As founding partner of Winning Strategies Washington (WSW) in Washington D.C., Michael Merola currently leads the healthcare practice at the federal government relations and grants procurement firm, representing an array of clients including hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, higher education, and more.

For nearly 24 years, the independent and bipartisan WSW Winning Strategies – the “antidote to operators in Washington who over-promise and under-deliver,” according to Merola – has worked directly with policymakers and federal agencies to achieve client objectives like Medicare reimbursement, public health funding, and grassroots advocacy.

Previously, Merola served as the career Deputy Chief of Staff for D-NJ Senator Robert Torricelli, and volunteered two years for the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic. He earned his BA in International Affairs from Lafayette College and his Master in Public Administration from Rutgers University.

“I’m incredibly humbled to be invited to my first ever Board position, so I intend to do a lot of listening and have a lot of humility as I approach every meeting,” Merola said. “My goal is to do a lot of learning and try to contribute all that I can to the organization in terms of time and talent.”

NMF is proud and grateful for Mike Merola’s willingness to lend his expertise to our scholars and alumni. Please enjoy this Q&A:

Q: What about NMF’s mission encouraged you to join the Board of Directors?

At its most basic level, I’m a blue-collar kid from New Jersey, son of a fireman and a homemaker, first kid in my family to go to college, and had the benefit of going from college to the Peace Corps to the U.S. Senate to becoming an entrepreneur and starting my own business – I just think I have an appreciation for those who may not have the right last names, relationships, or connections to be given a shot and an opportunity to achieve their dreams.

I’ve also had the honor of working in healthcare policy for nearly 30 years, and making sure folks have access to high-quality care has been something I’ve been trying to move the needle on.

Q: How might your career experience be inspirational to NMF scholars and alumni?

While I was still in the Peace Corps, listening to my little ‘Voice of America’ radio one night, I heard about a Congressman from my home state of New Jersey named Bob Torricelli, who was taking on the CIA over the murder of an American citizen in Guatemala. He was running for Senate when I got home. I was unemployed, living in my parents’ basement, and so I figured, let me go volunteer on a campaign.

I would encourage folks be open to those kinds of opportunities. When one door closes, a window opens, and in a lot of different ways. I knew I wanted to do something in public policy, and while I thought it would be international affairs, it ended up being in domestic policy, and I’ve had a really fulfilling and very happy career and life as a result.

Q: How do we collectively move forward and through to the ultimate goal of affordable and accessible healthcare for all?

It’s difficult for me to get my head around how providers in particular these days have gone from saving the world just five short years ago to having huge targets on their backs for policymakers in Congress.  

What we try to do when we’re lobbying and advocating on behalf of hospital systems and physicians is to truly make it about the care provided to the constituents they share with the members of Congress, and to let their good work speak for itself. Every single one of us has intersections with the healthcare system, and has had our lives improved by a good doctor, a great nurse, a terrific physician assistant – and so, the most effective way for us to advocate is to bring patients down and have them meet with policymakers to talk about how their lives were saved, changed, or improved because of providers like the ones NMF is training and supporting.

There is also plenty of work for NMF members to get and stay engaged with throughout their career, because, man, we need lots of committed folks with the energy and enthusiasm necessary to help us tell the story of underfunded not-for-profit healthcare systems better in Washington.