Nominee – Jeanette Contreras
Education
Government Affairs Institute at Georgetown University – Washington, DC
Graduate Certificate in Legislative Studies – 2009
American University, School of Public Affairs – Washington, DC
Master of Public Policy – 2004
California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA) – Los Angeles, CA
Bachelor of Arts in Political Science – 2002
Leon & Sylvia Panetta Institute for Public Policy, Washington, DC
Congressional Fellow – 2000
Pat Brown Institute, State Assemblyman Gil Cedillo, Los Angeles, CA
Public Policy Intern – 2000
Current Employment
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) – Office of Communications (OC)
Washington, DC Health Insurance Specialist, Partner Relations Group (08/2012 – Present) Effective at building dynamic partnerships with hundreds of national and regional stakeholders across America for collaboration on outreach and education to consumers about healthcare programs and policies, such as Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, the Health Insurance Marketplace and Affordable Care Act.
Professional Organization(s)
Volunteer Program for English Proficiency at NIH: Co-founded and coordinated an adult English literacy program staffed by volunteer NIH employees that offers free English classes and textbooks to NIH housekeeping contractors. (July 2008-July 2011)
National Association of Hispanic Federal Executivies
Goals and Objectives to Accomplish if Elected
The HEO is in a unique position to help HHS to increase the number of Hispanics in our workforce. At the recent HEO Town Hall, we learned that the greatest challenge is to increase the number of Latino applicants that come through the pipeline. As President-Elect, I would like to lead the HEO through its efforts to develop relationships with strategic organizations that represent or reach Hispanic health professionals. In my current role at CMS, I work closely with national Hispanic organizations to educate the community about many HHS programs and priorities. Part of my role is to represent HHS and build our brand as a trusted source within the Latino community. It would be my priority to see the HEO increase our outreach to university faculty and administrators as well as student organizations at Hispanic Serving Institutions. Additionally, HEO could educate community-based organizations in the region about HHS programs. Latino health professionals need to see HHS as a desired potential employer. I would like to also see the HEO serve as a resource for current employees. As we grow our numbers, there will be a growing need for mentorship. I would like to promote mentorship and fellowship at the HEO through networking events and professional development brown bag sessions. Above all, we need to ensure that we are collaborating and reaching across the HHS operating divisions to develop programs to serve the Latino communities we represent across the U.S. It would be ideal to have HEO chapters at each operating division and each of the regional offices to ensure that HHS programs are successfully implemented in the Latino communities across the country. Anyone with programs that serve the Latino community should be invited to join us to collaborate. I joined HHS through the HHS Emerging Leaders Program, which provided me with the opportunity to rotate throughout HHS and a broad understanding of the Departmental priorities. I had the pleasure of completing project assignments at the Indian Health Service, Health Resources Services Administration, and the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, before returning to the National Cancer Institute at NIH, which I called home for 6 years. Now at CMS, I hope to establish an HEO chapter here in this coming year.
Address
200 Independence Ave. SW #325
Washington, DC 20201