Gunnar Esiason, patient leader.

Gunnar Esiason is a cystic fibrosis and rare disease patient leader, who is passionate about early stage drug development, patient empowerment and health policy. He is a Master of Public Health candidate at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice. Gunnar holds an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and a BA from Boston College. Gunnar worked on an enteral feeding product at a medical nutrition company, was appointed to the board of directors at the Boomer Esiason Foundation, and was the head coach of his high school alma mater’s varsity hockey team. Gunnar maintains the Chief Strategy Officer & Director of Advocacy at the Boomer Esiason Foundation where he manages the organization’s strategic philanthropy fund. He also serves on the board of No Patient Left Behind, a non-profit organization whose goal is to lower out of pocket costs for patients. He has consulted on clinical trial development, population health studies, and a cystic fibrosis-specific mental health and wellness screening tool. In 2019, Gunnar delivered the pre-commencement address at the St. Louis University School of Medicine commencement exercises. He has also been featured as a keynote speaker at more than two-dozen top medical centers, biotech conferences, and health industry events across the United States. His health policy opinions have been featured in USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, STAT News, Newsweek, The Hill, RealClear Politics and Morning Consult. Gunnar also recently published a white paper documenting the antibiotic market dysfunction as a barrier to future drug development with the Pioneer Institute in Boston, MA. Gunnar lives in Hanover, NH. Follow him on Twitter @G17Esiason or check out his blog at www.GunnarEsiason.com