Alicia J. Swenson OBrien

Seeking chief of staff and/or health policy strategy consultant roles leveraging vast U.S. Department of Health & Human Services and U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs expertise to help organizations navigate and thrive within complex healthcare systems. Excels at early problem solving; adaptive, high-impact communication; and consensus-building across diverse stakeholders. Proficient in policy translation, process improvement, and public and behavioral health. Licensed clinical social worker.

Strategic Leadership | Stakeholder Engagement | Program & Operations Management:

• Led strategic initiatives in behavioral health, human services, science policy, and public health, surveying $43M in appropriations and shepherding 140+ staff, ensuring goal and implementation alignment.

• Spearheaded program operations as Assistant Secretary’s (AS) special assistant, including driving leadership collaboration across 5 offices, advancing strategy rollout, and serving as AS confidential sounding board. Process Improvement | Change Management:

• Overhauled budget and allocation process, revamping historically lengthy process to deliver timely, transparent strategy that equably balanced stakeholder requests within financial constraints.

• Shepherded leadership team conflicts through to resolution, guaranteeing visibility of all stakeholder perspectives and timely decision-making that prevented issue stagnation.

• Led office transition from WebEx and Teams to Zoom, liaising with IT to procure licenses, troubleshoot issues, and train staff in alignment with new administrative policies.

Process Improvement | Change Management:

• Overhauled budget and allocation process, revamping historically lengthy process to deliver timely, transparent strategy that equably balanced stakeholder requests within financial constraints.

• Shepherded leadership team conflicts through to resolution, guaranteeing visibility of all stakeholder perspectives and timely decision-making that prevented issue stagnation

• Led office transition from WebEx and Teams to Zoom, liaising with IT to procure licenses, troubleshoot issues, and train staff in alignment with new administrative policies.

Data-Based Decision Making | Behavioral Health Policy:

• Translated research, grant outcomes, and other data into key materials for senior leaders, including talking points, financial briefings, presentations, and proposals, facilitating informed decision-making.

• Advised on national behavioral health policies and represented ASPE in interagency forums to ensure productive cross-agency collaboration.

Cross-Functional Leadership | Relationship Management | Executive Communication:

• Directed development and review of regulatory guidance for CMS, FDA, Indian Health Service, and Administration for Children and Families, ensuring policies could be practically implemented.

• Honed key relationships across all internal HHS agencies, successfully streamlining policy vetting processes and facilitating timely, meaningful reviews of proposed regulations.

• Led communication with Office of Management and Budget and the Executive Office of the President on budget and regulatory issues, enabling open dialogue on key concerns.

• Managed briefings to Secretary of HHS and other executive leadership on contentious policy disputes, guaranteeing early visibility on and resolution of emerging issues.

Policy Analysis & Development | Advocacy | Grant Management:

• Liaised closely with national, state, and local stakeholders to identify key issues impacting rural health, including opioid abuse and provider hurdles, driving more informed policy development.

• Advocated for rural concerns with federal bodies like Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and CMS, ensuring improved rural healthcare delivery and funding models.

• Managed portfolio of 19 Health Resources & Services Administration-funded grants supporting rural health networks and research, ensuring financially scrupulous, high-outcome programming.

Team Building | Problem-Solving | Social Work Expertise:

• Supervised new social workers and graduate students and provided training on medical crisis counseling, psychosocial impact of injury/illness, and other social work concepts, cultivating a thriving, resilient team.

• Mediated between patients, families, and medical providers to facilitate adaptive, empathetic problem-solving in cases involving complicated medical issues and contentious end-of-life care.

• Developed interdisciplinary care plans and advocated for veterans and patients with complex psychosocial needs, ensuring availability of care even in sensitive, financially challenging situations.