officer in December, 2012. Mr. Haycock brings 9 years of fiscal management, budgeting, and operations management from the private and government sector. He has managed operations and budgets, to include grants, fees, and general funds for the Nevada Department of Corrections, Nevada State Health Division, and the Division of Mental Health and Developmental Services. Prior to his state career, he managed consumer lending products for Wells Fargo Financial. He also served in the US Army for almost 7 years as an Infantry Team Leader and an Air Traffic Controller. He graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, and has recently completed the Certified Public Manager program with the State of Nevada.
George McNeil
Information Technology Officer
George McNeil brings 27 years of Information Technology experience to the Silver State Health Insurance Exchange.  George started his IT career with a large medical corporation based in Las Vegas Nevada. During his employment within the private sector he gained experience in IT organizations within the Health Care, Hotel and Gaming Industries before moving to the public sector. George started with the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services working with various projects including the Nevada EBT Quest implementation for SNAP benefits. He progressed to the Nevada Department of Information Technology where he became an Information Security Officer responsible for conducting State IT security vulnerability assessments and computer forensics investigations. George returned to the Nevada Department of Health and Human Service as a project manager where he successfully managed the development and implementation of Nevada’s statewide WIC EBT online benefit delivery system.
CJ Bawden
Communications Officer
Christopher (CJ) Bawden joined the Silver State Health Insurance Exchange as its Communications Officer.  He comes to the Exchange after 14 years in the private sector in the General Engineering Construction Industry.  CJ possesses more than 15 years of progressively responsible experience directing as many as 400 employees in companies with yearly revenues in excess of $40 million.  CJ brings a background in business start-up and market share acquisition to the Exchange.  He has also served on the Board of Directors and is a Past President of the Builders Association of Western Nevada.  He graduated from the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado at Boulder, with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a focus in Marketing.  

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