Caya Lewis Atkins to Join Pew as Vice President of Government Performance
WASHINGTON—The Pew Charitable Trusts announced today the appointment of Caya Lewis Atkins as vice president of government performance, effective July 15. Atkins will oversee Pew’s work to improve Americans’ health and well-being, as well as the organization’s safety and justice portfolio.
Atkins, who will guide the conceptualization, design, and implementation of Pew projects, has 30 years of experience in national and global health policy. She joins Pew from the consulting firm GlobalDC Strategies, where—as founding principal—she advised private and public clients on domestic and global health policy. She also served as chief adviser for policy and strategy in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Global Affairs.
“Pew’s work to improve the health and safety of Americans is critical to our efforts to build thriving communities,” said Kil Huh, Pew’s senior vice president of government performance. “At a time when these issues are a high priority and rapidly changing, Caya’s experience will be instrumental in developing practical approaches to ensure that public and private institutions deliver for the people they serve.”
Atkins said, “Pew has a proven track record for delivering the research, solutions, and momentum needed to make impactful policy changes and investments.” She added, “I’m excited to join a team dedicated to not only addressing important health and safety issues, but also doing so by working with a diverse set of partners with shared goals.”
Throughout her career, Atkins worked for global nonprofit organizations and in the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government on domestic and global health priorities. Her experience includes serving as deputy staff director for health for the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions; counselor for science and public health to the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services; chief of staff of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; and senior technical coordinator with The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, among other roles.
Atkins holds a Bachelor of Arts in sociology from Spelman College and a Master of Public Health from the University of Michigan.
