Transforming vision into lasting impact.
I help leaders navigate their highest-stakes challenges — in strategy, policy, leadership, and tough negotiations — and turn ambition into results that last. Behind that work: 15+ years leading organizations and shaping public policy, with my deepest expertise in health care.
How I help.
Wherever the stakes are high — a critical decision, a plan that has to land, a policy to advance, or a negotiation to win — this is the work I take on with you.
Strategy & strategic planning
Setting direction and building the plan to get there.
- Organizational & market strategy — clear priorities and a roadmap to execute them.
- Growth & positioning — where to compete, partner, and invest.
- Change management — turning strategy into action people can follow.
ProvenBuilt regional strategy for a market of 500,000+ members.
Policy & public strategy
Advising leaders on how to shape and advance priorities in complex public environments.
- Policy design & analysis — turning goals into workable, durable policy.
- Regulatory strategy — navigating rules, agencies, and approvals.
- Positioning & messaging — how to frame priorities and build support.
ProvenNegotiated federal waivers and closed a $1B budget gap.
Leadership & facilitation
Steady leadership and skilled facilitation when it matters most.
- Interim & fractional leadership — direction and stability through transitions.
- Board governance — advising boards and executive teams.
- Facilitation & consensus-building — moving groups from friction to alignment.
ProvenLed 200+ staff and served in multiple board roles.
Negotiation & complex problem-solving
Untangling high-stakes problems where money, law, and politics collide.
- High-stakes negotiation — durable agreements among competing interests.
- Funding & deal strategy — structuring the financing and the terms.
- Legal & regulatory conflict — a strategist's read on risk and leverage.
ProvenBrokered bipartisan legislation and major funding packages.
A market shift, a policy challenge, a leadership gap, or a high-stakes negotiation — I bring the strategy to move it forward.
Flexible ways to engage.
However your challenge is shaped, there's a way to work together that fits — from a single conversation to an ongoing role.
Strategic advisory
Ongoing counsel to you and your team on strategy, policy, and the decisions that carry the most risk.
Interim & fractional leadership
Stepping in to lead through a transition, a vacancy, or a critical initiative that needs a steady hand.
Facilitation & working sessions
Designing and leading sessions that move boards, teams, and stakeholders to alignment and decisions.
Project-based engagements
A defined piece of work — an assessment, a negotiation, a policy design, or a plan — scoped and delivered.
Health care is my deepest domain — not my only one.
The experience behind the work.
Fifteen-plus years leading organizations and shaping public policy — the track record the advice is built on.
I've led at the highest levels of both the public and private sectors — Oregon Market President of a 500,000-member health plan, and, in state government, Health Care Advisor to the Governor and Director of Health Policy & Analytics at the Oregon Health Authority. My deepest domain is health care, but the work has always been the same: strategy, policy, leadership, and negotiation under real pressure.
I'm an attorney by training and mission-driven by background — I began my career in public-interest law and have carried that orientation into every role since. Today, through Vandehey Strategies, I bring that experience to leaders facing their own high-stakes moments. I also lead the Peterson-Milbank Program for Sustainable Health Care Costs, advising state policymakers nationally.
- Health Care Advisor to Governor Kate Brown
- Director, Health Policy & Analytics, OHA — 200+ staff, $2B budget
- Negotiated federal waivers; closed a $1B Medicaid shortfall
- Built Oregon's Cost Growth Target & Market Oversight programs
- Oregon Market President, PacificSource Health Plans
- Full P&L for a 500,000+ member market
- Directed the winning bid to launch a new PACE line of business
- Led public policy strategy for Kaiser Permanente Northwest
Areas of expertise
Education & credentials
Let's talk about what's next.
If you're facing a high-stakes challenge — in strategy, policy, leadership, or a tough negotiation — I'd welcome the conversation.