April 24, 2025
Former White House appointee Katie Keith resumes her role at the O’Neill Institute as founding director of the Center for Health Policy and the Law and takes on a newly created position as director of national affairs and programs.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — April 24, 2025 — The O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, a leading health policy think tank, is proud to announce the return of Katie Keith. Keith will resume her role as founding director of the Center for Health Policy and the Law and take on a newly created position as director of national affairs and programs, where she will lead efforts focused on reproductive rights, gender equity, and the courts’ impact on health care access. Keith rejoins the O’Neill Institute following a two-year public service leave from Georgetown University, to serve in the Biden-Harris administration.
“It was an incredible honor to serve in the Biden-Harris administration and to work, day in and day out, to advance the President and Vice President’s commitment to gender equity and equality,” said Keith.
From 2022 to 2025, Keith played a pivotal role in the Biden-Harris administration, helping to lead the first-ever White House Gender Policy Council. She served as a senior advisor for health policy, focusing on reproductive health care, maternal health, and LGBTQI+ health, and in 2023 was named deputy assistant to the president and deputy director of the White House Gender Policy Council. In this position, Keith oversaw the Council’s domestic policy portfolio and spearheaded efforts to defend reproductive rights, advance research on women’s health, promote women’s economic security, and prevent and end gender-based violence.
“Katie’s return to the O’Neill Institute is a moment of great pride and a pivotal opportunity, particularly as health policy and the law in the United States face rapid change and deep division,” said Professor Michele Bratcher Goodwin, Linda D. & Timothy J. O’Neill Professor of Constitutional Law and Global Health Policy and co-faculty director of the O’Neill Institute. “Her remarkable leadership in helping to shape the Biden-Harris administration’s gender equity agenda — combined with her deep expertise and unwavering dedication — make her an invaluable leader in our community.”
As founding director of the Center for Health Policy and the Law, Keith leads the Center’s efforts to demystify the critical role litigation and the courts play in shaping health policy by advising policymakers and conducting research on a wide range of legal issues, including coverage access, affordability, transparency, and equity. In her newly created role as the first-ever director of national affairs and programs at O’Neill, Keith will also spearhead new partnerships, programming, and thought leadership centered on reproductive rights, gender equity, and the courts’ impact on health care access more broadly.
Keith also resumes her role as a leading voice in health policy analysis, contributing rapid-response insights for the Health Policy at a Crossroads series at Health Affairs Forefront.
“Katie’s work at the O’Neill Institute has helped policymakers understand the crucial role that litigation and the courts play in health policy — on a range of issues,” noted Professor Lawrence O. Gostin, co-faculty director of the O’Neill Institute and University Professor at Georgetown Law. “Her work on the White House Gender Policy Council reflects the very values we champion at the O’Neill Institute, and we are delighted to welcome her back.”
“I am thrilled to return to the O’Neill Institute and the Center for Health Policy and the Law,” added Keith. “As the premier institution for health policy and the law, the O’Neill Institute offers an unmatched platform to help advance a more equitable and just health system.”
Andrew Twinamatsiko and Zachary Baron, who managed the Center for Health Policy and the Law during Keith’s public service leave, will remain as co-directors of the Center.
About the O’Neill Institute
The O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, housed at Georgetown University Law Center, is a leading health policy think tank dedicated to using law to address pressing health challenges and shape a healthier, more just world. Established in 2007, the O’Neill Institute partners with governments, international organizations, civil society groups, and academic institutions to end pandemics, ensure human rights, and build the right to health around the world. For more information, visit us at oneillinstitute.org or follow at @oneillinstitute.