Firm Continues to Expand with the Addition of Strategic Communications Associates Connor Brandi and Zazni Vlijter
Washington, D.C. – Narrative Strategies announced today the addition of Rachel Gartner Clark, who will oversee the firm’s growing healthcare practice as Managing Director. Gartner Clark comes to Narrative from Real Chemistry, where she built and led the company’s public affairs practice and spearheaded extensive third-party and stakeholder engagement operations. She brings more than a dozen years of healthcare, public affairs, and agency experience to Narrative. Rachel will lead a vertical with various clients in the biopharmaceutical, medical technology, and provider sectors. Narrative also announced the hirings of Zazni Vlijter and Connor Brandi as Strategic Communications Associates.
“Rachel’s ability to lead large-scale healthcare campaigns and her extensive relationships across the industry will make one of Narrative’s strongest areas of issue expertise even stronger,” said Narrative Strategies Founding Partner Ken Spain. “Since our founding, Narrative has helped healthcare clients win some of the most challenging policy fights while building and enhancing their reputations. Adding Rachel and creating a formal healthcare practice will give us an even greater ability to deliver strategic guidance to a growing roster of industry clients. Connor and Zazni are both strong communicators who will further enhance Narrative’s ability to deliver high-quality work and execute for our clients quickly.”
Rachel Gartner Clark is a veteran healthcare public affairs communications professional representing stakeholder organizations and global biopharmaceutical companies. At Real Chemistry, she partnered with clients to mobilize patient and provider voices to educate and influence decision-making at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and address restrictive coverage policies for innovative kidney treatments. Before joining Real Chemistry, Gartner Clark gained extensive agency experience working directly with pharmaceutical companies, providing strategic counsel to patient groups around drug pricing issues on behalf of Lilly and leading a Washington, D.C.-focused public affairs campaign on behalf of Amgen. Gartner Clark is a patient advocate herself, chairing the Patient Advisory Council for the Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition and serving on the Community Leadership Board of the American Diabetes Association. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Albany.
Connor Brandi comes to Narrative from Hilltop Public Solutions, where he was an associate. Brandi has also been a communications associate at the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University.
Zazni Vlijter joins Narrative as a Strategic Communications Associate after serving as an intern at the firm. She has also worked as a content writer for the media start-up, The Know, and earned a bachelor’s degree from George Washington University.