Two senior healthcare leadership students from Concordia College’s Sanford Heimarck School of Health Professions — Ari Williams ’26 and Anna Jaeger ’26 — joined resident scholar and adjunct faculty member Eric Bailly ’93 in Washington, D.C., this fall for the Washington Health Policy Immersion Program through The Washington Center.
The program brings together emerging healthcare leaders from across the country to explore how national health policy is created, implemented, and evaluated. Bailly served as a faculty fellow for the program.
Participants engaged directly with national policymakers, medical professionals, public health advocates, and ranking members of Congress to better understand the complex relationship between healthcare and legislation.
“We are the first Cobbers to attend such a program, so I felt lucky to learn more about how health policy affects our lives,” Williams said.
She added that the experience will influence her future work in healthcare leadership by giving her a greater understanding of how health policy affects the delivery of care to vulnerable populations.
For Jaeger, building connections was a key highlight.
“My biggest takeaway from the conference was the networking I was able to do,” she said. “I got to connect with students from states across the U.S. and Puerto Rico, which made the experience even more meaningful.”
Jaeger added, “Going to the Health Policy Immersion Program helped me learn more about how healthcare works at a national level. I heard real stories from leaders that made me think differently about the care people receive.”
The group was hosted in Washington, D.C., by Concordia alumnus Sean Zimny ’19, director of programs at The Washington Center, who credited Bailly for his vision and leadership in helping shape the program from its inception. Zimny and Bailly had connected while both served on the college’s Center for Population Health committee.
“Through our common bond to ‘influence the affairs of the world by sending into society thoughtful and informed men and women dedicated to the Christian life,’ we were able to have thoughtful conversations concerning the responsibility we have to act with integrity when pursuing our passions in healthcare,” Bailly said.
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Read Eric Bailly’s account of the program — Guiding the Next Generation: Reflections on The Washington Center’s 2025 Health Policy Immersion