Lauren Ohata is a highly versatile and strategic leader with experience implementing and supporting policy development and execution across the public and private sectors. She is passionate about effective public policy and serving her community.

She has been on the forefront of leading Affordable Care Act (ACA) and Exchange program implementation nationwide from the start of the first open enrollment period.

In addition to policy development and implementation, Lauren also worked with partners and the public to provide communication and education to ACA Navigators, consumers and health plans. She also worked to develop resolutions to key policy issues aligning leadership across the Department of Health and Human Services, the White House, IRS, Department of Labor and other federal agencies.

Her leadership within the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) included serving as the chief of staff to the director of the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight where she facilitated understanding of policy issues with top level leadership and acted on behalf of the director.

As regulatory consultant at Kaiser Permanente (KP), she was the driving force behind implementation of ACA requirements to millions of members. Her leadership at KP included serving as liaison to each of its regional plans to align and integrate national and regional plan strategy and operations. Lauren has a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Claremont McKenna College and serves as chair emeritus of the U.S.-Japan Council, Emerging Leaders Alumni Committee, a group aimed at strengthening U.S.-Japan relations through partnership in communities and business.

Lauren enjoys exploring coffee shops locally and abroad, is an advanced practitioner of Ikebana (traditional Japanese art of flower arranging), and enjoys an active lifestyle of yoga, Pilates, and boxing.