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Work Background
Marchand Group LLCFounder & Principal
Jun. 2025Marchand Group LLC helps mission-driven businesses and governments navigate complexity, communicate effectively, and deliver measurable results. We recognize that sound policy, identified goals, and clear communication are essential to real change. We bring these to the table—along with the insight, relationships, and drive to move products, programs, and initiatives forward. Key focus areas include: * Policy, advocacy, and audience engagement * Strategic marketing and communication * Brand creation and management * Product market strategy and design * Regulatory guidance and risk mitigation strategies * User interface/User experience and AI integration
Washington State Office of the Insurance CommissionerDeputy Insurance Commissioner
Sep. 2023 - Jan. 2025Olympia, Washington, United StatesProvide direction for the elected Insurance Commissioner and agency leadership on news media, public relations, and marketing/outreach strategies and activities. Oversee web design and online user experience. Help set strategic direction for the agency, establish legislative priorities, ensure fiscal responsibility, and create an inclusive, performance-based culture. • Implement, manage, and maintain the goals and objectives of the Commissioner as defined in the strategic plan with a focus on consumer protection and maintaining stable insurance markets. • Develop and manage the strategic direction and priorities based on emerging issues and projects, including key focus areas of climate change, healthcare affordability, autonomous vehicles, and more. • Advise the Insurance Commissioner, Chief Deputy, and Executive staff on public perceptions and effective communication strategies to advocate policies and explain complex issues. Write speeches and talking points for important meetings, legislative testimony, and presentations on a broad range of topic including Climate Change, AI, healthcare and insurance policy and more. • Identify and execute new marketing and outreach opportunities to educate the public on critical insurance-related issues via earned media, paid media, the OIC website, and other venues. • Build strong, productive working relationships with national and statewide news media outlets, garner media opportunities, and prepare the Commissioner for interviews and op-eds. Represent the Commissioner and agency programs as a spokesperson to reporters, public audiences, and the legislature. • Drive the online customer experience with the UI/UX teams. Managed user research, consumer testing, and persona development work that captures customer behavior and informs customer-centric design.
Washington Health Benefit ExchangeChief Marketing Officer (Promoted from Director of Communications & Outreach, 2016)
May. 2012 - Jul. 2023Greater Seattle AreaOriginal member of executive leadership team that built the Exchange, Washington Healthplanfinder, and the organization’s commitment to culture, vision, and brand. Lead areas of strategic direction, program management, budgeting, stakeholder and customer engagement, and technology build. Headed division over 30 employees. Promoted from Director of Communications and Outreach in 2016. • Instrumental in creating and implementing Washington’s health insurance marketplace, Washington Healthplanfinder, that serves more than 2 million Washingtonians and provides over $500 million in financial assistance. • Grew high-performing teams, with an eye toward diversity, and initiate innovative approaches to driving enrollment among underserved populations, increasing revenue and pioneering partnerships with local community organizations and private companies. • Activated 2,500 personnel representing over 300 public and private organizations through multimillion-dollar grant programs. Worked with social justice advocates and community leaders to ensure programmatic success. Directed tribal relations efforts. • Drove national award-winning branding campaigns and outreach strategies to reach customers through marketing and advertising channels including digital, social media, television, radio, print, and point-of-purchase mediums. • Guided customer experience, working with UI/UX teams in an Agile environment, to shape the online enrollment flow and support our nationally recognized mobile app. Manage user research, consumer testing, and persona development work. • Served as voice of the organization with the media and key stakeholder groups. Frequent participant at conferences, legislative hearings, board meetings, and with the media. • Provided cross-functional management for critical programmatic activities and the implementation of the Exchange’s open enrollment period. • Managed public relations, sponsorships and events, advertising, and strategic alliances.
Washington State Health Care AuthorityHealth IT Engagement and Program Manager
Jan. 2011 - May. 2012Olympia, Washington, United StatesDirected external affairs, strategic communications, and stakeholder engagement for Washington’s Medicaid Health IT initiatives, including the launch of the state’s Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program and five-year Health IT planning efforts. - Built and launched statewide EHR outreach program that doubled provider and hospital participation versus year-one forecasts, resulting in over $300 million in federal incentive payments. - Developed program branding, messaging, and communications vehicles for engagement with government health agencies, hospital executives, industry associations, and the media. - Created and deployed www.healthit.wa.gov, along with user guides, application worksheets, and biweekly newsletters to support provider adoption. - Delivered high-impact presentations to thousands of stakeholders across Washington, driving awareness and alignment with state and federal Health IT goals.
Microsoft CorporationDirector, Health Solutions Group
Feb. 2008 - Jan. 2010Led global messaging strategy and external affairs engagement across public relations, public affairs, policy, government relations, analyst, and industry relations; social media for enterprise and consumer products; managed multimillion-dollar budget, outside agencies and internal team of over 10 employees. • Launched new leadership role of building and managing government communications outreach across key internal and external stakeholders including international, federal, and state government relations, legal and community affairs, corporate communications, and public sector teams. • Worked with business development team lead on positioning Microsoft health IT solutions and participated in successful hospital and provider system sales presentations. • Established Microsoft’s corporate positioning on health IT by preparing testimony and messaging for leadership appearances before Congressional committees, government health agencies, policy centers and the media. • Developed political strategies and media relations support to win solutions contracts with state, federal and international governments and educated execs on upper-level government decision-making. • Augmented sales opportunities by representing Microsoft at key policy and legislative stakeholder events including ARRA/HITECH Reinvestment Act meetings and building out Brookings Institute forums.
US Department of Health & Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid ServicesDirector, Public Affairs
Feb. 2005 - Feb. 2008Directed public affairs department for Region 10 and Region 5, comprising 10 states; served as chief communications strategist and official spokesperson on Medicare, Medicaid and State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) issues; directed both internal teams and external agencies; worked across multiple stakeholder groups. • Led successful rollout of Medicare’s prescription drug coverage – the largest change to Medicare ever. • Organized multiple state and regional-based campaigns highlighting preventive benefits and electronic health records resulting in record-setting enrollment in preventive care and immunization programs. • Earned two of the agency’s highest honors - the HHS Secretary’s Award for Distinguished Service and the CMS Administrator’s Citation - for advocacy and outreach work done for the agency. • Improved agency perception among multiple stakeholder audiences including media, federal and state political officials and staffers, partner organizations, private sector companies and the public. • Received the Federal Executive Board’s Public Service Recognition Award for “Excellence in Public Service” for exemplary work on behalf of regional federal initiatives across and with multiple agencies.
Waggener EdstromAccount Director - Public Affairs
Sep. 2003 - Feb. 2005Managed clients and provide counsel on media engagement, public policy, and corporate social responsibility and citizenship efforts; led new business initiatives; managed team of two. • Advanced government and advocacy engagement messages for Microsoft and MasterCard by creating government affairs playbooks for state, national and global public policy outreach for execs and staff. • Successfully elevated Microsoft’s local corporate image through the creation and execution of the company’s first public policy positions and strategy for Washington state. • Created and drove communications strategy and outreach for a number of high profile legal issues, including EU Court of First Instance rulings, as well as national and international corporate social responsibility efforts. • Brought in more than $1 million in new business to the public affairs division of the agency.
Office of the Governor - Washington StateDeputy Communications Director
Aug. 2002 - Dec. 2003• Serve as a primary day-to-day media contact and spokesperson for Gov. Gary Locke. • Communications lead on key issue areas including social and health services, the environment, homeland security, technology, transportation, and crisis management. • Played a vital role in communications planning and execution including efforts around state and federal prescription drug legislation, the state Basic Health Plan, impacts of the Medicare Act of 2003 and issues facing the state’s uninsured. • Developed and implemented proactive statewide media relations strategies for the office. • Provided strategic analysis and positioning recommendations for the governor and Washington state on national and international matters. • Worked closely with the senior staff and policy advisors on communications initiatives. • Collaborated with communications counterparts at the local, state, and national level.
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