Rachel Pollock Joins Arnold Ventures to Lead External Affairs

WASHINGTON D.C. (May 13,2024) – Veteran government relations executive Rachel Pollock has been appointed Arnold Ventures’ vice president of external affairs, bringing her extensive experience in the federal government and advocacy community to the organization’s evidence-based commitment to finding solutions to America’s most pressing problems.

Pollock leads a team based in Houston and Washington, D.C. that is responsible for overseeing the philanthropy’s strategies for building relationships with policymakers at the local, state, and federal levels and uniting coalitions with different perspectives around data-driven policy solutions. 

“Rachel is a uniquely effective policy advocate, and her joining AV demonstrates our dedication to building high-level relationships for impactful, scalable, sustainable change,” said James Williams, executive vice president of advocacy, communications, and external affairs at Arnold Ventures. ​“We’re excited to welcome her as a new leader to engage lawmakers on policy solutions backed by rigorous research that would create meaningful, sustainable change for struggling Americans.”

Prior to joining Arnold Ventures, Pollock was vice president of ACT for NIH, where she led efforts to make biomedical research funding a national priority. Before that, she served in leadership positions in the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the White House Office of Management and Budget. 

“Arnold Ventures plays a critical role in filling information gaps and building bipartisan bridges so that policymakers can measurably improve the lives of people and communities across the country,” said Pollock. ​“I am excited to work with this truly excellent team as they take on the tough challenges facing our nation.”

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Arnold Ventures is a philanthropy that supports research to understand the root causes of America’s most persistent and pressing problems, as well as evidence-based solutions to address them. By focusing on systemic change, AV is working to improve the lives of American families, strengthen their communities, and promote their economic opportunity. Since Laura and John Arnold launched their foundation in 2008, the philanthropy has expanded, and Arnold Ventures’ focus areas include education, criminal justice, health, infrastructure, and public finance, advocating for bipartisan policy reforms that will lead to lasting, scalable change. As signatories of the Giving Pledge, the Arnolds have committed to giving away most of their wealth during their lives.

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