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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Healthcare Distribution Alliance (HDA) announces the following updates to its Government Affairs and Policy staff:
Kristen Freitas Named SVP, Federal Government Affairs and Alliance Development; Leah Lindahl Named Vice President, State Government Affairs
Kristen Freitas, now Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and Alliance Development, will continue to oversee HDA’s advocacy and grassroots strategy for the federal legislative and executive branches. Further, Ms. Freitas will interact with allied organizations, companies and other stakeholders as HDA continues to expand its alliance development capabilities.
A member of the HDA staff for nearly 17 years, Ms. Freitas recently served as Vice President for Federal Government Affairs, during which she developed and maintained relationships with key congressional legislators and their staff. Most recently, she worked on the bipartisan PREVENT Pandemics Act, which was enacted in late 2022. She previously worked for PacifiCare Health Systems, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores in addition to a tenure on Capitol Hill. She holds degrees from Michigan State and George Mason universities.
As Vice President of State Government Affairs, Leah Lindahl will lead HDA’s state legislative and regulatory activities. Over nearly seven years at HDA, Ms. Lindahl covered a 19-state region across the western U.S., most recently as Senior Director of State Government Affairs. Before HDA, Ms. Lindahl served as the Vice President of the Colorado BioScience Association (CBSA), representing roughly 750 agricultural-biotech, biotechnology, diagnostic, digital health, medical device and pharmaceutical companies in the state. She is a graduate of Colorado State University.
Ms. Freitas will be based in HDA’s new Washington, D.C., headquarters; Ms. Lindahl will be based in Colorado. Both will report to HDA Executive Vice President of Government Affairs, Patrick Kelly.
“Over their HDA tenures, Kristen and Leah have been the consummate advocates for safe and efficient healthcare distribution,” said Kelly. “Their perspectives, know-how and professionalism will be indispensable as HDA works to ensure that the value of our healthcare distributor members — who collectively save the healthcare ecosystem up to $63 billion annually — is well understood on Capitol Hill and in statehouses across the country.”
Amelia Allert Joins HDA As Director of Policy
In this new role, Amelia Allert will be responsible for coordinating policy development on issues impacting the healthcare distribution sector, working in collaboration with HDA distributor-member company subject matter experts and HDA staff. Ms. Allert will also be based at HDA headquarters, reporting to Senior Vice President of Policy and Strategic Planning, Dr. Nicolette Louissaint.
“Amelia’s healthcare policy background, expertise on social issues and experience managing federal and state legislative issues will be an asset to HDA and our members as we work to develop policies promoting the safe and reliable movement of medicines, vaccines and healthcare products across the pharmaceutical supply chain,” said Dr. Louissaint. “We are thrilled to welcome her to HDA.”
Ms. Allert previously worked for Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.) as a Senior Legislative Assistant. In this role, she worked with Rep. Hill on various bipartisan bills, including co-prescribing legislation that was signed into law in late 2022. Prior to her time on Capitol Hill, Ms. Allert served on the healthcare and insurance team at Stateside Associates and worked in the Minnesota State House as a Committee Legislative Assistant for the Job Growth, Energy Affordability Policy, and Finance Committee. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Minnesota.
