COVID-19 Webinar Bios: 2023 Fall IDN Summit

Laura Bozell brings over a decade of legislative and health care policy experience in the U. S. House of Representatives to her position at Cornerstone Government Affairs. As a recognized thought leader in the health care field, she has delivered numerous speeches across the country to health and business clients and other large audiences to help them understand their responsibilities under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Today, Laura is focused on helping clients navigate the new Administration and legislative efforts to change the ACA.

For five and a half years, Laura served as professional staff on the Ways and Means Committee’s Health Subcommittee. In this capacity, Laura was responsible for the Medicare Part A portfolio, providing policy direction for the Committee and advising Chairman Dave Camp and other Committee Members on issues affecting the nation’s 6,000 hospitals, home health providers, skilled nursing facilities and all other post-acute care providers. Additionally, her legislative portfolio included health information technology, high deductible health plans and health savings accounts, flexible spending arrangements, Medicare secondary payer issues, and the health coverage tax credit given to unemployed workers through the Trade Adjustment Assistance program.

During Laura’s time at the Committee, she worked with stakeholders, agency officials, and Senate staff in developing policy and analyzing the impact of regulations. She advised Chairman Camp and Committee Members on the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and the Medicaid, Medicare, SCHIP Extension Act, among other laws, including providing guidance on implementation of the laws. She was responsible for working with the Congressional Budget Office, General Accountability Office, and the Medicare Payment Advisory Committee (MedPAC) to advance Committee priorities within her extensive policy portfolio.

Laura was actively involved in the health care reform debate and was a key contributor to Chairman Camp’s health care reform legislation, which became the Republican alternative to the ACA in the House of Representatives. Laura developed many significant Medicare and other health policy changes included in the Conference Report for the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 and the Trade Adjustment Assistance Act of 2011.

Prior to her work for the Committee on Ways and Means, Laura served as a legislative assistant to former ranking member of the Ways and Means Committee, Congressman Jim McCrery (R-LA). She advised Mr. McCrery on a range of legislative priorities, including health care, social services, education, agriculture, natural resources, labor, and unemployment issues.

Laura currently resides in Fairfax Station, Virginia, with her husband and three growing girls.

Karen Conway works to advance the role of the supply chain as a critical enabler of a value-based healthcare system. As Vice President, Healthcare Value for Global Healthcare Exchange (GHX), Conway explores how improved data quality and visibility can optimize the identification and delivery of the products and services that provide the most value to patients. She applies her extensive knowledge of supply chain operations and systems thinking to align processes, data and incentives across the healthcare ecosystem. Conway is a recognized expert on unique device identification and the corresponding systems and process changes required to achieve benefits beyond regulatory compliance. Inspired by her graduate work in the Science of Healthcare Delivery, Conway researches and advocates for the role of supply chain to support population health and programs to address the social, economic and environmental determinants of health.

Conway is past chair of the Association for Healthcare Resource and Materials Management (AHRMM), and serves on the boards of the Strategic Marketplace Initiative (SMI) and the Bellwether League, the GS1 Global Healthcare Leadership Team, the expert advisory council for the Supply Chain Advancement Network in Health, and the healthcare advisory board for CAPS Research.

An internationally published author and speaker, Conway co-authored a book on global leadership, Leading from the Edge, with the former chief talent officer of Cisco. Conway writes a monthly column on “Standard Practices” in healthcare in Healthcare Purchasing News and was a contributing author to eBusiness in Healthcare, published by Springer in 2008.

Prior to joining GHX, Conway served as principal of Conway Associates, a strategic communications firm built on the principles of continuous quality improvement and based on her business partner’s firsthand experience working with Dr. W. Edwards Deming, Procter & Gamble and Walmart. Conway began her career in healthcare working with St. Francis Hospital in Colorado Springs, during which she helped facilitate the merger between the two competing local Catholic healthcare systems, both of which are now part of Centura Health.

Conway recently completed a master’s degree in the Science of Healthcare Delivery from Arizona State University. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from The Colorado College. She is a Certified Materials and Resource Professional and a certified Lean Six Sigma Green Belt.

Sarah Heller is a former licensed architect in California, a professional artist, and currently a Lower School Art Teacher and Director of After School Fine Arts, a community artist partnership, at The Lexington School. She holds a Master of Architecture from the University of Kentucky which has made her proficient with digital technologies in design and fabrication. Sarah has been a teacher for 10 years and, in addition to art, she teaches fifth graders 3D printing, maker space concepts, and design thinking.

Brent Johnson has been one of the most successful and recognized supply chain leaders in healthcare in the last 13 years. He has over 30 years of experience developing supply chain strategies for major companies in three industries. Brent has a passion for supply chain best practices and wants to help the healthcare industry recognize the value of managing supply chain more strategically. He has spoken over 100 times at major conferences, written many articles, received key industry awards and served on the board of directors of some of the leading industry organizations.

From 2005 to 2015 Brent was Vice-President of Supply Chain at Intermountain Healthcare, creating an industry “Top 25 Gartner” Supply Chain Organization (#1 in 2016 & 2015) that achieved over $500 million in savings over ten years. In 2012, Intermountain Healthcare opened a new $40M, 325,000 sq. ft. Supply Chain Center considered one of the best in the industry.

In 2014 Brent was inducted into the Bellweather League, which is a Hall of Fame for Healthcare Supply Chain Leadership. In August, 2015 AHRMM named Brent the recipient of the 2015 George R. Gossett Leadership Award. He has served on the boards of the Association for Healthcare Resource & Materials Management (AHRMM) 2012-2015 and Strategic Marketplace Initiative (SMI) 2011-2015).

Before retiring Brent served one year as the President and CEO of Intalere when Intermountain Healthcare completed the purchase of Amerinet. Upon retiring in July, 2016, Brent and his wife spent 18 months in Oaxaca, Mexico as service missionaries for the Mormon (LDS) church. He has an MBA from the University of Utah. He resides in Centerville, UT and has four children and eighteen grandchildren.

Will Smith, a 23-year veteran of Capitol Hill, brings to Cornerstone a deep knowledge and expertise in the federal appropriations and budget process. Prior to joining the firm in March 2017, Will served as the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations staff director. In this role, Will supervised and organized all aspects of Committee operations, including personnel, financial, oversight, communications and outreach – serving as the principal strategic and political advisor to Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY). During his time on the Committee, he managed a robust agenda, to include over 200 investigations, over 600 budget and oversight hearings, and helped shepherd nearly 150 appropriations bills across the House floor.

Will, a native of Beattyville, Kentucky started his career in Washington, DC in 1994 working for Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) in a variety of capacities, including as professional staff on the Senate Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee.

Will joined Congressman Rogers’ staff in February of 1998 as a senior legislative assistant and was promoted to legislative director one year later. He became Rogers’ chief of staff in March of 2002 and served in that capacity until joining the Chairman on the Appropriations Committee in 2011.

Will was prominently featured in some of Capitol Hill’s leading news outlets as a top congressional staffer in his field, including Roll Call’s Fabulous 50, and The Hill’s 100 People to Watch. Politico and CQ Weekly have also featured profiles of Will in their publications.

Will received his bachelor’s degree in history from Emory University. He resides in Arlington, VA with his wife Kim, and their two young children.

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