Department of Health and Human Services

Bio, via Department of Health and Human Services:

Prior to being appointed to this senior leadership position at the FDA, Ms. Abram served in the Office of the Secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Ms. Abram is a respected FDA policy thought leader with more than thirteen years of health care policy experience, including more than a decade of working on health care policy in the United States Senate. She served as the long-time Health Policy Director and Senior Advisor to Senator Richard Burr at the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. In this role, she was actively involved in a range of health care issues under both the Senate HELP and Finance Committees. Her tenure at the Senate HELP Committee was particularly distinguished by her contributions to advancing bipartisan FDA and medical and public health preparedness and response legislation, including securing multiple patient-centered drug and device provisions in the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act and 21st Century Cures laws. Over the years, Ms. Abram has played key roles in advancing legislation to support innovation on behalf of patients and strengthen our nation’s public health. She spearheaded the bipartisan negotiation and enactment of the most significant security enhancements to our nation’s pharmaceutical supply chain in the past 25 years through the Drug Quality and Security Act. She also was instrumental in strengthening our nation’s medical countermeasure work and medical and public health preparedness and response programs through the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act of 2013. Ms. Abram was previously appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as an Associate Director at the Domestic Policy Council at The White House. In this role, Ms. Abram coordinated the development and implementation of a range of health care policy issues, including food, drug and public health policy. She coordinated the White House-led, interagency policy process to reauthorize the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in 2008. Ms. Abram graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania.

Bio, via Department of Health and Human Services:

Jerome M. Adams, MD, MPH, the 20th Surgeon General of the United States, was sworn into office by Vice President Mike Pence on September 5, 2017. Dr. Adams, a board-certified anesthesiologist, served as Indiana State Health Commissioner from 2014 to 2017. Dr. Adams, a Maryland native, has bachelor’s degrees in both biochemistry and psychology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, a master of public health degree from the University of California at Berkeley, and a medical degree from Indiana University School of Medicine. Dr. Adams was also an associate professor of clinical anesthesia at Indiana University School of Medicine and a staff anesthesiologist at Eskenazi Health, where he was Chair of the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee. He has served in leadership positions at a number of professional organizations, including the American Medical Association, the Indiana State Medical Association and the Indiana Society of Anesthesiologists. He is the immediate past Chair of the Professional Diversity Committee for the American Society of Anesthesiologists. As Health Commissioner, Dr. Adams presided over Indiana’s efforts to deal with the state’s unprecedented HIV outbreak. In this capacity, he worked directly with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as with state and local health officials and community leaders, and brought the widest range of resources, policies and care available to stem the epidemic affecting that community. He also helped with the successful launch of Indiana’s state-based, consumer-driven alternative to Medicaid expansion and worked with the state legislature to secure more than $10 million to combat infant mortality in high-risk areas of the state. Dr. Adams’ motto as Surgeon General is “better health through better partnerships.” As Surgeon General, Dr. Adams is committed to maintaining strong relationships with the public health community and forging new partnerships with non-traditional partners, including business and law enforcement. He has pledged to lead with science, facilitate locally led solutions to the nation’s most difficult health problems, and deliver higher quality healthcare at lower cost through patient and community engagement and better prevention. As Surgeon General, Dr. Adams oversees the operations of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, which has approximately 6,500 uniformed health officers who serve in nearly 600 locations around the world to promote, protect and advance the health and safety of our nation and our world

Bio, via Department of Health and Human Services:

On the Presidential Transition, he served as an assistant on the nominations of Thomas Price, MD, to be Secretary of HHS, and Seema Verma, MPH, to be Administrator of CMS. Prior to this he was Legislative Director and LA for Health Policy for US Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ), and Chief of Staff of EBSA at the US Department of Labor. He served as Consular Assistant at the US Embassy in Kiev, Ukraine and received the Benjamin Franklin Award from Ambassador John Tefft. He served in the Reagan White House and was Honorably Discharged from Platoon Leader’s Class at Marine Corps Base Quantico. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from Cardinal Newman College; and from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law where he served on the Honor Court. In law school, he was selected for a clerkship in the Criminal Division of the Missouri Attorney General, and to an academic clerkship in chambers of Judge Pasco M. Bowman, 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals. He served as Assistant City Attorney for Kansas City, Missouri, and received the Volunteer Attorney Project Award. He was admitted to the bars of the Supreme Court of Missouri and the Court of Appeals of Washington, DC.

Bio, via Office of U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz:

Prior to joining Sen. Cruz’s office as a legislative assistant in January 2013, Aramanda served as legislative assistant in the office of then-Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) from 2010-2012. There he handled health, tax, welfare and Social Security issues. Before working in the Senate, Aramanda spent three years at The Heritage Foundation as strategic operations coordinator, among other roles. Aramanda received a bachelor’s degree in political science from Haverford College.

Bio, via Department of Health and Human Services:

Alex M. Azar II was sworn in as the Secretary of Health and Human Services on Jan. 29, 2018. Azar has spent his career working in both the public and private sectors, as an attorney and in senior leadership roles focused on advancing healthcare reform, research and innovation. From 2001 to 2007, Azar served at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – first as its General Counsel (2001–2005) and then as Deputy Secretary. During his time as Deputy Secretary, Azar was involved in improving the department’s operations; advancing its emergency preparedness and response capabilities as well as its global health affairs activities; and helping oversee the rollout of the Medicare Part D prescription drug program. In 2007, Azar rejoined the private sector as senior vice president for corporate affairs and communications at Eli Lilly and Co. From 2012 to 2017, he served as president of Lilly USA LLC, the company’s largest affiliate. Azar clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia prior to practicing law for several years. Azar graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in economics and government from Dartmouth College and earned his law degree from Yale University. For the past 10 years, Azar has lived in Indiana with his wife and their two children.

Bio, via LinkedIn:

With extensive knowledge of Virginia state government relations, Juanita Balenger has developed excellent working relationships with elected officials, Congressional staff, and law enforcement. She is experienced in office management, program management, community outreach, constituent services, coalition building, and volunteer recruitment. She is also knowledgeable with the legislative process, policy research, policy positions, policy initiatives, and giving speeches. Ms. Balenger has coordinated all aspects of conferences and meetings with attendance up to 500+ registrants. With more than 15 years of paralegal experience, Ms. Balenger is quite knowledgeable in conducting legal, legislative, investigative, and factual research; and in gathering information from federal, state and local courts and regulatory agencies. She has thorough skills in managing support for various aspects of legal brief preparation with federal and state courts and agencies and has managed legal support staff. Her accomplishments demonstrate excellent communication and analytical skills; ability to work independently and in a team environment; and ability to multi-task in rapidly changing environments.

Bio, via Franklin Home Page:

Matthew Bassett has nearly two decades of healthcare-related experience in the public and private sectors. Most recently, he served as the senior vice president of government affairs at myNEXUS. myNEXUS describes itself as “a technology-driven, care and benefit management service that enables individuals to live healthier lives in their homes.” It is headquartered on Westpark Drive in Brentwood. The United States Senate will vote on whether to confirm Bassett for the position of Assistant Secretary for Legislation in the HHS department. The Assistant Secretary for Legislation serves as “the primary link” between HHS and Congress, according to the department’s website. This means that Bassett will be in charge of working with Congress to help further the department’s legislative agenda. The ASL’s office is also in charge of cooperating with the White House to promote any presidential initiatives related to health. Before starting at myNEXUS, Bassett, who is a Florida native, had his own consulting practice, Bassett Consulting LLC. The focus there was on work related to government and regulatory matters. That work was preceded by several years spent coordinating government affairs for dialysis company, DaVita. Bassett has also spent a good deal of time in the public sector. He first worked as a legislative assistant for U.S. Representative Pete Sessions and then in various capacities for former U.S. Representative and Kentucky governor Ernie Fletcher. During his time with Fletcher, he advised on health and insurance policy and handled health-related issues before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, according to his myNEXUS bio. Additionally, he worked for a couple of years as chief of staff in Kentucky’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services. The White House press statement regarding his nomination mentions that Bassett helped reform Kentucky’s Medicaid and insurance markets.