Lisa Bernhardt has over 29 years of experience in the Federal budget process in both the Executive and Legislative branches.  She spent 19 years as a Professional Staff Member and appropriations expert for the U.S. Senate Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations Subcommittee. 

Lisa has built and maintained extensive relationships with House and Senate Committee staff, as well as Federal staff within the Executive Branch. During her 19 years in the Senate, she drafted legislation and recommended policy options for senior Committee leadership in order to develop and advance Member policy priorities within the LHHS bill. She managed, and provided oversight for, over $13 billion in Federal public health programs relating to chronic disease, immunizations, global health, substance abuse, mental health, bioterrorism and emergency preparedness.

Among her many accomplishments, she negotiated, and has overseen the implementation of, major public health funding initiatives:

• CDC’s Global Health Security Agenda

• Combating Antimicrobial Resistant Bacteria (CARB)

• Emergency appropriations for pandemic influenza preparedness

• Opioid prevention and treatment programs at both CDC and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

Lisa has a history of engaging with stakeholders around common policy goals, including raising budget caps and increasing public health funding. As a result she has deep ties with a wide range of advocates and the broader public health community.

Prior to working in Congress, Lisa spent 10 years with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services working on budget formulation, execution and legislative proposals.  

She received her Master’s degree in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.  She graduated from Georgetown University magna cum laude with a B.S. in Foreign Service.