Speakers

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Ali Khawar, J.D.

Ali Khawar was named Acting Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Labor Department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration on March 25, 2021. Mr. Khawar was sworn in on January 20, 2021 as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Employee Benefits Security Administration.

He has extensive government experience, and has previously served in a variety of roles at the Department, including as an EBSA investigator, in EBSA’s Office of Enforcement, as EBSA’s Chief of Staff in two Administrations, and as a Counselor to the 26th Secretary of Labor, Thomas E. Perez.

Mr. Khawar has a bachelor’s degree from the Johns Hopkins University and a law degree from Emory University School of Law.

Panelists

Peter Fise

Peter Fise serves in the United States Senate as a health counsel at the Senate Committee on Finance for Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). At the Finance Committee, Fise focuses on Medicare Part B issues including Medicare coverage of physician and practitioner services, hospital outpatient services, clinical laboratory services, durable medical equipment and prosthetics, telehealth, mental health and alternative payment models. Prior to joining the Finance Committee, Fise served as health counsel to U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies. Previously, he served as associate director for health policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, where he led the think tank’s policy development on Medicare coverage and payment and Affordable Care Act Marketplace policies. Fise also previously served as an associate attorney in the health policy practice of a large, international law firm. He began his career working on the Democratic staff of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Fise earned a J.D. from the Catholic University of America, with a certificate in securities law. He received his B.A. in political science from Wake Forest University.

Gable Brady

Gable Brady serves as health policy advisor on the Minority staff of the Senate Finance Committee, where she advises on a range of healthcare issues, including those related to child welfare, reconciliation, and mental health.

Before serving in this role, Gable served on the Senate Budget Committee, where she handled the healthcare portfolio including Medicare, Medicaid, and private health insurance.

Gable earned her bachelor’s degree in political science with departmental honors from the University of Notre Dame.

Miriam Delphin-Rittmon, Ph.D.

Dr. Miriam E. Delphin-Rittmon is currently Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. She previously served as Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) and served in this role for six years. Prior positions held at DMHAS include Deputy Commissioner, Senior Policy Advisor and Director of the department’s Office of Multicultural Healthcare Equity. In her role as Commissioner, Dr. Delphin-Rittmon was committed to promoting recovery oriented, integrated, and culturally responsive services and systems that foster dignity, respect, and meaningful community inclusion.

Prior to her current appointment, Dr. Delphin-Rittmon was an Adjunct Associate Professor at Yale University where she served on faculty for the past 20 years. While at Yale Dr. Delphin-Rittmon served as the Director of Cultural Competence and Research Consultation with the Yale University Program for Recovery and Community Health.

In May 2014, Dr. Delphin-Rittmon completed a two-year White House appointment working as a Senior Advisor to the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. While at SAMHSA, she worked on a range of policy initiatives addressing behavioral health equity, workforce development, and healthcare reform.

Through her 20 year career in the behavioral health field Dr. Delphin-Rittmon has extensive experience in the design, evaluation, and administration of mental health, substance use and prevention services and systems and has received several awards for advancing policy in these areas. Most recently, she received the 2019 State Service Award from the National Association of State Drug and Alcohol Directors and the 2016 Mental Health Award for Excellence from the United Nations Committee on Mental Health.

She received her B.A. in Social Science from Hofstra University in 1989, her M.S. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Purdue University 1992 and 2001, respectively, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in clinical community psychology at Yale University in 2002.

Kelly Memphis

Kelly Memphis is the Public Affairs Council’s Senior Manager of Government Relations and Stakeholder Engagement Practice, where she oversees programs and networks that help members leverage best practices in government relations at the federal, state and local levels. She regularly speaks and presents to public audiences, sharing insights to help lobbyists and advocates advance their goals.

Kelly has over a decade of experience in government relations and advocacy at the international, federal, and state level. Previous experience includes working for the American College of Cardiology (ACC) where in her role as government affairs manager she built ACC’s brand as an influential advocacy organization among key national leadership organizations, developed strong relationships with legislators and policymakers, and led members across the country through dozens of successful advocacy campaigns. Other past experience includes running global grassroots educational programs for the International Association of Women Judges.

Additionally, Kelly holds several leadership roles, such as a Board Member of the Washington Area State Government Relations Group and elected Chair of the National Lieutenant Governor’s Association.

Larry J. Sabato, Ph.D.

Dr. Larry J. Sabato is a New York Times best-selling author, has won four Emmys, and is recognized as one of the nation’s most respected political analysts. He appears multiple times a week on national and international TV, including CNN, BBC, and CNN International. A Rhodes Scholar, Dr. Sabato is the founder and director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, and has had visiting appointments at Oxford and Cambridge universities in England. Dr. Sabato is the author or editor of two dozen books on American politics. He has taught over 20,000 students in his career, and the University of Virginia has given him its highest honor, The Thomas Jefferson Award. In 2020-21 Sabato is celebrating his 50th year of association with the University of Virginia.

Dr. Sabato is the editor and lead author of the newly released book, “A Return to Normalcy?: The 2020 Election that (Almost) Broke America,” which explores the 2020 election and its outcome.

Professor Sabato heads up Sabato’s Crystal Ball, which has won numerous awards. The Pew Charitable Trust recognized the Crystal Ball as the #1 leader in the field of political prediction, and The Daily Beast designated it as one of the top political sites on the web. A thorough statistical analysis of all 2018 prognosticators found that the Crystal Ball was the best (Nate Silver of 538.com was second). Harvard Political Review just named the Crystal Ball #1 in predicting the Electoral College in 2020, getting 49 of 50 states correct as well as two competitive congressional districts that have one electoral vote each (NE-2 and ME-2): “While crystal balls may not exist in real life, Larry Sabato’s editorial team might be the next best thing.”

Dr. Sabato has received four Emmys for the PBS television documentaries “Out of Order”, which highlights the dysfunctional U.S. Senate, “The Kennedy Half-Century”, which examines the life, assassination, and lasting legacy of President John F. Kennedy, “Feeling Good About America,” which looks at the 1976 presidential election, and “Charlottesville,” which looks at the events in the titular city during August 11 and 12, 2017.

Professor Sabato is very active on social media. His Twitter feed (@LarrySabato) was named by Time Magazine as one of the 140 best.