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A Bowie executive is bringing her 20 years of health care experience to the 27,000 beneficiaries of the Unison Health Plan of the Capital Area.

Charlisa Watson, 50, joined Unison as its executive director in late August, having spent her career working with underserved populations in the Washington metropolitan region. She is responsible for overseeing daily operations, ensuring the plan meets state requirements and providing accessible and affordable health care through Medicaid and private insurance.

Unison is a unit of AmeriChoice, part of UnitedHealth Group, the Minnesota medical insurance giant. The unit helps local and state government agencies provide access to care for poor people, the medically underserved and those without employer coverage, according to company information. AmeriChoice helps provide care to more than 2.7 million people across the country.

"I was born to be in health care," Watson said. "I find individuals in health care to be a different kind of individual. You have to have compassion."

Watson has held executive roles since 1990, including positions with the American Preferred Provider Plan and National Medical Association, both in Washington, Foster America in Baltimore and the National Association of Black Accountants in Greenbelt. She is also former executive director of the National Association of Health Services Executives.

Watson, who holds a master's from Central Michigan University, was a nurse for 16 years before deciding she could make more of a difference on the administrative side.

She has developed cultural diversity awareness programs for her employers to ensure employees felt comfortable among clients and has paid particular attention to outreach programs to teach people how to utilize their insurance plans. Much of Watson's leadership has focused on retaining clients, which is often difficult among transient populations with sometimes undocumented residents and those with cultural or language barriers, she said.

"I want them to understand the importance of visiting their primary care provider so they don't go to the emergency room so often," she said.

Scott Bowers, president of UnitedHealthcare of the Mid-Atlantic Medicaid, said UnitedHealthcare has had its collective eye on Watson since her work with the National Association of Health Services Executives.

"For years, Charlisa has built a solid reputation in the District and really throughout the mid-Atlantic," Bowers said. "She's completely engaging and dedicated to helping those in need. The more you talk to her, the more you realize her values are in sync with United."

Watson said she has enjoyed the region's diverse opportunities, allowing her to work with both nonprofits and businesses in an area of "so much need."

"She has a knowledge of how the District works and how to bring [people] together to do critical work," Bowers said.

Watson said she has paid much attention to the political debates over medical insurance and feels the industry could do a better job coordinating and collaborating with its entire services delivery system. In her example, a primary care provider would already be aware of what a patient has been receiving from his behavior provider before a visit. She said it's easy under the current system for patients to slip through the cracks and not receive proper care, but she added that the work the industry has been doing on electronic health records has been a step in the right direction.

"I believe in health care access for all," she said.

Watson is married with four adult children and enjoys cooking and baking from scratch, especially gourmet dishes. Having traveled often as a girl due to her father's work in the Air Force, Watson said she appreciates any chance to have a good time.

"My strong belief is that no matter what job you're performing or what the task may be, always give 150 percent," Watson said. "I never come in thinking I know all the answers … Learn to listen."