Donna R. Cryer, J.D., is the Founder of Global Liver Institute (GLI), the premier patient-driven liver health nonprofit operating with offices and partnerships across five continents. Moved by her own experience as a 29-year liver transplant recipient, Mrs. Cryer serves as a fierce advocate for the transformative potential of patient engagement in health policy, research, data, and system design.
Through GLI, Mrs. Cryer has raised more than $10 million for liver health initiatives and convenes more than 200 organizations within the liver cancers, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), pediatric and rare liver diseases, and general liver health communities across GLI’s Councils and its Liver Action Network, facilitating collaborative multi-stakeholder agenda setting and bringing accountability to innovation, regulation, and adoption of best practices to optimize outcomes.
Her expertise and effectiveness in advancing the voice of patients in defining and designing equitable healthcare has been recognized by the United States Congress and the White House. In 2021 Mrs. Cryer received both the Global Genes RARE Champions of Hope Founder’s Award and the American Association for the Study of the Liver (AASLD) Distinguished Advocacy Service Award. She has been named one of the Top Blacks in Healthcare by the Milken Institute at the George Washington University School of Public Health and BlackDoctors.org, one of the Top 10 Patients Who Make An Impact by Health 2.0, and one of PharmaVoice’s 100 Most Inspiring People.
Mrs. Cryer serves on the Boards of Directors for the Council of Medical Specialty Societies (CMSS), Sibley Memorial Hospital/Johns Hopkins Medicine, and the Color of Gastrointestinal Illness (COGI). She also serves on the Executive Committee for the Clinical Trials Transformation Initiative and the Board of Advisors for ChronWell, Inc, a digital health and therapeutics company. She was the first patient to serve on the American Board of Internal Medicine Gastroenterology Specialty Board, was one of the founding members of the AASLD Patient Advisory Committee, and is the Community Representative on the AASLD NASH Task Force.
Mrs. Cryer makes frequent appearances on broadcast media and podcasts; on platforms such as The Washington Post Live, SXSW, and The Atlantic; and speaks at top healthcare and business conferences including Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), National Minority Quality Forum (NMQF), National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN), and the National Academy of Medicine (NAM).
Mrs. Cryer received an undergraduate degree from Harvard and a Juris Doctorate from the Georgetown University Law Center.