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Alumni Advise Health Law and Policy Students

Brick façade and slate roof of Sterling Law Building and a leafy tree against a cloudy sky

The Yale Health Law and Policy Society (YHeLPS), in collaboration with the Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy, hosted its annual career night on April 13. Panelists spoke to students on their career paths in health law, providing diverse perspectives on their fields and their roles.

This year’s event featured six alumni panelists:

  • Stephanie Akpa, Counselor at Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), Office of Management and Budget
  • Paul Kalb, Partner, Sidley Austin LLP
  • Allison Orris, Senior Fellow, Health Policy Center on Budget and Policy Priorities 
  • Adam Pan, Associate, Williams & Connolly
  • Allison Zieve, Litigation Group Director, Public Citizen
  • Megan Wulff, Director of Market Oversight and Monitoring, Massachusetts Health Policy Commission 

The panel kicked off with speakers describing the paths they took to their current positions and how law school impacted each of their routes. Several speakers remarked that it is important to regularly reflect on your role and whether it serves your interests and goals. Panels emphasized the diversity of the expanding field of health law. They stressed the importance of being open to different roles and areas of work. Having flexibility can lead to unforeseen opportunities that may be important and interesting, they noted.

Stephanie Akpa ’09 serves as lead advisor to OIRA Administrator of regulations, guidance documents, and other policies covering the Departments of Agriculture, Education, Health and Human Services, Labor, and Veterans Affairs and health-related policies at the Department of Defense. In her current role, she engages in cross-cutting projects to modernize and strengthen the regulatory process by advancing equity, reducing administrative burdens, and increasing stakeholder engagement. Previously, she has held positions as the Acting Chief of Staff & Senior Advisor in the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Health Insurance Specialist in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Center for Consumer Information & Insurance. 

Dr. Paul Kalb ’90 is a partner at Sidley Austin LLP, where he brings an uncommon clinical perspective, grounded in his experience as an attending physician at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, to bear in his work for a wide range of healthcare clients. He has successfully represented many of the world’s leading drug, biotech and device manufacturers as well as hospitals and other providers in criminal, civil and administrative enforcement actions involving healthcare fraud and abuse and off-label promotion. Many of his cases have involved complex clinical and scientific issues. He has negotiated ground-breaking settlement agreements and Corporate Integrity Agreements.

Allison Orris ’02 specializes in Medicaid and other health programs with a focus on policies to make coverage and health care services available and affordable for people with low incomes. She has more than two decades of experience in health policy, spanning work in the federal government and the nonprofit and private sectors. She held various senior roles at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) during the drafting, passage, and implementation of the Affordable Care Act. While at CMS, she also led Medicaid Section 1115 demonstration negotiations with states to advance Medicaid expansion and delivery system reforms. 

Adam Pan ’19 is Co-Editor-in-Chief for the Yale Journal of Health Policy, Law, and Ethics and the Yale Journal of Law and Technology. Prior to attending Yale, Adam received his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for research on computational X-ray phase contrast imaging of human atherosclerotic disease. Adam clerked for Judge Timothy B. Dyk of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. At Williams & Connolly, Adam works with clients at the intersection of health, law, and technology. Adam’s experience includes representing biotechnology companies in Hatch-Waxman and BPCIA litigation, patent disputes, and antitrust matters.

Megan Wulff ’13 is the Director of Market Oversight and Monitoring at the Health Policy Commission (HPC) and has been a member of the HPC staff since graduating from Yale Law School in 2013. Wulff supervises the HPC’s evaluation of the impact of significant provider transactions on health care costs, quality, access, and equity for Massachusetts residents, managing a team of attorneys, economists, and other health care experts. From 2020 to 2022, she also led an HPC data team supporting the state's pandemic response. Prior to the HPC, Wulff interned in the Health Care Division of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office and worked as a research coordinator with Boston University’s Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center and Alzheimer’s Disease Center. 

Allison Zieve ’89 is the director of the litigation practice group and general counsel at Public Citizen. Her work addresses public health (such drug safety, food labeling, and tobacco issues), consumer safety and consumer financial protection, open government, federal preemption, class action standards, and First Amendment issues. Many of her cases have involved issues related to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, as well as the U.S. Department of Transportation, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, among other agencies. Allison has argued five cases before the United States Supreme Court and many more in the federal appellate and district courts.