Valerie Carter

Senior Vice President

As senior vice president at Jones Public Affairs, Valerie Carter brings over 20 years of experience in public affairs, government relations, advocacy and communications to our healthcare and government affairs clients.

Valerie’s work in for-profit, not-for-profit and consulting organizations within the healthcare and government landscape provides both U.S. and international expertise to our public affairs projects. With this broad knowledge and experience in communications, advocacy and relationship building, Valerie provides well rounded strategies in developing successful programs that meet client needs across multiple spectrums.

Prior to joining JPA, Valerie served as vice president of public affairs at Ricochet PR, where she was responsible for managing and directing all public affairs accounts and projects, with a focus in healthcare companies. She developed, managed and implemented public affairs plans which included such tactics as  patient education and advocacy programs and extensive federal outreach efforts—including letters to FDA and HHS from key influencers, published editorials, media relations, and communications to Congress.

Valerie spent 15 years at Merck & Co., Inc., where she rose to lead the company’s government relations communications efforts, with a focus on extensive grassroots legislative action and Political Action Committee programs as well as lobbying. She also previously served as head of the Project Management Institute’s (PMI) Washington office, where she managed PMI’s global government relations programs and initiatives.

Valerie graduated from Augusta State University with a bachelor’s degree in 1990, where she majored in communications with a minor in marketing. She is a member of the Women in Government Relations, Women’s Congressional Golf Association and Potomac Boat Club.