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.

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.

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.

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.

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 .