Payton Robinette is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Health Policy at Vanderbilt University. Her research interests include political analysis of healthcare, health economics, social and political determinants of health, and decision analysis.

Payton previously spent three years serving as a Policy Advisor for former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, M.D., staffing him on healthcare spending, food is medicine interventions, the intersection of health and the environment, data privacy and interoperability, AI in healthcare, and health disparities in Nashville. She also served as Chief Operating Officer for NashvilleHealth. In this role, she oversaw and managed the implementation of community health programs and initiatives to address Nashville’s most pressing health challenges.

Prior to this work, she obtained a B.A. in English literature and an M.A. in Medicine, Health, and Society from Vanderbilt University, where she also was a member of Vanderbilt’s 2015 NCAA Division I National Championship and 2018 NCAA Division I National Runner-up tennis team. Payton is originally from Maryville, Tennessee.

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