Doug O'Brien

Consultant

Doug O'Brien brings an extraordinary depth of political and public policy experience to Res Publica Group clients.

Appointed Regional Director of the Department of Health and Human Services in 2005, Doug helped orchestrate the roll-out of the Medicare Part-D drug benefit and participated in the development of a national preparedness plan for a pandemic outbreak, among other major initiatives.

Prior to his appointment, Doug served as chief of staff to U.S. Representative Mark Kirk, focusing on healthcare, transportation, armed services, and environmental issues. His extensive communications and media insight was honed as director of public relations for IMC Global and on the public relations teams at Hill & Knowlton and KemperLesnik Communications. As director of policy at the Illinois Gaming Board, he developed keen knowledge of the casino gaming industry.

Doug has extensive experience managing and consulting on local, state, and national political campaigns. He was political director for Illinois Governor Jim Edgar's successful re-election in 1994, and has twice represented Illinois as an alternate delegate to the GOP National Convention. He continues as strategic counsel on a variety of campaigns today.

Doug currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame.