KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Carole Johnson
Administrator
Health Resources and Services Administration
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Carole Johnson is the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, the federal agency in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services focused on health equity, supporting health care services for historically underserved communities, and working to build a robust and diverse health care workforce. Johnson joined HRSA from the White House COVID-19 Response Team where she led mitigation and surge response efforts. She previously served as Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Human Services, leading the state’s largest agency and providing health care and social services to one-in-five New Jerseyans. During her tenure, she expanded Medicaid coverage of mental health and substance use disorder services, created new Medicaid benefits to improve maternal health outcomes, substantially increased child care rates for the first time in a decade, and expanded food assistance benefits. She also served for more than five years in the Obama White House, working on implementation of the Affordable Care Act, combatting the opioid epidemic, responding to public health challenges like Ebola and Zika, and advancing public health priorities. Johnson spent several years on Capitol Hill as health staff. She previously was a program officer with the Pew Charitable Trusts.

Dr. Emeka Egwim
Director
Office of Pharmacy Affairs
Office of Special Health Initiatives
Health Resources and Services Administration
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Dr. Emeka Egwim is the Director of the Office of Pharmacy Affairs (OPA) within the Office of Special Health Initiatives (OSHI) in the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

Dr. Egwim began his career in public service in 2011 as a pharmacy student with the Office of Pharmacy Affairs.  Upon his graduation, he continued his Federal service by joining the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program (MDRP) within the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.  For six years in this capacity, Dr. Egwim provided policy and clinical expertise in the MDRP, which generates over $35 billion annually in cost savings for more than 80 million Medicaid beneficiaries.  Prior to joining OPA as the Director in February 2022, Dr. Egwim served as a Senior Policy Analyst in HRSA’s HIV/AIDS Bureau, where he focused on developing and implementing policies and initiatives in the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program.  

Dr. Egwim received his Doctorate of Pharmacy from Howard University, School of Pharmacy in Washington, D.C.

Jerome M. Adams
Professor, Presidential Fellow, & Executive Director of Health Equity Iniatives
Purdue University

Jerome M. Adams, MD, MPH, served as the 20th Surgeon General of the United States from 2017 to 2021. He is now a Distinguished Professor, Presidential Fellow, and Executive Director of Health Equity Initiatives at Purdue University. Dr. Adams, a board-certified anesthesiologist, served as Indiana State Health Commissioner from 2014 to 2017. He is a Maryland native and earned bachelor’s degrees in both Biochemistry and Psychology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, a Master of Public Health degree from the University of California at Berkeley, and his medical degree from Indiana University School of Medicine.

As Surgeon General during a global pandemic, Dr. Adams brought a passionate commitment to fighting issues that his own family and community experienced, including limited healthcare access, chronic disease, substance use disorder and ensuing stigma, tobacco addiction, maternal health, mental illness, and the opioid epidemic. 

Dr. Adams has served in leadership positions at a number of professional organizations, including the American Medical Association, the Indiana State Medical Association, and the Indiana Society of Anesthesiologists. He is the past chair of the Professional Diversity Committee for the American Society of Anesthesiologists.