FAIRFAX, Va., March 2, 2016—The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) recently welcomed Stephanie Quinn as its assistant director of congressional relations, a key position on the Society's government relations and advocacy team.

As ASTRO's chief liaison to Capitol Hill, Quinn will lead efforts to educate legislative and executive branch officials and their staffs about ASTRO initiatives and radiation oncology issues, including priorities related to Medicare and sustained funding for cancer research. Quinn also will direct the activities of ASTRO's Political Action Committee and spearhead grassroots initiatives that connect ASTRO members to legislative and regulatory activities that impact radiation oncology. ASTRO members include nearly all practicing radiation oncologists in the United States.

Prior to joining ASTRO, Quinn spent nearly a decade as deputy director of federal government affairs for Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, where she opened a DC-based federal government affairs office and developed an ambassador program to grow relationships between BCBS executives and government officials, in addition to other projects. Quinn also worked as a legislative assistant for the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and as a project coordinator at the Securities Industry Association, both in Washington, D.C.

Quinn earned a combined degree in linguistics and Spanish from Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and she has longstanding volunteer experience raising funds to support the Belfast-Beltway Boxing Project, which fosters cultural exchange and sports education for lower-income youth boxers in the U.S. and Irish capital cities.

"With her extensive background in health-centric government affairs, Stephanie brings to ASTRO a true understanding of how policies and regulations intersect with our members' interests. She brings key bipartisan relationships that will strengthen our voice on Capitol Hill," said Laura Thevenot, chief executive officer of ASTRO. "We welcome her expertise and look forward to her leadership in helping ASTRO continue to shape its presence in Washington."


ABOUT ASTRO

ASTRO is the premier radiation oncology society in the world, with more than 10,000 members who are physicians, nurses, biologists, physicists, radiation therapists, dosimetrists and other health care professionals that specialize in treating patients with radiation therapies. As the leading organization in radiation oncology, the Society is dedicated to improving patient care through professional education and training, support for clinical practice and health policy standards, advancement of science and research, and advocacy. ASTRO publishes three medical journals, International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics (www.redjournal.org), Practical Radiation Oncology (www.practicalradonc.org) and Advances in Radiation Oncology (www.advancesradonc.org); developed and maintains an extensive patient website, RT Answers (www.rtanswers.org); and created the Radiation Oncology Institute (www.roinstitute.org), a nonprofit foundation to support research and education efforts around the world that enhance and confirm the critical role of radiation therapy in improving cancer treatment. To learn more about ASTRO, visit www.astro.org.