GAO announces seven new appointments to PCORI Board of Governors
WASHINGTON, DC — The Comptroller General of the United States, who serves as the head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office, has announced the appointment of seven distinguished leaders representing stakeholders from across the health care community to fill open seats on the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Board of Governors.
PCORI’s Board is made up of 19-21 representatives of the patient, health care consumer, clinical, health insurance, employer, research, industry, policy and other health care sectors, plus the directors of the National Institutes of Health and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The newest Board members are as follows:
- Kate Berry: Senior Vice President for Clinical Affairs and Strategic Partnerships at America’s Health Insurance Plans
- Tanisha Carino, Ph.D.: Executive Vice President and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Alexion
- James Huffman: Head of Benefits, Fidelity Investments
- Connie Hwang, M.D., M.P.H.: Chief Medical Officer and Director of Clinical Innovation, Alliance of Community Health Plans
- Eboni Price-Haywood, M.D., M.P.H., FACP: Director of the Center for Outcomes & Health Service Research, Ochsner Health System
- James Schuster, M.D., M.B.A.: Associate Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President of Medical and Behavioral Sciences, UPMC Insurance Services Division
- Danny van Leeuwen, M.P.H., RN: Founder and Principal of Health Hats
In addition, the Comptroller General announced the reappointment of Barbara McNeil, M.D., Ph.D., the Ridley Watts Professor and founding head of the Department of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School, to a second term through September 2026.
“We welcome our new colleagues to the PCORI Board of Governors,” said Board Chairperson Christine Goertz, D.C., Ph.D. “They arrive at PCORI during an incredibly important and exciting time in our evolution. I know I speak for my fellow Board members in saying how much we’re looking forward to working with such distinguished and accomplished colleagues in moving this organization boldly forward. The fresh perspective they bring will be invaluable to our efforts.”
PCORI Executive Director Nakela L. Cook, M.D., M.P.H., also thanked outgoing Board members for their service, several of whom had been on the Board since PCORI’s inception. They are as follows:
- Lawrence Becker: Former Director of Benefits and Chair of the Plan Administration Committee, Xerox Corp.
- Gail Hunt: Former President and CEO of the National Alliance for Caregiving
- Freda Lewis-Hall, M.D.: Life sciences leader
- Grayson Norquist, M.D., M.S.P.H.: Vice-Chair, Emory University Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Chief of Psychiatry Service at Grady Health System in Atlanta
“I want to recognize the indelible contributions of our outgoing board members. We are incredibly grateful for their years of dedication and thought leadership,” Cook said. “Together with their colleagues, they helped guide PCORI’s approach to funding research that is done differently and established the foundation for research relevant to patients and the broader health care community. They have truly advanced PCORI’s mission to help patients and those who care for them make better-informed health care decisions.”
Goertz added, “I also want to thank our outgoing members for their invaluable service, as well as a special, added thanks to Dr. Norquist, who served as Chairperson of PCORI’s Board of Governors for six years. PCORI’s efforts were well served by his leadership in engaging patients and stakeholders and his commitment to funding rigorous research.”
Brief biographies of the new board members are available on PCORI’s website.
The official announcement of the appointments will be published in the Federal Register. For more information, contact Chuck Young in GAO's Office of Public Affairs at 202-512-4800, or visit the GAO Health Care Advisory Committees webpage at www.gao.gov/about/hcac.