J. Zoe Beckerman

Zoe J. Beckerman

J. Zoe Beckerman

J.D., M.P.H.

Teaching Associate Professor and Vice Chair for Academics

Full-time Faculty


School: Milken Institute School of Public Health

Department: Health Policy and Management

Contact:

Office Phone: 202.994.4210
Milken Institute School of Public Health 950 New Hampshire Avenue, NW #614 Washington DC 20052

J. Zoe Beckerman is a Teaching Associate Professor and Vice Chair of Academics in the Milken Institute School of Public Health's Department of Health Policy and Management.  Zoe's work allows her to focus primarily on her passion for teaching and mentoring students. She works with a range of students from undergraduates through doctoral students, both residentially and online. Through her work, Zoe has experimented with how pedagogical techniques can make or break individual’s learning experiences and finds this work especially important as our student body diversifies. Zoe's goal is to meet each student where they are and help them build their skills and professional standing to meet their long-term goals. Zoe was delighted to be awarded the Milken Institute School of Public Health's Excellence in Teaching Award in May 2019 and was inducted into the GWSPH Master Teacher Academy in 2023.  She also won GW's Morton A. Bender Award for excellence in teaching in 2023, and is only the third GWSPH faculty member ever to have won this university-wide award.  In her role as Vice Chair of HPM, she focuses on the academic affairs of the department.

Zoe's work at GW builds on decades of practitioner work as a health policy analyst focusing on women’s health at the Kaiser Family Foundation and as an attorney in a boutique law firm specializing in health law representing and coaching non-profits that serve low-income children and families. As a consultant and partner in a law firm, Zoe advised hundreds of non-profits across the country on regulatory matters. She also designed and led in-person trainings for 5 to 250 adult learners ranging from groups of Hasidic women with very limited education to health care executives running multi-million dollar companies. Zoe also designed and implemented several webinar training series long before the use of webinars was mainstream. Over the years, she has been at the helm of hundreds of trainings and problem-solving teams using different delivery modalities. Prior to her legal work, she also worked for the federal government at the National Institutes of Health and on Capitol Hill for the Senate HELP Subcommittee on Public Health and Safety as a part of the Presidential Management Internship (now Fellowship) Program.  

In terms of research, Zoe was recently a co-Principal Investigator analyzing and writing about Medicaid managed care issues.  Zoe has extensive knowledge about the administration of federally funded health programs, grant funding and grants policy, and the systems and processes in place to ensure such programs work smoothly.  Her work has focused on a variety of health and law topics, including but not limited to: access to and delivery of health care services; insurance, Medicare and Medicaid; fraud and abuse; corporate compliance; HIPAA and privacy laws; EMTALA; changes made by the Affordable Care Act and health reform; women’s health services and care; behavioral and mental health interventions; history of public health; advocacy in public health; ethics in public health; community needs assessment; federal grant funding streams in health and human services; early childhood and poverty.

Zoe has a long history with GW:  she graduated from GW Law School, sat on the university's Board of Trustees, and was the founding Chair of GWSPH's Dean's Advisory Council before she began teaching here. 


EXPERTISE: 

Health Law

Health Policy

Community Health Centers

Health Care Safety Net

Medicaid and SCHIP

Women's Health

Social Determinants of Health

Federal and State Legislation, Laws and Policies

EDUCATION: 

Juris Doctor with Honors (2005).

  • The George Washington University Law School, Washington DC

Certificate, Hirsh Health Law and Policy Program (2005).

  • The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, Washington DC  

 Master of Public Health (1997).

  • University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI

  • Focus: Health Management and Policy

Bachelor of Arts with Honors (1993).

  • University of Wisconsin, Madison WI 

TEACHING: 

Currently teaches:

  • Public Health 3135W: Health Policy (WID)
  • Public Health 4141W: Senior Seminar on Community Needs Assessment (WID)
  • Public Health 6012: Fundamentals of Health Policy
  • Public Health 6315: Introduction to Health Policy

Previously taught:

  • Public Health 1101: Introduction to Public Health (GWSPH)
  • Public Health 1102: History of Public Health (GWSPH)
  • Health Education, Leadership, and Advocacy (George Mason University)
  • Federal Grants Law (GW Law School)

COMMUNITY SERVICE: 

J. Zoë Beckerman currently serves as a member of the Milken Institute School of Public Health’s Rules Committee and the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee. She also runs the Department of Health Policy and Management's Curriculum Committee in her role as Vice Chair of the department. 

Outside of GW, she is a member of the California Breast Cancer Research Program's Policy Initiative Peer Review Committee and also peer reviews articles for Women's Health Issues, the journal of the Jacobs Institute of Women's Health from time to time. 

Previously, Zoë served on the George Washington University's Board of Trustees from 2006-2010.  She was also the Founding Chair of the Milken Institute School of Public Health's Dean's Advisory Council and served in that capacity for 5 years.

RESEARCH: 

J. Zoë Beckerman recently served as co-Principal Investigator with Sara Rosenbaum on a grant from the Commonwealth Fund entitled Strengthening Primary Care Through Medicaid Managed Care in an Age of Health System Transformation.  This project examined managed care contracts, strategic plans, and external quality reviews from all states engaged in comprehensive managed care purchasing on behalf of beneficiaries whose Medicaid eligibility is based on income alone and resulted in a comprehensive searchable database of state's Medicaid managed care contracts.

PUBLICATIONS: 

Selected publications include: 

Sara Rosenbaum, Maria Velaquez, Alexander Somodevilla, Elizabeth Gray, Rebecca Morris, Morgan Handley, J. Zoë Beckerman.  How States are Using Medicaid Managed Care to Strengthen and Improve Primary Health Care, The Commonwealth Fund (2020).

Sara Rosenbaum, Sara Rothenberg, Sara Schmucker, Rachel Gunsalus and J. Zoë Beckerman. Medicaid Payment and Delivery Reform: Insights from Managed Care Leaders in Expansion States, The Commonwealth Fund (2018.)

Sara Rosenbaum, Sara Schmucker, Sara Rothenberg, Rachel Gunsalus, and J. Zoë Beckerman. Medicaid Payment and Delivery System Reform: Early Insights from 10 Medicaid Expansion States, The Commonwealth Fund (2017).

Sara Rosenbaum, Sara Rothenberg, Sara Schmucker, Rachel Gunsalus, and J. Zoë Beckerman. How Will Repealing the ACA Affect Medicaid: Impact on Health Care Coverage, Delivery, and Payment, The Commonwealth Fund (2017).

J. Zoë Beckerman, Joy Pritts, Eric Goplerud, Jacqueline Leifer, Phyllis Borzi, Sara Rosenbaum, and David Anderson. A Delicate Balance: Behavioral Health, Patient Privacy, and the Need to Know, California Healthcare Foundation (2008).

J. Zoë Beckerman, Joy Pritts, Eric Goplerud, Jacqueline Leifer, Phyllis Borzi, and Sara Rosenbaum. Health Information Privacy, Patient Safety, and Health Care Quality: Issues and Challenges in the Context of Treatment for Mental Health and Substance Use, Bureau of National Affairs Health Care Policy Report, Vol. 16, No. 2 (Jan. 14, 2008).

Edward T. Waters, J. Zoë Beckerman, and Melinda Murray. "Administration of NIH-Supported Clinical Research," Clinical Research Compliance Manual: An Administrative Guide, Chapter 6, Aspen Publishers (2006).

Edward T. Waters, Robert A. Graham, and J. Zoë Beckerman. "Overview of Federal Grants Administration," Clinical Research Compliance Manual: An Administrative Guide, Chapter 5, Aspen Publishers (2006).

Please contact Zoë for a complete list.