As Executive Vice President, Public Affairs, Charlene MacDonald leads FAH’s advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill and beyond, advocating for access to quality health care for the millions of patients served by our members’ facilities. She also manages the Federation’s operations team, overseeing the organization’s finances, human resources and administrative services.
During her more than 20-year career in health policy, Charlene has held a wide range of leadership positions in business and government, most recently serving as Chief Government Affairs Officer for CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield. Prior to CareFirst, Charlene was Head of Health Care and Life Sciences at FTI Consulting, where she led a multidisciplinary strategic communications team and advised clients on all aspects of stakeholder engagement, including corporate reputation, investor relations and public affairs.
Charlene brings more than a decade of experience working inside government. She served as top health advisor to former Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Senior Policy Advisor for Medicare & Social Security at the Senate Budget Committee under Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), and Deputy Chief of Staff to Representative Allyson Schwartz (D-PA). Her accomplishments include the drafting, negotiation and enactment of numerous bipartisan health bills ranging from the 21st Century Cures Act to the Medicare and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA).
She holds an M.P.P. from the Harvard Kennedy School and undergraduate degrees in Political Science and Sociology from Lake Forest College.