Q&A with the Experts: Regulatory Agency Advocacy in Action

Speakers

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  John Nothdurft Director of Government Affairs, ISSA
  

  John Nothdurft

  Director of Government Affairs, ISSA

  John Nothdurft was hired as ISSA’s Director of Government Affairs in January 2019. He brings more than 14 years of experience working in government affairs, public policy, and advocacy at the federal and state levels to ISSA. He monitors federal and state legislation and regulations for purposes of identifying, analyzing and tracking issues such as cleaning product ingredient disclosure, hazard communication, disinfectant registration, occupational safety and health, and general business issues such as healthcare, taxation, and labor related matters for ISSA. John is also working on rebuilding ISSA’s grassroots advocacy efforts by fostering membership involvement in the political process.

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  Barbara Strain Principal, Barbara Strain Consulting LLC
  

  Barbara Strain

  Principal, Barbara Strain Consulting LLC

  Barbara Strain, MA, CVAHP is an independent healthcare value consultant specializing in new, emerging, and disruptive technology and established medical modalities and is often a thought partner for provider hospital organizations to reimagine their value analysis programs. She spent more than 20 years as the Director of Value Management at the University of Virginia Health. Earlier in her 40-year career, she focused on clinical laboratory operations, microbiology, disinfection, sterilization, and infection control in provider hospital organizations. She is a founding member and past president of the Association of Healthcare Value Analysis Professionals (AHVAP). Barbara is an inductee of the 2021 Bellwether League Foundation’s Hall of Fame for Healthcare Supply Chain Leadership and currently serves at its Chairman.

• Rhonda Jones, RM(AAM) CEO/Founder, Scientific & Regulatory Consultants, Inc.
  Rhonda Jones, RM(AAM)

  CEO/Founder, Scientific & Regulatory Consultants, Inc.
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  Linda Lybert Executive Director, Healthcare Surfaces Institute (HSI)
  

  Linda Lybert

  Executive Director, Healthcare Surfaces Institute (HSI)

  Linda Lybert is the Founder and Executive Director of the Healthcare Surfaces Institute (HSI), now a division of ISSA, where she also leads the newly established ISSA Healthcare Division. With 27 years of experience in the healthcare industry, Linda is a nationally recognized expert in infection prevention, with a specialized focus on the role surfaces play in the transmission of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs).

  She developed the Seven Aspects of Surface Selection©, a groundbreaking framework that addresses the complex factors influencing surface safety and hygiene in healthcare environments. Her work has consistently emphasized the need for a multidisciplinary approach, uniting professionals from infection prevention, materials science, design, and healthcare operations.

  To address the fragmented efforts across the industry, Linda founded HSI with a board of global experts, creating the first collaborative dedicated solely to surface-related challenges in healthcare. Under her leadership, the Institute has become a hub for research, education, and innovation aimed at reducing HAIs through improved surface design, selection, and maintenance.

  In 2024, HSI merged with ISSA, and Linda is now spearheading the development of the ISSA Healthcare Division, which provides strategic guidance, training, and resources to healthcare professionals, manufacturers, and building service providers focused on healthcare environmental hygiene.