Cindy Steinberg
National Director of Policy & Advocacy
U.S. Pain Foundation
Chair, Policy Council
Massachusetts Pain Initiative
Ms. Steinberg was awarded the American Pain Foundation's Presidential Medal for outstanding contributions to the field of pain management, the State Pain Initiative Champion Award from the Alliance of State Pain Initiatives for her pain policy accomplishments, the 2016 Grunenthal Unsung Hero Award for significant contributions to advance public policy in pain management as well as the social awareness of pain and suffering and the American Academy of Pain Medicine's 2017 Presidential Commendation Award. Ms. Steinberg was selected as one of six leaders in the field of pain management to receive the Mayday Pain & Society Fellowship for 2013-‐2014.
In 2014, Ms. Steinberg was appointed to the Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee (IPRCC), the highest-‐ranking pain policy oversight committee in the United States. In 2015, she was appointed by Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker to serve on his Opioid Working Group chaired by the Massachusetts HHS Secretary. Ms. Steinberg was subsequently appointed by Governor Baker to serve as a Commissioner on the Massachusetts Drug Formulary Commission. In May of 2018, Ms. Steinberg was appointed by the US Secretary of Health and Human Services, Alex Azar, to serve on the Pain Management Best Practices Inter-‐Agency Task Force created by Congress as part of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016. The Task Force aims to address gaps and inconsistencies in the management of acute and chronic pain by bringing together national experts in pain management. In February of 2019, Ms. Steinberg was invited to testify at a hearing on "Managing Pain During the Opioid Crisis" of the US Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee by Chairman Lamar Alexander and Ranking Member Patty Murray.
In 2000, she founded a Boston-‐area/ Arlington Chronic Pain Support Group which she has led for 19 years. The group has introduced hundreds of chronic pain sufferers to positive ways to manage their lives despite their pain. Ms. Steinberg is a Phi Beta Kappa, Summa Cum Laude graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in psychology and a B.S. in education.
