Michelle Greenhalgh

Michelle Greenhalgh serves as Stony Brook Medicine’s Director of Federal Healthcare Policy & Advocacy in the Washington, D.C. Federal Relations office. In this capacity, Ms. Greenhalgh leads the daily lobbying efforts for Stony Brook Medicine tasked with advocating for policies that support Stony Brook Medicine’s medical research, clinical care and graduate medical education initiatives. In addition, she provides Stony Brook Medicine leadership with analysis of complex health policy proposals and intel on legislation that impacts the hospital system, Long Island, New York and the national health ecosystem. 

Before coming to Stony Brook Medicine, Ms. Greenhalgh served as Legislative Affairs Director for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the primary agency responsible for federal substance use disorder (SUD) and mental health (MH) programs under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In this role, she advised SAMHSA’s Assistant Secretary and Executive Leadership Team on Congressional and legislative matters, led in the development of MH/SUD-related legislation, built and led SAMHSA’s largest legislative team and served as the primary contact within SAMHSA on all legislative activities. 

In 2025, Ms. Greenhalgh was awarded for her efforts to expand access to mental health treatment with the inaugural Excellence in Mental Health Leadership Award given by the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI). Between 2022-2025, she also received SAMHSA’s Superior Service Award, Innovation/Initiative Award, Superior Internal Service and Superior Internal Support awards for building the first ever legislative team at SAMHSA, securing SAMHSA’s legislative office in DC, securing increased funding for MH/SUD programs including the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and leading SAMHSA in the multi-year implementation of the largest SUD/MH legislation passed to date (H.R. 2617, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 which is now Public Law No: 117-328).

Prior to SAMHSA, Ms. Greenhalgh served as a federal lobbyist for the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and as a state and federal lobbyist for the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). As a lobbyist, she specifically focused on legislation that increased access to mental health, substance use disorder and primary care services. Ms. Greenhalgh also served as a Congressional health staffer for Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT), Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO), and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH). She has significant experience advocating for and securing increased state and federal funding for primary care, chronic disease, maternal health, and MH/SUD programs. She received her master’s degree from the Johns Hopkins University and holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of New Hampshire.