Blair Childs has been at the center of policy issues in Washington, D.C., for over two decades, playing a leading role on issues impacting medical devices, pharmaceuticals, insurers, and hospitals.  Childs has been involved in developing and enacting Medicare and health reform legislation as well as leading the medical technology industry’s development of a Code of Ethics.  He is a respected and well recognized expert on health policy and advocacy.

Childs has also held senior management positions in professional, trade, and advocacy associations and a Fortune 100 company.  He has been responsible for organizing and leading public policy advocacy programs at the state and national levels on some of the nation’s most visible and complex issues over the last two decades, including tort, Medicare, and health care reform.

Most recently, Childs was Executive Vice President of Strategic Planning and Implementation for AdvaMed, the Advanced Medical Technology Association. Childs was responsible for the Association’s strategic programs and planning.   He also directly managed the organization’s public affairs, legal, state affairs, membership, and non-dues revenue departments.  His work at AdvaMed was instrumental in the association’s 133 percent growth over a six year period and in gaining recognition of AdvaMed as a major force in health policy in globally.  

Some of Childs’ more notable roles included running the public affairs department for the Health Insurance Association of America (HIAA) where he organized and served as Executive Director of the Coalition for Health Insurance Choices, which sponsored the “Harry and Louise” campaign on health care reform and generated millions of contacts to lawmakers on health reform.  Childs organized and served as Executive Director of the American Tort Reform Association from 1986 to 1989.  ATRA was the largest and most broadly based coalition ever assembled, representing non-profit, professional and trade associations with memberships exceeding 50 million Americans.  During Childs’ tenure, ATRA spearheaded the state tort reform movement, implementing an integrated advocacy campaign that achieved the enactment of major reforms in 42 states.

Childs received his Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation in 1988.  Campaigns & Election magazine honored Childs as one of its “Rising Stars” for 1996.  Childs is an honors graduate of Middlebury College.