Rising Star Awards
The nomination is now closed. Awards will be presented at the FDLI Annual Conference, taking place May 6-7, 2026.
Award winners are selected from a competitive field of finalists who are nominated by FDLI members, Board members, and government employees. The Awards Selection Committee convenes each year to review nominations and select the winners, who must be FDLI members or government employees.
The FDLI Rising Star Awards honors FDLI members who exhibit a commitment to the food and drug community and who have demonstrated remarkable talents at an early stage of their careers in FDA-regulated fields. More information on eligibility can be found here.
2026 Winner
Megan Howard | Read Bio
Associate, Covington & Burling
Biography
Megan Howard is an Associate in the Food, Drug, & Device Group at Covington & Burling, where she provides strategic advice on a wide range of complex legal and regulatory issues involving FDA oversight. Her practice focuses on issues related to clinical trials, approvals of drug and biological products, and medical product shortages. Prior to joining Covington & Burling, Megan spent nearly nine years working in various capacities in the Office of the Commissioner at the FDA. Megan began her FDA career as a 2014 Presidential Management Fellow (PMF) in the Office of Legislation and completed her PMF rotation with Ranking Member Patty Murray’s Health Policy Office on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. Megan later served as the FDA Detailee to Chairman Frank Pallone’s professional staff on the House Energy & Commerce Committee, and a Senior Advisor to the Deputy Commissioner of the Office of Policy, Legislation, and International Affairs. Megan received her BA in political science and MPA in public policy from the Ohio State University, and her JD from Georgetown University Law Center.
Elizabeth Trentacost | Read Bio
Senior Associate, Arnold & Porter LLP
Biography
Elizabeth Trentacost counsels life sciences, food, and consumer products companies on a broad range of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulatory, compliance, enforcement, and strategic matters. She routinely advises on issues related to product development and applications, clinical research, inspections, promotional review matters, interacting with FDA, policy advocacy, and business transactions involving FDA-regulated companies. Prior to joining Arnold & Porter, she spent several years as a Regulatory Counsel in the Office of Regulatory Policy in FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. At FDA, she was involved in a wide variety of policy issues involving drug approvals, responded to citizen petitions, developed guidance for industry, and counseled on matters relating to Hatch-Waxman marketing exclusivities. Previously, Ms. Trentacost worked at a law firm in Washington, D.C. where she focused on international trade investigations and appellate litigation.
2025 Winner
Eli Zachary Tomar | Read Bio
Deputy Director, CDRH Office of Policy, FDA
Biography
Eli Tomar, JD, MPH serves as Deputy Director in FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) Office of Policy where he works across operational, policy, regulatory, and compliance matters. Eli supports the regulatory actions of the center, helps implement agency, departmental and administration policy, and ensures the consistency and quality of regulatory documents issued by CDRH. Prior to his current role, Eli served in several previous positions at FDA including as Deputy Chief of Staff where he worked closely with agency leadership to execute the day-to-day operations of the agency and advance FDA's public health mission. Throughout his tenure at FDA, Eli has counseled the device center and agency on complex legal and regulatory matters ranging from shortages and supply chain to user fee implementation and other issues across the total product lifecycle. Prior to joining FDA in 2020, Eli was Counsel in the Washington DC office of Akin Gump LLP, where he served his clients on a wide range of healthcare and life sciences representative matters. Throughout his career in the private sector, he practiced law at several international law firms. Eli received a BA from the University of Maryland, College Park, and his JD and MPH from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and is now surprised to find these two schools separated by more than 3,000 miles in the same athletic conference.
2024 Winner
Anisa Mohanty | Read Bio
Of Counsel, DLA Piper LLP (US)
Biography
ANISA MOHANTY advises medical device, biotech, and pharmaceutical companies on US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) premarket strategy and post-market compliance issues, from advertising and promotion to disclosure and periodic reporting. Her experience encompasses such matters as premarket pathways, Good Laboratory Practice and Good Clinical Practice and Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) and Quality System requirements.
Her tenure as a Regulatory Counsel at the FDA now provides valuable perspective for clients in the life sciences industry. She offers guidance to her clients on the regulatory requirements and industry standards for the development, creation and review of advertising and promotional materials for drugs and medical devices. Anisa also supports investors and companies on scoping and development developing appropriate due diligence strategies for transactions and investments involving FDA-regulated drugs, medical devices, and other products.
2023 Winners
Abraham Gitterman | Read Bio
Senior Associate, Arnold & Porter
Biography
ABRAHAM GITTERMAN focuses on FDA and healthcare regulatory, compliance, and fraud and abuse matters involving pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers. He regularly counsels clients on FDA-regulated advertising and promotion, scientific exchange and compliant medical affairs activities, FDAMA 114 and health care economic information, digital health, social media, continuing medical education, interactions with healthcare professionals, product development and lifecycle management, and the Drug Supply Chain Security Act. Mr. Gitterman also assists with the creation, design, implementation and review of corporate compliance programs, both generally and pursuant to Corporate Integrity Agreements with OIG. Mr. Gitterman works closely with drug and device manufacturers regarding market access and patient support programs pre- and post-approval including reimbursement support, field reimbursement managers, and patient financial assistance programs. Mr. Gitterman also has extensive experience counseling clients on the Physician Payments Sunshine Act and related state transparency and “gift ban” laws. Throughout his career, Mr. Gitterman has been seconded to numerous life sciences companies and served on many promotional and medical review committees, allowing him to specialize in the FDA regulatory and healthcare compliance needs of commercial and medical teams.
Schevon Salmon | Read Bio
Director, Corporate Counsel, Otsuka America Pharmaceutical
Biography
SCHEVON SALMON is a Director, Corporate Counsel, at Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. (U.S.), where he provides strategic guidance to domestic and global business teams on a broad range of regulatory and transactional matters, including product commercialization and technical operations.
Prior to joining Otsuka, Schevon practiced Food and Drug regulatory law at a boutique Food and Drug law firm, where he regularly advised cosmetic, drug, medical device, and tobacco product firms regarding rules and regulations before the Food and Drug Administration, Customs and Border Protection, and the Federal Trade Commission. He is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law where he also obtained a Healthcare Law Certificate and the University of Florida where he studied East Asian Language & Literature: Japanese.
When not at work or volunteering, he enjoys traveling and spending time with his wife and two children.
Sarah Thompson Schick | Read Bio Counsel, Reed Smith
Biography
SARAH THOMPSON SCHICK advises medical products companies developing and manufacturing pharmaceuticals, biologics, and medical devices on issues where FDA regulatory and compliance matters intersect with strategic business decision-making. Sarah specifically focuses on providing FDA regulatory and compliance counsel to medical products clients on a variety of matters, including Good Clinical Practice and clinical trials, pharmacovigilance, medical communications and health care economic information, Good Manufacturing Practice (drugs and medical devices), advertising and promotion, patient support programs, and ClinicalTrials.gov registration and reporting. She has also written and spoken extensively on clinical trial modernization and diversity, in addition to the implications of the recent Omnibus Bill and current draft FDA guidance. Sarah spends the majority of her practice advising on product development and approval, contractual matters, compliance programming, and risk management. She also has experience handling regulatory issues in the context of corporate transactions, securities disclosures, and litigation. Sarah previously served as in-house counsel for a publicly-traded biopharmaceutical company and also gained hands-on experience working in the legal department for a large hospital system in Texas.
