Families USA Welcomes Lisa Shapiro as New Chief of Staff and Director of Children’s Policy - Families Usa Skip to Main Content
10.23.2017 / Press Release

Families USA Welcomes Lisa Shapiro as New Chief of Staff and Director of Children’s Policy

Washington, D.C. – Families USA, one of the nation’s leading health care consumer organizations, today announced the selection of Lisa Shapiro as its new Chief of Staff and Director of Children’s Policy. Lisa has nearly 20 years of experience working in the public, nonprofit, and private sectors on federal health policy issues with a primary focus on children, the uninsured, and underserved populations.

Lisa comes to Families USA from First Focus where she served as Vice President for Health Policy. For more than a decade, Lisa led First Focus’s health care portfolio, working to improve health coverage for low-income children through the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and Medicaid. Lisa also has extensive experience working on implementation issues related to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as well as public health issues affecting children, including childhood asthma and environmental health concerns.

“We are excited to have someone with Lisa’s leadership experience in strategic policy engagement and grassroots advocacy, as well as her expertise in Medicaid, CHIP, and health coverage policy join our team,” said Frederick Isasi, executive director of Families USA. “Lisa will be essential in our work to protect and defend Medicaid and children’s health coverage and to continue to transform America’s current health care system into a modern, efficient, high-quality system that works for every family member regardless of socioeconomic status or demographics.”

Prior to First Focus, Lisa served as a congressional fellow in the office of Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) where she worked on the Senate Finance Committee and Health, Education, and Pension Committee on a broad range of health issues, including: Medicaid and CHIP, immigrant health, childhood obesity, prescription drugs, and safety net financing issues. In the private sector, Lisa focused on efforts to preserve and extend the health care safety net for the uninsured and underserved populations.

“Lisa has dedicated her career to ensuring access to high quality, affordable health care for children, women, and their families and we’re beyond thrilled that she now brings that passion and commitment to Families USA,” continued Isasi.

“Throughout my career as an advocate and children’s health policy expert, I have watched Families USA engage time and again in the fight to improve the lives of those in our society who are most vulnerable,” Lisa Shapiro said. “It is an extraordinary privilege to join Families USA’s leadership team. I look forward to partnering with Families’ outstanding staff to further our mission of advocating for the cause of effective and affordable health care for all.”

Lisa received a M.P.A. from the Virginia Tech Center for Public Administration and Policy and a B.A. from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.