Ruth McDonald brings both policy and communications expertise from her experience serving both the legislative and executive branches of government, as well as her work on corporate, non-profit, and political campaigns.
Most recently, Ruth worked at health policy consulting firm, Avalere Health, where she helped companies, advocacy organizations, and trade associations navigate or create changes to the legislative and regulatory landscape.
Prior to Avalere, Ruth was a civil servant in the Office of Health Policy at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) for the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE). She also served nearly 7 years as a staff member in the U.S. House to Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (MD-05) and Congressman Jim Cooper (TN-05) during the enactment and early implementation of the Affordable Care Act. As a congressional staff member, she worked on a variety of issues including public health and health care, human services, and appropriations.
Ruth began her career working on communications campaigns for health care clients at GMMB. She was also a fellow at the Center for Evidence-based Policy at Oregon Health & Science University. In addition, Ruth has volunteered for or worked on over a dozen political campaigns.
Ruth earned an MPH in health management and policy and an MPP degree from the University of Michigan. She received her BA in the history of science and medicine from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
