Cherilyn T. Cepriano, JD, CAE

Vice President

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Areas of Expertise:

• Health care legislative and regulatory policy, politics, and law
• Advocacy program development and execution focused on deliverable results
• Comprehensive project and process management – without superfluous bureaucracy
• Board and Volunteer management, development, and strategic planning facilitation

Cherilyn Cepriano joined Coulter in 2005 and served as a Senior Associate through 2009, returning in 2012 as Vice President.  Since first joining the firm in 2005, Cherilyn has focused her work on association management and consulting for Coulter’s healthcare and government relations clients ranging from comprehensive and strategic management to project-based consulting.

During the first four years of Cherilyn’s Coulter tenure, she served as Executive Director for the Emergency Department Practice Management Association (EDPMA), the national healthcare trade association representing emergency department physician groups and their business partners.  Under Cherilyn’s leadership, EDPMA  doubled their operating budget, increased membership by 50 percent, increased conference attendance by 30 percent, and increased development revenues by 70 percent.  In addition to these management achievements, EDPMA made continuous advances on a robust advocacy agenda, making an impact on federal policy disproportionate to the size of their industry niche.

Cherilyn currently serves as Executive  Director of the Kidney Care Council (KCC), the national trade association representing dialysis providers, a position she has held since 2009.  In this capacity Cherilyn provides strategic leadership and management across all association activities.  As a coalition focused on advancing public policy goals, Cherilyn leads all KCC advocacy programs, directing a team of lobbying and analytic  professionals to tackle complex healthcare policy issues including those relating to Medicare reimbursement, regulatory  implementation of the End Stage Renal Disease Prospective Payment System, quality care and pay for performance programs, and development of health care exchanges under the Affordable Care Act.

In addition to leading the KCC, Cherilyn serves as a valuable resource for Coulter’s clients, in particular to those with an interest in policy and advocacy.  She provides high-end public policy leadership, advocacy direction and management, and broad-based strategic leadership and governance consultation to Coulter full-service, non-profit management, and consulting clients.

Cherilyn is a frequent speaker and facilitator at national conferences on subjects ranging from advocacy and government relations, healthcare policy, process and project management, and comprehensive association strategic development.  She is a member of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), and has served on the ASAE Government Relations Section Council as well as the Healthcare Community and Public Policy Committees.  She has achieved the designation of Certified Association Executive (CAE), a credential held by fewer than five percent of association executives nationwide.

Cherilyn earned her law degree from George Mason University School of Law in Arlington, Virginia and a bachelor’s in Government from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, where she subsequently served as a member of the Board of Trustees.  Cherilyn resides in Reston, Virginia with her son, Evan.

Now, here's the backstory on Cherilyn…

• Hometown: Brooklyn, New York
• First car: Dodge Neon (no need for a car until I left NYC)
• Superhero power I wish I had: Omniscience
• Television show or movie most resembles my current life: “I Don’t Know How She Does It”
• App I can’t live without: Open Table
• Favorite guilty pleasure: Shoes & handbags.
• Three publications I’d recommend for anyone who does what I do: Politico, Harvard Business Review, Health Affairs
• What I do on my “free” time: Spend quality time with my son playing trains, visiting DC area museums, and enjoying time with family.  Good food and drink with excellent conversation, playing tourist through art and history museums, and debating politics with friends are tops of my “grown up” free time list.
• If I could travel anywhere in the world, I would go…: Italy (with a side trip to Palau)
• Advice I would give my “younger self”: It is ok to not be perfect.
• How my life has changed since I joined Coulter: Life changes have been abundant, but I am proud of the improvement in clarity of purpose in my career and life and the confidence with which I execute on priorities on a daily basis.  I have learned to see the bigger picture, focus on outcomes and results, not sweat (or sweat less) the small stuff, and learned to set achievable goals that still stretch our organization to the next level.
• At the end of the day…: If you’ve chosen to spend your time on those things that are priorities, you’ve done well.  If not, try again tomorrow.