DONNA R. CRYER, JD

I hiked the Grand Canyon at age 13, weeks after being diagnosed and hospitalized for ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease, graduated Harvard/Radcliffe College on the verge of liver failure, and received a liver transplant  between first and second years at Georgetown University Law Center.  My surgeons enticed me out of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division to become a patient affairs specialist for the United Network for Organ Sharing at an auspicious time when the federal government was trying to take over the organ donation and transplantation system and ignited a 14 year career in non-profit and for-profit healthcare organizations.  From kidney stones to fertility treatments, my frequent and varied interactions with the healthcare system in urgent care clinics, emergency rooms, boutique practices, and nation’s top academic medical centers  (hopefully) lends a compelling and unique perspective on my current work as chief executive officer of a healthcare strategy firm (www.cryerhealth.com) based in Washington, DC that guides pharmaceutical, biotech, and diagnostic firms in their alliances with patients and physicians.

I have appeared on CNN, NBC, and Fox discussing health topics and have served on the boards of the American Liver Foundation, Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association, and Women’s Health Institute of Howard University.