UVA Health names new chief external affairs officer

UVA Health has hired Inova Health Systems executive Jennifer W. Siciliano as its new chief external affairs officer, starting Aug. 11.

In her new role, Siciliano will build relationships with elected officials and their staff members at local, state and federal levels.

“I am excited to join one of the nation’s leading academic health systems,” Siciliano said in a statement. “I look forward to building on existing relationships around the commonwealth and nation, as well as forging new ones in order to amplify the positive impact UVA Health has on the patients and communities it serves.”

Siciliano, who currently holds the same title of chief external affairs officer at Inova, has held several leadership roles for the past 14 years at Inova. Among her accomplishments, she initiated a systemwide program to engage employees in legislative and regulatory priorities, such as expanding Medicaid in Virginia. She also worked on Inova’s collaboration with UVA Health on research and medical education.

In March, Inova and the University of Virginia School of Medicine opened the U.Va. Inova Campus, with most of the students’ training taking place at the Inova Fairfax Medical Campus.

Before joining Inova, Siciliano worked for 16 years in Washington, D.C., as a Capitol Hill staffer and consultant. She has degrees from Marymount University and American University.