Our Staff
Direction and technical assistance for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Health Policy Fellows program are provided by the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), which serves as the national program office (NPO).
Responsible staff members at the NPO:
Gregg S. Margolis, PhD
Director
Gregg S. Margolis, Ph.D., is the Director of Health Policy Fellowships and Leadership Programs at the National Academy of Medicine (NAM). Dr. Margolis leads and directs four health policy fellowship and scholar programs with a mission of building health policy leadership and expertise for the future: the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Health Policy Fellows; the NAM/American Academy of Nursing/American Nurses Association/American Nurses Foundation Distinguished Nurse Scholar-in-Residence; the NAM Fellowship; and the NAM International Health Policy Fellowship.
Prior to joining the NAM, Dr. Margolis served as the Director of the Division of Health System Policy for the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Preparedness and Response at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) where he led a team of policy experts in formulating, analyzing, and implementing policies to build strong, integrated, and resilient health care systems that are prepared for, able to respond to, and recover quickly from disasters and public health emergencies. Dr. Margolis has served on numerous White House, Interagency, and HHS-wide efforts and played instrumental roles in such major incidents as Hurricane Sandy, the Boston Marathon bombing, and outbreaks of fungal meningitis, Ebola, and Zika.
Before his federal service, Dr. Margolis was the Associate Director of the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians, a nonprofit organization that serves as the national Emergency Medical Services (EMS) certification agency. Dr. Margolis has over 20 years of clinical experience as a field paramedic, including 12 years as a flight paramedic. He has held leadership positions and faculty appointments at the University of Pittsburgh and The George Washington University, and has played major roles in numerous local, state, and national education, curriculum development, and EMS improvement projects, leading to a broader health policy focus. In 2009, he became the first paramedic to be an RWJF Health Policy Fellow, where he served in the Senate.
Dr. Margolis holds a PhD in administrative and policy studies and an MS in health care supervision and management from the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Margolis is the author of dozens of publications in a wide array of topics in emergency medicine and health policy. He remains active in many outdoor activities and adventure sports (skiing, SCUBA diving, alpine mountaineering) and recently developed an interest in the acoustic guitar.
Mona S. Rahman, MA
Deputy Director
Mona Rahman serves as the Deputy Director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Health Policy Fellows Program and is a member of the Health Policy Fellowships and Leadership Programs team at the National Academy of Medicine (NAM). She is responsible for the day-to-day management of the RWJF Health Policy Fellows Program, and is active in alumni engagement to ensure that the impact of the fellowship experience extends well beyond the fellows’ time in Washington, DC.
She comes to the NAM after a career in Public Health Education, primarily in the Tobacco Control space, having worked on the Truth Campaign (tobacco prevention) and the Become An Ex Campaign (tobacco cessation) for many years at Truth Initiative. Ms. Rahman also has experience as an NAM/FDA Tobacco Regulatory Science Fellow, where she was embedded with the Office of Health Communication and Education at the Center for Tobacco Products in the 2014-2015 cohort, and brings a unique perspective to NAM’s fellowship programs. During her time at FDA, she served as a Creative and Strategic Advisor on a range of tobacco prevention campaigns including The Real Cost (general market), This Free Life (LGBTQ-focused) and Fresh Empire (multicultural-focused).
Ms. Rahman holds a B.A. in Government from the University of Virginia and an M.A. in Culture and Communication from New York University.
Andrew Cheng
Senior Administrative & Financial Specialist
Andrew Cheng is the senior administrative and financial specialist for the NAM Office of Health Policy Fellowships and Leadership Programs. He manages the operational needs and the onboarding process, oversees budgets and executes financial and contractual obligations, coordinates travel arrangements and organizes meeting logistics, as well as maintains the customer relations management system for a number of programs, including the RWJF Health Policy Fellows Program, the NAM Scholars in Diagnostic Excellence Program, the NAM Fellowships, and the NAM Distinguished Nurse Scholar-in-Residence Program. Prior to joining the NAM, Andrew served as clinical administrator and executive assistant for the Speech and Hearing Center at The George Washington University. He managed day-to-day operations, administered the annual budget and executed financial obligations, as well as spearheaded various projects such as a centralized patient scheduling system, a modernized filing system for patient and personnel records, and an outreach program for promoting public-sector services. He also worked at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, where he supervised box office operations, increased membership sales and annual gifts, promoted community outreach, and ensured functionality of exhibits and programming. Andrew received his B.A. in political science and history at DePaul University in Chicago. In his spare time, he enjoys reading and writing political commentary and satire, participating in travel blogs and forums, experiencing new foodie adventures, supporting his adoptive koalas Cooper and Aster in Australia, and traveling to the ends of the Earth.
Victoria Nichols
Senior Program Assistant
Victoria Nichols is a Senior Program Assistant for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Health Policy Fellows Program at the National Academy of Medicine (NAM). In this role, she supports the RWJF Health Policy Program through administrative support, social media and communications outreach, and through direct support of the Fellows within the program. Before coming to NAM, she served for a year in the Americorps Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) Program as the Community Engagement Coordinator for the PHLPreK program at the Philadelphia Office of Children and Families. In this role, she coordinated outreach to hard-to-reach populations in Philadelphia, and developed and maintained relationships with partner organizations around the city. Victoria holds a B.A. in History and a B.A. in Political Science from Temple University. A new transplant to the DMV area, she enjoys exploring the city and hiking the trails at Rock Creek Park in her free time.
Responsible staff members at the RWJF:
- Alyson Northrup - Senior Policy Officer
- Tejal Shah - Program Financial Assistant