I am happy to announce that NC Get Covered has hired a new ACA Project Specialist, Deborah Owens, to help support our efforts to connect and convene diverse organizations affected by the implementation of the Affordable Care Act in North Carolina. Deborah brings to this position a wealth of knowledge about the ACA, having served as a Navigator with Capital Care Collaborative during the initial roll-out of the ACA in Wake and Johnston counties and Program Manager for Synergy Benefits, a client-focused insurance brokerage firm.
While at Capital Care, Deborah enrolled hundreds of North Carolina residents into qualified health plans and directed parents to CHIP and Medicaid. She also participated in outreach efforts, made a how-to video with Renee Chou at WRAL, appeared on television shows and in print media to encourage ACA enrollment, and is NCDOI certified. In fact, if you have attended NC Get Covered coalition meetings in the past, you probably met Deborah because she is a frequent attendee and proponent of our work.
In addition to Deborah’s ACA experience, she has dedicated her time to several humanitarian efforts, both internationally and domestically. To illustrate, she worked with the UN service in Somalia, Rwanda, Bosnia, Sudan, Libya, New York and DC to support NGOs and the international community at large, even backstopping peace negotiations for Somalia, Dayton, Bonn I, South Sudan and Darfur. Domestically, she has worked with the American Red Cross in Manhattan at Ground Zero after 9/11; New Orleans post-Katrina; Galveston, Texas after Hurricane Ike; New York and New Jersey post-Hurricane Sandy; and more!
Deborah graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and has done some post-graduate work at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. She is also an avid cook, reader, art collector and film buff.
Please join me in welcoming Deborah Owens to the NC Get Covered team! To learn more about what she will be doing with us, please visit our staff page and read Deborah’s bio.