Georgetown University Law Center
•O’Neill Institute Fall Conversation Series
Career Panel with O’Neill Institute Alumni
Phil Chen
Office of the United States Trade Representative (Former O’Neill Project Director)
Philip Chen is Assistant General Counsel at the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). He represents the United States in disputes before the World Trade Organization, and provides legal advice in connection with U.S. trade negotiations and commitments. Prior to joining USTR, Philip was Project Director of the China Health Law Initiative at the O’Neill Institute, focused on regulatory changes in China’s health sector. He also was Senior Fellow at the China Law Center at Yale Law School and an attorney in the litigation practice at Sidley Austin LLP.
Nora Connors
Podesta Group (Former O’Neill Law Fellow)
A veteran of the Hill with legal chops to match her health care expertise, Nora Connors provides strategic counsel informed by her wide-ranging academic and professional experience. Armed with a 360-degree understanding of today’s most pressing and complex health care issues, Nora knows how to tackle organizations’ most challenging policy agendas and deliver results for Podesta Group clients. Nora’s most recent position prior to arriving at the Podesta Group was with Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-CA) office where she served as a lead aide on health care policy issues for the Senator. In this role, Nora advised the senator on a variety of subjects, including health insurance, biotechnology and pharmaceutical policy, entitlement programs, and women’s health. She also planned and executed Senate Cancer Coalition Forums and conducted all health-related meetings with constituents. Nora cemented her knowledge of health policy during her time as a law fellow at the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at the Georgetown University Law Center. She also provided analysis on the Food and Drug Administration’s role in advancing health reform proposals for the Department of Health and Human Services as a volunteer for the 2008 Obama-Biden transition. Nora earned her bachelor’s degree at Macalester College and her master’s degree in public health and Juris Doctor from the University of Wisconsin. Her work has been published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and the Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, among other publications.
Lisa Lowenstein
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Former O’Neill Law Fellow)
Lisa Lowenstein is a health insurance specialist and legislative advisor at the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). During her three years at CCIIO, she has been part of implementing the Affordable Care Act – she advises senior officials on legislative and policy matters, and she has drafted key regulations and policy papers related to the health insurance market reforms. Prior to joining HHS, Lisa was a law fellow at Georgetown Law’s O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, and she was also a fellow in Georgetown Law’s Women’s Law and Public Policy Fellowship Program. Before her fellowships, she was an associate at a law firm in New York, NY. Lisa holds an undergraduate degree from Princeton University and a law degree from Georgetown Law.
Alix Pereira
National Health Operations at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (Former O’Neill Law Fellow)
Since earning his law degree, Alix Pereira has focused primarily on health policy. He recently joined the National Health Operations office within the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and works on implementing the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) Multi-State Plan Program. Prior to joining OPM, Alix spent nearly three years with CMS’s Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO) helping to draft regulations and implement many of the ACA health insurance market reforms. At CCIIO he primarily worked the Medical Loss Ratio, the Consumer Appeals, and the Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan programs. Before working on ACA implementation, Alix worked on legal and health policy matters with the National Coalition on Health Care and Small Business Majority. He was also a law fellow at Georgetown Law’s O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law. Upon graduation from Georgetown University Law Center, Alix represented municipalities and other corporate entities in employment law matters with a mid-West law firm.
The Fall Conversation Series is open to all Georgetown University students, faculty, staff, and interested members of the public.