Health Law and Policy Program

Health Law and Policy Program Alumni Advisory Council

The Health Law and Policy Alumni Advisory Council is comprised of prominent WCL alumni in the health law and policy community.

Sonali Gunawardhana (Chair)

LL.M. 2003

Assistant General Counsel, Regulatory Law, Becton Dickinson

Sonali Gunawardhana is Assistant General Counsel at Becton Dickinson, a large medical device company. She is also an adjunct professor at AUWCL and The Catholic University of America. Previously, she served as Assistant General Counsel-Regulatory Law at Cardinal Health and previously as Chief Counsel FDA and Regulatory Law at McKesson. She has also served as outside counsel to a myriad of pharmaceutical and medical device companies while in private practice at Wiley Rein LLP and Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP. Prior to her tenure in private practice, she served as Regulatory Counsel at the FDA for nearly ten years. There she assisted on a variety of legal and policy issues in the Center for Devices and Radiological Health; the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research; and the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. Sonali also serves on the Board of Directors for the Food & Drug Law Institute.

Julie Barnes
J.D. 1998
Founder and Principal, Maverick Health Policy

Julie Barnes is Founder and Principal of Maverick Health Policy, a consulting firm that provides strategic advice about federal digital health policy. As a former litigator and regulatory attorney, Capitol Hill staffer, and think tank health care program leader, she offers expert analysis about interoperability, price transparency, data privacy, artificial intelligence, and related matters to help traditional health care entities and technology companies with their business decisions. She was the long-time chairperson of the American Health Lawyers Association Health Reform Educational Task Force and Editor-in-Chief of a legal textbook on managed care.

Alexis Etow
J.d. 2013

Managing Director, ChangeLab Solutions

Vanessa Burrows
J.d. 2006

Partner, Simpson Thacher

Vanessa Burrows is Partner at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP. She advises pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers, healthcare and technology companies, hospitals and other providers in connection with regulatory and compliance needs, as well as in connection with M&A and capital-raising transactions. She has extensive experience counseling clients with respect to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance, health privacy, security and breach issues, fraud and abuse compliance, pharmacy law, cannabis and hemp laws, and public health matters, including medical countermeasures, emergency preparedness, and quarantine and isolation.

Leo A. Farber

Vice President & Head, US Government Affairs

Leo serves as Vice President and Head of US Government Affairs at Novartis. He leads engagement with policymakers and other stakeholders at the federal, state and local levels. He is a Trustee for the Pharmaceutical Industry-Labor Management Association and is Chairman of the Healthcare Institute of New Jersey. Prior to Novartis, Leo was at PhRMA, a government relations firm and an international law firm where he represented clients in health care, transportation, and energy. Leo holds a JD from American University (AU) and is a member of the District of Columbia and Maryland Bars. He also earned a MA from AU and BA from George Washington University

Maria Ghazal
J.d. 1995

President and CEO, Healthcare Leadership Council

Maria Ghazal is President and CEO of the Healthcare Leadership Council, the leading healthcare industry association representing all segments of American healthcare. Ms. Ghazal previously was Senior Vice President and Counsel for Business Roundtable (BRT), an association representing the CEOs of America’s top companies. Prior to joining the Business Roundtable, Ms. Ghazal was Director of Health Policy at the American Benefits Council. Her career began as an aide to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY). Ms. Ghazal earned a law degree from American University, a master’s degree in public policy from Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy and a bachelor’s degree from Bates College. She is a member of the Massachusetts and District of Columbia Bar Associations.

Jacob Harper
J.D. 2013
Partner, Morgan Lewis

Jacob (Jake) Harper is a Partner at Morgan Lewis in Washington, DC. Jake is a national thought-leader in the growing field of digital health and advises a variety of clients on telehealth licensure, reimbursement, and compliance issues. In addition, he represents physicians, post-acute care providers, and other healthcare industry stakeholders on internal audits, fraud and abuse, and reimbursement matters, including False Claims Act investigations and administrative appeals. Jake also represents providers in connection with regulatory considerations in healthcare transaction matters.

Emily Leongini
J.D. 2007

Partner, ArentFox Schiff

Emily Cowley Leongini is a Partner with ArentFox Schiff where she specializes in helping companies in FDA-regulated industries navigate legal and compliance issues related to product development, advertising, post-market regulation, and regulatory enforcement. With experience at the FDA and expertise across FDA-regulated industries—including consumer health, wellness, beauty, and cannabis— Emily advises on compliance with FDA, DEA USDA, FTC regulations, and associated state regulatory requirements.

Claudia Lewis
J.d. 1995

Partner, Venable

Claudia Lewis, co-chair of Venable’s FDA Group, counsels’ clients on matters involving Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation, labeling, and marketing of foods, over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, medical devices, cosmetic and animal products, and aids international clients in establishing U.S. market for their products. With a deep knowledge of the regulatory landscape, FDA, FTC + NAD she assists clients with labeling, import/export of FDA-regulated goods, approval procedures for medical devices, health claim petitions, social media, and influencer marketing claims.

Karen Lovitch
J.d. 1995

Chair, Health Law & Health Care Enforcement Practices, Mintz

Karen S. Lovitch is Chair of the Health Law Practice and the Health Care Enforcement Defense Practice at Mintz. A nationally recognized authority in health care compliance, Karen advises clients across the life sciences and health care industries on complex regulatory, transactional, and enforcement matters. She frequently represents private equity firms in health care transactions, providing strategic regulatory guidance and due diligence support. Karen has extensive experience navigating federal and state investigations, including False Claims Act and qui tam litigation, and regularly counsels on laws such as the Anti-Kickback Statute, Stark Law, and EKRA. Known for her practical, business-oriented approach, she also serves as regulatory counsel in major mergers and acquisitions involving laboratories and diagnostics companies.

Joel L. Michaels
J.D. 1975

Joel L. Michaels retired as a partner with the international law firm of McDermott, Will and Emery LLP where he was the partner in charge of the firm's Washington, D.C. Health Industry Advisory Group. In this role, he worked with health plans, health insurers, and health maintenance organizations on federal regulatory issues affecting health care coverage and health care delivery including the requirements under the Affordable Care Act. He has also served as an adjunct professor at AUWCL and at Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.

Corrine Propas Parver
J.D. 1982
Former WCL Practitioner-in-Residence and Founder, Health Law and Policy Project

Corrine Propas Parver retired as a partner with Dickstein Shapiro Morin & Oshinsky in 2004 and then launched AUWCL’s Health Law and Policy Project, Health Law Summer Institute, and Health Law and Policy Specialization for the Law and Government LL.M. Program. She is a member of the Holy Cross Health and HCH Foundation Boards and Women Lawyers on Guard. She received AUWCL’s Women and the Law Leadership Award in 2012 and endowed the Corrine Parver Health Law Award.

Georgiana (Gia) Sullivan
Former Healthcare Compliance & Anti-Corruption Operations at Pfizer

Gia Sullivan is an experienced healthcare compliance professional, having led organizational change at pharmaceutical/biotechnology firms such as Pfizer, Genentech/Roche, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Gia’s most recent work experience was as Director of Compliance Operations at Pfizer where she was responsible for building, leading, and optimizing in-house compliance operations and enterprise risk management. Gia is a legal/compliance subject matter expert in FDA regulations related to healthcare fraud and abuse, compliance program development, healthcare Anti-Kickback and Anti-Corruption laws, Sunshine Act/Aggregate Spend, Medical Affairs activities, clinical studies and informed consent. Gia is proud to be one of the founding editors-in-chief of the WCL Health Law & Policy Brief.

Megan Tinker
J.D. 1999
Chief of Staff, Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General

Megan Tinker is the Chief of Staff of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Inspector General (OIG). As the Chief of Staff, Ms. Tinker serves as the Deputy Inspector General for OIG’s Immediate Office, where she oversees OIG’s Office of Congressional Affairs, Office of Communications, and Office of Operations. Ms. Tinker joined OIG in 2004 as a Senior Associate Counsel in the Office of Counsel to the Inspector General. During her tenure with OIG, Ms. Tinker assumed increasingly important leadership responsibilities, including Senior Advisor for Legal Affairs and Assistant Inspector General for the Office of Audit Services. Prior to OIG, Ms. Tinker was in the private practice of law and worked for several years as a congressional oversight staffer. Ms. Tinker graduated cum laude from American University, Washington College of Law and with honors from the University of Richmond.

Howard Sollins
J.D. 1979

Senior Counsel at Baker Donelson and Leader of the Firm's Seniors Housing and Long Term Care regulatory team

Howard L. Sollins is a Senior Counsel at Baker Donelson, specializing in health care regulatory law. With over four decades of experience, he leads the firm’s Seniors Housing and Long-Term Care regulatory team. His practice spans Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, licensing, compliance, fraud and abuse, and health care transactions. He previously served as an Assistant Attorney General for the Maryland Department of Health. Howard represents a wide range of health care entities including hospitals, nursing facilities, hospices, and pharmacies. He has advised on certificate of need approvals, corporate integrity agreements, and federal rulemaking processes. Beyond his legal work, he actively supports nonprofit organizations, having served as president of Comprehensive Housing Assistance, Inc. and chair of the University of Maryland Baltimore School of Social Work’s Board of Advisors. His has had recognition from Best Lawyers in America®, Chambers USA, and Super Lawyers.

Past Alumni Advisory Council Members

Nicholas F. Alarif

J.D. 2011
Partner, McDermott, Will and Emery LLP

Sarig Armenian

LL.M. 2013
Director of Compliance, Acuity Eye Group

David Berger

JD, 1998
Senior Managing Director (Partner), Ankura

Joseph Beemsterboer

J.D. 2003
Vice President - Government Enforcement & Legal Investigations (Global Investigations), Walmart

Ann Slacter

J.D. 2012
Senior Attorney, HHS, Office of General Counsel, Public Health Division

Ebunola Aniyikaiye

J.D./M.B.A. 2017
Assistant General Counsel and Senior Director of Policy & Regulatory Affairs, Homeward

Shawn L. Fultz

J.D. 2015
Special Projects Coordinator, Food and Drug Administration, Center for Tobacco Products

Alexis Gilroy

J.D. 2002
Partner and Co-leader, Global Health Care & Life Sciences Practice, Jones Day

Jennifer Gerton

J.D. 2009
Associate Chief Counsel, Food and Drug Administration

Mary Beth Giblin

J.D. 1987
Head of Litigation, Surescripts

Lindsay Holmes

LL.M. 2014
Senior Corporate Counsel, Amazon.com, Inc.

John R. Jacob

J.D. 1993

Partner, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

Houeida Saad

J.D. 1992
General Counsel, URAC

Anna Watterson

J.D. 2011
Senior Legal Counsel for Cybersecurity, Digital Technology and US Privacy, GE Aerospace

Jeff Wurzburg

LL.M. 2012
Senior Counsel, Norton Rose Fulbright

For further information, please contact Professor Asha Scielzo at scielzo@wcl.american.edu.