Executive Director | Alliance for Patient Access

Josie Cooper serves as executive director of the Alliance for Patient Access. At AfPA, Ms. Cooper has worked in stakeholder and clinician mobilization, developing policy and educational strategies to improve patient access to care.

Ms. Cooper has a background in communications, research, grassroots organization and campaign politics. Ms. Cooper has worked at the state and national level advising political campaigns and public affairs clients on supporter and stakeholder mobilization. She has worked on major races across the country, from presidential campaigns to Senate and congressional races. Prior to joining AfPA, Ms. Cooper worked for a DC-based consulting firm and for a trade association representing biotechnology companies.

U.S. Representative

Congresswoman Michelle Steel is serving her second term in the House of Representatives, where she serves the people of California’s 45^th District. Born in South Korea and raised in Japan, Michelle immigrated to the United States to build her own American Dream. She is one of the first Korean American women to ever serve in Congress. After fleeing North Korea during the Korean War, her parents met and built a life in South Korea before moving to Japan. Her father, a diplomat, encouraged Michelle at a young age to move to the United States to become fluent in English. Her mother and younger sisters joined her in America, where they opened a clothing store in downtown Los Angeles.

After seeing how difficult it was for her non-English speaking mother to navigate the tax laws and state regulations, she ran for the State Board of Equalization – the nation’s only elected tax board – where she represented more than nine million residents, including all of Orange County. At the time, she was the highest-ranking Korean American elected official in the United States.

Michelle later served her community as Supervisor and Chairwoman of the Orange County Board of Supervisors. She continued her work fighting for California taxpayers while working to protect the Orange County coastline, and helping families and businesses fight back against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Michelle currently serves on the Committee on Ways and Means, the Committee on Education and Workforce, the Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, and the Congressional-Executive Commission on China. Michelle has been married to her husband Shawn for 39 years. They have two adult daughters.

Associate Professor | Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health 

Professor Socal’s research focuses on improving pharmaceutical access and affordability. Specific topics include the global pharmaceutical supply chain, gene therapies, generics and biosimilar markets, and ways to control spending without restricting access to prescription drugs. Prof. Socal has testified before the U.S. Congress on the drug pricing provisions established in the Inflation Reduction Act. Prof. Socal also testified at the Food and Drug Administration on biopharmaceutical regulation, including insulins. Prof. Socal collaborates with state-level initiatives to increase access to prescription drugs, including the California Generic Drugs Initiative (CalRx).  Prof. Socal is a physician trained in adult Neurology. She holds a Master’s in Public Policy from Princeton University and a PhD in Public Health/Health Systems from Johns Hopkins University. Prof. Socal teaches courses on U.S. Pharmaceutical Policy and the U.S. Health Care System.

Director of Legal Strategy and Advocacy | Aimed Alliance

Ashira Vantrees joined Aimed Alliance in August 2021 and has had several leadership roles within the organization. Currently, Ms. Vantrees serves as the Director of Legal Strategy and Advocacy. Ms. Vantrees brings with her extensive experience in researching a wide variety of issues including public health, health education, human rights, women’s rights, and disability rights. Building on her own experiences facing difficulties in accessing healthcare, Ms. Vantrees is now a passionate advocate for healthcare access and ensuring healthcare is easily accessible, affordable, and non-discriminatory.

Prior to attending law school, Ms. Vantrees worked as a public health emergency planner and outreach coordinator at a local health department in Ohio. This experience taught her the importance of ensuring meaningful access to healthcare medications and services. Ms. Vantrees holds a Bachelor of Arts in Emergency Management and Business from Ohio Christian University, a Masters of Science in Disaster Medicine and Management from Thomas Jefferson University, and a Juris Doctor from Florida International University College of Law.  She is licensed to practice law in Florida and the District of Columbia.

Chairman | Alliance for Safe Biologic Medicines

Dr. McKibbin is a practicing gastroenterologist at Blair Gastroenterology Associates in Altoona, PA. He is past president of both the Pennsylvania Society of Gastroenterology and of the Digestive Disease National Coalition (DDNC). He sits on the Member Advisory Panel of the Pennsylvania Medical Society; and is a member of the Pennsylvania State Cancer Control Consortium.

Dr. McKibbin has written extensively on the issues of non-medical switching and insurance industry utilization management techniques including step therapy and copay accumulator adjustments.