Holly Merbaum Strain, Associate Vice President

For over 15 years, Holly has represented health clients in Washington. Holly is an expert in tracking and researching complex health care appropriation and authorization legislation and advocating on behalf of clients on Capitol Hill.

Holly played a key role in the passage of legislation that requires insurance companies to treat mental illness and substance use disorders no differently than other medical conditions.  As part of that effort, she ran the grassroots operation supporting the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008.  Holly was also instrumental in the inclusion of mental health and addiction policy provisions in the Affordable Care Act.

In 2015, she directed the Facing Addiction Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill, the largest addiction treatment and recovery advocacy day to date with 500 participants. Most recently, Holly has been instrumental in advocating to expand access to treatment and recovery support services as part of legislation to address the opioid misuse and overdose epidemic.

Holly graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Wheaton College in Norton, Mass.  She earned a Master’s degree in Public Health from George Washington University in Washington, D.C.