United States Senator, Louisiana
Dr. Bill Cassidy grew up in Baton Rouge and attended Louisiana State University for undergraduate and medical school. In 1990, Bill joined LSU Medical School teaching medical students and residents at Earl K. Long Hospital. He co-founded the Greater Baton Rouge Community Clinic to provide free health care to the uninsured. Bill created a private-public partnership to vaccinate 36,000 children against Hepatitis B. After Hurricane Katrina, he led a group to convert an abandoned K-Mart into an emergency health care facility, providing care to evacuees. Bill was elected to the Louisiana State Senate in 2006, the U.S. House of Representatives in 2008, and the U.S. Senate in 2014. Since 2023, he has served as Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, where he is focused on lowering health care costs and reforming our mental health system. Bill and his wife, Dr. Laura Cassidy, a retired general surgeon, have three children.
The Sedona Forum is the McCain Institute’s annual, high-level gathering of national and international leaders held each spring in the red rock country of Sedona, Arizona. Starting from the assumption of character-driven leadership and core democratic values, The Sedona Forum convenes thought-leaders, decision makers, activists and diverse experts to discuss approaches and solutions to real-world problems.
