Dr. Carrie Cochran-McClain is the Chief Policy Officer for the National Rural Health Association (NRHA), where she leads the association’s federal advocacy strategy and serves as its head lobbyist. Since joining NRHA in 2020, she has directed the policy agenda for the organization’s 21,000 members, advancing national priorities to strengthen rural health care access, financing, and equity. Carrie brings more than two decades of experience in federal health policy development. She previously served in the Senior Executive Service at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, including as Deputy Director of the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, and later as a Principal at Health Management Associates. Her work has consistently focused on improving health system performance and expanding access to care in rural and underserved communities. She earned a BA in sociology from Willamette University, an MPA with a concentration in health policy and management from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University, and a Doctor of Public Health from the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health, where her research centered on access to obstetrical care in rural areas. Carrie also serves as Adjunct Faculty in UNC’s Master of Public Health program.