Sarah Somers is the Legal Director at the National Health Law Program. In this role, Sarah leads NHeLP’s legal and policy staff, which has more than doubled in size and capacity since 2017 in response to both threats to health care access and opportunities to pursue greater health equity. As the Legal Director, Sarah oversees multiple teams that are dedicated to preserving access to care, correcting disparities, promoting health policies that prioritize individuals, and providing training and support to advocates. She strives to ensure that all teams are aligned and work efficiently towards the realization of our shared vision.

Jane Perkins is the National Health Law Program Litigation Director and Senior Advisor to the Executive Director. She leads NHeLP’s robust enforcement and litigation work. In an era where access to the courts is under threat, Jane and the litigation and enforcement team are working to educate the courts and policymakers on issues of health and civil rights law and to litigate strategically to ensure that individual rights can be enforced and protected in federal and state courts. Jane has served as lead or co-counsel in more than 40 high-profile lawsuits across the country to protect and advance the health rights of low-income and underserved peoples. Jane is admitted to the state bars of California, Maryland (inactive), and North Carolina; all of the federal circuits; and the U.S. Supreme Court. She has provided technical and consulting support to health advocates in all 50 states. She has also led national and state-based training, including on-site training in 34 states and the District of Columbia. Jane has written numerous manuals, fact sheets, and trade and scholarly articles on Medicaid, child health, civil rights, and federal court access.

Joel Ferber is the Director of Advocacy of Legal Services of Eastern Missouri. He is a graduate of John Hopkins University and New York University School of Law. Joel has conducted extensive advocacy regarding Medicaid, SNAP, and other public benefits and civil rightsissues. He has litigated cases affecting low-income clients in the United States District Courts, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, the Missouri Court of Appeals and the Missouri Supreme Court. He was also one of the lead attorneys representing Missouri consumer groups in the settlement of a lawsuit involving the reorganization of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Missouri: a settlement that established the Missouri Foundation for Health, the largest health care foundation in Missouri. Joel has won numerous awards including the Alberta Slavin Award from Consumers Council of Missouri (2012), the Clarence Darrow award from St. Louis University School of Law (2011), the Rachel Farr Fitch Health Care Award from the League of Women Voters (2022) and the Missouri Lawyer of the Year award, along with co counsel (2022), for successful litigation to enforce the Medicaid expansion requirement of the Missouri Constitution. Joel has been a presenter at numerous state and national conferences and has written extensively on health care access, advocacy and public benefits in Clearinghouse Review, the St. Louis University Law Journal, the Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, and elsewhere. He has also been a trainer on Affirmative Litigation and advocacy for the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, the National Legal Aid and Defender Association and the Committee on Regional Training (CORT). He serves on the board of directors of the National Health Law Program. In his spare time, Joel plays the mandolin with “As the Crowe Flies” at clubs and festivals in the St. Louis region