Parkinson and Movement Disorders Policy Panel

Amplifying the community’s voice to ensure equal, affordable access to treatments.

Public policy matters to people living with movement disorders and their loved ones.

What is the Policy Panel?

Led by PMD Alliance, the Parkinson and Movement Disorders Policy Panel is a collaboration of diverse stakeholders—people living with the disease, care partners, movement disorder specialists and other physicians, advanced practice providers (APPs), advocacy organizations, and biopharmaceutical and medical device companies. The panel aims to gather important data relating to equal and affordable access to medications and therapies in order to develop meaningful solutions and policy proposals that lead to real-world changes for people living with a movement disorder.

PMD Alliance believes that sound public policy, at both the state and federal levels, is best developed when everyone—representing the entire Ecosystem©—is at the table.

Our Why

The Parkinson and Movement Disorders Policy Panel isn’t here to duplicate other efforts to shape and influence public policy. We exist to collaborate and dig deeper, beyond a single-organization perspective, to make sure our community’s pain points are considered in policy decisions. Alone, we don’t have all the answers. If we come together with diverse voices to share our perspectives and resources, we’re best equipped to reach real-world solutions for our community.

We’re committed to affordability and access because everyone is worthy of treatments that help them lead a fuller life.

Go deeper: Help us gather data by completing the Medication Access Survey.

Go deeper: Read PMD Alliance’s public announcement of its Policy Panel.

Meet Our Panelists

Greg Chesmore

CEO, Gridiron Public Affairs

Greg Chesmore serves as a strategic advisor on public policy to the PMD Alliance and is the CEO of Gridiron Public Affairs. He has more than 25 years of experience in government affairs working for non-profit advocacy organizations, the federal government and the innovative biopharmaceutical community. Greg’s partner, Chad, was diagnosed with Young Onset Parkinson’s 19 years ago at the age of 33.

Andrea Merriam

CEO, PMD Alliance

Andrea kick-started her career in the suit and tie world of finance for JPMorgan Chase. After rising to the level of VP, she found herself still wanting something more. Andrea added non-profit consulting to her portfolio, helping causes that personally moved her. So when she met PMD Alliance, it was the perfect fusion of start-up creativity, educated professionalism, and driving mission. She now serves as our Acting CEO.

Maureen Simmons

Chief Advancement Officer, PMD Alliance

As Chief Advancement Officer, Maureen works across teams to ensure that PMD Alliance raises the necessary dollars to fund its ambitious, groundbreaking workshop programs. She oversees Philanthropy, Community Events, Special Events, Planned Giving and PMD Allies, our grassroots fundraising arm.

Kelly Papesh, DNP

Director, APProvider Initiatives, PMD Alliance

Kelly is a doctorally-trained and board-certified family nurse practitioner. As a strong advocate for APPs, she’s eager to create opportunities for APPs to deepen their education and professional skills and to work with peers from across the country who share a vision and passion to advance the field of APPs and make a splash in the world of Parkinson disease and movement disorders.

Ted Thompson, JD

Ted Thompson, JD, is the senior vice president of public policy for The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. Ted has more than 25 years of experience in public policy and government affairs, serving in several nonprofit leadership positions and as staff to two members of Congress.

Julia Pitcher, JD

Julia Worcester is the Director of US State Government Relations for The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. She joined the Foundation in late 2021 where she is leading the first state government affairs office on behalf of the Parkinson’s community. Prior to joining the Foundation, Julia was the Mid-Atlantic Regional State Policy Director for PhRMA (Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America) where she led strategy on issues such as prescription drug pricing, PBM reform, and patient-center insurance benefit design.

Bill Keller

VP, Patient Advocacy and Industry Relations, Acadia

Bill Keller is the Vice President of Patient Advocacy and Industry Relations at Acadia, a biopharmaceutical company headquartered in San Diego, CA. In his current role, Bill leads a team that builds meaningful and collaborative relationships with patient advocacy groups and professional medical societies to increase disease awareness and deliver education to healthcare providers, caregivers, and patient audiences.

Meg Lambert, CNRN

Senior Field Market Development Manager, Medtronic

Meg Lambert is the Senior Field Market Development Manager for Medtronic DBS. She is responsible for building therapy awareness to patients and referring physicians to ensure that more patients can benefit from Medtronic Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) therapy for Movement Disorders such as Parkinson’s Disease, Essential Tremor and Dystonia.

Marjorie Crenshaw, MSN, CNRN

Neuroscience Marketing Manager, AbbVie

Marjorie is “all in” for patients and providers. Her diversified background enables her to focus on making a tangible difference in a variety of industry settings. Her graduate projects have focused on Parkinson’s disease, the evolution of Levodopa, and the role of the gut microbe in neurodegenerative disease.

Fernando Pagan, MD

Professor and Vice Chair Neurology at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital

Fernando L. Pagan, MD is a board-certified neurologist and Professor and Vice Chairman for the Department of Neurology at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington DC. He is a member of the Functional Neurosurgery Team for Movement Disorders, performing preoperative evaluations and programming for deep brain stimulators in Parkinson disease, essential tremor and dystonia.

Yasar Torrers-Yaghi, MD

Attending Physician, Director of Parkinsonism and Dementia Clinic at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital

Yasar Torres-Yaghi, MD is a board-certified neurologist at the MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC. In his role of movement disorder neurologist, he is spearheading an initiative to care for the growing population of aging patients with neurodegenerative conditions characterized by overlapping features of both cognitive impairment and Parkinson’s.

Maria Cristina Ospina, MD, MBA

Neurologist at Regional Parkinson Center

Maria Cristina Ospina, MD is a movement disorder neurologist in a private practice as well as an Assistant Professor of Clinical Neurology at the University of Arizona. During her medical career, Dr. Ospina has been active in medical research including participating in several NIH and pharmaceutical sponsored clinical trials and serving as an investigator in the Parkinson Study Group.

Jill Farmer, DO, MPH

Director, Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Program – Global Neurosciences Institute

Jill M. Giordano Farmer, DO, MPH is a board-certified neurologist and Assistant Professor of Neurology and Director of the Parkinson’s Disease & Movement Disorder Program at Global Neurosciences Institute in Lawrenceville, NJ, where she has developed a comprehensive movement disorder program to address medical management, surgical management and rehabilitation strategies for patients with Parkinson disease and other movement disorders.

Meredith Hatcher, PA-C

Physician Assistant, Texas Movement Disorder Specialists

Meredith Hatcher (Rollins), PA-C is a Physician Assistant at Texas Movement Disorder Specialists in Georgetown, Texas. She completed her undergraduate degree from Southwestern University. Meredith went on to attend Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, Tennessee where she received a Master of Science in Medicine – Physician Assistant. Meredith also maintains certification through the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants.

John Crawford

John held executive positions in Los Angeles and San Diego biotechnology firms for 30 years, taking two from first employee through initial public offerings and coordinating the acquisition of four others while serving as Acting CEO or CFO. Today he also works with non-profit organizations, including Pacific Crest Trail Association where he was Board Chair for three years and the Clearity Foundation for ovarian cancer where he also was board Chair. John has had Parkinson’s since 2016 and serves on committees of the Critical Path for Parkinson’s Consortium (Critical Path Institute) and the Parkinson’s and Movement Disorder Alliance.

John Baumann, JD

John Baumann loves to inspire and entertain, especially those in the healthcare industry and patient community. John brings a unique perspective since he is living a full life despite having Parkinson’s disease for almost 20 years. Before Parkinson’s, Mr. Baumann was a Cornell-educated attorney who passed three bar exams, and practiced law for 16 years. Since his diagnosis, John practiced law for 10 more years, taught at the University of Louisville for 8 years and has written a book entitled, “Decide Success – You ain’t dead yet.”