National Policy & Advocacy Summit

Executive Director | Alliance for Patient Access 

Casey McPherson is executive director of the Alliance for Patient Access, where he leads the organization’s efforts to advance timely, affordable access to care. 

Previously, he served as AfPA’s Director of Clinician Advocacy, overseeing a national network of clinicians and coordinating their advocacy efforts at the federal, state, regulatory and health plan level. 

Prior to joining the Alliance for Patient Access, Casey worked at the Primary Care Collaborative, a multistakeholder membership organization committed to advancing a health care system built upon a strong foundation of primary care. 

Casey graduated from Baylor University with a degree in biology. He lives in Arlington, VA.

Influential Health Care Leader, Entrepreneur and Former White House Official 

Named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in the World and Fortune’s World’s 50 Greatest Leaders, Dr. Raj Panjabi served on the White House National Security Council as Senior Director for Global Health Security and Biodefense, overseeing responses to Ebola, COVID-19, and polio. He previously led the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative and co-founded Last Mile Health. 

Today, he is a Senior Partner at Flagship Pioneering, a physician at Harvard Medical School and Mass General Brigham, and an Entrepreneur in Residence at Emerson Collective.  

His leadership has earned him the 2017 TED Prize, the Clinton Global Citizen Award, and the World Economic Forum’s Social Entrepreneur of the Year honor, and Forbes named him one of America’s 250 Greatest Living Immigrants. He is also the author of Safer: A Playbook for Turning Fear into Action and Crisis into Community, drawing on decades of experience navigating high-stakes challenges across medicine, public health, and government. 

Director | Leavitt Partners 

Former Senior Health Policy Advisor | U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chair 

Conor Sheehey is a Director at Leavitt Partners, where he advises clients on federal health policy, Medicare and prescription drug policy. Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Conor worked on Capitol Hill for eight years, helping to shape bipartisan healthcare legislation. He served as Senior Health Policy Advisor on the majority staff of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, where he led work on prescription drug pricing, clinician payment and medication supply chain issues.  

In addition to his work on the Senate Finance Committee, he served as the Republican staff lead on the Inflation Reduction Act, helping shape the committee’s strategy on prescription drug policy and implementation. 

Vice President, Advocacy & Government Affairs | Coalition of State Rheumatology Organizations 

Dr. Madelaine Feldman is a practicing rheumatologist in New Orleans and former president of the Coalition of State Rheumatology Organizations (CSRO), where she leads national advocacy efforts on issues affecting patient access to care. With more than 30 years of clinical and advocacy experience, she is widely recognized for her expertise on pharmacy benefit managers, drug pricing, formulary design and utilization management.  

Dr. Feldman has written and lectured extensively on the pharmaceutical supply chain and its impact on patients, providers, and healthcare costs, educating physician organizations, patient groups, regulators and policymakers nationwide. She has also testified before numerous state legislatures and the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee on drug pricing and policies that affect access to treatment.

Vice President, Government Relations and Advocacy | National Psoriasis Foundation

Jason Harris is Vice President of Government Relations and Advocacy at the National Psoriasis Foundation, where he leads federal and state advocacy efforts to improve access to care and advance policies that support patients living with psoriatic disease. With more than a decade of experience in health policy and patient advocacy, he has held leadership roles at the Lupus Foundation of America, the National Health Council and the ALS Association.

Harris is a recognized advocate for patient-centered health policy and works closely with policymakers, clinicians and patient communities to advance meaningful health care reforms.

Coalition Director | Alliance for Patient Access 

Adina Lasser leads the Movement Disorders Policy Coalition, serves as the Executive Director of the Derma Care Access Network, and works on the Alliance for Patient Access, collaborating with patient advocacy groups, provider associations, and other stakeholders to advance shared legislative and regulatory priorities. 

Prior to joining the AfPA team, Lasser served as Director of Public Policy and Government Relations at the Alliance for Aging Research. Lasser has also held roles at the American Urological Association and Cavarocchi, Ruscio, Dennis Associates. 

Lasser began her career at the White House Council of Economic Advisers. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the honors college at the University of South Carolina and a Certificate in Health Care Economics from Harvard and has been published in Health Affairs and Medical Economics.

Director | Milken Institute

Michael Brown is a director on the Future of Aging team within Milken Institute Health, where he leads the Alliance to Improve Dementia Care, focusing on building impactful programs and fostering consensus among diverse stakeholders to address the complex health care challenges of brain health and dementia care. As a health care professional with over a decade of experience in corporate strategy, health care partnerships, and business development, he has led initiatives in value-based care, cross-sector collaborations, and digital health innovations.

Before joining the Milken Institute, he was the director of business development at Altoida, a venture-backed software as a medical device company developing digital cognitive assessments. He began his career at CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield in the innovation division, Healthworx, where he led due diligence efforts for two acquisitions of Medicaid Managed Care Organizations, corporate venture capital investments, and strategic partnerships. He holds an MBA in health care management from Johns Hopkins Carey Business School and an undergraduate degree from Saint Joseph’s University in pharmaceutical and health care marketing. 

Senior Vice President, Government Relations | American Association for Respiratory Care 

Miriam O’Day is Senior Vice President of Government Relations for the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) and a longtime health policy advocate with more than 25 years of experience advancing patient and provider priorities at the federal level. She has led legislative and regulatory advocacy efforts for numerous health care and rare disease organizations, including the Alpha-1 Foundation, COPD Foundation, and Immune Deficiency Foundation. O’Day is recognized for her expertise in congressional and agency engagement, coalition building, and patient-centered health policy.