A Nebraska native, Schweer first came to Washington, D.C., to work for then-Sen. Chuck Hagel, following many years of working in campaigns, including those of Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE). After her years of service on Capitol Hill, Schweer joined the rock star Bono’s non-profit organization, The ONE Campaign, where she led partnership strategy and advocacy in support of African development, including maternal and child health.

From 2014 to 2017, Schweer served as chief of protocol to Defense Secretaries Chuck Hagel, Ashton Carter, and Jim Mattis in the Pentagon. During her tenure, she proposed and led creative new initiatives to raise the profile and advance the priorities of the Secretary of Defense, including helping roll out a 12-week paid maternity leave policy for the military.

In 2018, she helped BPC stand up the first bipartisan Paid Family Leave Task Force and has been working on bipartisan, bicameral paid family leave policy at the federal level. 

She and her husband have three young daughters and a son.

Cheryl Vincent serves as Staff Director of the Subcommittee on Worker and Family Support for the Committee on Ways and Means (Republicans). The subcommittee oversees several federal programs including unemployment insurance, child welfare, child support, and child care. She also leads the Committee’s work on paid family leave.

Cheryl was previously a policy advisor on child care and paid family leave at the White House Office of Economic Initiatives, and senior advisor for legislative affairs at the Administration for Children and Families in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Prior to that, she worked as professional staff on the Ways and Means Committee leading efforts to reform the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. She also has state experience, having worked in her home state of Ohio as deputy director in the Office of Human Services Innovation under former Governor John Kasich. Vincent began her career at HHS working for more than a decade on programs to support working families.

Cheryl received her Bachelor’s from Michigan State University and a Master’s degree from the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago.

Gary Claxton is a Senior Vice President, the Director of the Program on the Health Care Marketplace at KFF.  The Health Care Marketplace Project provides information, research, and analysis about trends in the health care market and about policy proposals that relate to health insurance reform and our changing health care system.  The Program for the Study of Health Reform and Private Insurance examines changes in the private insurance market under the Affordable Care Act as federal and state policymakers implement provisions of the health reform law. Prior to joining KFF, Mr. Claxton worked as a senior researcher at the Institute for Health Care Research and Policy at Georgetown University, where his research focused on health insurance and health care financing.  From March 1997 until January 2001, Mr. Claxton served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health Policy at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where he advised the Secretary on health policy issues including: improving access to health insurance, Medicare reform, administration of Medicaid, financing of prescription drugs, expanding patient rights, and health care privacy.   Other previous positions include serving as a consultant for the Lewin Group, a special assistant to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health Policy in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, an insurance analyst for the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, and a health policy analyst for the American Association of Retired Persons.

Marcie McClintic Coates currently serves as Senior Executive Advisor and Counsel in the office of the Executive Chairman as well as Deputy Corporate Secretary to the Board of Directors of VIATRIS, a global healthcare company recently formed through the combination of Mylan and Pfizer’s Upjohn division, committed to empowering people worldwide to live healthier at every stage of life.  In her current role, McClintic Coates advises executive management and the Board on various strategic, business, legal, policy, operational and governance related matters.  She is a member of the Viatris leadership team and serves on the company’s corporate affairs council and corporate social responsibility advisory committee.      

In addition to her most recent work helping to ensure the successful launch of Viatris, McClintic Coates has held various global leadership roles throughout her nearly 15-year career at Mylan, including Head of Global Policy, Head of Global Regulatory Affairs, Vice President and Chief of Staff to the CEO and Global Regulatory Counsel. She is a proven leader of global teams, recognized for her consistent commitment to collaboration, inclusivity, and sustainability. 

With her unique background across many disciplines in healthcare, McClintic Coates has also become a recognized policy thought leader, representing the generic and biosimilar industries before Congress, the White House, HHS, FDA and in various international policy forums to increase patient access to more affordable medicine.   

McClintic Coates played a leading role in negotiating the $1.5 billion Generic Drug User Fee Act (GDUFA) of 2012 and 2017 with the FDA to improve access to safe and high-quality generic drugs. She also helped lead industry efforts for passage of the FDA Amendments Act of 2012, which updated antiquated U.S. law to ensure that all prescription drugs are held to the same high-quality standards regardless if made in the U.S. or abroad.  McClintic Coates has remained active in numerous advocacy efforts, including advancing solutions to help reduce out-of-pocket costs for Medicare patients, ensuring that trade and intellectual property laws balance both competition and innovation, and working with policymakers to harmonize regulatory requirements.  

In addition, McClintic Coates currently serves as vice chair of the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership organization, a nonprofit group devoted to developing high school student leaders to tackle the world’s biggest challenges beginning in their own communities. She also previously served on the Board of Directors of the Association for Accessible Medicines Board, the trade association representing the generic and biosimilar industry and served as chair of its membership committee.  

McClintic Coates holds a law degree and M.B.A. from West Virginia University where she served as Editor in Chief of the West Virginia Law Review and an undergraduate degree from Wittenberg University, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude. Prior to her time at Viatris and Mylan, she was an attorney in the Washington, D.C. office of the Baker & Daniels law firm, now known as Faegre Drinker.
 

Brent Hill has served in the Idaho State Senate for nineteen years. He was the highest-ranking member of the Idaho State Senate for ten years, making him the longest-serving President Pro Tempore in Idaho’s history. He did not seek reelection in 2020.

He has accepted a position with the National Institute for Civil Discourse as Director of its Next Generation program. He works directly with various legislatures throughout the country to promote civil discourse and create a culture where engaging differences constructively leads to better public policy development.

He is a retired Certified Public Accountant and Certified Financial Planner with over thirty-five years of business and financial experience. Born and raised in Idaho, he graduated valedictorian from Madison High School and earned his accounting degree from Utah State University where he has been honored as the university’s Outstanding Accounting Graduate and Alumnus of the Year. For over twenty years, he was CEO of an accounting and business consulting firm with offices in Idaho and Montana. He has also served on boards and advisory councils for various corporations, banks, charitable organizations, and universities.

Brent is a frequent contributor to newspapers and other publications and authored the book, A Matter of Principle that explores the fundamental ideals that guided America’s Founders. He is also a featured speaker at universities, seminars, and conferences.

Most importantly, Brent and his wife Julie have raised four sons who, in turn, have blessed them with twenty grandchildren.

Bradford Fitch is President and CEO of the Congressional Management Foundation. 

Fitch started his communications career at the age of 16 working at his local AM radio station in Upstate New York and a disc jockey and reporter. After graduate school, he worked as a television reporter in Washington, moving on to Capitol Hill for 13 years as press secretary, legislative director, and chief of staff.  In 2001 he served as Deputy Director of CMF, a non-profit dedicated to improving congressional operations and citizen engagement. He left CMF in 2006 to form a successful internet startup, before returning to CMF in 2010.

Fitch frequently quoted in national media outlets on how Congress works. He is also is the author of Citizen’s Handbook to Influencing Elected Officials and Media Relations Handbook for Agencies, Associations, Nonprofits and Congress.

Charlie Cook is widely considered to be one of the nation’s most respected and impartial analyst of American politics, elections and political trends.  As the editor and publisher of The Cook Political Report, columnist for National Journal, political analyst for NBC News and co-author of the upcoming 2020 edition of the Almanac of American Politics, Charlie’s prodigious writing is a direct line to the heart of politics. Deemed “the Picasso of election analysis” by The Wall Street Journal, he produces the sharpest and most impartial political handicapping in the business, serving as the one-man, go-to-source for Americans who want to be “in the know” about politics. 

Cook’s expertise receives endless praise. The New York Times called him “one of the best political handicappers in the nation” and noted that The Cook Political Report is “a newsletter that both Parties regard as authoritative.” The Washington Post said he is “perhaps the best non-partisan tracker of Congressional races,” and the Washingtonian called him “the man who knows more about politics than anyone else.” 

With his encyclopedic knowledge, memorable stories, quick wit, and meaningful insights, Charlie Cook focuses on the broad implications of the latest election results. Using poll numbers, economic indicators, and historical data, he forecasts the fortunes of each party in a non-partisan way, leaving audiences with the concrete information they need in today’s political environment.

Guy Ryder was elected  Director-General, International Labour Organization, by the ILO’s Governing Body in 2012 and took office in October that year.  He was re-elected for a second term which started on 1 October 2017. Guy Ryder is committed to promoting decent work for all and to working through tripartism and social dialogue to make a positive difference in the working lives of people everywhere including and particularly in the lives of the most vulnerable.   

The ILO celebrated its centenary in 2019 and Guy Ryder was instrumental in setting the Future of Work as the defining theme of the centenary to position the organization to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Under his leadership, the Global Commission on the Future of Work was established in 2017.  Subsequently, the International Labour Conference adopted the Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work in 2019. The Declaration, centred on the Organization’s founding values, drives the promotion of a present and future of work that is fair and just by actively shaping the new forces impacting on the world of work. Guy Ryder collaborates closely with the UN System to support global efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.  In the social and economic crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, Guy Ryder is engaged in working with the ILO’s Members and in partnership with the multilateral system and other relevant parties, to apply the principles of the Centenary Declaration in the response to the crisis as well as to the challenge of recovery.

Guy Ryder joined the ILO in 1998 as Director of the Bureau for Workers’ Activities and, from 1999, as Director of the Office of the Director-General. In 2002, he was appointed General Secretary of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU). He was elected as first General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) when it was created in 2006.  In 2010, Guy Ryder came back to the ILO as Executive Director.  Born in Liverpool (UK) in 1956, Guy Ryder studied Social and Political Sciences at the University of Cambridge and Latin American Studies at the University of Liverpool.

The ILO is a tripartite organization comprising governments and representatives of employers and workers.

Achal Khanna has a diverse experience and a highly successful track record of building and operating successful and profitable businesses for leading multinational and India companies and managing their businesses across the globe.

She is the CEO for SHRM India and the Business Head over Asia Pacific and MENA. She joined SHRM 6 years ago as COO for SHRM-India, was promoted to CEO-SHRM India and now manages the global business development role also.

Khanna is responsible for leading the India operations of SHRM, as well as Asia Pacific, Middle East and North Africa. In her current role she is responsible for building SHRM brand, expanding its business and developing professional relationships with government agencies, and other HR and business associations in the region.

She has over 30 years of work experience. Prior to joining SHRM, she was Managing Director for Kelly India operations and successfully put them on a high-growth path in India. Before that she was Vice President for GE, managing business development and operations for two important GE businesses,  NBC & Consumer Industrial, across India, China, Hungary and Mexico. In her earlier role as Country Manager for Polaroid India, she managed the entire India operations including their software development center. She has worked with Dupont, ITC and Cosmo Group handling key global business development and operation roles.

She is a recipient of the "Best Women Executive in India" award.

Khanna holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics, a Master's Degree in English Literature and a Master's in Business Management.