Who We Are

Mission Statement

The Health Law Lab advances health care system efforts to address social determinants of health and health related social needs, improve health equity, and mitigate health disparities. We work to realize a coordinated system of comprehensive care that recognizes the foundational role of social determinants of health in improving health outcomes, shaping individual and community experiences of health care, and reducing health care costs. The Health Law Lab explores, analyzes, and nurtures innovations that address social determinants of health, and examines the legal, regulatory, and policy implications of integrating these interventions into health care delivery and financing.

The Health Law Lab is a project of the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation of Harvard Law School (CHLPI) that strives to educate the next generation of health care law and policy thought leaders through hands-on work with our clients, partners, and community allies.

Staff

Carmel Shachar, JD MPH

Carmel Shachar

Carmel Shachar, JD, MPH, is Assistant Clinical Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the Health Law and Policy Clinic at the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation of Harvard Law School (CHLPI).

Shachar focuses her scholarship on law and health policy, in particular the regulation of access to care for vulnerable individuals, the use of telehealth and digital health products, and the application of public health ethics to real world questions. Her work has been published in leading health and law journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, Nature Medicine, and the Journal of Law and the Biosciences, and she has been interviewed by major media outlets, such as BBC News, Politico, CNN, and Slate. She has co-edited several books, including “Innovation and Protection: The Future of Medical Device Regulation,” “Consumer Genetics: Ethical and Legal Considerations of New Technologies,” “Disability, Health, Law, and Bioethics,” “Transparency in Health and Health Care in the United States,” and “COVID-19 and the Law.” She also has authored amicus briefs submitted to the United States Supreme Court on health care and access to care issues.

Katie Garfield, JD

Katie (she/her) is the Director of the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation of Harvard Law School’s Whole Person Care initiative. Katie joined the Center in 2014 and currently focuses her work on the Center’s Whole Person Care initiatives, including the Center’s Health Law Lab, Food is Medicine, and Specialty Care projects. In her work on these initiatives, she has had the opportunity to work with community-based organizations, state agencies, health care providers, and coalitions to develop strategies to increase access to innovative services to address critical health and social needs. Prior to joining the Center, Katie was an associate at Ropes & Gray LLP. She is a licensed member of the Massachusetts Bar.

Erika Hanson, JD

Erika Hanson (she/her) is a Clinical Instructor at the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation of Harvard Law School where her work focuses on addressing the social determinants of health and health equity. Through this work, she advises community-based organizations, state agencies, and coalitions regarding the legal pathways and policy implementation strategies to integrate payment and delivery of health-related social needs services — such as food and housing supports for those with chronic illness, experiencing high-risk pregnancy, and others in need — into our health care system. Erika also leads the Center’s work as a partner to design Guaranteed Income as treatment pilots for seriously ill patients and their families.

Prior to joining Harvard, Erika was a Staff Attorney at The Legal Aid Society in New York City for nearly five years, where she represented clients, conducted class action litigation, and led policy advocacy on a wide range of health law issues. Before moving to New York, Erika was a Georgetown Women’s Law and Public Policy Fellow and a Reproductive Rights & Health Legal Fellow at the National Women’s Law Center in Washington, D.C.

Rachel Landauer, JD MPH

Rachel Landauer (she/her) is a Clinical Instructor at the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation of Harvard Law School, where she works with partners to advocate for health care policy and practice reform. In particular, Rachel focuses on the Center’s Whole Person Care, reproductive justice, and specialty care initiatives; her projects address pressing issues including health care regulatory compliance for social care interventions, information sharing and data privacy, and the diffusion of innovative care models that promote health equity.

As part of the Health Law Lab, Rachel is especially passionate about building the capacity of organizations, through resource development, trainings, and other tools, to break down silos between the health care and social services sectors.

Rachel graduated from UCLA School of Law in May 2016 as a member of the David J. Epstein Program in Public Interest Law and Policy, and with a Master of Public Health degree from the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. Prior to joining the Center, Rachel was an associate at Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP. She is a licensed member of the California Bar.

John Card, JD

John Card

John Card (he/they) joined the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation of Harvard Law School in 2022 as a Staff Attorney. Prior to joining the Center, John was a staff attorney at the Health Law Institute in Jamaica Plain where he provided free legal services to people living with or at high risk of HIV. His prior work focused on a variety of areas, including tenant rights, public benefit appeals, and criminal record sealing. John also has expertise in LGBTQ+ organizing, harm reduction and substance use disorder, and policing and public health. John graduated from Northeastern University School of Law in May 2019 and is a licensed member of the Massachusetts Bar.

Sara Raza, LLM

Sara Raza Sara joined the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation in 2023 as a Health Law and Policy Clinical Fellow with the Whole Person Care Team. Sara holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from Harvard Law School, where her focus was on health and technology law policy. During her LL.M., Sara served as a Research Assistant at the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School, working for the Digital Home Health Initiative at the Center. She was also a clinical student attorney at the Cyberlaw Clinic at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. Sara is a practicing attorney from Pakistan, where prior to her LL.M., she worked on the landmark virginity testing case, and led numerous women empowerment, and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.