Caryn Hederman is an Ohio-based health care consultant and a lawyer admitted in Ohio, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. She offers deep expertise in health care law and in national policies affecting health, health insurance, supports and services for older adults, and other areas affecting health and wellbeing. 

Caryn co-directs the Convergence Collaborative on Social Factors of Health and directed several past Convergence consensus policy collaborations in Washington, D.C., including the Convergence Dialogue on Reimagining Care for Older Adults (2021-2022), the Convergence project on Future of Health (2018-2020), the Convergence Health Reform Roundtable (2017), and the Convergence Long-Term Care Financing Collaborative (2013-2016). In each of these dialogue-to-action initiatives, she convened national experts and stakeholders from diverse ideological and philosophical perspectives to identify shared goals, create policy paths toward a vision, and identify and advocate issues for future research and collaboration. Ideas and recommendations from these efforts continue to frame policy for thought leaders and members of Congress. 

Caryn served from 2006 through 2013 as an independent consultant to The Heritage Foundation, where she managed Heritage’s state-based health policy efforts. 

She serves on organizational boards of directors, including the U.S. Friends of World Maritime University (1997-present). She previously served on the boards of directors of start-up companies such as Nfluence Analytics and nonprofit health organizations, including Ohio’s nonprofit mutual health insurer, InHealth Mutual, and the Health Systems Agency of Northern Virginia, which was established under Virginia law to plan for development of health care facilities and services. 

Prior to consulting, Caryn practiced with a top law and lobbying firm in Washington, D.C., where she provided legal counsel, regulatory representation, Congressional advocacy and strategic planning for a broad range of health care providers and insurers, biodefense and nanotechnology companies. She is actively licensed to practice law in the State of Ohio and is inactive and in good standing in Virginia and the District of Columbia. 

She previously worked in science and technology transfer with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the U.S. Department of Commerce. 

Ms. Hederman serves as the President of the U.S. Friends of World Maritime University, Inc., which supports the maritime education and training initiatives of the U.N.-founded World Maritime University in Malmö, Sweden. 

Originally from Spokane, Washington, Caryn earned her Doctor of Law (J.D.) degree from The University of Virginia School of Law in Charlottesville, Virginia, and her Bachelor of Arts degree from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts.