Melanie Egorin, PhD, MA

Assistant Secretary for Legislation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Dr. Egorin serves as principal advisor to the Secretary with respect to all aspects of the Department's legislative agenda and Congressional liaison activities. She has 25 years of health policy experience including more than 15 years with the federal government. A nationally recognized expert for breadth and depth of strategic policy knowledge in federal health programs and the American health system. Dr. Egorin was most recently the Deputy Staff Director for the Health Subcommittee and professional tax staff for the Committee on Ways and Means in the U.S. House of Representatives. Prior to joining Ways and Means, Dr. Egorin was a Senior Analyst at the Government Accountability Office (GAO) focusing on a range of public payer health policy issues. Dr. Egorin began her career working to improve access to health care for people with HIV. Throughout her career, Dr. Egorin has been recognized for her collaborative workstyle, bipartisan leadership, and mentorship. She holds both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Emory University and a Ph.D. from the University of California San Francisco.

Justin Elliott

Vice President, Government Affairs, American Physical Therapy Association

Justin Elliott joined APTA in 2002 and has led the association's legislative, public policy, and political efforts on Capitol Hill since 2015. Prior to joining APTA, Justin worked at KM Strategies, a government affairs and issues management firm. He got his start on Capitol Hill serving as an intern in the offices of Sen. Charles Robb and Rep. Tom Davis, both of Virginia. Justin received his bachelor's degree in communications and minor in political science from Virginia Tech.

Roger Herr, PT, MPA

President, American Physical Therapy Association

Roger Herr serves as President of American Physical Therapy Association and is Vice President of Home Care at the VNS of New York Home Care. A distinguished health care leader over 35 years’ experience in post-acute care, quality reporting, health plan and rehabilitation, he has served in multiple roles in the association in specialty sections, state chapters and national board.

Lisa Juckett, PhD, OTR/L, CHT

Investigator, Didactic Activities, Learning Health Systems Rehabilitation Research Network

Dr. Lisa Juckett is an Associate Professor of Occupational Therapy in the College of Medicine at The Ohio State University. After beginning her career as an occupational therapist in the inpatient and geriatric rehabilitation settings, Dr. Juckett pursued her PhD in social work where she specialized in the field of implementation science. In her current research, Dr. Juckett blends her clinical and doctoral training to improve the dissemination and implementation of evidence into practice settings that serve older adults, particularly persons living with dementia, stroke survivors, and older adults with chronic disease. Her active work is funded through the National Institutes of Health, the Administration for Community Living, and the American Occupational Therapy Foundation. She is also an Investigator for the Learning Health Systems Rehabilitation Research Network - or LeaRRn - which is a resource network dedicated to advancing learning health systems research to improve rehabilitation care.

Tim Kaine (Recorded Remarks)

U.S. Senator

Senator Tim Kaine was elected to the Senate in 2012 and serves on the Armed Services; Budget; Foreign Relations; and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committees. He was first elected to office in 1994, serving as a city councilmember and then Mayor of Richmond. He became Lieutenant Governor of Virginia in 2002 and was inaugurated as Virginia's 70th Governor in 2006.

Samantha Koehler

Senior Health Policy Advisor, Office of U.S. Senator Tim Kaine

Samantha Koehler is Senior Health Policy Advisor to U.S. Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia. Her work for Senator Kaine encompasses health policy as it relates to public health and access to coverage and care, including Long COVID. Previously, Samantha served as Policy Advisor to U.S. Senator Bob Casey on the Senate Special Committee on Aging and focused on Medicare and Medicaid policy. Prior to this, Samantha was a direct practice social worker for older adults. Samantha has her MSW and MPH from the University of Michigan.

Admiral Rachel L. Levine, MD

Assistant Secretary for Health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

As Assistant Secretary for Health, Admiral Rachel Levine fights every day to improve the health and well-being of all Americans. Admiral Levine graduated from Harvard College and Tulane University School of Medicine, then completed her training in Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at the Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York City. 

Justin Moore, PT, DPT

CEO, American Physical Therapy Association

Prior to being named CEO, Justin was APTA’s executive vice president of public affairs. Before that, he served in several government affairs positions, including work as the association’s lead lobbyist on Capitol Hill. A licensed physical therapist, Justin received his Doctor of Physical Therapy degree (DPT) from Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts, his Master of Physical Therapy degree from University of Iowa, and his Bachelor of Science degree in dietetics from Iowa State University.

Beth Nelson

Health Policy Director, Office of U.S. Senator Todd Young

Beth Nelson serves as Health Policy Director for Senator Todd Young; focusing on issues including Medicare, Medicaid, and innovative medical treatments and technologies, supporting the Senator’s work on the Senate Finance Committee.  Beth was previously Senior Health Policy Advisor for Chairman Lamar Alexander with the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Senior Policy Advisor to Secretary Alex Azar at the Department of Health and Human Services, and Legislative Assistant for Senator John Cornyn, then Senate Majority Whip.  She also served in senior legislative roles to Congressmen Sam Johnson, Dave Reichert, and Dave Hobson.  Beth holds a B.S. in biology from John Carroll University and a M.S. in anatomy from Ohio State University. 

Allison O'Donnell, MPH

Deputy Director, Office of Long COVID Research and Practice, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health

In this role, Allison coordinates the U.S. Government response to Long COVID. Previously Allison was a Health Communications Specialist at the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products, focusing on tobacco product marketing policy and the complex intersection between public health law, communications, and policy. Allison started in HHS coordinating global health policy engagement with Latin America in the Office of Global Affairs.

Allison is skilled at managing complex, interagency issues of high consequence and visibility. Her previous work includes cigarette graphic health warning labels, global health diplomacy with Cuba, Zika virus, and the Venezuelan regional health crisis.

Allison completed a Master of Public Health degree in Health Management and Policy at the University of Michigan and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Global Health from Oberlin College.

Pragna Patel, MD, MPH, DTM&H

Chief Medical Officer, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

Dr. Patel serves as the Chief Medical Officer of CDC’s Coronavirus and Other Respiratory Viruses Division in the National Center for Immunizations and Respiratory Diseases. She is an epidemiologist and board-certified internist with specialization in HIV medicine and tropical medicine and 25 years of experience in clinical medicine, public health and research.

Dr. Patel received her MD from the State University of New York, Buffalo and fulfilled her Internal Medicine residency training at Brown University. She has a diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and an MPH from Harvard University. She provides clinical care at the Infectious Disease Clinic at the Atlanta VA Medical Center and is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Medicine and an Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology at Emory University.

Ian Simon, PhD

Director, Office of Long COVID Research and Practice, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health

Prior to being named Director for the Office of Long COVID Research and Practice, Dr. Simon was the Assistant Director for Health Strategy and Biopreparedness at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, where he led pandemic prevention and biosecurity policy priorities. He has also served as the Senior Advisor to the Director of NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Dr. Simon is a virologist by training and has held health and science advisor positions at the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Senate.

Andrea B. Troxel, Sc.D.

Committee Member, Examining the Working Definition for Long COVID, National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine

Dr. Troxel is Professor of Population Health and Director of the Division of Biostatistics at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. She has extensive experience in the design, conduct, and analysis of all phases of clinical studies and has published on missing data, sensitivity analyses, and statistical methodology for analysis of clinical trials. Dr. Troxel has served on numerous NIH study sections. She is currently serving as MPI for three Data Coordinating Centers and is MPI of the Clinical Science Core for the NIH’s RECOVER Initiative to study Long COVID. Dr. Troxel earned her undergraduate degree in Applied Mathematics at Yale University and her doctorate in Biostatistics at Harvard University.

William Valiant, PhD

Fellow, Office of Long COVID Research and Practice

Dr. Valiant serves as a subject matter expert on the emerging science of Long COVID. Dr. Valiant received his PhD from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Emerging Infectious Diseases. His thesis research focused on the antibody interactions between Zika virus and Dengue Virus and identified the risk of enhanced Dengue infection due to the presence of Zika-induced antibodies. Following graduate school, Dr. Valiant was a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in the Applied Genetics Group where his research focused on the use of molecular technologies for the detection of adventitious viral nucleic acid as well as SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic standardization. Dr. Valiant is also an Assistant Scientist in the United States Public Health Service Ready Reserve Corps. 

Todd Young (Recorded Remarks)

U.S. Senator

Since joining the Senate in 2017, Todd Young has developed a reputation as a bipartisan problem solver. He serves on the U.S. Senate Committees on Finance; Foreign Relations; Commerce, Science & Transportation; and Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Previously, in the House, he served on the House Armed Services Committee, the House Budget Committee, and the House Ways and Means Committee.

Meeting Facilitator

Laura Buckley, MS, RD

Owner, Laura Buckley Coaching and Consulting, Inc.

Laura Buckley is passionate about helping leaders create cultures where people and teams can thrive. She is a facilitator, consultant, and trainer with extensive experience in organizational development, leadership development, and culture change.

She started her career as an Army officer and dietitian. Her professional journey has given her a unique perspective on what it takes to create cultures where people can thrive.

Laura holds a M.S. in Adult Education from Buffalo State College, a B.S. in Nutrition Management from Rochester Institute of Technology, and a post-graduate certificate in Organizational Consulting & Change Leadership from Georgetown University.