Jennifer Sunshine, a health policy expert with more than 17 years of industry experience, has joined APCO Worldwide, announced Evan Kraus, global president and managing director of APCO’s Washington office. Sunshine will serve as a director in APCO’s Washington, D.C. health care practice.
“The challenges facing the health care industry in Washington and around the world are more real today than ever before,” said Kraus. “Jennifer’s experience providing regulatory insight to pharmaceutical companies, patient advocacy groups, trade associations and health plans will be invaluable to our current and future clients in the health care sector. We’re delighted to welcome Jennifer to APCO.”
Prior to joining APCO, Sunshine spent several years with Booz Allen Hamilton’s Health Care practice, assisting several high-profile health care clients on legislative and regulatory matters, external communications efforts, and issues advocacy. Sunshine spent over four years supporting the State Exchange Group (SEG), now known as the State Marketplace Insurance Programs Group (SMIPG), on developing business and regulatory requirements for State-based Exchanges, as well as providing technical assistance to support open enrollment. She also supported Booz Allen’s FDA team in preparing the Office of Generic Drugs (OGD) for the implementation of the second Congressional authorization of the Generic Drug User Fee Amendments II (GDUFA) program.
Before joining Booz Allen Hamilton, Sunshine served as a senior health policy analyst for America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the national trade association for health insurance providers. During her time with AHIP, she led AHIP’s work with member companies associated with building consensus around health care claims data analytics initiatives and performance measurement standards. She also regularly interfaced with standard setting organizations, such as the National Quality Forum (NQF) and the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) to advocate member positions.
“Health care clients across the sector face unprecedented challenges and expectations in an increasingly complex and volatile regulatory environment,” said Sunshine. “APCO has a proven track record of helping clients adapt and thrive in this difficult landscape, and I couldn’t be more excited to join the firm’s dynamic team.”
Earlier in her career, Sunshine served as the Manager of Policy and Regulatory Affairs for the Generic Pharmaceutical Association (GPhA), now known as the Association for Accessible Medicines (AAM), where she helped facilitate dialogue with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, members of Congress, and other stakeholder groups on critical legislative, policy, and regulatory issues impacting the timely approval of generic pharmaceuticals.
Sunshine joins a robust team of health care communications experts at APCO with significant experience shaping policy and developing innovating communications programs, including: Nancy Turett, James Tyrrell, Caroline Starke, Stig Albinus, William Pierce, Brittney Manchester, Claire Grant, Wayne Pines, and Elizabeth Funderburk.