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Newswise Fairfax, Va., February 2, 2015Three exceptional ASTRO staff members have been promoted to new positions: Emily Wilson has been named Executive Vice President; Dave Adler promoted to Vice President of Advocacy; and Anne Hubbard promoted to Director of Health Policy, as announced by ASTROs Board of Directors and effective immediately.

Congratulations to Emily, Dave and Anne for their extraordinary achievements during their combined 18-plus years at ASTRO, said ASTRO Chief Executive Officer Laura I. Thevenot. Their exemplary leadership and expertise have enabled ASTRO to be nimble and to exceed our goals for numerous projects and initiatives in todays demanding health care environment. Health policy, quality and advocacy are among the top five priorities identified in our 2014 member survey; Emily, Dave and Anne will meet those priorities exceptionally well and play a critical role in ASTROs continued success to strengthen services to our members, to the radiation oncology specialty and to the more than one million cancer patients who receive radiation therapy each year.

In her new role as Executive Vice President, Wilson will provide her keen strategic vision to ASTROs Board of Directors, CEO and staff to ensure continued success across the organization to meet the goals of ASTROs Strategic Plan. She will also continue to oversee ASTROs Clinical Affairs division that leads important safety, quality and policy initiatives that support ASTRO members, including the soon-to-be launched APExAccreditation Program for Excellence, and quality efforts including PQRSwizard, Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise-Radiation Oncology (IHE-RO), Guidelines, Best Practices and White Papers. Wilson has been with ASTRO since 2005, first as Director of Government Relations, when her efforts were instrumental in averting Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 cuts to radiation oncology and Medicare reimbursement cuts in 2009 and 2010 for radiation oncology. As Vice President of Advocacy and Clinical Affairs since 2010, she formed the Clinical Affairs and Quality Council for ASTROs Board of Directors and has played a key role in ASTROs Target Safely campaign, which includes launching RO-ILS: Radiation Oncology Incident Learning System, Choosing Wisely, PQRSwizard and IHE-RO. Prior to joining ASTRO, Wilson led numerous legislative and health care projects including the National Patient Safety Foundations National Patient Safety Week resolution in the U.S. Senate, and served as the executive director for the Emergency Department Practice Management Association. Wilson is a graduate of Georgetown Universitys School of Foreign Service.

Now Vice President of Advocacy, Adler was previously Director of Government Relations and responsible for leading several significant advocacy campaigns protecting radiation oncology Medicare reimbursement, advancing efforts to end abuse of the physician self-referral law in cancer treatment and developing ASTROs payment reform action plan. In his new role, he will oversee both ASTROs Government Relations and Health Policy departments, which are responsible for ASTROs legislative and regulatory advocacy with federal policymakers including the White House, Congress, agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services, such as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as well as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Adler also leads ASTRO efforts to collaborate with medical specialty societies, patient advocacy organizations and other health care coalitions. Together, the Health Policy and Government Relations departments represent ASTROs voice in Washington on the critical radiation oncology policy issues that impact patients access to high quality cancer care nationwide. Prior to joining ASTRO in 2006, Adler was Director of Government Affairs and Public Affairs Associate for the American Health Quality Association (AHQA) beginning in 2001, where he led introduction of legislation to modernize the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization program and worked closely with the Institute of Medicine and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to secure supportive policy reports. Prior to AHQA, he was Editor of CD Publications Community Health Funding and Family Services Report, and a reporter for The Maryland Gazette and The Capital newspapers. Adler earned his Masters degree in journalism at Bostons Northeastern University, and his Bachelors degree in international affairs from The George Washington University in Washington.

Hubbard, promoted to Director of Health Policy, joined ASTRO in May 2014 as Assistant Director of Health Policy. In her role, Hubbard leads ASTROs efforts regarding the economics of managing a radiation oncology practice, including the analysis of Medicare and non-Medicare payer reimbursement policy decisions, as well as the development of ASTROs payment reform initiative. She serves as ASTROs staff advisor to the American Medical Associations (AMAs) CPT Editorial Panel and the RVS Update Committee. Additionally, Hubbard represents ASTRO at the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission and the Advisory Panel on Hospital Outpatient Payment meeting; and works closely with the AMA and other medical specialty societies to achieve common goals. Prior to joining ASTRO in May 2014, Hubbard was Assistant Vice President for Financial Policy and Advocacy, and Director of Financial Policy for the Maryland Hospital Association from 2010 to 2014. Her previous roles include Director of Governmental Affairs for the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and Legislative Liaison for the Maryland Department of Budget and Management. Hubbard earned her Master of Business Administration, with a concentration in finance, from Loyola University Maryland, and Bachelor of Arts in government and politics from the University of Maryland, College Park.

ABOUT ASTRO ASTRO is the premier radiation oncology society in the world, with nearly 11,000 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 two medical journals, International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics (www.redjournal.org) and Practical Radiation Oncology (www.practicalradonc.org); developed and maintains an extensive patient website, http://www.rtanswers.org; and created the Radiation Oncology Institute (www.roinstitute.org), a non-profit 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 http://www.astro.org. ###

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Emily Wilson, Dave Adler and Anne Hubbard Promoted to Top Management Roles at ASTRO