John Sawyer

John Sawyer is a senior advisor at Waxman Strategies, where he advises organizations on health advocacy and policy. He is also the founder of Open Way Coaching, a career and executive coaching practice working with policy and advocacy professionals. Sawyer spent nearly 10 years as director of federal affairs at the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC). During his tenure, federal funding for community health centers was more than tripled and patients served by health centers more than doubled from 14 million to 28.6 million. Additionally, he led NACHC’s legislative and advocacy strategy through debate and passage of the Affordable Care Act. He served previously as a local government leader in Pittsburgh, leading the policy efforts of the Allegheny County Department of Human Services through ongoing service integration initiatives and the block-granting of state funding. Before that he served on the legislative staff of two members of Congress, Sherrod Brown (D–Ohio) and Rosa L. DeLauro (D–Conn.). Sawyer holds a B.A. in political science from the University of Michigan and a certification in professional coaching.