Jessica Rhoades Email & Phone Number

· Engages relevant policymakers and government agencies and public/private stakeholder groups on issues critical to Amazon health care businesses. Works with internal and external stakeholders and experts to identify opportunities and risks arising from policy and regulatory development.· Crafts and contributes to policy submissions and engages in.

Helena, MT

• Develops and executes creative public affairs strategies to advance the governor’s policy goals by engaging with state and federal legislative branches, business leaders, local communities, trade associations.
• Monitors and maintains awareness of emerging bills, regulations, and trends that may lead to opportunities to advance the governor’s goals or risks that may impact current plans, then works with legal and.
• Leads strategic communications on health care issues and oversees the development of health-related media events produced by the administration. Drafts and contributes to health communications collateral and remarks.
• Represents the governor in the media and at health care industry events, conferences, work groups, and public forums at the state and national level.
• Initiates, cultivates and maintains productive working relationships with state lawmakers, members of congress, congressional committees, and their staffs and uses these relationships to share information of interest.
• Launched the effort to establish MT’s first successful health information exchange (HIE); served on HIE organizing board, and secured funding through legislative appropriation and federal A-87 Medicaid 90/10 funds.

Helena, MT

• Served as senior advisor to the director of MT’s largest state government agency with more than 3,100 FTE and a budget of $4.8 billion for the combined Medicaid, public health, and economic support agency.
• Communicated complex policy and technical information in state legislative hearings and in the
• Communicated complex policy and technical information in state legislative hearings and in the press.
• Oversaw and implemented a comprehensive, proactive state and federal legislative strategy to facilitate the agency’s interactions with Congress and the state legislature; served as a principal liaison in communicating.
• Managed the agency’s health care reform and Medicaid expansion implementation teams, the agencies top priority projects, which spanned multiple divisions and external stakeholders.
• Directed MT’s State Innovation Model Design Project, a successful multi-payer public and private health care payment reform collaboration which resulted in MT becoming the only frontier state to join the Comprehensive.

Helena, Montana

• Determined community needs and actionable areas of focus to inform the governor’s policy initiatives.
• Provided leadership and oversight to priority projects including policy development, financial analysis, legislative action, executive agency management, stakeholder interaction, and media events.
• Identified emerging opportunities and challenges both within the organization and across the national landscape.
• Engaged with businesses, trade associations, local governments and communities.
• Led the Governor’s effort to open the nation's first public-sector medical clinics for state employees.

Helena, MT

• Served as chief spokesperson and managed agency communication plans; provided oversight and strategic direction to multiple simultaneous communications contractors and advocacy projects.
• Supported senior agency leadership in preparing for meetings and other events with key school officials and other federal and local government officials, community partners, school boards, and relevant stakeholders.
• Managed issue and crisis situations on issues including student data, web use and social media use, and guided positioning on controversial topics. Drafted messaging and managed public information requests from press.

Helena, MT

• Served as chief spokesperson and lobbyist for the commissioner of securities and insurance to foster understanding of complex insurance-related legislation among policy makers and the press.
• Planned and directed community relations, consumer outreach and educational events on insurance and securities across the state including developing all written collateral, advertising and press materials.

Montana

• Directed multimillion-dollar television, radio, and direct mail independent expenditure program for statewide non-federal candidates and the gubernatorial race.
• Oversaw media development, production, targeting, polling/focus groups, research, purchasing, and distribution. Managed contracts with media vendors, consultants.

Northwest Region: IA, WI, MN, ND, SD, MT, WY, ID, OR, WA, AK, NE

• Directed public affairs and political operations for the nation’s largest women’s health-services provider.
• Helped 14 states build and execute advocacy and government relations strategies.
• Developed and facilitated sessions at national public affairs meetings and conferences.
• Initiated the distribution of annual grants for state-level policy campaigns to protect women’s health.
• Served as a consultant to state affiliates and managed communications with a broad range of important internal and external stakeholders.

Montana

• Served as chief spokesperson and message strategist. Managed all political communications, public relations, and legislative policy initiatives for the governor, legislative leadership, and statewide electoral campaigns.
• Managed public relations for the nation’s strongest statewide ethics policy reform ballot initiative that passed with 73% of the vote.

Montana

• Managed all administrative, financial, legislative and programmatic work for the statewide non-profit’s 501(c)(4), 501(c)(3), and Political Action Committee. Served as official spokesperson and coalition leader.

Montana

• Managed house minority leader’s staff, acted as a liaison with organizations, stakeholders, and surrogates.
• Coordinated floor action, press, and public relations

Billings, Montana Area

• Planned and implemented underrepresented community involvement strategies on rural conservation and agricultural issues in eastern MT and in Northern Cheyenne and Crow tribal communities.

Billings, Montana Area

• Advised 25 state legislative candidates on campaign strategies, message, stakeholder endorsements, fundraising and publicity.