A perspective built at the intersection of policy, innovation, and strategy.

Most recently, she was vice president of policy and federal affairs at Surescripts, the nation’s leading health intelligence exchange, where she advised executive leadership and board directors on the implications of federal developments and regulations for enterprise risk, financial forecasting, and product strategy. She has elevated governance practices by preparing policy briefings, regulatory comment letters, and advocacy that have influenced external perception of the company, while embedding policy insights into financial and product planning.

Previously, Deanne was vice president of health policy and government affairs at Change Healthcare, a $6.6B publicly traded health IT company acquired in 2022 by Optum Insight. There she established and scaled the company’s first dedicated health policy function, embedding governance-level awareness of regulatory exposure across three divisions. She also represented the company on national committees including the Healthcare Leadership Council and the Healthcare Trust Institute, helping shape national policy frameworks on interoperability, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and value-based care.

Earlier in her career, Deanne founded and led Santesys Solutions, a boutique consulting firm advising multinational corporations, start-ups, and federal health agencies on market entry, compliance, and growth strategies. Her consulting work produced measurable impact, from $2.8M in client financial gains for ViPS (now GDIT) to supporting federal research portfolios at AHRQ and ONC that directly informed national healthcare directives.

Her board leadership includes service as an advisory board member for DST Healthcare (now SS&C) and as secretary for the Alliance of Wound Care Stakeholders, where she contributed to the development of a five-year plan and updates to the bylaws. Demonstrating her commitment to succession planning and board effectiveness, she recruited three highly qualified candidates in three months, advancing them in the interview process and expanding the organization’s leadership pipeline. She is recognized as a trusted advisor to governance bodies on regulatory strategy, enterprise risk, and healthcare policy transformation.