Laurie Zephyrin is vice president for Advancing Health Equity at the Commonwealth Fund. Dr. Zephyrin has extensive experience leading the vision, design, and delivery of innovative health care models across national health systems. From 2009–2018, she was the first national director of the Reproductive Health Program at the Department of Veterans Affairs, spearheading the strategic vision and leading systems change through the implementation of evidence-based policies and programs to improve the health of women veterans nationwide. In 2016–2017, she served as acting assistant deputy undersecretary for Health for Community Care, and later in 2017, as acting deputy undersecretary for Health for Community Care. While directing the VA’s Community Care program, a key component of VA’s high-performance network with an operating budget of over $13 billion, Dr. Zephyrin spearheaded efforts to implement legislation, develop internal governance structures, and address patient outcomes through systemwide optimization of care delivery. As part of the leadership team, she also represented VA before Congress and other internal and external stakeholders. Dr. Zephyrin is a board-certified clinician. She is a clinical assistant professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at NYU Langone School of Medicine (2013–present) and was previously an assistant professor at Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons (2007–2012). She earned her MD from the New York University School of Medicine, MBA and MPH from Johns Hopkins University, and BS in Biomedical Sciences from the City College of New York. She completed her residency training at Harvard’s Integrated Residency Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital.

Brenda is the President and Founder of M2 Health Care Consulting, a strategic policy and communications consulting firm with offices in Denver and Washington, D.C. M2 works on health care issues in all 50 states and has clients representing a range of for-profit and not-for-profit health care organizations, associations, state governments, and investment firms.

Prior to founding M2 in 2005, Brenda co-ran a hedge fund focused on merger arbitrage in New York and was the Vice President of Healthcare Markets for Informed Decisions, the company that set up the first point-of-care e-prescribing platform used by a state Medicaid agency. From 2012 to 2014, Brenda served as special adviser to the Rhode Island Health Benefits Exchange.

Brenda is currently adjunct faculty at the American University School of Public Affairs and Professorial Lecturer at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University. She has guest lectured at the Boston University School of Public Health and the University of North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy. She earned an MA from Boston College and an MPH from Boston University. She also completed graduate work in health policy at The George Washington University and the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.

Brittany Blizzard is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Public Administration and Policy at American University. Her research interests include U.S. health care and immigration policy, program evaluation, and mixed methods. Her articles have appeared in State and Local Government Review, Migration Information Source, and SAGE Research Methods. She completed her MS in Social Science at SUNY University at Buffalo and her BA in Sociology at Georgetown University. Prior to her graduate studies, she worked in social services.

Jennifer is Vice President of Business Operations and Finance at M2 Health Care Consulting, a strategic policy and communications consulting firm focused on health care with offices in Denver and Washington, D.C. Prior to joining M2 in 2013, Jennifer worked at Deloitte for almost nine years, in several capacities. First, Jennifer worked as a hospital consultant and later Jennifer managed the health policy research center for Deloitte for six years. Jennifer joined Deloitte from NYU Langone Medical Center where she served as a strategic and financial analyst for several years. Jennifer also has nonprofit experience, having worked with several nonprofit domestic and international organizations.

Jennifer received an MPH from the Boston University School of Public Health, an MBA with a focus on nonprofit management from Columbia University, and her BA from Bryn Mawr College.

Neko Castleberry is a consultant for M2 Health Care Consulting and a doctoral candidate in the Department of Public Administration and Policy at American University. Prior to pursuing her PhD in Public Policy, she conducted research at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Her articles have appeared in Contraception, the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Sexual Health and the Journal of Women’s Health. She completed her Master’s in Public Policy at the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Administration at George Washington University and her BA in Political Science at the University of California, San Diego.

Jo Palmer is an experienced health care policy analyst and consultant in Washington, D.C., and has provided her expertise to collaborate with the M2 Health Care Consulting team for over 12 years. Over her 15 years in the District of Columbia, Jo has advised and assisted a variety of stakeholders across the healthcare spectrum in policy interpretation, analysis, development, implementation, and evaluation to optimize social impact and economic objectives. Jo’s policy expertise has been honed through practice on issues such as healthcare delivery, healthcare finance, The Affordable Care Act, state Medicaid expansion, and health information technology. Prior to collaborating with M2HCC, Jo consulted at Avalere Health and was an analyst in the Department of Health Policy and Management at The George Washington University. Additionally, Jo is a passionate patient advocate and works with groups to improve social and economic services and supports for young adults with disabilities. She also ardently supports groups devoted to eradicating maternal/child health disparities in the U.S. She holds a bachelor’s degree in public policy and a healthcare policy certificate from Duke University and a master’s degree in health administration.