PORTLAND, Ore., Aug. 7 /EMWNews/ -- Regence recently named several

recognized business and community leaders to its Board of Directors, who

will help guide the company as Regence strives to transform health care for

its members and the communities it serves.



    Paula Banks heads P.A. Banks Enterprises, Inc., where she is a

consultant specializing in strategic planning related to social strategy

and policy for corporations and non-profits. She most recently served as

corporate officer and senior vice president of Global Diversity and

Inclusion with PepsiCo, where she helped establish the company as a leader

in promoting an inclusive work environment. She also served as the senior

vice president of Social Strategy and Policy for BP and spent more than 24

years in leadership positions at Sears Roebuck and Company. Banks serves on

the Corporate Advisory Boards of the National Urban League, National

Council of Negro Women and Women Work. She holds degrees in Math and

Psychology from Loyola University and completed the International Advanced

Management Program at Harvard University. Banks serves on the boards of

Centers for New Horizons and The Salvation Army/Chicago Temple Corporation.



    Keith Grinstein is a partner in Second Avenue Partners and a strategic

advisor for Madrona Venture Capital. He has held numerous leadership

positions in the telecommunications industry, including executive chairman

of AT&T Wireless, vice chairman of McCaw Cellular and president and CEO of

Nextel International, one of the 50 best performers on NASDAQ since its

inception. He previously held positions as general counsel and vice

president at both Lin Broadcasting and McCaw Cellular. Grinstein currently

serves as Chairman of the Board for Coinstar and is on the Board of

Directors of F5 Networks and True Blue, Inc., (formerly Labor Ready). He is

a graduate of Yale University and Georgetown Law School.



    Luis Machuca is the president and chief executive officer of Kryptiq

Corporation, the leading provider of next generation connectivity solutions

for healthcare. Machuca spent 15 years in various leadership positions at

Intel, where he helped establish the company as the leading motherboard

supplier in the world. His leadership experience also includes serving as

president and chief operating officer of eFusion Corp, where he merged the

company with ITXC. Machuca currently serves on the Oregon Health & Science

University Foundation Board of Trustees and the University of Portland

Board of Regents. He received both his bachelor's degree in electrical

engineering and his master's degree in manufacturing systems engineering

from Purdue University.



    Dr. Cynthia A. Bioteau is the president and CEO of Salt Lake Community

College and has more than 30 years of experience as an educator and

administrator. She created the first associate degree in Nanotechnology for

the state of North Carolina and helped design The National Center for the

Biotechnology Workforce, a biotechnology initiative funded through the U.S.

Department of Labor. Dr. Bioteau serves on several boards, including

Economic Development Corporation of Utah and the Salt Lake Chamber of

Commerce Board of Governors. Dr. Bioteau earned her Doctor of Philosophy

Degree at Lesley University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.



    John W. Morgan is president and CEO of HemCon Medical Technologies Inc,

where he has helped the company expand their product offerings from

military to civilian markets. He previously served as president of the

mid-American region at Baxter International Inc. Morgan also served as

president-Americas for Regent Medical Products, president and CEO of

Epitope, Inc. and president and CEO of Curon Medical, Inc. He serves on

several boards, including the Oregon Bioscience Association, BioQuiddity,

Inc. and the Oregon Innovation Council. Morgan earned his degree in public

administration and economics from the University of Arizona.



    D. Kurt Seppi, M.D., a family physician, is medical director and

managing partner of Physician Center in Twin Falls, a 19-provider

multi-specialty primary care group. He joined Physician Center in 1987 and

has been president and managing partner since 1996. He has also been

medical director at Magic Valley Regional Medical Center Home Health Care

in Twin Falls since 1996. Dr. Seppi has served as a member of the Regence

BlueShield of Idaho Board of Directors since 1997 and was recently

re-elected to a one-year term as the chair.

    About Regence



    Regence is the largest health insurer in the Northwest / Intermountain

Region, offering health, life and dental insurance. Regence serves three

million members as Regence BlueShield (in Washington), Regence BlueCross

BlueShield of Oregon, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah and Regence

BlueShield of Idaho. Each health plan is a not-for-profit independent

licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Regence is

committed to improving the health of our members and our communities, and

to transforming our health care system. For more information, please visit

http://www.regence.com.