Karen Davenport is a Research Project Director and lecturer at the Department of Health Policy at George Washington University. Previously, Davenport directed health policy research and advocacy, with a particular focus on health system reform, at the Center for American Progress. Her extensive experience includes serving as Washington Director for the Medicare Rights Center, serving as a Senior Program Officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and working as a Legislative Assistant to Senator Bob Kerrey, where she was responsible for staffing the Senator's work on Medicare, Medicaid, public health, welfare, and social issues. Davenport also served as a specialist in Medicaid legislation for the Health Care Financing Administration, now the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.