Sonya Nelson

As Southeast Division President for Aetna Medicaid, A CVS Health Company, Sonya Nelson drives strategy for Medicaid health plans in Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Ohio and West Virginia. She is accountable for overall P/L performance, compliance/regulatory performance, operational effectiveness, quality, compliance, network development and all state contractual requirements. Sonya, also, is responsible for new business growth and expansion, as well as key stakeholder and community relationships.

Sonya’s a career in health care management spans more than 35 years delivering government sponsored managed care solutions to our most vulnerable populations. Most recently, Sonya served as President and CEO of WellCare Health Plans of Georgia. In this role, she was responsible for over 550,000 Georgia members and worked to expand Medicare Advantage statewide. Prior to joining WellCare, Sonya held senior leadership roles at Anthem/Amerigroup Louisiana, serving as State President and Chief Operating Officer. Before joining Amerigroup, she served as the Plan CEO of Volunteer State Health Plan with BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee and worked for Humana, Inc.

Sonya is graduate of Auburn University with a B.S. in business administration, management and operations. She resides in Atlanta, GA, with her husband and two sons.

Sonya has served on numerous boards during her career. She has been an active participant with the Louisiana Health Plan Association, Georgia Quality Health Plan Association, and Baton Rouge – Go Red for Women. She has worked with the Urban League of Greater Chattanooga, Baton Rouge YMCA, Girls Inc. of Chattanooga, and United Way. Her engagement activities run the gamut from feeding the homeless with Hosea Feed the Hungry and Homeless, serving as a judge for the 2018 Boys and Girls Club Youth of the Year, volunteering with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Georgia, distributing back to school supplies, and mentoring youth throughout the state of Georgia.