Joan Alker is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Center for Children and Families (CCF), and a Research Professor at the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy. She is a nationally recognized expert on Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and is the lead author of CCF’s annual report on children’s health care coverage trends. Alker has published in journals such as JAMA and Health Affairs and has written numerous reports, blogs, and other commentary on a wide range of issues including Medicaid Section 1115 waivers, child and family health, the role of Medicaid in rural areas, and numerous reports on premium assistance for the Kaiser Family Foundation.Alker has testified before Congress, served on expert advisory panels to the federal government, and is a frequent speaker and commentator; she is routinely quoted in major national and state media outlets such as the New York Times, NPR, Politico, Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and Kaiser Health News. Joan Alker holds a Master of Philosophy in politics from St. Antony’s College, Oxford University, and a Bachelor of Arts with honors in political science from Bryn Mawr College.