Betsy McKay
The Wall Street Journal

Betsy McKay is a senior writer for The Wall Street Journal. She writes about U.S. and global public health. Previously, she was Atlanta bureau chief, managing a team of reporters covering the Eastern U.S. and several industries. As a reporter before that in Atlanta, she covered the beverage industry, and public health.

Ms. McKay joined The Wall Street Journal in Moscow, where she wrote about Russia's post-Soviet political and economic transformation. She is a member of the team of Journal reporters awarded the 1999 Pulitzer Prize in the international reporting category for in-depth analytical coverage of the Russian financial crisis. She has won awards for stories on public health issues, including drug-resistant tuberculosis and maternity care in the rural U.S.

Ms. McKay holds a B.A. from Amherst College and an M.A. in Russian language and literature from Bryn Mawr College.

Ryan Gough
Partnership to Advance Cardiovascular Health

Ryan Gough is the Executive Director of the Partnership to Advance Cardiovascular Health (PACH). At PACH, Ryan leads a coalition of cardiovascular stakeholder groups to address policy issues that impact patient access to appropriate care. Prior to patient advocacy, Ryan managed several political campaigns and initiatives in Iowa, 

Massachusetts and Virginia. Ryan resides in Boston with his wife, Katherine, a biologist and PhD candidate at Harvard University, and his son, Hayes. 

Jasmine Patel, MPH
Partnership to Advance Cardiovascular Health

Jasmine is the Director of Policy and Outreach for the Partnership to Advance Cardiovascular Health (PACH) and Director of Global Policy for the Global Alliance for Patient Access (GAfPA).

Jasmine has extensive experience working in cardiovascular health, growing patient communities, advancing collaborative partnerships with multi-stakeholder groups, and driving public health and global advocacy initiatives.

A native Californian, Jasmine earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Health Sciences and Nutrition from Chapman University and her Master of Public Health degree from the University of Southern California. She lives in San Diego, CA with her fiancé Sergio and their dog Maya.

Dharmesh Patel, MD
Partnership to Advance Cardiovascular Health

Dr. Dharmesh Patel is President of the Board at the Partnership to Advance Cardiovascular Health and a practicing cardiologist at the Stern Cardiovascular Clinic in Southaven, Mississippi. He also serves on the Southeast Board of the National Lipid Association for America and on the Education Board of the American Society for Preventive Cardiology.

Lindsay Videnieks, JD
Alliance for Patient Access

Lindsay Videnieks manages AfPA’s Cardiovascular Disease Working Group, which brings together policy-minded clinicians who care about patient access. Lindsay has more than a decade of experience in advising non-profit organizations on strategies to secure federal funding and support public policy goals. Lindsay graduated from the 

University of Maine at Orono with Bachelor of Arts degrees in Political Science and English and received her Juris Doctor degree from the Catholic University Columbus School of Law. She is a member of the Bar in the State of Maryland and resides in Washington, D.C. with her husband and her three children 

Seth J Baum, MD
Florida Atlantic University

Dr. Seth J. Baum, a graduate of Columbia College and Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, completed training in Internal Medicine, Cardiology, Interventional Cardiology, and Electrophysiology. He has directed and founded multiple Cardiac Catheterization and Electrophysiology laboratories. Dr. Baum has worked extensively in Integrative Cardiology, directing the Boca Raton division of Harvard’s Mind/Body Medicine Institute.

Dr. Baum is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, the American College of Preventive Medicine, the National Lipid Association, and the American Society for Preventive Cardiology. He is a Founding Physician/Scientist Member of the Society for Cardiovascular CT and is board certified in Cardiovascular CT. Dr. Baum served as treasurer of the International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids. He founded and directs the Women’s Preventive Cardiology program at Boca Raton Regional Hospital. He is the President of the American Society for Preventive Cardiology (ASPC). Annually, Dr. Baum chairs the ASPC’s Conference on CVD Prevention. Dr. Baum is the Secretary/Treasurer of the Board of Directors of the FH Foundation. He sits on the American Heart Association’s Council for Epidemiology and Prevention as well as its Leadership committee, the Interdisciplinary Council for Prevention, and the Prevention Science Committee. He has written numerous peer reviewed papers as well as two books, The Total Guide to a Healthy Heart, and Age Strong, Live Long; Lessons from my Patients. In 2013 he was awarded Cleveland Heart Lab’s “Heart Award” for lifelong dedication to Preventive Medicine. Dr. Baum is the Founder and Chief Medical Officer of Excel Medical Clinical Trials, LLC, a consortium of clinicians dedicated to the safe and professional conduct of high-level scientific trials.

Clinical Affiliate Professor of Medicine at FAU Medical School, Dr. Baum has a practice in Boca Raton, Florida that is devoted solely to Clinical Lipidology - he is board certified by the American Board of Clinical Lipidology - and Cardiovascular Disease Prevention. Dr. Baum also founded and directs the only lipoprotein apheresis program in southeast Florida. He lectures both nationally and internationally, emphasizing Familial Hypercholesterolemia, ASCVD prevention, lipid disorders and evolving therapies, Integrative Cardiology, sex distinctions in CVD, and omega-3 fatty acids.

Amanda Conschafter
Alliance for Patient Access

Amanda is the communications director for the Alliance for Patient Access and oversees the creation and dissemination of videos, policy papers, infographics, blog posts and other content that educates policymakers and empowers advocates. 

Amanda’s background is rooted in writing, communications, education and public affairs. Prior to joining AfPA, she served Fortune 500 clients at a Washington, DC-based public affairs agency and worked on the marketing and proposal team of a Northern Virginia technology firm.  Amanda has freelanced on behalf of private and non-profit organizations. She previously served on the legislative staff of U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham.

Amanda holds a B.A. summa cum laude in English and a master’s in English education from Converse College, a women’s college in Spartanburg, SC.  She lives in Reston, Virginia with her husband and three children.

Elizabeth Gamble, MD
Clinician & Patient Testimonial

Elizabeth Gamble is a retired internist from Winston Salem, North Carolina. Born and raised in NC, Dr. Gamble has suffered from high cholesterol most of her life. Her father and grandfather died from complications with heart disease, and she has suffered from side effects from statins for nearly 20 years.

Emily Holubowich, MPP
American Heart Association 

Emily joined the American Heart Association in 2019 as the Vice President of Federal Advocacy with more than twenty years of experience in health and fiscal policy, government relations, strategic communications, and coalition management. She is frequently sought out by the media for her expertise on public health and fiscal policy, serves as a lecturer in health policy and management at The George Washington University, and is called upon by national organizations to lecture on the policy environment and best practices in strategic communications and advocacy. Previously, Emily was a senior vice president at CRD Associates, where she worked with several clients in the public health community—including the Coalition for Health Funding as its Executive Director. Prior to CRD Associates, Emily was the director of government relations for AcademyHealth and a senior health policy analyst with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). Emily holds a Master of Public Policy from The Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and English from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. 

Tahra Johnson, MPH
National Conference of State Legislatures

Tahra Johnson, MPH, is a program director in NCSL’s Health Program. Tahra is an expert in maternal and child health, public health, oral health, women's health, chronic disease and infectious disease with more than 12 years of health policy experience. Prior to working at NCSL, Tahra worked for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) on maternal and child health and evidence-based public health. She also worked for the Department of Homeland Security, the Evaluators’ Institute, and Hogan Lovells. Tahra earned her master’s degree in public health policy from George Washington University and her bachelor’s degree in business and health promotion from American University. 

Matt Kazan, MPP
Avalere Health

Matt Kazan provides strategic advice to health plan and life sciences clients navigating the complex legislative and regulatory policy environment at Avalere, with a particular expertise in Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D. Prior to joining Avalere, Matt spent over a decade on the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance health staff under Senators Max Baucus and Ron Wyden.

As senior health policy adviser, Matt was the primary policy adviser on policy issues, including Medicare Advantage, Medicare Part D and all drug reimbursement under Medicare, chronic disease, dual eligibles, post-acute care, the Medicare Shared Savings Program, and Medicare and Medicaid program integrity. During his tenure, Matt was involved in a variety of major legislative efforts including the Affordable Care Act, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015, the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009, and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Matt holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Denver and a Master of Public Policy from the George Washington University.

Kevin Kirby, JD
Moran Company

 Kevin joined The Moran Company in late 1999 from Pharmacia & Upjohn, where he was Legislative Counsel.  Kevin has worked on pharmaceutical, biotech and other health care policy issues for more than 25 years.

Kevin provides legislative and regulatory analytical support on a variety of Medicare payment systems, including the Hospital Outpatient and Inpatient Prospective Payment Systems, the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and a variety of related issue areas, focusing particularly on pharmaceutical, pharmacy and biotechnology policies.

As the manager of many of The Moran Company’s services for retainer clients, Kevin leads the team that develops quick turnaround analyses of various Medicare rulemaking documents across a number of payment systems, as well as expert advice targeted to particular companies and products. In addition, Kevin has overseen numerous analyses of the 340B program and its impact. Kevin also assists clients with Medicaid issues, focusing particularly on Average Manufacturer Price (AMP) and other issues related to pharmacy reimbursement.

Kevin graduated magna cum laude from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1997.  He received his bachelor’s degree from Loyola College in Maryland.  He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar.

Jan McAlister, DNP
Piedmont Hospital

Jan McAlister DNP, is board certified as an Adult Nurse Practitioner by the American Nurses Credentialing Center.  She is also certified as a Clinical Lipid Specialist through the National Lipid Association and serves as a member of the Preventative Cardiovascular Nurses Association, American Nurses Association, American Association of Nurse Practitioners, and American College of Cardiology as well as board member of the Southeast/National Lipid Association.  

Jan has extensive and comprehensive background in establishing cardiovascular risk reduction clinics, also known as lipid clinics, including writing policies and procedures, as well as clinical pathways.   She currently works at Piedmont Heart Institute as a DNP in prevention aggressively treating cardiovascular risk factors in patients.  She also serves on the Piedmont IRB and as a investigator in some of the hyperlipidemia studies.

After earning her undergraduate degree from Auburn University, she went on to receive her master’s degree in Nursing from Duke University and then later her Doctorate of Nursing Practice from Georgia Southern University.

She has received the honor of Fellow in the National Lipid Association, Fellow in Preventative Cardiovascular Nurses Association, and Associate of the American College of Cardiology.  

Alanna Morris, MD, MSc
Emory University School of Medicine

Dr. Alanna A. Morris’s research interests including studying the importance of non-modifiable risk factors such as race and gender, as well as social determinants of health that may contribute to excess disease in high risk populations. Her research examines the influence of these risk factors along the spectrum of heart failure, including clinical outcomes after heart transplantation and LVAD implantation. Currently, Dr. Morris is conducting a TCC Pilot Project entitled “Investigating the Impact of Georgia Medicaid Policy on Access, Resource Utilization, and Health Outcomes for Patients with Stage D Heart Failure”. Dr. Morris is also interested in the role of biomarkers of oxidative stress and endothelial dysfunction in patients with heart failure. She is currently the Principal Investigator of a research study examining the role of Metabolomics, Oxidative Stress, and Vascular Function in Heart Failure funded by NIH/NHLBI K23 (HL124287) and the Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program Scholar.

Dr. Morris joined the Emory Clinical Cardiovascular Research Institute faculty in 2013. Dr. Morris received her undergraduate degree in Biology from Xavier University of Louisiana, and her medical degree from the Harvard Medical School. She completed her residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. Subsequently, she came to Emory University to complete fellowships in general cardiology, and advanced heart failure and transplant. After completion of her fellowship training, she was appointed Assistant 

Ann Marie Navar, MD, PhD
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

Ann Marie Navar is a preventive cardiologist and an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Her research focuses on blood pressure and cholesterol lowering, implementation science, risk communication, real-world data, and EHR-enabled research. She is an associate editor at JAMA-Cardiology, and a board member of the American Society of Preventive Cardiology.  

Frank Ryan, JD
American College of Cardiology

Frank Ryan has spent his entire career in government relations as an attorney/lobbyist, grassroots manager, PAC director, coalition representative and policy analyst.

He has been with the American College of Cardiology (ACC) for the past 15 years and currently serves as Senior Advisor for State Government Affairs where he works with ACC chapters to advance the interests of cardiovascular professionals and their patients before state lawmakers. In this role Frank partners with a broad range of stakeholders including state medical societies, patient advocacy organizations and hospital systems.  

Frank earned a B.A. in American Studies from The Catholic University of America and a Juris Doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center. 

His volunteer experiences include youth basketball coaching and adoption advocacy. He is a lifelong resident of the D.C. area and a rabid Washington Nationals fan.    

Frank and his wife, Eileen, live in Gaithersburg and are the proud parents of Daniel and Erika.  

Michael D Shapiro, DO
Wake Forest Baptist Health

Dr. Shapiro is the inaugural Fred M. Parrish Professor of Cardiology and Molecular Medicine at Wake Forest University where he is faculty in the Section of Cardiovascular Medicine. After completing a cardiology fellowship, he spent two additional years in a clinical and research fellowship focused on advanced cardiovascular imaging at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School. After training, he was on the faculty in the Knight Cardiovascular Institute at Oregon Health & Science University. There, Shapiro was able to combine his interests in atherosclerosis imaging and prevention of cardiovascular disease. He was Director of Atherosclerosis imaging and Associate Director of the Center for Preventive Cardiology. His clinical interests focus on genetic and acquired disorders of cholesterol and triglycerides, atherosclerosis Imaging, genetic predisposition to early heart attacks, and cardiovascular risk assessment in apparently healthy individuals. Shapiro is now Director of the Center for Preventive Cardiology at Wake Forest Baptist Health.

His work has been published extensively in the areas of atherosclerosis imaging, lipid disorders, and preventive cardiology. My current investigative research focuses on PCSK9 physiology and its impact on lipoprotein metabolism. Additionally, he is engaged in clinical trials testing novel lipid modulating therapeutics.

Siri Vaeth, MSW
Cystic Fibrosis Research, Inc

Siri Vaeth, MSW Siri Vaeth is the Programs and Outreach Manager at Cystic Fibrosis Research, Incorporated, (CFRI), a nonprofit organization which funds innovative research while providing educational and support services for those living with cystic fibrosis. Among her responsibilities, Siri oversees the development and distribution of education and resource materials, community outreach, expansion of resources for Spanish-speaking CF families, and delivery of CF Quality of Life programming. Her involvement with CFRI began in 1995, after her daughter was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. Prior to joining the staff, Siri served 10 years on the Board of Directors, while writing and editing the organization's internationally distributed resource materials. Siri earned her BA in Politics from UC Santa Cruz and her Master's in Social Welfare from UC Berkeley. She has 26 years of social work experience, including as a direct service provider with Head Start and Migrant Head Start, executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Santa Cruz County, and parent-medical team liaison as Chair of the Cystic Fibrosis Parent Advisory Council at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford.

Sara Traigle Van Geertruyden, JD
Partnership to Improve Patient Care

 Sara Traigle van Geertruyden is the Executive Director of the Partnership to Improve Patient Care (PIPC), which is also chaired by former Congressman Tony Coelho, primary author of the Americans with Disabilities Act.  Sara joined PIPC in January 2011, and also serves as a Partner at the firm Thorn Run Partners.  Her work is focused on policies to advance a patient-centered health system, from patient engagement in research to driving outcomes that matter to patients in healthcare payment and delivery.  

Sara is a healthcare and welfare policy expert with over 20 years of experience. Sara began her career on Capitol Hill, working for former Senator John Breaux (D-LA) from 1996-2003, first as a projects assistant handling Congressional appropriations and advising constituents on the federal grant process, and ultimately spending over 3 years as a legislative assistant overseeing Senate Finance Committee issues for health and welfare.

In 2003, she joined the law firm Patton Boggs where she practiced in the public policy group handling regulatory and legislative issues related to health care, welfare, and appropriations for clients. Sara has represented clients including hospital systems, pharmaceutical companies, health care provider associations and coalitions. Her scope of work in health policy combines expertise in working with all of the major health care agencies, including the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation.

Sara has a strong reputation on both sides of the political spectrum, having staffed Senator Breaux in his efforts to pass legislation that he championed with former Senator Bill Frist (R-TN) to modernize the Medicare program, and in his efforts to raise bipartisan ideas for health reform and T.A.N.F. reauthorization. 

Ms. Van Geertruyden received her bachelors degree from Wake Forest University and earned her juris doctor at the Catholic University Columbus School of Law.

Reverend John Wilkins
COVID-19 Patient Testimonial

Reverend John Wilkins is a gospel blues guitarist and vocalist based in Memphis, Tennessee. He survived a two-month battle with COVID-19. He spent five weeks in Baptist Memorial Hospital-Desoto, where he laid unconscious for nearly half that time, in the ICU and on a ventilator. Although recovered, he is dealing with lingering aftereffects of COVID-19, including undergoing dialysis three times a week due to kidney failure.