Rachel Stauffer, MPP

Rachel is a highly experienced government relations and legislative affairs strategist and advocate who is informed by a solid foundation of health policy knowledge.

Prior to joining McDermottPlus, Rachel served as the director of policy and government relations for a health IT contractor, where she developed the company's first strategic plan for government relations. She grew the company's profile on Capitol Hill by establishing new relationships with key leaders in the federal, state and military health program space. As a result, the company became an authoritative source on a variety of legislative approaches, especially related to veterans' health.

Prior to that role, Rachel was lead legislative liaison at the US Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) where she was instrumental in providing research, analysis and feedback to members of Congress and staff on the 21st Century Cures legislation, among other relevant policies. Rachel also created short- and long-term strategic outreach plans that increased ONC's visibility and profile.

Earlier in her career, Rachel served in several senior health legislative roles in the personal offices of Members of Congress, including most notably Congresswoman Diana DeGette. She was the primary staff for a variety of health policy issues, such as diabetes, medical research, drug and medical device development, data sharing and privacy, mental health and health IT, and was a lead staff person creating and driving the 21st Century Cures Act. In these roles, Rachel engaged with many external stakeholders to advance legislative and regulatory challenges and coordinate action on items such as legislation, hearings, briefings and letters to congressional leadership and the administration.