Laura Phelan is the Policy Director for the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS), the state’s Medicaid agency, which she has worked to improve maternal and child health outcomes, expand health care access and affordability, and advance health equity. Prior to her current role, Laura served in the HFS Bureau of Managed Care as an MCO Account Manager and as the Program Manager for the Medicare-Medicaid Alignment Initiative (MMAI). Laura has previously served as the Policy Director for Get Covered Illinois, a Presidential Management Fellow within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ budget office and the U.S. Senate Finance Committee health team, and as a Dunn Fellow in the Illinois Governor’s Office. Laura has a Master of Public Administration from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and a Bachelor of Arts from Illinois Wesleyan University.