Happenings
Division 34 Q2 Award-Winning Associates
Coach of the Quarter
Lavanya Chiriki
Division 34 has named Lavanya Chiriki Coach of the Quarter for her outstanding leadership, mentorship and dedication to team success during the second quarter of 2025. As a senior system testing analyst II, she has trained and supported six new testers, fostering a culture of growth and collaboration. Lavanya successfully led big projects like the Medicare Advantage Dental Modification and Front End System migration, organizing thousands of test cases and keeping everything on track. She also introduced a new tool called Application Lifecycle Management to help the team stay organized and work more efficiently. Lavanya always goes the extra mile, encourages her team and makes sure everyone feels valued. Her hard work and positive attitude have made a big difference in the team's success.
Associate of the Month – April
Sheena Williams
Described as “the cornerstone of our helpdesk team,” Sheena Williams is Associate of the Month for her outstanding work as a troubleshooter and problem solver. As a technology support specialist III, she helped lead a large project to transfer 15,000 users to a new Virtual Private Network (VPN) software application, making sure everything worked smoothly. She also wrote easy-to-follow instructions to guide customers through the switch over. Each day, she meticulously reviews messages, prioritizes them based on urgency and works closely with customers to resolve their concerns. Sheena also contributes to process improvement initiatives and always supports her coworkers with clear communication and a positive attitude.
Associate of the Month – May
Charles Kelley
Recognized as the May Associate of the Month, Charles Kelly is praised for his outstanding technical leadership, dedication to quality and commitment to teamwork. As a developer IV and the mainframe expert in the Third-Party Administrator Systems and Operations Department, Charles consistently solves complex issues, shares valuable testing insights and supports critical tasks like invoice processing and dispute file handling. He played a key role in three major projects: aligning efforts between mainframe and website teams, reviewing documentation for accuracy and improving testing workflows. Charles also introduced process improvements that reduced errors and boosted efficiency. Known for his reliability, professionalism and collaborative spirit, Charles continues to make a lasting impact across teams and projects.
Associate of the Month – June
Judith Ebanks-Watson
Judith Ebanks-Watson, a developer IV in Medicare Systems Support, is the June Associate of the Month for her outstanding dedication, precision and teamwork. She tackled urgent government mandates and new business needs with speed and accuracy, helping her team stay compliant and successfully support a subcontractor. Judith built a new application that perfectly matched the subcontractor’s letter format, allowing the team to manage both internal and external requests smoothly. Her multi-step testing process ensured every change was flawless before going live, and her clear, proactive communication kept everyone informed and aligned. Judith’s ability to meet high-pressure deadlines while maintaining top-quality work made her a key contributor to the success of the project and a highly valued team member.
Process Improvement of the Quarter
Sage: Automated Chat Assistant
Team members: Venu Boppa, Georgette Cantey, Yunus Chhipa, Brenda David, Stephen Durney, Vishvada Ganapati, Amukta Jambula, Jeejun Kim, Marlowe Leverette, Juwan Murphy, Daniel Navis, Satish Palakurthi, Othen Prock, Derek Roberts, Melissa Thompson, Santhosh Thota, Ramya Vaddempudi, Emily Wright
A team of eCommerce associates won the Process Improvement of the Quarter award for developing the website-based automated chat assistant known as Sage. The chatbot gives providers instant, secure access to claim status without needing to log in, call customer service or wait for a live agent. Integrated with existing systems and backed by strong security, Sage delivers results in under three seconds—dramatically improving speed, accuracy and user experience. It has reduced claim-status calls to the Provider Contact Center by more than 50 percent and cut total contact center calls by more than 10 percent. Sage also supports seamless handoffs to live agents when needed and provides detailed reports for management insights. With its scalability, reliability and significant cost-savings, Sage sets a new standard for efficiency and service in provider communications.
Team of the Quarter
T5 iFlow Implementation Team
Team members: Elena Baylor-Elks, Amanda Bradley, Vicki Lamar, Jamie Moyer, Roger Neal, Fred Olex, Mike Pritchard, Michel Quintana, William Simmons, David Williams
The Division 34 Team of the Quarter is the T5 iFlow Implementation Team for successfully launching two new workflow management systems simultaneously for two Tricare contracts, which is something they had not done before. Each system helps manage documents with unique rules. The team spent more than a year planning, coding, testing, updating and handling last-minute changes. They ensured everything was ready before the contracts officially started on January 1, 2025.
One big challenge came just weeks before the launch, when they learned they needed to add a new feature to bring in documents from web portals. Despite the last-minute hurdle, the team finished it in two weeks. After the launch, they kept improving the system based on feedback, making it easier and faster for users. Their teamwork, problem-solving and commitment to quality made the project a big success.
