Carlos Jackson, 20-year health care veteran, joins firm
Cornerstone Government Affairs today announced the addition of Carlos Jackson to its federal government relations team. Carlos brings to the firm more than 20 years of legislative and political experience, a strong record of building strategic relationships between policymakers and health care organizations, and a deep knowledge of the complexities of highly regulated provider, public and private hospital system and payer issues.
Most recently, Carlos served as the vice president of legislative affairs at America’s Essential Hospitals (AEH). In this role, Carlos developed and executed AEH’s federal legislative and political strategies and congressional advocacy campaigns. He was responsible for advancing the association’s legislative policy priorities, focused on increasing access to care for the nation’s most vulnerable patients, with key authorizing committees and House and Senate leadership. Before joining AEH, Carlos managed the Cleveland Clinic Health System’s legislative and regulatory policy agendas as executive director of government relations. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, he oversaw a team of seasoned government relations professionals and directed the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic’s advocacy engagements at the state and federal levels of government, including direct outreach and interface with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
“We are thrilled to be adding Carlos to our team,” said President and Managing Director Geoff Gonella. “Carlos is a well-respected and well-regarded health policy expert with a great reputation, robust experience, and a broad and diverse set of relationships on and off Capitol Hill. He will add immediate value to our clients and to the firm.”
Prior to his time at Cleveland Clinic, Carlos spent more than six years on the lobbying team at the American Hospital Association (AHA), where he served as a senior associate director of federal relations. At AHA, Carlos focused on advocating for AHA’s policy agenda to members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, including during the development of the Affordable Care Act and Budget Control Act deficit reduction law.
Before joining AHA, Carlos was a member of the government affairs team at the American Nurses Association (ANA), where he established a deep knowledge base of policies impacting acute care providers, and worked on Capitol Hill in the offices of two members of the Wisconsin congressional delegation. He also staffed two national campaigns during the 2004 presidential election cycle.
“I am deeply honored and excited to join the Cornerstone team,” said Carlos. “The firm has a well-deserved reputation of bringing together a diverse collection of talent and expertise adept at navigating the policymaking contours of the federal government on behalf of their clients. I look forward to rolling up my sleeves and contributing to the firm’s efforts to meet client objectives.”