Steve Gibson

Steve Gibson is the Chief Public Policy Officer for The ALS Association. He opened the Capital Office in November of 1997.  Through Gibson’s leadership in Washington, The Association has succeeded in more than tripling federal funding for ALS research, increasing annual funding from $15 million per year in 1998 to more than $60 million in 2007 alone. Additionally, Gibson helped to expand the federal government’s ALS research portfolio beyond the National Institutes of Health to also include federal funding from the Veteran’s Administration, the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which is building a national ALS registry.  He also was responsible for managing the effort to waive the 24-month Medicare waiting period for people with ALS—the only time Congress has waived the waiting period since it was established.

Among his responsibilities is coordinating National ALS Advocacy Day. Under his direction, Advocacy Day has grown from a one day event held every two years, to a three day event held annually that now also includes a public policy conference and features the Day on the Hill, a candlelight vigil and educational breakout sessions.  Today, the Advocacy Conference, which is open to all people whose lives have been touched by ALS, is the single largest annual gathering of the entire ALS community.  In 2008, people from 49 different states attended the conference, which is the community’s only opportunity to join together and urge Congress to step up the fight for a treatment and cure.

Prior to joining The ALS Association, Gibson worked in the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs where he outreached to the nation’s governors. He also has experience in communications and development. He served as Press Secretary to the Treasurer of the United States and worked as a senior account executive in a public relations firm focusing on the environment. Since 1998, Gibson has raised nearly $1 million for The ALS Association to support Advocacy Day. Most of this sponsorship funding is provided by individuals and organizations with no relationship to ALS.

Gibson received his bachelor of arts degree in History from UCLA.