Kavelle Christie, MSc. — Health Policy Executive & Advocacy Communications Strategist | Maternal Health | Medicaid | Federal & State Policy | Founder, CRPHI & Orion 360 Health | Business Insider 30 Leaders Under 40

About Kavelle

I believe the most powerful policy is the kind people can feel: in their communities, their bodies, and their lives. For over a decade, I have built strategy, infrastructure, and communications at the intersection of health policy and public narrative, working to close the gap between what policy says and what it actually delivers.I am the founder of the Center for Regulatory Policy & Health Innovation (CRPHI), a health equity research and advocacy initiative focused on healthcare financing reform, and Orion 360 Health, LLC, a policy and strategic communications consultancy advising organizations navigating complex legislative and regulatory environments. Through Orion 360 Health, I developed and teach the S.P.E.A.K. Framework, a leadership communication methodology equipping leaders and organizations to communicate policy priorities with clarity, credibility, and impact.Before founding my own organizations, I spent five years at Community Catalyst leading a national portfolio on sexual and reproductive health and rights across 45 states -- owning policy strategy, managing a multidisciplinary team, directing a $600K grant-funded program, and serving as organizational spokesperson in congressional briefings, national coalitions, and media. Earlier, I led public affairs and coalition strategy at Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, achieving the codification of abortion rights in Rhode Island and securing the first-ever Medicaid and private insurance coverage for doula care in the nation.My communications work is grounded in a journalism and public relations background that began in Jamaica, where I worked as a news and entertainment journalist and later as a PR strategist for government and corporate clients. That foundation shapes how I think about narrative, message discipline, and public trust -- not as tactics, but as the architecture of effective advocacy.I write and speak on health equity, maternal health, and policy reform. My commentary has appeared in The Hill, BBC, Business Insider, Newsweek, Healthline, and others. I am a board member of PPVotes! RI and the PPVotes! PAC, and serve on the National Steering Committee of the Coalition to Expand Contraceptive Access.I work at the intersection of policy, communications, and executive leadership, and I am most energized by organizations ready to build something that lasts.