# Global Health and Health Policy Career Panel #### calendar\_today Date and Time **December 4, 2014** 06:30PM - 09:00PM EST #### pin\_drop Location **14 Story St, 4th floor conference room** This event is open to all Harvard undergraduate students. Dinner is included; **be sure to [RSVP](mailto:///https://harvard.az1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_8wbY2WFsSBEHRTn) so we know how much food to order**. Below are details about the participants, several of whom are Harvard alums. We hope to see you there! Featured panelists: **John Barkett ’04** Director of Policy Affairs at Towers Watson John Barkett is the Director of Policy Affairs for the Exchange Solutions line of business of Towers Watson. He previously worked for Extend Health, the nation’s largest private Medicare exchange, before it was acquired by Towers Watson in 2012. John is responsible for strategy development as it pertains to both federal and state health policy, as well as the product development and marketing of Towers Watson’s various exchange solutions. Before joining Extend Health, John spent two and a half years in Washington, D.C., where he contributed to the writing, passage, and implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. John served on the health subcommittee staff of the Ways and Means Committee in the House of Representatives in 2009 where he drafted and negotiated the final details of legislation aimed at reducing fraud in the Medicare program. After the bill’s passage, John joined the staff of the Office of Health Reform in the Department of Health and Human Services, where he helped guide the implementation of those sections of the Affordable Care Act related to delivery system reform. Previously, John worked for athenahealth, Inc., a revenue-cycle management and electronic medical record company, and Medica HealthCare Plans, Inc., a Medicare Advantage plan. John earned an MBA in health care management from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he won the Robert D. Eilers Award for health care innovation and service to the community. He graduated cum laude from Harvard College, with a bachelor’s degree in economics and a secondary field in health care policy. **Emma Sandoe** Graduate student, Harvard PhD Program in Health Policy Emma received her bachelor’s degree from the University of California, San Diego, with a double major in Biology and Political Science with a minor in Urban Studies and Planning. She was awarded the university’s inaugural Outstanding Senior Award in 2008. Emma moved to Washington, D.C., after graduation to attend George Washington University for her Master of Public Health focusing on Health Policy. She focused on long-term care policy and state Medicaid programs and budgeting while in school. At graduation, she was awarded the Health Policy Chairs Award in 2010. While attending GW, Emma worked at the House of Representatives Ways and Means Health Subcommittee and the Center for American Progress. In 2010 she became the Association of Schools of Public Health Policy Fellow and began working at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She spent two years working on implementation of the Affordable Care Act in the HHS Budget Office and then moved to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, where she has served as the spokesperson for Medicaid and worked on the rollout of HealthCare.gov and Medicare delivery system reform. Emma is interested in Medicaid eligibility and enrollment, home and community-based services, Medicare-Medicaid beneficiaries, and state politics. **Meg North** Program Manager, Vecna Cares Meg is a Global Health Corps fellow currently working at Vecna Cares in Cambridge, MA. Prior to joining GHC, she worked in Rukungiri, Uganda as a program coordinator for the Initiative to End Childhood Malnutrition (part of the Massachusetts General Hospital Division of Global Health & Human Rights), where she completed her master’s research on integrating family planning services into current Ugandan national guidelines for treatment of malnutrition. She completed her undergraduate degree at St. Lawrence University, majoring in environmental studies and African studies and pursued a Master of Public Health with a concentration in global health at Boston University. As an undergraduate, she studied abroad in Kenya; after graduating, Meg spent two years working in the development office at Westover School. Meg has also held volunteer positions with Family Health Options Kenya, Planned Parenthood of the North Country New York, and Safe Haven of Greater Waterbury. **Nigel Deen '12** athenahealth Nigel is currently employed by athenahealth, Inc., a revenue-cycle management and electronic medical record company. Prior to joining athenahealth, he worked as a research assistant at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and at the Center for Health Decision Science. **Jenny Gaffney '07** Director, Avalere Jenny is a Director at Avalere Health LLC, a strategic advisory services firm focused on the healthcare industry. Jenny advises clients on how to optimize public and private coverage for medical devices, diagnostics, and physician-administered drugs. She has specific expertise in assisting clients engage in Medicare’s national coverage determination process; prepare for Medicare’s increasing application of coverage with evidence development; and assess and mitigate a product’s risk of health technology assessment review and/or payer scrutiny. Prior to joining Avalere, Jenny served as a consultant intern for New Sector Alliance and as a Marketing Analyst for Project Grad USA. Jenny has an AB in Government from Harvard University with minors in Health Policy and Economics. Share on:- [ Facebook ](#) - [ Twitter ](#) - [ Linkedin ](#) Save: [ Add to calendar calendar\_today ](https://ghhp.fas.harvard.edu/node/322936/event-feed.ics) Copy link link