Emily Ortman Named First Head of Communications of PhRMA Foundation

The PhRMA Foundation today announced the appointment of Emily Ortman as its first-ever Head of Communications. In this newly created role, Ms. Ortman will raise the profile of the Foundation, which focuses on advancing the frontiers of the fields of drug delivery, drug discovery, health outcomes research and translational medicine, developing new patient-centered and evidence-based concepts of pharmaceutical value, and building a talent pipeline for scientific and academic institutions, government, and the pharmaceutical industry.

“As the PhRMA Foundation paves the way for tomorrow’s advances and expands our work to support a value-based health care system, I am very pleased that Emily will help us better celebrate our successes, communicate the importance of the research we fund, and demonstrate the implications of our work to health care decision-making,” said Amy M. Miller, PhD, President of the PhRMA Foundation.

Ms. Ortman is a skilled nonprofit communications leader with nearly a decade of experience helping organizations communicate about health care innovation and policy across a variety of constituencies. Most recently, she served as Director of Communications at the National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC), where she was responsible for implementing NPC’s communications strategy, managing editorial processes and marketing and branding activities in support of the organization’s research and educational programs.

Previously, she led communications for the Society for Women’s Health Research, helping to raise the profile of women’s health issues as well as the organization itself. Ms. Ortman has also held communications positions with the Society for Neuroscience and the American Bar Association, and she began her career in journalism at Roll Call and The Journal Gazette. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and political science from Ball State University.

“I look forward to building on the Foundation’s impressive history of health care innovation and leadership to help extend the reach of its programs and activities to new audiences,” Ms. Ortman said.