Susan Leppke, Senior Director,I have been at AABB since March 2020 - yes, the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
I am the Senior Director of Public Policy and Strategic Partnerships for AABB, where I am responsible for advancing advocacy and driving public policy initiatives on improving patient access to transfusion medicine and biotherapies. I work with our members and stakeholders to develop proactive policy solutions and respond to proposals that impact the transfusion medicine and biotherapies community. I am also the staff liaison for the AABB Coding and Reimbursement Committee, which has released educational resources for the community.
I had worked closely with Leah Stone, Vice President, Public Policy and Advocacy at AABB, on initiatives at a different organization and I welcomed the opportunity to apply my experience to AABB.
I have experience in health care reimbursement, access-to-care policy and analysis, and stakeholder engagement. I have also worked with a multitude of stakeholders, including community partners, policymakers and patients to focus on strategies to better improve patient lives. More specifically, my former role allowed me to lead multi-stakeholder teams to successfully pass federal and state policies to protect access to cellular therapies for patients with blood cancer and other blood diseases and disorders. I also provided leadership and direction on organ allocation policy, transplant research, and payment analysis, strategically engaging with external stakeholders. I believe all of this work has prepared me for the work I do at AABB.
I like to say I’m a little bit from everywhere. I have lived in the Midwest most of my life, but I like to think I am a Southern girl at heart. If I could live anywhere, I would live in Portugal or in Amsterdam.
I am motivated by AABB's mission, as well as the opportunity to increase access to the availability of blood and biotherapies for patients that need it most.
Take advantage of every opportunity that is presented to you. You never know how it can impact your life for the better. Also, networking and having a 20-minute coffee can really change the trajectory of things to come.
One project that I recently worked on was working with colleagues to put together comments to the FDA on the laboratory developed tests (LDT) proposed rule. I was able to work with external stakeholders to explain the impact and importance of the proposed rule. I also spearheaded an action alert to members where we had more than 60 members submit comments to the FDA through our platform. We had less than 3 months to accomplish this task and it was exciting how quickly the community rallied together.
When I was younger, I trained to be an opera singer, but didn’t finish. I still love opera music and encourage everyone to see a show!
For further information on AABB's Public Policy & Strategic Partnerships please email Susan Leppke at sleppke@aabb.org.
Increase corporate visibility, establish key relationships with decision makers and connect with your optimal audience while showing your commitment to advancing quality care for donors and patients throughout the world.
4550 Montgomery Avenue
Suite 700, North Tower
Bethesda, MD 20814
301.907.6977
