Myisha M. Gatson is the Senior Director of Advocacy and Strategic Alliances for PhRMA. She brings more than 15 years of experience and expertise in health policy and public affairs to her role at PhRMA, where she builds collaborative partnerships and coordinates outreach to multicultural and LGBT communities. She has dedicated her career to combating health disparities and ensuring that all people have access to quality medicine and care. Myisha delivers with expertise in strategic campaigns at local, state and national levels; community outreach and engagement; public policy and analysis; government relations and training and development.

Before joining PhRMA in 2016, Myisha served as the Director of Provider & Hospital Engagement for the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Intergovernmental and External Affairs. She provided strategic guidance to the HHS Secretary and the IEA Director on issues affecting providers, hospitals and health systems nationwide. In a previous role with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, she helped states set up their marketplaces and implement the requirements of the Affordable Care Act. Advocacy has been Myisha’s life’s passion. She has worked with many organizations accomplishing good in the world, including Program Officer for the Campaign for Black Male Achievement, Director of Mobilization for the Black AIDS Institute, and Director of the NAACP’s National Health Department.

As an entrepreneur, Myisha started her own consulting business and secured contracts with the Schott Foundation for Public Education; AmFAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, and Amnesty International. Myisha is also the co-founder of the Black Angel Technology Investment Fund and the Black Angel Technology Innovation Foundation – two organizations that seek to bridge the gap in technology funding by helping Blacks develop and launch entrepreneurial ventures.

Myisha has received numerous awards for her work in health policy and advocacy including the Debra Frazier-Howze Leadership Award from the Balm in Gilead, Inc., the Mobilization, Empowerment and Education Award from the Black AIDS Institute and the Outstanding Achievement Award from the HHS Office of the Secretary. In 2003, she received her undergraduate degree in human biology with a concentration in medicine, law, and health policy from Stanford University. In May 2009, she received a master’s degree in public administration from New York University. In the fall, Myisha will begin her studies to obtain an MBA at the University of Maryland.