Staff

Ashira Vantrees joined Aimed Alliance in August 2021 and has had several leadership roles within the organization. Currently, Ms. Vantrees serves as the Director of Legal Strategy and Advocacy. Ms. Vantrees brings with her extensive experience in researching a wide variety of issues including public health, health education, human rights, women’s rights, and disability rights. Building on her own experiences facing difficulties in accessing healthcare, Ms. Vantrees is now a passionate advocate for healthcare access and ensuring healthcare is easily accessible and affordable.  

Prior to attending law school, Ms. Vantrees worked as a public health emergency planner and outreach coordinator at a local health department in Ohio. This experience taught her the importance of ensuring meaningful access to healthcare medications and services. 

Ms. Vantrees holds a Bachelor of Arts in Emergency Management and Business from Ohio Christian University, a Masters of Science in Disaster Medicine and Management from Thomas Jefferson University, and a Juris Doctor from Florida International University College of Law.  She is licensed to practice law in Florida and the District of Columbia.

Olivia Backhaus is a Staff Attorney at Aimed Alliance, where she draws on her experience in public health law to advance policies that enhance the rights of healthcare consumers. She provides legal research and analysis on state and federal legislation, agency regulations, and policy developments, advocating for policies that ensure healthcare is accessible.

Before joining Aimed Alliance, Ms. Backhaus served as an Associate Attorney at a Washington D.C.-based health law firm, where she collaborated with nonprofit and advocacy groups on patient rights and health policy matters. Her prior experience also includes work at a nonprofit dedicated to environmental health research and advocacy, where she focused on consumer protection and federal regulations governing food, cosmetics, and chemicals. Additionally, she contributed to a global health law and policy research institute. 

Ms. Backhaus holds a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and a B.S. in Biology from Sewanee: The University of the South. Ms. Backhaus is licensed to practice law in the District of Columbia.

As Director of Medical Affairs for Aimed Alliance, Shannon Ginnan, M.D., provides the organization and its collaborators with valuable insight from a practitioner’s perspective and serves as a liaison to the medical and healthcare technology communities.

Dr. Ginnan is the owner of Ageless Doc, a company that combines the deep investigative approach of Functional Medicine along with advanced, customized aesthetic medicine.  Previously, Dr. Ginnan served as the Medical Director of an integrative medicine and hyperbaric medicine clinic, where he combined advanced biochemical testing, holistic healthcare, and hyperbaric oxygen therapy to serve a diverse patient population dealing with complex, chronic health issues. Dr. Ginnan uses a multi-organ and multifactorial approach to diagnostic medicine and treatment plan development, allowing him to address each patient’s needs based on their genetic composition and environmental influences.

Dr. Ginnan is a board-certified Fellow of the American Society of Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine. Dr. Ginnan obtained his medical degree at the State University of New York, Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York, completed his internship at a community hospital in Vestal, New York, and studied acupuncture at the University of California Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine.