Emily K. Miller
Chatham,IL
Summary
Accomplished Senior Vice President of Policy and Advocacy at IARF and former Legislative Liaison for the State of Illinois, I excel in strategic planning, communications, relationship building, team collaboration, operations oversight, and delivering impactful results. With a proven track record in policy development and advocacy, I've driven significant advancements and investments in behavioral health, I/DD, and Medicaid policy and legislation, leveraging exceptional communication and leadership skills to foster collaboration and achieve sustainable growth.
Overview
20
20
years of professional experience
Work History
Senior Vice President of Policy and Advocacy
IARF
01.2025 - Current
- Serves as member of the senior management team, providing reliable, consistent, and trusted advice and guidance to CEO; assists in key decision-making situations.
- Assists in establishing a culture of continuous improvement, fostering innovation and driving sustainable growth across the association, while ensuring all employees of the organization feel valued, understood, and appreciated.
- Serves as point of counsel and advisement for all employees; helps to guide the day to day operations of the organization.
- Cultivates strong relationships with member organizations, governmental entities, and key stakeholders to promote collaboration and long-term success in the field of behavioral health and intellectual and developmental disability policy and legislation.
- Leads on all policy and advocacy related issues, including crafting changes in governmental policy and legislation and advocating on behalf of the provider communication - serves as lead on all Medicaid-related policy and regulation for the association.
- Exhibits exceptional verbal and written communication skills including authoring articles and briefs for committee updates, newsletters, policy pieces, formal comment letters, white papers, research papers and more - serves as primary peer reviewer of all organizational content.
- Assists in the evaluation of all state and federal policies, rules, regulations, and laws to ensure member organizations have a thorough understanding of their impact.
- Establishes and maintains strong relationships with legislators, state and federal administration staff, colleagues, and strategic partners to ensure the industry's needs are understood.
- Plays a key role in planning and executing the annual educational conference and expo that attracts over 400 attendees each year, including fundraising and philanthropy.
- Formulates, plans, and executes the yearly strategic initiatives of the association, including necessary work to ensure board approval of the initiatives.
- Aligns organizational objectives with company mission to increase association growth, including recruitment and retainment of new member organizations through outreach and engagement.
Vice President of Behavioral Health
IARF
10.2012 - 12.2024
- Cultivated strong relationships with member organizations, governmental entities, and key stakeholders to promote collaboration and long-term success in the field of behavioral health policy and legislation.
- Lead on all behavioral health policy and advocacy related issues, including crafting changes in governmental policy and legislation and advocating on behalf of the provider community.
- Demonstrated proficient leadership skills as the facilitator of the IARF Behavioral Health Committee and as the association's lead representative on multiple state and federal stakeholder groups, task forces, and committees.
- Exhibited exceptional verbal and written communication skills including authoring articles and briefs for committee updates, newsletters, policy pieces, formal comment letters, white papers, research pieces, and more.
- Evaluated all behavioral health state and federal policies, rules, regulations, and laws to ensure member organizations have a thorough understanding of their impact.
- Established and maintained strong relationships with legislators, state and federal administration staff, colleagues, and strategic partners.
- Represented IARF at industry conferences and events, including planning and executing the IARF annual educational conference.
- Formulated, planned, and executed the yearly strategic initiatives of the association.
- Aligned organizational objectives with company mission to increase association growth, including recruitment and retainment of new member organizations.
- Assisted in establishing a culture of continuous improvement, fostering innovation and driving sustainable growth across the association.
- Cultivateded strong relationships with key stakeholders, including customers, vendors, regulators, and community leaders to promote collaboration and long-term success.
Legislative Liaison - HFS, DPH, DCFS
State of Illinois
03.2006 - 10.2012
- Streamlined the legislative process by monitoring pending legislation and providing timely updates to relevant parties.
- Collaborated with stakeholders to gather input on proposed legislation, ensuring a well-rounded approach to crafting policy recommendations.
- Acted as a liaison between legislators and constituents, ensuring concerns were effectively communicated and addressed in a timely manner.
- Analyzed state budget proposals from a policy perspective, anticipating potential impacts on organization''s interests and proactively developing appropriate responses.
- Expertly navigated complex political landscapes by cultivating relationships with key decision-makers across party lines, resulting in increased support for desired policies.
- Served as a trusted resource on legislative issues for both internal colleagues and external stakeholders, consistently providing accurate information and insightful analysis.
- Provided clear guidance on regulatory compliance matters for various divisions within the agencies.
- Maintained comprehensive records of all relevant legislative activities, facilitating easy access to information for reporting purposes.
Education
Bachelor of Arts - Communication
Bradley University
05.2005
Skills
- Team Leadership
- Relationship Building
- Decision-Making
- Critical Thinking
- Complex Problem-Solving
- Exceptional Written and Verbal Communication
- Public Speaking
- Event Networking
- Rules and Regulations
- Project Management
- Policy Development
- Strategic Planning
- Policies and procedures
- Strategic leadership
- Operational excellence
- Public speaking
- Corporate communications
- Strategic goals
- Strategic planning
Accomplishments
- Collaborated with state partners to invest more than $200 million into the Illinois state budget for behavioral health services and supports over the last five years.
- Achieved major systems change in the field of behavioral health by ensuring the prohibition of prior authorization for all services.
- Collaborated with our small team in the development and fruition of IARFuture, a proven leadership program that is cultivating the next generation of non-profit leaders.
- Cultivated the necessary relationships to move the organization forward in expansion opportunities including system redesign projects.
Timeline
Senior Vice President of Policy and Advocacy
IARF
01.2025 - Current
Vice President of Behavioral Health
IARF
10.2012 - 12.2024
Legislative Liaison - HFS, DPH, DCFS
State of Illinois
03.2006 - 10.2012
Bachelor of Arts - Communication
Bradley University
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