Authors

Stig Albinus is a senior director and the health care practice leader for APCO Worldwide in New York. He has more than 30 years of experience working for many of the world’s most influential health care stakeholders in both Europe and the United States, having counseled dozens of leading pharmaceutical companies, medical device and diagnostics companies, health care organizations and health policy associations.
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Tresja Bolt leads APCO’s health care practice in Europe and has a detailed understanding of the complex policy and communication challenges and opportunities that clients face in the European regulatory and policy environment.
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Erica DeWald specializes in the development and implementation of strategic initiatives to advance infectious disease issues, especially those related to vaccine-preventable diseases across the lifespan. She has spent the last several years delving into both domestic and global health issues. Her main areas of focus are vaccines, access to medicines in the developing world and children’s health issues.
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Melissa Musiker, former director at the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), has extensive experience as a food and nutrition policy expert. A registered dietician, she is a former economist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service. Before entering public policy, Ms. Musiker was a practicing dietitian focusing on pediatric nutrition in both clinical and community settings.
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David Oarr has managed a ground-breaking study and report sponsored by the Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) to determine the level of funding governments, nonprofits, research institutions and private enterprises were giving towards the research of malaria vaccines. Prior to APCO, Mr. Oarr worked for the Henry M. Jackson Foundation, where he served as both a protein chemist and primary technology manager for his laboratory section.
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Katie Carr Payne advises health care clients in the private and nonprofit sectors, specializing in alliance development, coalition building and issues management. Ms. Payne has built and led award-winning communication and reputation-building campaigns, including for the Council for American Medical Innovation, a thought-leading coalition aimed at protecting U.S. leadership in the life sciences, and the Partnership for Prescription Assistance, the largest private-sector effort to help the uninsured.
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William Pierce specializes in advising health care clients; his work includes policy development, issue advocacy, message development, crisis communication and media relations. He is former deputy assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and former director of public affairs for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.
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Courtney Piron has more than 15 years of experience in health policy, government relations and crisis communication. Ms. Piron has extensive background in policy development and strategic communication for the health care sector. She has served as a director in the economic & policy research group (a division of corporate affairs) at Pfizer Inc. Before joining Pfizer, Ms. Piron was director of health policy for Wyeth.
Robert Schooling, head of APCO’s worldwide health care practice, specializes in helping clients find ways to reframe complex policy debates and harness the power of partnership to redefine previously intractable issues. He has led communication campaigns on a number of the most significant corporate crises, public policy debates, and corporate and industry reputation efforts.
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Kirsten Thistle specializes in communication and ally development on science and health issues. She has 20 years of experience advising corporate and nonprofit clients on communicating scientific and medical information to the media, policy-makers and the public. She works closely with leading pharmaceutical companies to build relationships with key opinion-leaders, patient advocacy groups and scientific experts and to ensure balanced coverage of health and science issues.
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Mike Tuffin, managing director of APCO Worldwide’s Washington, D.C., office, is an accomplished strategist with extensive experience in public policy, health care and national politics. He previously served as executive vice president at America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), where he led public affairs strategy for the industry at the center of the national debate on health care reform. Mr. Tuffin’s responsibilities included communication, advertising, media relations, new media, grassroots advocacy and management of AHIP’s Center for Policy & Research.
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Amy Wendholt currently leads APCO’s health care practice in Asia, serving clients in a range of sectors in this high-priority growth market. She has worked with a host of health care clients, helping them address corporate crises, enhance their reputations and understand the policy landscape in China’s rapidly evolving and highly regulated health sector.
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Chrystine Zacherau is director for APCO Insight in New York and Washington, D.C., and provides opinion research and analysis in the health care sector. Her health care expertise combines experience and education as both a research professional and a licensed registered nurse.
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