AAM taps new state government affairs vice president

The Association for Accessible Medicines has a new executive leader. Lisa Steelman is joining the organization as vice president, state government affairs.

In her new role, she serves as a senior strategist and lobbyist in partnership with the senior vice president, of government affairs, Chris Bowlin, and other members of the state government affairs team to represent AAM and its member companies’ interests before state legislators, regulators and other state and local governmental entities.

Steelman monitors legislation and regulation concerning the generic pharmaceutical industry in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and local jurisdictions. In addition, she identifies public policy priorities and devises and implements state-based strategies to advance AAM’s legislative, regulatory and political agenda.

“Lisa joins AAM at a time of great challenge for the generics and biosimilars industry given the impact of COVID-19 on the health care system. Many states have truncated their legislative schedules, but misguided legislation remains a concern to our industry when the challenges to patient access in the states are growing greater, said Bowlin. “Lisa’s great skill set, excellent reputation and significant track record of success in previous positions will serve our industry well as we continue to advocate our industry’s priorities and educate lawmakers on the important role of generics and biosimilars in driving down the cost of pharmaceuticals."

Steelman was most recently with the Association of Dental Support Organizations, where, as senior vice president for alliance development and government relations, she contributed to the five-year strategic plan and was responsible for realigning staff and consultants to execute plan deliverables. In this role she built a grassroots, advocacy and public relations strategy across multiple states and stewarded alliances to advance key issues.

Previously, she held the position of regional director, state governmental affairs, with Novartis Pharmaceuticals, where she led an industry-wide biosimilars legislative campaign.