Holistic Strategy to Shape Public Policy.

Good public policy requires more than just lobbying. At Gridiron Public Affairs, we believe the right strategy is essential. Identifying the pivotal issues, engaging with partners, creating authentic relationships and building top-notch teams are the keys to positive, lasting change.

Core Capabilities & Services

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Political & Legislative Strategy

The most masterful public policy proposals won’t advance if the environment isn’t right. Understanding the political environment and working to shape it in advance is pivotal to success. We’ll help you assess and understand the landscape, craft sound, data-driven public policy proposals and develop a multi-dimensional campaign to gain support.

Federal & State Government Affairs

Thousands of policy proposals are considered every year, but which ones should you focus on? Prioritizing policy issues through the lens of what matters most to your organization is paramount. There are many ways to stay on top of the issues, but it can be overwhelming. Legislative tracking services, contract lobbyists, trade association memberships can all be useful tools, but what will work best for your organization and its specific needs? We’ll work with you to ensure maximum impact by engaging the most efficient, effective tools.

Stakeholder Engagement & Coalitions

It takes a village. Working collaboratively with a diverse set of stakeholders is critical. Partner identification, education and activation helps amplify your voice with different policymaker audiences. We’ll help you identify key partners and engage effectively with those who share your policy goals.

Building a Valued Team

What value does a government affairs team offer an organization? Government, at all levels, plays a major role in how organizations operate and, oftentimes, how successful you’ll be. In the context of health policy, more than 90 million Americans rely on government-administered health care and state and federal regulations impact every aspect of health care delivery. Every day, policymakers consider proposals that impact whether patients can access the services they need. Understanding, shaping and impacting the public policy environment is critical to your organization’s success. We’ll work with you to build the right team of government affairs and policy professionals to create an effective plan—a plan that clearly exhibits value to internal stakeholders and aligns with your business goals and amplifies your organization’s impact and credibility.

Patient Advocacy

In health policy, patients must come first, and impactful patient stories are critical to gaining policymakers’ attention. Partnering with patient advocates is necessary and respecting their unique role in the discussion is crucial. At Gridiron Public Affairs, we believe the best public policy is patient-driven and patient-centric.

Greg Chesmore, Founder & CEO

Greg brings more than 20 years of government affairs experience to Gridiron Public Affairs.

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Cross-Sector Accomplishments

After beginning his career in the non-profit sector, Greg spent seven years in federal service with the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), spearheading initiatives ranging from expansion of rural health care services to collaborating with various health care stakeholders as leader of a 10-state education, outreach and enrollment campaign for Medicare Part D. For his contributions to the department, he was awarded the HHS Secretary’s Distinguished Service Award.

Greg’s leadership roles in the health care community have included small, mid-size and large organizations. He has created government affairs programs from the bottom up and has also led the U.S. Government Affairs & Policy team at one of the world’s largest biopharmaceutical innovators. Whether leading teams of one or 40, Greg knows what it takes to develop robust, effective and impactful policy shaping strategies.

Collaborator and Coalition Builder

While leading teams at biopharmaceutical and life science companies, Greg worked closely with various trade associations, including the Pharmaceutical Researchers & Manufacturers Association (PhRMA) and the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO). He’s also a trusted partner with the patient and health care provider communities, working to identify issues impacting access to therapies and playing a pivotal role in the formation of several national and state coalitions, including the Rare Disease Company Coalition, the State Patients Equal Access Coalition, the Coalition to Improve Access to Cancer Care and the State Access to Innovative Medicines Coalition. Greg believes that the best public policy emerges from thoughtful, honest and respectful collaboration with diverse stakeholders—each bringing their unique perspective, insight and skills to find real-world solutions.

Passionate Advocate

Patient advocacy isn’t theoretical to Greg, he is an advocate. Watching Parkinson’s Disease impact several family members, he has a long history in the Parkinson’s community, including leadership roles with the American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA) and a strategic adviser to the Parkinson and Movement Disorder Alliance (PMDA). For the past decade, Greg and his family have chaired multiple initiatives to raise awareness and funds for PD services and research. Greg believes health care policy must be patient-focused and patient-led.

Greg holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Public Relations from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Master of Public Affairs degree from Indiana University’s O’Neill School of Public & Environmental Affairs, with an emphasis in Public Administration and Non-Profit Management.

Contact us

Please contact us for a discussion on how we can partner with you.

Want to Know More?

greg@gridironpublicaffairs.com   
773.330.5026