Virginia Beach, VA – March 3, 2008 -- Optima Health, a nearly 352,000-member Virginia-based health plan, nationally recognized for its quality, service and innovative programs, has appointed Michelle M. Brandt as the executive director of sales operations.

In this position, Brandt is responsible for providing operational leadership for the Commercial Sales/Marketing Department at Optima Health. This includes management of teams accountable for marketing RFP production, marketing communications, enrollment coordinators, project management and e-Business.

Brandt has been employed by Sentara Healthcare, the parent company of Optima Health, since 1989. Prior to this post, she served as chief operating officer/vice president of operations for Sentara Behavioral Health Services for five years. She has also previously served as director of operations for Sentara Behavioral Health Services.

She holds an MBA from Troy University and a bachelor’s degree in statistics from Virginia Tech.