April 19, 2007

The O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law was recently established with a foundational gift from Linda and timothy O’Neill. The Institute’s mission is to find innovative solutions for the most pressing health concerns facing the nation and the world through research, scholarship, and reflective engagement with partners in the public and private sectors.

I now have the great pleasure to announce the appointment of John Monahan as the Executive Director of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law. We are thrilled to bring John’s experience, wisdom, and leadership to Georgetown Law. As an alumnus of both Georgetown’s undergraduate and law schools, John is returning to his academic roots to build this exciting new enterprise.

John’s distinguished career has spanned many health-related fields: public service, philanthropy, law, and political campaigns. Most recently, John served as Senior Fellow to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, advising the grant-maker on strategies for increasing the relevance and impact of their programs for federal, state, and local policymakers. He also holds an appointment as a Senior Fellow at the Brooking’s Institution’s Center for Urban and Metropolitan Policy.

From 1993 to 1999, John held senior positions at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In 1993-1996, he served as Director of Intergovernmental Affairs and represented the department before governors, Mayors, and other state and local officials, playing a major role in negotiating innovative health and welfare waivers with states. In 1996-1999, he also served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Children and Families, the second-ranking official in an agency that has an annual budget exceeding $35 billion and that oversees TANF, child support, Head Start, and more than thirty other programs serving low-income families and communities.

From 1990 to 1992, Monahan worked as Legal Counsel to Senator David Pryor, including providing staff support to the senator in his service on the Senate Ethics Committee during the Keating Five case. In 1989, he was an Investigator for the Senate Special Committee on Aging.

A veteran of numerous campaigns, Monahan served as field director in the Clinton campaign in 1992 and held senior positions in the Democratic National Committee and in the Presidential Transition in 1992-1993. He began his career as a field organizer for Mondale for President.

John is an energetic and skilled leader, and we look forward to working with him to build the O’Neill Institute a premier source of health law and policy.