Our Team

Jesse (he/him/él), originally from Southern California, is a recent Boston College graduate with a BA in Political Science and a minor in International Studies with an overall thematic concentration in Ethics and International Social Justice. With local community non-profit work experience during his summers in his hometown, Jesse has worked on helping children and families enjoy resources addressing youth development, family wellness, MFT and counseling services. He is passionate about all things social justice, which includes healthcare reform and believes in the ability to unite and strengthen all patients in America by being able to connect with them via intercultural competence.

Temi has worked on political campaigns across the Southeast, most recently at ActBlue. She brings years of experience of advocacy, organizing and coalition building through strategic alignment to P4AD. Temi is a first-generation Nigerian American who received her bachelor’s degree in political science from Frostburg State University and her J.D from Howard University.

Alyson joins the team from Health GAP, where she led the organization’s engagement with Congress and the Executive Branch, pushing for global access to quality HIV care. Previous roles in health advocacy deepened her passion for coalition building and lowering drug prices. Early in her career, Aly coordinated diabetes camps in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and the United States. Additionally, she served as an AmeriCorps VISTA at the Medicare Rights Center.

She has lived with type one diabetes for over 30 years and holds a Master of Public Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Merith’s commitment to health equity began nearly two decades ago working alongside young people living with type 1 diabetes in Ecuador. Her formative grassroots organizing combined with a master’s degree from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine motivated her to co-found the 100 Campaign in 2012, aimed at reframing the narrative around insulin access as a human rights issue and reducing the barriers to access.

Most recently, Merith served for eight years as executive director of Universities Allied for Essential Medicines in North America, an international, student-driven organization that seeks to improve access to and affordability of life-saving medicines researched and developed at universities. In March 2020, she launched the Free the Vaccine for COVID-19 campaign via UAEM and, in conjunction with the Center for Artistic Activism, to advocate for equitable access to COVID tests, treatments, and vaccines.

Merith is a connector, a movement-builder and a creative. She also serves on the Technical Advisory Committee of the ACCISS study addressing the Challenges and Constraints of Insulin Sources and Supply. She speaks French, Spanish and Portuguese.

Wendy is a seasoned operations professional in the health care sector with a primary focus in HR administration, lobbying compliance, and finance/budget tracking. Her experience includes five years as VP of Operations at the Association of Dental Support Organizations (ADSO) and 10 years as Sr. Manager, State Government Affairs & Operations at CVS Health.

Alejandra (she/her/Ella), a native of Cancún, México, holds both undergraduate and graduate degrees in business from Widener University. Her passion for bridging language barriers and facilitating access to healthcare led her to volunteer as a translator at a clinic in Philadelphia. Alejandra is eager to leverage her experience in marketing to tackle the challenge of high prescription drug prices and make a tangible impact in making medicines affordable.

Jacqueline Garibay is originally from Austin, Texas, and is now in her last year of study at The George Washington University in Washington, DC. In May she will be receiving her dual BA in Political Science and Economics. Jacqueline began her involvement in health advocacy when she was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) at nineteen and came face to face with the steep prices of her medication. Since then, she has worked as an advocate with P4AD on Capitol Hill and back home in Texas.

Emma Sands has spent her career in the realm of issue advocacy and political communications. At BerlinRosen, Emma’s work focused on health and human rights where she orchestrated and led influential issue advocacy campaigns for critical causes related to health equity. Prior to her time at BerlinRosen, Emma played integral roles as the Communications Director and Communications Advisor for gubernatorial campaigns in Minnesota and New Hampshire.

A graduate of Boston University with a degree in communications and political science, Emma has dedicated her career to championing pressing issues and is committed to harnessing the power of personal stories to create long term transformative change.

Ian (he/him) is interested in creating equitable change through storytelling and lifting up marginalized voices. Before coming to P4AD, Ian worked as a field organizer in rural North Carolina for the 2020 election and interned at The Hub Project, working on healthcare and tax justice campaigns. He is a graduate of UNC Charlotte, where he studied English and Political Science.

After experiencing the consequences of exploitative prescription drug pricing firsthand, Lisa (she/her) started working with Patients For Affordable Drugs as a patient advocate in 2020. Since then, Lisa’s story has been featured by CBS New York, NPR’s Weekend Edition, and BBC Arabic. A writer and social media strategist, Lisa specializes in digital advocacy to create change through content.