Anton Gunn is the featured speaker for the African American Chamber of Commerce's upcoming Healthcare Law Round Table on Thursday, August 23rd at the Doubletree by Hilton Seaworld. His focus will be on access and implementation in our community. The event is free and open to the public. Register online at www.blackcommerce.org.

Listen to the full interview here. Keep reading for more information about Anton Gunn...

Mr. Gunn is the Director of External Affairs in the Office of Intergovernmental and External Affairs (IEA) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. As Director of External Affairs, Mr. Gunn serves as the principal advisor for cultivating and maintaining relationships with external stakeholders for Secretary Sebelius. Mr. Gunn represents the Secretary in direct official dealings with national, state, and local external organizations.

Before serving as the Director of External Affairs, Mr. Gunn served as the Regional Director in the Region IV Office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, covering Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina & Tennessee. Mr. Gunn represented the Secretary in direct official dealings with federal, state, local and tribal government organizations, and other external partners in the Region.
Before his federal service, Anton represented District 79 in the South Carolina House of Representatives, which consists of Richland and Kershaw Counties. Elected in 2008, Representative Gunn was the first African American in history to represent his district, and served on the Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs Committee, which handles health care-related legislation. Rep. Gunn was the author and lead sponsor of legislation creating the General Assembly’s first and only Joint Electronic Health Information Study Committee to examine the feasibility of increasing the use of Health Information Technology in South Carolina. Rep. Gunn also served the President and CEO of a public affairs and motivational speaking firm called Top Gunn Associates. He previously served as the Executive Director of South Carolina Fair Share, a non-profit consumer advocacy group focused on health care reform. He was a community relations associate for the Alliance for South Carolina’s Children, working with community based organizations across the state on Medicaid expansion and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. In 2007, he received the Families USA Consumer Health Care Advocate of the Year award. Anton received a BA and Masters of Social Work from the University of South Carolina.