National Leadership Conference Agenda

*All conference events will take place at the Washington Plaza Hotel with the exception of Capitol Hill visits on Monday

Book your stay for the DFA National Leadership Conference.

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Friday, June 5 – Building Community & Physician Power

Connect. Reflect. Prepare to Lead.

8:30 am - 4:30 pm

FDA Pre-Conference - A deep dive into the role of the FDA in protecting public health, advancing science, and ensuring safe and effective medical care.

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8:30 am - 9:15 am

U.S. Food and Drug Administration 101 - Jan Krommes, MD

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9:15 am - 10:30 am

FDA at an Inflection Point: Workforce, Authority, and What It Means for Patient Care

Juli Tomaino, MD; Cartier Esham, PhD; Robert Steinbrook, MD

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10:45 am - 12:00 pm

Fast Tracks or Fault Lines? Rethinking FDA Approval and Evidence

Adriane Fugh-Berman, MD; Reshma Ramachandran, MD; Michelle Tregear, PhD

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12:45 pm - 2:00 pm

From AI to Algorithms: Evaluating Digital Health, Machine Learning, and Evidence Standards

Henry Bair, MD, MBA; Jessica Jackson, PhD; Corbin Evans, JD, MBA

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2:00 pm - 3:15 pm

Access Interrupted: Drug Shortages, Supply Chains, and Regulatory Levers

Tim Casey; Marta Wosińska, PhD; Mariana Socal, MD, PhD

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3:30 pm - 4:30 pm

Regulating in the Crosshairs: Courts, Congress, and the Future of FDA Decision-Making

Joel McElvain, JD; Kimberlee Trzeciak, MA; Jennifer Black, JD, MPH

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6:00 – 9:00 pm

DFA Welcome Mixer - Meet fellow physician and trainee advocates from across the country.

Over 60-Years of Good Trouble - Tom Ellison, MD, PhD

Dr. Tom Ellison of Birmingham, AL, embodies a lifelong commitment to social justice, beginning with his first march at just five years old. More than 60 years later, after participating in hundreds of marches and enduring numerous beatings, Dr. Tom continues to stand on the front lines. Hear his powerful story and why making “good trouble” remains as urgent today as ever.

Against Medical Advice: A Comedy Set with Dr. Rab Razzak

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Saturday, June 6 – Meeting the Moment & Building Advocacy Skills

Morning: Understanding the Moment

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9:00 - 10:00 am

The Mandate: Health in All Policies - Stella Safo, MD, MPH

‍A national view of the forces shaping health care, public health, and democracy.

Dr. Stella Safo is a Harvard-trained, board-certified HIV primary care physician, an innovator in designing health care delivery models, and an advocate committed to gender and racial equity and civic engagement in healthcare. She is a founding member of Equity Now at Mount Sinai, VoteHealth 2020 and the Coalition to Advance Antiracism in Medicine. In 2020, Dr. Safo was named one of Modern Healthcare’s top minority clinicians to watch.

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10:00 - 10:15 am

Organizing for Power: Framing the Work Ahead - Daniel Skinner, PhD

‍Join health policy expert Dan Skinner, PhD, as he sets the stage for how physicians can turn policy challenges into action in the Impact Area breakout sessions.

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10:15 – Break

10:30 – 11:30 am

Organizing for Power: Impact Area Strategy Sessions

‍Breakouts:

Access to Affordable Care & FDA - Meera Ragavan, MD, MPH and Jan Krommes, MD
Community Health & Prevention - Alyssa Lambrecht, DO, Elle Saine, MD, PhD, and Anand Singh, MD
Health Justice & Equity - Temi Olasehinde, MD and Nicole Damari, MD, MS

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Participants will explore:

What is happening in this policy space
How it impacts patients
What solutions are needed
Where physician advocacy can make a difference

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11:45 – 1:30 pm

Lunch & Copello Fellow Presentations

‍Hear from DFA’s emerging physician advocates as they present projects advancing health equity, policy change, and patient advocacy.

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Afternoon: Advocacy Skills Building

1:45 – 3:15 pm

Rapid Response Training: When the Moment Comes

‍Participants attend three rapid-fire skill sessions (25 minutes each). Physicians increasingly face moments when they must respond quickly to misinformation, policy threats, or media requests.

This hands-on session prepares physicians to act when it matters most.

Participants will practice:

Delivering a 30-second media response
Sharing a 1-minute patient story
Responding to reporters
Framing messages that influence policymakers

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Sessions include:

Let’s Get Social: Physicians Online - Bijoya Basu, PhD
Write to Ignite: Op-Eds That Drive Change - Mark Lopatin, MD
Your Voice, On Record: Making It Count - Reshma Ramachandran, MD, MPP, MHS
Inside the Room: Winning Over Lawmakers - Jan Krommes, MD
From People to Power: Organizing That Wins - Meg Olson, MA

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3:15 pm - Break‍

3:30 - 4:30 pm – Physician Action Lab: Turning Advocacy into Action

Participants work in small groups to develop real advocacy strategies around key DFA priorities. Participants leave with a 90-day advocacy plan.

Each group develops:

one media action
one policy action
one organizing action

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4:30 pm - Break

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Evening – Inspiration, Recognition & Community

6:00 pm – Reception

6:30 pm – Founder’s Awards - Celebrating physician leaders who embody DFA’s commitment to patient advocacy.

7:00 pm – Dinner

8:00 pm – The Beginning of a Movement: How Physicians Change Policy Fireside Chat

Physicians share how their experiences caring for patients led them to step into public leadership and change policy.

Rab Razzak, MD, and Manisha Sharma, MD - The Beginning of a Movement

Each speaker answers:

What did you see in your clinic that made you speak out?
What happened when you used your voice?
What advice do you have for physicians who want to lead?

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Sunday June, 7 – Organizing for Action

7:30 am - Board Meeting

Board Meeting with Breakfast (Board / IA Leaders / Staff)

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9:00 - 10:00 am – The Power of Physician Storytelling

How doctors change public opinion and influence policy.

Physicians are among the most trusted voices in society. When they share real stories from the frontlines of care, they translate policy debates into human consequences that shift public opinion and influence decision-makers.

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10:00 - 10:45 am – Public Narrative Workshop: Your Story of “Good Trouble” - Stephanie Liou, MD

Participants develop:

a 60-second patient story
a policy message
a call to action

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10:45 am Break

11:00 am - 12:00 pm – Concurrent Session

Building State Power: Launching DFA State Chapters

‍Learn how physicians can organize locally to drive policy change.

Topics include:

identifying physician leaders
building local coalitions
advancing state-level policy change

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12:15 - 1:15 pm – Networking Lunch

World Café Conversations

Interactive discussions on critical advocacy priorities:

Gun violence prevention
Reproductive health and access to care
Health equity and justice
Protecting science, vaccines and the FDA
Defending Medicaid and the social safety net
White Coats in Retirement

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1:15 pm – Break

1:30 - 2:30 pm - Closing Plenary: The Courage to Lead - Kameron Matthews, MD, MD, FAAFP

An inspiring call to action for physicians and trainees committed to defending science, protecting patients, and shaping the future of health care.

Dr. Kameron Leigh Matthews is the Chief Health Officer of IMPaCT Care, a public benefit corporation that helps organizations unlock the power of the grassroots Community Health Workforce. A board-certified Family Physician based in Washington DC, Dr. Matthews has focused her career on transforming systems for marginalized communities, having held multiple leadership roles in correctional medicine, federally qualified health centers, managed care, and other non-profit organizations, as well as led transformational efforts at Cityblock Health and in the Veterans Health Administration including the implementation of the MISSION Act of 2018 and the EHR modernization effort.

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2:30 pm – Break

2:45 - 3:30 pm - Advocacy Briefing: Preparing for Hill Visits

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Monday, June 8 – Advocacy in Action on the Hill

7:00 am – Grab-and-Go Breakfast

Participant teams depart for:

Congressional Hill visits
Advocacy meetings with policymakers
Partner organization briefings

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Contacting Us

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at info@doctorsforamerica.org.