Director, Office of Communications

Peter Garrett is the Director of ONC’s Office of Communications (OCOMM), reporting directly to the Principal Deputy National Coordinator. OCOMM is responsible for overseeing all communications and public affairs on behalf of the National Coordinator. In this role, OCOMM designs, manages and maintains all Web assets, including HealthIT.gov, develops effective, graphically-consistent education materials, works with the news media, coordinates HITECH stakeholder relationships across HHS, and provides guidance and support to ONC’s programs and their grantees. Additionally, OCOMM is ONC’s liaison to the HHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, Assistant Secretary for Legislation and the Office of Health Reform. All OCOMM’s work is in support of ONC’s mission.

Prior to joining ONC in May 2010, Peter Garrett was a consultant representing clients on a wide range of health care communications and policy projects. With over 20 years of Washington experience in public service and consulting, Mr. Garrett’s practice focused on helping organizations and individuals communicate about their public policy issues to decision makers, including public officials and stakeholders. From strategic planning to message development and delivery to implementation, Mr. Garrett’s role was helping his clients succeed in educating public policy makers about issues that matter. Working with Mr. Garrett, his clients developed solutions for putting their issues into a broader context in order to ensure that they are noticed as a priority. His clients included the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; the Alliance for Community Health Plans, the American Society of Health System Pharmacists; the National Academy of Social Insurance; the National Institutes of Health; George Washington University; and the Academy for Educational Development.

Prior to becoming a public affairs consultant, Mr. Garrett founded GYMR, LLC, a Washington, DC-based public relations firm specializing in health and health policy issues. Mr. Garrett served President Clinton in the Department of Health and Human Services, and worked at two large public relations firms, Fleishman Hillard and Porter Novelli. Mr. Garrett graduated from Bowdoin College with an AB is European History & Western Philosophy.