Garrett Devenney currently serves as Health Legislative Aide to Senate Democratic Leader, Charles E. Schumer. He previously completed his fellowship with the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, where he focused primarily on healthcare workforce programs, infectious disease outbreak response, rural health issues, and public health policies. Prior to the fellowship, Garrett received his Master of Public Health (MPH) from the Dornsife School of Public Health at Drexel University. While earning his degree, he worked for the global vaccine public policy division at Merck & Co., developing policies to increase vaccination coverage rates, build vaccine confidence, and reduce vaccine hesitancy at the state, federal, and international levels. In addition to his MPH, Garrett received a bachelor's degree in Biology and Global Health Studies from Allegheny College.

Rachel Dolin completed her Ph.D. in Health Policy and Management in May 2017 at the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  A National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow from 2013-2017, Rachel has focused her research on the financing and delivery of quality care to Medicare beneficiaries, with a specific concentration on aging and end-of-life care. Her doctoral dissertation, Drivers of Live Discharge from the Medicare Hospice Program: A Mixed Methods Study, explored the provider- and market-based factors increasing the rate of live discharge from hospice across the United States over the last decade, employing both qualitative interviews and econometric data analysis techniques. Starting in 2009, Rachel worked as a researcher for L&M Policy Research, LLC, in Washington, D.C., where she contributed to numerous research contracts for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, including the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation, as well as other federal, state, and private-sector clients. Through these research contracts, Rachel has applied a range of qualitative analytic skills to examine Affordable Care Act-related reforms and innovations, including accountable care organizations and the federally facilitated health insurance marketplaces. Rachel received her B.A., magna cum laude, in Political Science and History from Tufts University.

Michael currently works for Healthsperien, LLC, a D.C.-based health policy and strategy consulting firm. Healthsperien brings a “system” perspective to our work and specializes in payment and delivery models, regulatory issues facing Medicare, Medicaid and commercial payers, and emerging trends in value-based payment. Michael serves as Policy Director, offering a wide-range of legislative and regulatory analysis across Healthsperien’s clients. In addition, Michael works closely with a number of Healthsperien's policy coalition partners, including the National Coalition on Health Care and the Smarter Health Care Coalition.

Prior to joining Healthsperien, Michael managed an expanding low-value care portfolio at VBID Health LLC, which focuses on accelerating multi-stakeholder initiatives, research, and policy advocacy to reduce clinical waste. Prior to VBID Health, Michael was a Winston Health Policy Fellow for the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee where he focused on Medicaid and public health portfolios.

Michael is a Michigan native, hailing from Traverse City, Michigan. In 2013, He received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Michigan in German, Biopsychology, and Medical Anthropology. In 2017, Michael received his Master of Public Policy and Master of Public Health from the University of Michigan as well.

Olivia Pham is currently a Policy Analyst with the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Program on Medicaid and the Uninsured and the Disparities Policy Project. She previously worked at Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. As a former Winston fellow, Olivia completed her placement with the House Energy and Commerce Committee under the leadership of Congressman Frank Pallone. Olivia received her Bachelor of Science at the University of Oklahoma and earned her Master of Science in Health Policy and Management at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Kripa Sreepada currently serves as Health Policy Advisor to Sen. Tina Smith. She previously served as Health Care Legislative Assistant to Congressman Joseph Crowley, Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. She is a former David A. Winston Health Policy Fellow and completed her fellowship placement with the Senate Finance Committee under Ranking Member Ron Wyden. Before working for Congress, Ms. Sreepada worked as an Associate Administrator at a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) and became a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator (LNHA) for the state of Connecticut. Ms. Sreepada graduated summa cum laude from Cornell University with her Masters in Health Administration (MHA), and she graduated cum laude from Saint Louis University with her Bachelor of Science in Public Health. A native of Missouri, Ms. Sreepada has a lifelong passion for older adults and the multidimensional challenges of aging well in American society.

Lydia Orth, MPH, is the Special Assistant in the Medicare-Medicaid Coordination Office at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Formerly, Lydia was a class of 2016 Presidential Management Fellow. Prior to joining CMS, Lydia served as a David. A. Winston Health Policy Fellow with the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Ways & Means, Subcommittee on Health. Lydia has a Master of Public Health from the George Washington University and a Bachelor of Arts in English and Political Science from the University of Colorado Denver.

Before beginning the Winston Fellowship, Adrianna McIntyre graduated with a Master of Public Health and Master of Public Policy from the University of Michigan School of Public Health and Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. Prior to graduate school she earned her undergraduate degree in cognitive science and facilitated clinical research regulation at the Wayne State University School of Medicine.
The joint MPP/MPH reflected Adrianna’s interest in confronting thorny policy problems using consciously interdisciplinary perspectives. She was a member of the inaugural cohort of Dow Sustainability Fellows, which unites students across the university’s graduate programs to address contemporary issues in sustainability policy. Adrianna’s team developed a white paper on the public health potential of brownfield remediation in Detroit, Michigan.
She was named a 2013 David Bohnett Leadership and Public Service Fellow and spent the summer of 2013 serving her fellowship at the Office of the Mayor in the city of Detroit. While the summer’s biggest projects were focused on municipal governance more broadly, Adrianna provided some analytical support for the restructuring of the city health department.
Adrianna is particularly interested in the intersection of health economics and law: how can empirical findings can be transformed into prudent policy, given the frictions of the political system and the reality that science does not exist in a vacuum? She began to explore these themes through writing, first on her own site, then on noted health policy blog The Incidental Economist. Adrianna was invited to spend the summer of 2014 at Vox, a then-nascent news organization. While there, she spent a considerable amount of time writing about the politics of Medicaid expansion and the legal challenge to the Affordable Care Act’s insurance subsidies, which would eventually become the Supreme Court case King v. Burwell. Adrianna has also written for Bloomberg View, The Week, and Democracy: A Journal of Ideas.
In September 2015, Adrianna began her fellowship placement in the Office of Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. It was an exciting time to embark upon this work, with the 2016 budget deal, prescription drug prices, and mental health reform all generating tremendous attention and interest in the health policy community. Adrianna feels privileged to have the opportunity to work with Wendell Primus and other inspiring and talented policy staff in the Leader’s office and on committees of jurisdiction.

In the Fall of 2016, Adrianna began the Harvard’s PhD program in Health Policy.

 

Leif Brierley, MPH, is the Powers’ Manager of Government Relations and focuses on federal healthcare, rehabilitation, and disability policy and advocacy for the firm’s clients.

Leif employs targeted legislative and political analysis, lobbying and advocacy activity, and strategic coalition management to enable clients to make their greatest impact on policy. His work on legislative and regulatory initiatives is critical to the provider, supplier, and consumer groups the firm serves. In his capacity as Manager of Government Relations, Leif conducts, organizes, and facilitates lobbying and related advocacy events, including congressional briefings, Capitol Hill visits, and federal agency meetings. Additionally, he manages a number of national disability and rehabilitation coalitions led by the Powers public policy and government relations group. These coalitions focus on access to rehabilitation services and devices, assistive technology, quality orthotic and prosthetic care, and promote of disability and rehabilitation research across the federal health agencies.

Previously, Leif served as a David A. Winston Health Policy Fellow (2014-15), a distinguished postgraduate fellowship in health policy awarded to two individuals annually, which includes a full-time work placement in a key health policy development setting. Leif spent his fellowship year working for U.S. Senator Michael F. Bennet. In the U.S. Senate, he covered a broad portfolio of health policy issues, including Medicare, Medicaid, providers, health care delivery systems, and child welfare through the Senate Finance Committee; and public health, infectious disease, medical research, pharmaceuticals, and medical innovation issues through the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

Leif also served as a Senior Analyst at the Advisory Board Company in Washington, DC, where he provided best practice research and strategic guidance for hospitals and health systems across the nation. Prior to his time in DC, Leif spent several years involved in the Massachusetts health policy arena, serving as a Health Policy Analyst for the Massachusetts Medical Society, the statewide professional association for physicians and medical students that owns and operates the New England Journal of Medicine.

He is a graduate of the Boston University School of Public Health, where he studied Health Policy & Management, earning a Master of Public Health degree. Currently, he is the Vice Chair of the Board of the Society of Health Policy Young Professionals in Washington, D.C.

KT Kramer, a 2014-2015 Fellow, completed her placement with the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee where she worked on biomedical innovation and FDA reform, the Ebola outbreak, and private health insurance issues. Currently, KT is a legislative analyst with the Congressional Research Service at the Library of Congress where she covers public health and social security legislation. She has previously worked for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Foundation and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. She earned her BA in international studies from Boston College and completed a joint JD/Masters in Health Administration program at Tulane University. KT got her start in health and health policy as a community health education volunteer with the  Peace Corps in Turkmenistan from 2007-2009.

Anne Dwyer serves as Senior Health Counsel for the United States Senate Finance Committee under Ranking Member Ron Wyden. As Senior Health Counsel, her portfolio includes Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, women’s health, mental and behavioral health, and prevention. Prior to joining the committee as professional staff, Ms. Dwyer was a David A. Winston Health Policy Fellow. Before arriving in Washington, D.C., she spent time with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, the Minnesota Disability Law Center, and the State of Wisconsin. As a Midwest native, Ms. Dwyer received a JD with a concentration in health law and bioethics from the University of Minnesota Law School, MPH in Public Health Administration and Policy from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, and BA from the University of Wisconsin.

Colin is the senior health policy advisor to Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) on the Senate HELP committee. He works on policy areas including the Affordable Care Act, health insurance policy, health information technology, and delivery system reform. Before coming to the committee, Colin spent a year as a David Winston Health Policy Fellow with the United States Senate Finance Committee where he worked on Medicare policy. Colin came to Washington, DC from Seattle, where he worked at Group Health Cooperative (now Kaiser Permanente of Washington) as a public policy analyst. While in Seattle he also completed his Master of Public Health and Master of Health Administration at the University of Washington

Elizabeth founded Karan Legal Group PLLC to serve nonprofit healthcare providers, specializing in underserved patient populations, such as Hemophilia Treatment Centers, Ryan White Clinics, Federally Qualified Health Centers, and family planning and STD clinics. Her expertise is in compliance, transactional arrangements, and legislative and administrative advocacy with a focus on the 340B Discount Drug Pricing Program, federal grants, the Anti-Kickback Statute, and Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement issues. Elizabeth strives to ensure that her clients understand the obligations of the statutes and agreements that underlie their grants so they can focus on fulfilling their mission to provide high-quality healthcare to vulnerable communities. Prior to this, Elizabeth worked as a Senior Associate at Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell LLP in Washington, DC for over six years. Elizabeth also has a background is in national health care policy-making as she served on the U.S. Senate Finance Committee through the David A. Winston Fellowship, learning first-hand the process of drafting and developing federal legislation. Elizabeth earned her J.D. and M.P.H. degrees from the University of Minnesota. She currently resides in Washington, D.C and is admitted to practice law in both D.C. and Illinois.

Yajuan Lu is an Associate Director serving the Johnson & Johnson Government Affairs and Policy team. Since she joined the company in 2013, Yajuan has been responsible for developing position papers and long-term strategies regarding China’s and emerging markets’ trends of the health care industry. She also designs and oversees health policy research projects concerning China’s overall health care system, identifies critical policy barrier impacting the access and quality of care provided for the public and seeks partnership opportunities and solutions to remove such hurdles. Prior to her current position, Yajuan was a David A. Winston Health Policy Fellow for Senator Chuck Grassley, assisting with managing the health care portfolio, including entitlement programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, and various issues within the jurisdiction of the Senate Finance Committee. Yajuan has a J.D. from University of Pittsburgh School of Law, where she earned a specialty certificate in Health Law and Policy, and she earned her Bachelors degree from Beijing University Health Science Center. Yajuan is also an active member of Asian Pacific American Bar Association D.C. Chapter, and the Washington D.C. Chinese Legal Association.

Swarna Vallurupalli currently serves as Health Counsel to a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee. She previously served as health and tax counsel in the Senate. During her year as a David Winston Health Policy Fellow she worked for the U.S. Senate Finance Committee with a focus on tax and health care issues related to the Affordable Care Act and tax reform. In addition to her Master’s in Health Policy, she received her JD from Vanderbilt University Law School, her LLM in Taxation from New York University School of Law, and her undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago.

Miraya is currently working at a Medstar Washington Hospital Center as a Cardiac ICU RN. She decided to go back to school to pursue a degree in providing direct health care because she was inspired by her volunteer experiences at a hospice and at a nursing home while working in England as an International Health Policy Research Officer at the London School of Economics immediately after her time as a Winston Fellow in the US House of Representatives' Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi's Office. She is already seeing the benefits of combining the insight that she gained while researching and working on health policy with her current work in direct individual and public health as a registered nurse.

I am a Senior Program Associate at Safe Water Network in New York City where my responsibilities include developing content for knowledge outputs on market-based off-grid community safe water solutions, supporting engagement with sector partners, and producing communications materials. A major focus of my work is health impact and consumer research. I joined Safe Water Network in November 2014 after two years working in the water, sanitation & hygiene sector in Liberia as an independent consultant with various organizations including the Ministry of Health & Social Welfare, UNICEF, and the World Bank Water & Sanitation Program. I focused on institutional strengthening and rural sanitation programs.

Erin Richardson is currently Vice President and Associate General Counsel at the Federation of American Hospitals (FAH). Prior to joining the FAH, she served as Senior Policy Advisor with the White House Domestic Policy Council under President Obama. She also previously served as professional staff and health counsel for the Democratic staff of the Committee on Ways and Means, Health Subcommittee where she had an instrumental role in the repeal of the SGR and passage of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015. Prior to joining Ways & Means, she was the Legislative Assistant for Health for Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio and a Winston Health Policy Fellow at the Committee on Ways and Means. Erin received her law degree from Columbia Law School, master’s in Bioethics from Case Western Reserve University, and bachelor’s from Wellesley College.

As a veteran of both the White House and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), Catherine Oakar has extensive experience in public health, nutrition and health care policy.

Most recently, Catherine served as the Associate Director of the Let’s Move! initiative in the office of former First Lady Michelle Obama at the White House. She also served as a Senior Policy Advisor in the White House Domestic Policy Council’s Office of National AIDS Policy.

Prior to the White House, Catherine served as the Director of Public Health Policy in the Office of Health Reform at HHS. In that role, she had primary oversight responsibility for the implementation of the public health, prevention, disparities and workforce provisions of the Affordable Care Act and spoke across the country about the law.

Catherine began her work in Washington, D.C. as a David A. Winston Health Policy Fellow. She has also been a Fellow at the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland and has conducted community-based research with low-income cancer survivors and safety net clinics. Catherine earned her Master of Public Health degree from the University of Michigan and completed her undergraduate education at the University of Notre Dame.

 

John Barkett is the Senior Director of Policy Affairs for Willis Towers Watson Exchange Solutions. He previously worked for Extend Health, the nation’s largest private Medicare exchange, before it was acquired by Towers Watson in 2012. John is responsible for strategy development as it pertains to both federal and state health policy, as well as the product development and marketing of Towers Watson’s various exchange solutions.

Before joining Extend Health, John spent two and a half years in Washington, D.C., where he contributed to the writing, passage, and implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. John served on the health subcommittee staff of the Ways and Means Committee in the House of Representatives in 2009 where he drafted and negotiated the final details of legislation aimed at reducing fraud in the Medicare program. After the bill’s passage, John joined the staff of the Office of Health Reform in the Department of Health and Human Services, where he helped guide the implementation of all sections of the Affordable Care Act related to delivery system reform.

Previously, John worked for athenahealth, Inc., a revenue-cycle management and electronic medical record company, and Medica HealthCare Plans, Inc., a Medicare Advantage plan.

John earned an MBA in health care management from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he won the Robert D. Eilers Award for health care innovation and service to the community. He graduated cum laude from Harvard College, with a bachelor’s degree in economics and a secondary field in health care policy.

As a Winston Fellow in 2009-2010, Devon completed her placement in the office of Senator John D. Rockefeller IV and developed health policy related to health insurance reforms and coverage expansion during the passage of the Affordable Care Act.  After the Fellowship, Devon focused on implementation of the Health Insurance Exchanges and healthcare.gov at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), where she led various Exchange policy, operations and technology strategic initiatives. Currently, Devon is a senior advisor in CMS working on cross-cutting issues.  Devon has a master's degree in Health Administration from Penn State University.

 

Andrew Roszak, JD, MPA, EMT-P, serves as the Senior Director for Emergency Preparedness at Child Care Aware® of America. His professional service includes work as the Senior Preparedness Director of Environmental Health, Pandemic Preparedness, and Catastrophic Response at the National Association of County and City Health Officials; at the MESH Coalition and the Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County, Indiana, as the Senior Preparedness Advisor supporting Super Bowl 46 and the Indianapolis 500; as a Senior Advisor for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; on the Budget and HELP Committees of the United States Senate; and at the Illinois Department of Public Health. Before becoming an attorney, Andrew spent eight years as a firefighter, paramedic, and hazardous materials technician in the Chicago-land area. He has an AS in Paramedic Supervision, a BS in Fire Science Management, a Master of Public Administration, and a Juris Doctorate degree. He is admitted to the Illinois and District of Columbia Bars and is admitted to the Bar of the U.S. Supreme Court.

 

Kelly Whitener is an Associate Professor of the Practice at the Center for Children and Families (CCF) where she focuses on pediatric benefits and managed care delivery systems as well as promoting state level advocacy to improve care for children and families. Prior to joining CCF, Kelly served as the Director of State Coverage Programs at the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services, overseeing the Children’s Health Insurance (CHIP) and Basic Health Program. Kelly also worked for the Senate Committee on Finance, managing the Medicaid, CHIP, and prevention and wellness portfolio from October 2008 to April 2014. During her time with the Committee, Kelly worked on the CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2009, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, and several year-end bills extending expiring safety net programs. Kelly studied psychology and Spanish at the University of Michigan and earned a Masters of Public Health from UCLA and a Juris Doctorate from Georgetown. Kelly’s work has focused on children with special needs, mental health, global public health, and domestic health policy for low-income children and families.

Elizabeth Lee is a Principal at Venn Strategies, a government affairs firm in Washington DC. She leads the firm's health care team, and works with government agencies, non-profit health care providers, and advocacy coalitions. Prior to joining Venn, she was a political appointee in the Obama Administration, serving as the Senior Policy Advisor to the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration. Elizabeth also worked as a legislative aide to Senator Tammy Baldwin.

Tanchica L. West, MPH, MA is a Senior Advisor the Health Resources and Services Administration HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB) in the Division of Policy and Data (HRSA). She has over 15 years of experience in national and international public health and health policy. In 2015, she was selected to lead HRSA HAB coordination of the national plan to end the HIV epidemic. Currently, Ms. West is heading the development of review criteria and a scoring rubric to identify, catalogue, and disseminate best practice strategies and interventions implemented by grant recipients. Ms. West’s expertise spans medical anthropology, policy development, and global health systems strengthening.  She holds a Master of Arts in Applied Anthropology (cultural anthropology) and Master of Public Health (health management and policy) from The University of Memphis and Saint Louis University, respectively.  She is the awardee of three prestigious fellowships: Winston Health Policy Fellow (2008); Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Leadership Fellow (2014); and Health Resources and Services Administration Senior Leadership Fellow (2018). She received HRSA 2017 and 2019 Honor Awards respectively in Outstanding Performance for Group, and serves on Saint Louis University College of Public Health Practice External Advisory Group.

 

Ms. West further has a proven track record developing and analyzing complex legislative matters in state and federal environments to maximize the benefit of health care reform. Ms. West earned an honorable mention in the United States Congressional Record for helping to reauthorize challenging bi-partisan legislation to improve healthcare for Native Americans, and leading bi-partisan efforts to reauthorize the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief as a legislative fellow with the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee led by Chairman Edward Kennedy. She is the first staffer to develop and implement a citywide strategic plan for youth sexual health in the District of Columbia legislature.  Tanchica has a passion for developing and implementing critical policy and public health initiatives so that every individual, family, and community can enjoy and benefit from good or improved health.

John Rigg is a Senior Advisor to the Director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) in the US Department of Health and Human Services.  John has been an HHS employee since 2010, serving most of that time as the Director of the Office of Policy Analysis.  Prior to his work at HRSA, he was a Senior Medicare Analyst at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Office of Legislation.  While at CMS, in addition to his legislative work, John also had significant policy responsibilities over Medicare outpatient drug policy.  Recently, John has also served on several long-term details within HHS, including leading the HHS initiative “Accelerate Clinical Innovation” within the Office of the Secretary, and as Senior Advisor and Acting Chief of Staff at the Indian Health Service.  In 2016-2017, John was a White House Leadership Development Program fellow, where he led several initiatives for the Executive Office of the President.

Prior to his executive branch service, John worked at the California Hospital Association and in the legislative branch as a health policy fellow for the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee of the House of Representatives, and for the Government Accountability Office (GAO.  John’s first career was as a Paramedic-Firefighter in Atlanta and in Washington State, and he still practices emergency medicine as a volunteer Paramedic in Calvert County (MD).  John lives with his wife and two sons in College Park, MD, where he serves as a member of the non-partisan College Park City Council.  He has a Master of Public Administration and a Master of Health Administration with a focus on Health Policy from the University of Washington, and a Bachelor of Arts from Emory University.

Martin Sobel provides U.S. healthcare-focused advisory services to equity sponsors and healthcare companies. As a Director in Marwood’s Advisory Group, Mr. Sobel has led over 100 engagements providing clients with integrated analysis—federal, state, private pay, and market research. Many of Mr. Sobel’s engagements have been related to the DPM/DSO sector, offering clients a perspective on relevant reimbursement, regulatory, and legislative matters. Immediately prior to joining the Marwood Group, Mr. Sobel worked in Washington, D.C. as a health policy advisor to Senator John Cornyn (TX), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, and before that to Senator Chuck Grassley (IA), former Chairman and ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee. Mr. Sobel had gone to Washington D.C., in 2006, as one of two recipients of the postgraduate David A. Winston Health Policy Fellowship.

Ms. Mayra E. Alvarez is the President of The Children’s Partnership, a national, nonprofit child advocacy organization with offices in Santa Monica, California, and Washington DC. The Children’s Partnership focuses particular attention on the goals of ensuring that all children have the health care they need and that the opportunities afforded by computing devices and the Internet benefit all children and families. The Children's Partnership works both at the national level and at the state level in California--home to one in eight children in the U.S., concentrating on the intersection of federal and state policies in order to maximize the benefits for children and families.   Most recently, Ms. Alvarez served as the Director of the State Exchange Group for the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In this role, Ms. Alvarez led a team responsible for supporting states in the establishment of Health Insurance Marketplaces, including State-based Marketplaces, State Partnership Marketplaces, and Federally-facilitated Marketplace states. This support includes grant awards, technical assistance, oversight, and monitoring of the Marketplace program.   On behalf of the Administration, Ms. Alvarez was an accomplished bilingual spokesperson on the Affordable Care Act and other health issues for national and regional broadcast, print and online media, including New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Women’s Health, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, National Public Radio, Univision, Telemundo, CNN en Español, and various state and local outlets. Previous to her CMS position, Ms. Alvarez served as the Associate Director for the HHS Office of Minority Health, where she led the coordination of OMH’s work related to the Affordable Care Act, community health workers, and language access, as well as serving as the Project Director of OMH’s Center for Linguistic and Cultural Competency in Health Care. Previously, Ms. Alvarez served as Director of Public Health Policy in the Office of Health Reform at HHS where she had primary oversight responsibility for coordinated and timely implementation of the public health, prevention, and health care workforce policy provisions in the Affordable Care Act. Prior to joining the Administration, Ms. Alvarez served as a Legislative Assistant for Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), the Majority Whip of the U.S. Senate, where she advised the Senator and helped develop his legislative agenda on health issues. Prior to working in the office of Senator Durbin, she served as a Legislative Assistant for then-Congresswoman Hilda L. Solis, the chair of the Health Task Force for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Ms. Alvarez began her work in Washington D.C. as a David A. Winston Health Policy Fellow in the office of then-Senator Barack Obama. She completed her graduate education at the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her undergraduate education at the University of California at Berkeley. She is originally from outside San Diego, CA.

Diana Birkett Rakow leads Alaska's government affairs, corporate communications and community relations teams in Alaska, Hawaii, San Francisco and Seattle. Together, they are responsible for developing Air Group's legacy of good corporate citizenship. Diana is passionate about fueling organizational strategy and culture through a deep understanding of our guests, community and environment. Alaska is growing in leaps and bounds, and she's focused on deepening our reputation for engaging with and giving back to communities throughout the west coast. With ample experience leading organizations through change, she oversees internal communication efforts that keep employees informed of our strategy and committed to our purpose of creating an airline people love. Diana joined Alaska Airlines in 2017. Prior to Alaska, Diana served as vice president of public affairs, communications and brand management at Kaiser Permanente of Washington through its acquisition of Group Health Cooperative. With Group Health since 2006, she was executive vice president of public affairs and marketing and also led the company’s philanthropy strategy as president of Group Health Foundation. Before that, Diana spent three years on the U.S. Senate Finance Committee in Washington, D.C. as a health policy advisor.

Diana holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and master’s degrees in public administration and public health from the University of Washington. She serves on the boards of the Greater

Seattle Chamber of Commerce and the Pacific Science Center, and is a previous 40 under 40 Honoree by the Puget Sound Business Journal .

Chad Shearer is Vice President for Policy at the United Hospital Fund (UHF) where he oversees work to build a more effective health care system in New York through initiatives focusing on children’s health, innovation, insurance and Medicaid. He leads a team of experts engaged in policy and health system landscape analysis, identification and promotion of delivery system and payment reform innovations, and convening diverse audiences to collaborate on major health policy issues in New York. Mr. Shearer also directs UHF’s Medicaid Institute, conducting data and policy analyses explaining New York's Medicaid program which serves over 6 million low-income New Yorkers at a cost of over $70 billion annually.
Previously, Mr. Shearer was at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public & International Affairs at Princeton University, where he served as deputy director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s State Health Reform Assistance Network, a project coordinating technical assistance to 11 states implementing the Affordable Care Act’s coverage expansion provisions. He was also a lecturer in public affairs at the university, teaching a graduate capstone policy workshop. Mr. Shearer also spent time at the Center for Health Care Strategies, where he helped shape its Medicaid Leadership Institute. Before that, he served as legislative director for Congressman Pete Stark, who was Chairman of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health, in the United States House of Representatives.
Mr. Shearer holds both law and master of health administration degrees from the University of Iowa.

Rochelle is the Policy Director for the American Hospital Association, focusing on post-acute care issues.  She works with hospitals nationwide, the Congress, the Administration, and other stakeholders to develop and advocate for AHA members’ policy priorities. Prior to joining the AHA in 2002, Ms. Archuleta served as the David Winston Health Policy Fellow with the U.S. House of Representatives Ways & Means Health Subcommittee.  She also provided policy and operations leadership for the Baptist Health System of Alabama, Kaiser Permanente in the Denver marketplace, and Valley-Wide Health Services in Colorado.  In addition, Ms. Archuleta worked as a policy analyst for the Colorado State Legislature.  A Colorado native, Ms. Archuleta earned Master’s Degrees in Health Administration and Business Administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.  She also has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Ms. Archuleta is a Board Member of Unity Health Care, a network of 29 community health centers located throughout Washington DC, which provides comprehensive primary healthcare services to uninsured and under-insured individuals.

Sybil Green is the Director of Coverage and Reimbursement at the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Alexandria, Virginia where she leads efforts to ensure access to and payment for high quality care for cancer patients at all disease stages and trough survivorship. ASCO is the national organization representing over 35,000 physicians and other healthcare professionals specializing in cancer treatment, diagnosis, and prevention. ASCO members are also dedicated to conducting research that leads to improved patient outcomes; the organization is committed to ensuring that evidence-based practices for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer are available to all individuals. Last Spring, Sybil took on the role of Adjunct Professor at the George Washington University, where she teaches Introduction to U.S. Health Services Delivery for Masters of Public Health Students at the Milken Institute School of Public Health. Before joining ASCO, Sybil founded Segue Health Partners, where she served as the President. Segue Health Partners is a professional entity dedicated to access, quality and equity in health care. In her role, she provided support services to providers and health care entities in the areas of regulatory affairs, compliance and professional development. Sybil formerly served as Vice President of Health and Wellness Compliance at Walmart Stores where she had the responsibility for assuring the quality of clinical services provided to Walmart’s Health & Wellness patients, including Pharmacy and Optical, through regulatory compliance, quality improvement programming, professional development and training and education. She has also served on College of Pharmacy Boards of Visitors for Howard University, University of Florida and University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Prior to joining Walmart, she was the Deputy Secretary for the Louisiana Department of Health & Hospitals. She also served as the Assistant Deputy Secretary for the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration and Director of Policy and Programs for the National Association of Chain Drug Stores. Sybil earned a Bachelor of Science in pharmacy from Xavier University in Louisiana. She also has a Juris Doctor and Master of Health Administration, both from Indiana University. Sybil was the 2000 David A. Winston Health Policy Fellow, and in 2011she received Certification in Healthcare compliance.  

Jason Ormsby, PhD, MBA, MHSA, is a leader for Deloitte’s Monitor Strategy practice, where he touches most federal healthcare agencies and provides expertise in health systems, coverage, quality measurement, value-based purchasing, process improvement, health professional education, patient safety and accreditation. Prior to Deloitte, Dr. Ormsby was Senior Vice President at Atlas Research, with a wide array of care delivery improvements in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) involving quality, safety, accreditation preparedness, patient centered care models, rural health, women’s health, and collaborations between the VA and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the Department of Defense, and other stakeholders. He also ran initiatives for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), supporting the development of nearly 20 value-based purchasing models within the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), quality and patient safety improvement initiatives targeting vulnerable hospitals through HRSA, and agency-wide process improvements for CMS’ Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO). Since 2004, through his faculty positions within the Georgetown University Department of Health Systems Administration and George Washington University School of Public Health, Dr. Ormsby teaches on quality, health policy and management theory, and as a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt leads a process improvement education curriculum which has provided LSS Green Belt certifications for nearly 200 graduate students and health professionals, as well as 30+ improvement solutions for hospitals and health systems. Dr. Ormsby began his career in healthcare administration at Mayo Clinic, where he focused on the quality of care delivery and the implementation and meaningful use of HIT. After winning the Winston Health Policy Fellowship, Dr. Ormsby served as professional staff for the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, working on numerous Medicare quality measurement and improvement issues under Chairman Bill Thomas. Prior to joining Atlas Research, Dr. Ormsby handled federal relations for the Joint Commission and represented the organization to CMS, VA and national quality and HIT advisory bodies, including the National Quality Forum, Hospital Quality Alliance, Ambulatory Quality Alliance, Quality Alliance Steering Committee, American Health Information Community, and National eHealth Collaborative.

 

 

Deborah Mizeur is a clinician, teacher, and advocate dedicated to improving the health of individuals and communities, whether as an adviser to policymakers, with patients in her private clinical practice or on her farm on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

For more than twenty-five years, Deborah has honed her expertise in health care systems and financing, quality, and access in a professional career that has spanned working in the Alaska State Legislature and the United States Congress and teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels to private sector firms and public non-profit organizations specializing in these fields. Ten years ago, Ms. Mizeur left Capitol Hill at the peak of her career to pursue clinical studies.  Now, as an integrative, holistic practitioner, Deborah Mizeur plays a more direct role in helping people achieve and maintain health.

Through her uncommon professional experience, Deborah serves as a bridge between the worlds of policy and medicine and is sought out for her unique contributions to health systems innovation.  In 2016, Deborah was appointed by the State of Maryland to head a working group on the future of rural health care for the State.  The consensus recommendations that were adopted after 14- months of deliberation are considered a significant contribution to the national discussion.

 

Deborah Mizeur received an MS in Herbal Medicine from the Maryland University of Integrative Health, a Master of Health Administration from the University of Washington and a B.A. in government from the University of Alaska, her home State.  Deborah enjoys finding connections between seemingly disparate systems and she is passionate about reconnecting people with nature.  Deborah has created a boutique healing retreat center on her 34-acre permaculture farm for this purpose.  In addition, Deborah owns an organic herbal products company specializing in custom formulations using many of the herbs she cultivates on the land.

SUZANNE YURK did her placement as a Winston Fellow at CMS where she wrote Medicare regulations. She has been an Assistant Regional Counsel with the Office of General Counsel for the United States Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) for over 13 years. She began her career in HHS in the Office of General Counsel in the San Francisco Regional Office where she principally worked for CMS, handling Medicare reimbursement litigation in federal court as well as nursing home administrative litigation. She currently works as an Assistant Regional Counsel for HHS in the Office of General Counsel in the Philadelphia Regional Office providing legal advice to CMS and handling Medicare and Medicaid litigation. In 2014, she completed a “Senior Executive Service” Training program, an Executive Development Program designed exclusively for federal employees. As a component of that training program, she did a five month detail as the Manager for the Certification and Enforcement Branch in CMS, Region III. She spent one year as a Special Assistant United States Attorney doing general civil litigation for the Dept. of Justice in the Central District of California. She also spent one and half years in private practice at ReedSmith in the Health Care Practice Group in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She received her A.B. from Duke University, her J.D. from DePaul University College of Law, and her M.P.H. from The Johns Hopkins University.

Anna Fallieras is Program Leader for Health Care Initiatives and Policy at GE. She is responsible for leading key health care initiatives at GE as well as the company’s role in catalyzing change in the health care system through multi-employer initiatives and the development of new, market-based strategies. Anna leads HealthAhead, GE’s global well-being program focused on improving the health of GE employees and their families. In her current role, Anna founded Catalyst for Payment Reform, a non-profit organization focused on catalyzing and coordinating opportunities to improve value through reforming the nation’s payment systems. She also represents the company domestically on employer issues related to health reform and market-based health policy and financing, with special focus on performance measurement and payment innovation. She is a member of various business coalition boards representing the interests of large employers. Prior to joining GE, Anna was the Vice President for Market Development at United Health Group. Additionally, Ms. Fallieras has held positions at Maryland’s Medicaid program, the Center for Health Care Strategies, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, The Lewin Group, and the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.   She has a Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins University and a Master of Public Administration and Bachelor of Arts from the Ohio State University.

Dr. Doug Knoop is Executive Medical Director at Charlotte-based Healthstat, Inc., a national provider of employer-based onsite health and wellness clinics.  Dr. Knoop has extensive clinical experience as a board-certified otolaryngologist/head and neck surgeon.  He earned a Master’s degree in Healthcare Administration from the University of Kentucky while in practice in Lexington, KY.  Upon receiving his MHA, he was awarded the David A. Winston Distinguished Post-graduate Fellowship in Health Policy. Following a year of health policy study in Washington, DC, he worked with several insurers as medical director, including CIGNA and Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina. In addition to board certification in Otolaryngology/Head and Neck surgery, he is a Fellow or Member of numerous clinical academies and societies, including the American College of Surgeons, the American Academy of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, the American Society for Head and Neck Surgery, Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, the NC Medical Society and the American College of Physician Executives, from which he earned Certified Physician Executive recognition. A Kentucky native, Dr. Knoop earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Louisville, and MD and MHA degrees from the University of Kentucky. His postgraduate surgical training was at NC Baptist Medical Center of the Wake Forest University College of Medicine in Winston-Salem, NC.  

Since completion of the Winston Fellowship in 1994, Brad Hansen has spent most of his career in health care with Methodist Health System in Omaha, Nebraska. Currently, Mr. Hansen is Vice President of Methodist Physicians Clinic, a 300-provider multispecialty group practice with locations in Nebraska and Iowa. Previous to this role, Mr. Hansen also served as Methodist Health System Planning Coordinator (1994 – 1998) and Vice President of Professional Services for Nebraska Methodist Hospital (2008 – 2012).
Mr. Hansen represented Council Bluffs and Carter Lake in the Iowa Legislature as State Representative (1996 – 2003). During his legislative career, Mr. Hansen was the primary author and sponsor of Iowa’s Children’s Health Insurance Program (“CHIP”) known as the Healthy and Well Kids in Iowa (“HAWK-I”). He also led the effort to develop Iowa’s patient appeal process which restructured Iowa’s protections of patient rights in managed care plans. Mr. Hansen was also a key legislative player in Insurance, Energy and Banking issues.
Mr. Hansen left the legislature in 2003 to pursue a law degree from the University of Iowa which he earned in 2005. Mr. Hansen practiced law with Wildman, Harrold, Allen & Dixon, LLP in Chicago, Illinois from 2006 to 2008, focusing his practice in corporate law.
In addition to earning a law degree from the University of Iowa, Mr. Hansen also holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Northern Iowa and a Master’s Degree from the University of Iowa. Mr. Hansen lives in Omaha with his wife, Suzanne and three children, Isabella (age 13), Gretchen (age 4) and Everett (age 2).

I retired after teaching at University of WI Oshkosh in the College of Nursing from 2005 to 2015. One of my teaching responsibilities was Community Nursing. I was able to bring in examples of my experiences during the Winston Health Policy Fellowship especially as we were still dealing with the same health policy issues as during my fellowship. I was able to observe the transition from the Bush Administration to the Clinton Administration and Hilary’s health reform efforts that failed.

John Meurer, MD, MBA, is Professor of General Pediatrics and Community Health and Director of the Institute for Health & Equity at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. The Institute includes 90 faculty, staff and PhD students in biostatistics, epidemiology, bioethics, and community health research and education. He leads several projects across Wisconsin to improve systems to optimize early childhood development. Dr Meurer co-directs management and policy courses for medical, pharmacy and public health students and a research fellowship in primary care, and is developing a masters program in precision medicine.

Roslyne Schulman is a Director of Outpatient Payment, Emergency Response and Public Health Policy at the American Hospital Association (AHA).  She has been with AHA since January 1999.  Roslyne has primary policy responsibility for hospital disaster preparedness and response and leads the AHA’s efforts in this area, as well as leading the AHA’s staff team for hospital readiness.  In addition, Roslyne has primary policy responsibility in a number of other areas, including the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act; Medicare hospital outpatient and ambulatory surgical center payment policy; FDA policy regarding drugs, blood and devices; clinical laboratory payment and regulation and other areas.  From 1992-1999, she worked for the American College of Emergency Physicians as Regulatory Representative, and from 1990-1992, she was a Legislative Assistant with the American Group Practice Association.  Ms. Schulman came to Washington, D.C. in 1989 as the David A. Winston Health Policy Fellow.  She received her Masters of Health Administration and Masters of Business Administration from the University of Pittsburgh in 1989.  Ms. Schulman received her Bachelors of Science from the University of Pennsylvania in 1984.