Joanne Zurcher

Joanne Zurcher currently serves as Vice President for Government Relations and Policy for the American Academy of Audiology, where she directs all strategy and advocacy initiatives and oversees the production of all policy documents and guidelines. She has spent over 25 years working in public health policy on Capitol Hill, in the Obama administration, and for a variety of trade associations.

While working at National Environmental Health Association on behalf of environmental health professions, she was responsible for their inclusion in the Pandemic All Hazards Preparedness Law and securing $1.5 billion for Zika eradication and treatment.

Prior to that, she helped pass the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as acting director of the Health Resources and Services Administration Office of Legislation, ensuring that the agency received the $1.5 billion Maternal Infant Early Childhood Home Visiting Program. She went on to create the program and oversee it in 11 states.

Zurcher also worked on Capitol Hill for Representatives Robert Andrews (D-NJ) and Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY). She assisted them with achieving their priorities on the Education Committee, as well as on health care, appropriations, and Northern Ireland issues.

Zurcher earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh and her master’s degree in health care and international policy from the University of Texas LBJ School of Public Affairs. She resides in Arlington, Virginia, with her husband, Anthony, and their two sons.