Connecting Policy, People, and Purpose
On October 1, 2025, Conversations in Health: Global to Local welcomed Kristi Martin for an engaging discussion on her career spanning health policy and government service. From her early work at the American Cancer Society to serving as chief of staff for Medicare and helping implement the Affordable Care Act, Martin detailed how her path in health has been anything but linear and encouraged us, as students, to embrace that reality.
The role she spoke most about was her time as chief of staff for Medicare, where her work revolved around coordination, organization, and keeping operations running smoothly in a demanding environment. From managing hundreds of hires to ensuring deadlines were never missed, Martin emphasized the importance of teamwork and efficiency in government work.
What stood out was how she became known as the person who could “set things up” and bring structure to complicated systems, which reflects how strong organization is the foundation of our entire health care infrastructure.
About halfway through the meeting, we transitioned into a Q&A.
The very first question struck me. One of my peers asked about the role of storytelling in conveying concepts, emotions, and policies. Martin explained that policy can feel abstract, but storytelling makes it tangible and easy to understand. She detailed the importance of showing how a policy can actually impact someone’s life and how doing so helps us better understand its real outcomes. This idea ties to the importance of relaying information clearly in health care, particularly how centering lived experience in context makes policy work not only more applicable but also more meaningful and closer to those implementing it.
Martin also spoke about health equity in ways I hadn’t considered before. For example, she mentioned how certain drugs are primarily used by particular demographic groups of people, and how targeting affordability and access in those areas can improve equity in a measurable way. This made me think more critically about how social programs and policy funding can directly address disparities and how strategic policymaking can bridge the disconnect that often exists between policy decisions and the communities they’re meant to serve.
As the evening wrapped up, Martin shared advice for young people aspiring to work in health and policy. My favorite piece of advice she gave was to work together. She explained, “Coalitions break down because they fight against themselves,” therefore, the way forward is through strong, united forces that stay aligned to push things through and make them happen. Her point was simple but an important reminder that progress only happens when people unite behind a shared goal. In many ways, her message reflects the essence of health care itself: a collective effort that depends on coordination, trust, and shared purpose to create lasting impact.
Sofia Calabretta (SFS’28) is an undergraduate student majoring in science, technology, and international affairs at Georgetown University.