SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES

Senior Lobbyist, American Medical Association

Lindsey Brill, JD, has been a lobbyist with the American Medical Association since January 2007. She is the Senior lobbyist working closely with the Director in the Division of Congressional Affairs. Her areas of focus include Medicare payment reform, telehealth expansion, physician workforce, and chronic disease prevention issues while covering the Senate Democratic Leadership and Democratic leadership of the Senate Finance Committee.

Lindsey has a background in health policy working on Capitol Hill for 6 and a half years after law school. She was Health Counsel for the late Congressman Walter B. Jones (R-NC-3) from 2000-2003. In 2003 Lindsey joined the staff of then Senator Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) as health policy advisor and advised him on the 2003 Medicare Modernization Act where the Senator’s vote was crucial to Senate passage of the legislation. Lindsey is a graduate from the University of South Carolina School of Law, and a member of the SC Bar. 

Director of Health Equity, Advocacy Group, AMA

Prior to this role, Jennifer served as Senior Washington Counsel for the AMA. In that capacity she advanced the AMA’s legislative and regulatory agenda through drafting advocacy materials related to a variety of health care topics such as maternal mortality and morbidity, health equity and social determinants of health, immigration, graduate medical education, student loan programs, and prior authorization. Prior to joining the AMA, Jennifer served as Senior Director of Government Relations for the American Dental Education Association (ADEA). Before working for ADEA, she served as Regulatory Counsel at Stateside Associates. There she tracked state regulatory activity and provided counsel to health care clients such as national retail drug stores and pharmaceutical companies. Jennifer received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Rice University and a law degree from Tulane University Law School.

Assistant Director of Federal Affairs, American Medical Association

Jennifer Hananoki, JD is an Assistant Director of Federal Affairs in the American Medical Association’s (AMA’s) Washington, D.C. office. Jennifer creates and maintains relationships with federal officials, particularly in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), to advance AMA’s strategic priorities, including removing obstacles in health care, improving physician satisfaction, and practice sustainability. Her work is primarily focused on Medicare physician payment, MACRA implementation, alternative payment and delivery models, and regulatory relief.

Prior to joining the AMA, she worked in government affairs at the Medical Group Management Association, representing medical group practices in Washington, D.C. She obtained her Juris Doctor degree from the George Mason University School of Law and her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and English Writing from the University of Pittsburgh.

Senior Legislative Counsel, American Medical Association

Senior Attorney, Division of Legislative Counsel, American Medical Association

Alexis Pierce, JD is a Senior Attorney in the Division of Legislative Counsel (DLC) at the American Medical Association (AMA). Within this role she provides legal counsel and advocacy guidance to help advance the AMA’s priorities concerning its physician members across the Federal Government. Alexis has a diverse portfolio that spans multiple areas of health law and policy including scope of practice, immigration, international medical graduate issues, maternal mortality and morbidity, physician workforce issues, graduate medical education, health equity, and more. As a result, Alexis works with a variety of interested parties across the Federal Government including the Department of Health and Human Services, and with members of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Alexis also plays a key role in creating internal AMA policy through her role as Secretary of a Reference Committee and has built strong relationships with the AMA’s physician members as well as other specialty societies. Prior to coming to the AMA, Alexis was an Attorney Advisor at the Board of Veterans Appeals and worked at Powers Pyles Sutter & Verville PC. Alexis has a JD from The George Washington University Law School and a BA from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. 

Counsel, Powers Pyles Sutter and Verville PC

Jason Z. Qu is Counsel at the law firm of Powers Pyles Sutter and Verville PC in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Qu advises nonprofit organization on their unique legal needs—including corporate governance, entity formation, board ethics and operations, receipt and maintenance of tax-exempt status, charitable fundraising regulation, and lobbying/election law rules—along with general business law matters spanning employment law, intellectual property, contracts, risk management, and other corporate-transactional issues. Mr. Qu has experience representing a broad range of healthcare-sector organizations including nonprofit medical societies, helathcare associations, clinical data registries, and disease-related charities.

Before joining Powers, Mr. Qu was the managing attorney for nonprofit legal assistance programs at the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center.

Mr. Qu is a graduate of Harvard Law School, cum laude, and an honors graduate of the University of Toronto with high distinction.

Of Counsel, Whatley Kallas, LLP 

Ms. Deborah Winegard, JD focuses her practice on healthcare litigation, primarily representing physicians, hospitals, physical therapy practices, ambulatory surgery centers, and other healthcare providers in reimbursement disputes with third party payers and in antitrust and ERISA litigation against health insurers. Ms. Winegard also represents medical societies and organizations advocating for physician interests with payers and government and patients seeking coverage for wilderness therapy and other mental health treatments under the Parity Act. Ms. Winegard speaks widely on healthcare and reimbursement issues. She has given presentations for the American Medical Association, the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association, the American Society of Medical Association Counsel, the Medical Group Managers Association, and several state and specialty medical associations. Ms. Winegard has published articles in several publications, including Connecticut Medicine, published by the Connecticut State Medical Society, and Texas Medicine, published by the Texas Medical Association. A webinar on RAC and other medical audits Ms. Winegard conducted for the Physicians Advocacy Institute is available on that organization’s website. Ms. Winegard’s prior experience includes serving as the General Counsel and Director of Third-Party Payer Advocacy for the Medical Association of Georgia, as General Counsel and Senior Vice President for the California Medical Association, as Law & Government Affairs Vice President for four states for AT&T, and as an Associate on King & Spalding’s Healthcare Team. Ms. Winegard graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Politics from Wake Forest University in 1979, where she was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. She earned her J.D. with honors from George Washington University in 1982. She is admitted to practice in Georgia, as well as in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia and the United States District Court for the District of Colorado.