June Cha is a policy director at FasterCures, Milken Institute Health. She brings decades of experience in infectious diseases research, non-profit, multilateral, and bilateral organizations, government, and the pharmaceutical industry, where she has focused on US and global health policy and program strategies across the healthcare ecosystem. Cha has in-depth knowledge and experience in medical product research and development, pharmaceutical regulatory laws, regulations, and policy, and has led efforts to promote sustainable and equitable healthcare.

Most recently, Cha worked with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the African Union Development Agency to provide program and policy strategies for creating a continental safety monitoring platform in Africa. She also worked in the pharmaceutical industry as a regulatory policy professional, collaborating with stakeholders from patient organizations, non-profits, trade associations, and the government to advance scientifically sound and innovative regulatory science.

Before joining the industry, Cha served as a public health advisor at the US Department of Health and Human Services, leading the strategic planning and review process to ensure the advancement of women’s health issues. She began her policy career at global health organizations advocating efficient HIV prevention policy for mothers and children in Sub-Saharan Africa. Cha received a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Notre Dame and an MPH in Global Public Health Leadership from New York University.

Catherine Coulouvrat, MD, is leading a Health Value Translation Unit, within Patient Informed Development and Health Value Translation at Sanofi, R&D. Dr Coulouvrat is physician, specialized in psychiatry and sleep medicine, with 20 years of extensive experience in clinical development, clinical operations, medical affairs, market access and translational research. Dr Coulouvrat has a successful track record in patient relevant outcomes, clinical development strategy for product launch. Passionate about patients' empowerment, education, understanding unmet needs and disease burden for better integration into the clinical development strategies, she thrives to build health outcomes and innovative care models aiming at improved patient quality of life and access to care.

Savine DaCosta is the Clinical Trial Diversity Site Lead at Biogen. In this role she is accountable for driving the strategies and capabilities to ensure diverse representation within clinical research that reflect the epidemiology of our diseases. She is also committed to building trust in underrepresented and underserved communities by identifying, creating, implementing, and measuring community engagements that educate patients on disease and clinical trials. In addition, She is charged with developing and implementing clinical trial site related diversity initiatives to build sustained engagement and trust with communities, patients, and surrounding sites.

DaCosta's career spans more than 25 years in the Pharma/Biotech industry with highlighted areas in sales, marketing, patient engagement and currently DE&I. She is a natural convener, communicator, and solutions provider. She graduated from Boston University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. In addition, she obtained a master’s in business administration from Eastern University in St. David’s, Pennsylvania.

She now resides in Pennsylvania with her husband, Tony and one son, and enjoys photography, basketball, and an enjoyable book. As a forever caregiver to a son who has Cerebral Palsy, DaCosta understands first-hand the various challenges that patients with chronic conditions experience and the emotional, social, and physical isolation and frustrations of caregivers. She is driven to educate and empower patients and caregivers to advocate for better health and consider clinical research as a part of their treatment options.

Willyanne DeCormier Plosky, DrPH, is a Program Director at the Multi-Regional Clinical Trials Center of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard, where she leads the Representation in Research portfolio. Previously she spent more than fifteen years working for Management Sciences for Health, the World Bank, Avenir Health, UNICEF, and USAID in the areas of health economics, maternal and child health, disability rights, HIV/AIDS, and humanitarian response. She participated in the Global Health Cost Consortium as a core team member, collaborated on the development of the first U.S. Government Action Plan on Children in Adversity, and supported the improvement of cost-effectiveness modeling of HIV and malaria interventions.

Dr DeCormier Plosky earned her DrPH in Global Health Leadership and Humanitarian Assistance from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, received her MPH in Global Health from the Yale University School of Public Health, and her BA in African History and Anthropology from Bowdoin College.

Michael is a seasoned non-profit professional with years of experience managing health equity-related initiatives. With a passion for public health and community engagement, Michael has worked on strategies and projects that engage stakeholders across industry, government, and advocacy.

Previously, Michael served as a Budget Analyst for the New York City Mayor’s Office of Management, where he analyzed and administered capital and expense budgets for City-supported infrastructure projects and collaborated with City agencies to address challenges in project implementation. In addition to his experience in government, Michael also has experience in private philanthropy, where he supported the implementation of intersectional strategies to advance equity.

Michael joined the National Minority Quality Forum (NMQF) in October 2021 as the organization’s Collaboration Coordinator, where he managed multi-stakeholder interactions, created data use cases to advance health equity, and co-lead advisory boards to inform operational activities in healthcare.

Since 2022, Michael has served as the organization’s Program Manager, where he oversees data partnerships, strategy development and industry-sponsored initiatives for NMQF's Center for Professional & Strategic Alliances, with a special focus on projects related to clinical trial diversity, nephrology and equitable cancer care.

Michael has a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations from Harding University and a Master of Social Work from Columbia University in the City of New York. He resides in Queens, NY with his husband.

Rosalie “Rosie” Filling has transformed R&D operations in every company she has worked for, developing clear-cut strategies to advance clinical trials with high-quality operational execution and scientific excellence. Rosie’s focus is always on the end users — the patients. Bringing new and, at times, life-saving medications to people in need drives Rosie’s sense of purpose. Rosie is a powerful thought leader at Endo and across the industry, and she is especially proud to mentor the industry’s future leaders and difference makers. Through her work across the industry, she has earned a reputation as a tireless advocate for clinical sites and the patients they serve, believing that they are key to the future of medicine and health. As a breast cancer clinical trial participant, she knows firsthand that her work can positively impact and improve lives.

Jayne Gershkowitz is one of the founding leaders of rare disease company Amicus Therapeutics and has served as Chief Patient Advocate since 2016. She’s responsible for developing and executing global strategies that ensure that the needs of people living with rare diseases and their families are integrated to all company operations and for keeping extraordinary patient dedication as the bedrock of Amicus. Gershkowitz founded the company’s Patient Advisory Boards program, through which patients, families and caregivers openly share their input and concerns with Amicus; leads Amicus’ Public Policy work to advocate for policies that advance innovation and expand access to satisfy unmet needs of those living with rare diseases; and guides advocacy-based evidence generation resulting in multiple publications co-authored with patient community thought leaders and medical key opinion leaders. She established Healing Beyond Disease™, an Amicus philanthropic and volunteer initiative to further serve the rare disease community in meaningful ways. She is a member of the company’s Executive Committee, reporting directly to the CEO, and sits on the board of directors.

Gershkowitz is widely recognized as a trailblazer in Patient Advocacy. In 2023, she was the Imagine & Believe honoree of National Tay-Sachs & Allied Diseases Association. In 2019, she received the second annual “Heart of BioNJ” Award in honor of her selflessness and dedication to patients in the rare disease community. She is a 2018 PharmaVOICE 100 honoree, recognized for providing inspiration and innovation in the life sciences industry. She often speaks about the strategic function of Patient Advocacy at industry conferences and how it is the essence of patient- focused drug development. She is the treasurer of the Board of Trustees of BioNJ and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Healthcare Institute of New Jersey. Gershkowitz is the co- founder and vice chair of the board of Professional Patient Advocates in Life Sciences (PPALS), a non-profit educational organization committed to supporting the function of Patient Advocacy within the biotech and pharmaceutical industries. Additionally, she was the executive director of National Tay-Sachs & Allied Diseases Association from 1998 – 2006.

Kert Gunasekaran, MS, serves as the Director of the Science of Patient Input Program at Medical Device Innovation Consortium (MDIC). He has over 20+ years of experience across the MedTech and Manufacturing ecosystem.  He is an avid enabler of inclusive patient empowerment in the medical device lifecycle and healthcare continuum. In his current role, he partners with leading industry experts, FDA and patient advocates to develop frameworks and pathways for optimized preference research, and regulatory science.  Mr. Gunasekaran is also a process lean six sigma Black Belt and has held ASQ reliability engineer and six sigma certifications. 

Holly John, Senior Director, Global Patient Advocacy at Agios is an innovative and thoughtful leader with a passion for elevating the voice of the patient community and ensuring that their insights are woven across the company’s activities. With a strong record of building authentic partnerships with patients, patient advocates and their clinician supporters, Holly has defined an ambition for evidence-based advocacy that goes beyond words, driving meaningful action and change for both her colleagues and the patients they serve.

As Business Lead for DEI and Patient Experience in Clinical Trials, AnneMarie Winkler has a commitment for Patient Focused Drug Development and integration of the Patient Voice across R&D. Prior to joining Genmab she was Development Unit Lead for Patient Engagement, Equity & Transparency at Biogen, after leading a team as Manager Clinical Operations at Syneos Health, in Merck Research Labs. As Indication Lead for Global Trial Optimization at Syneos Health, Merck; she led End-to-End Feasibility and Recruitment in Tumor Agnostic Basket studies, Novel Biomarkers and Rare Diseases.

During time as Clinical Research Manager and IRB Administrator at Portsmouth Regional Hospital she served on New Hampshire’s Comprehensive Cancer Collaboration: Emerging Issues Work Group, Public Policy Education Committee. It was as Head of Human Rights Protections, and as a Patient Advocate at North Suffolk Mental Health, that she found her true passion is championing the Patient Voice.