Roddy Young, the Office of Public Affairs' vice president for communications, has been appointed as the vice president for communications and marketing for the Dartmouth-Hitchcock health care system, according to Justin Anderson, director of media relations for the College. Young, who has been working for the College since June 2011, will assume his new post on April 23, he said in an interview with The Dartmouth.
The position of vice president of communications and marketing is a newly created role at Dartmouth-Hitchcock, which is comprised of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center's campuses, the Children's Hospital at Dartmouth and the Norris Cotton Cancer Center, according to Young.
"This is a fabulous opportunity to work with the [Dartmouth-Hitchcock] team and to build on the relationships I've established at Dartmouth," Young said.
Prior to Young's appointment, Dartmouth-Hitchcock's public affairs office lacked "one particular set leader" and instead was overseen by Executive Vice President Stephen LeBlanc, Vice President of Regional Development Deanna Howard and Vice President for Government Affairs Frank McDougall, Young said.
In his new position, Young will promote Dartmouth-Hitchcock Chief Executive Officer and President James Weinstein's vision of creating a sustainable health system and making Dartmouth-Hitchcock a leading national health care model, he said.
"There is an ongoing debate about how health care decisions should be made, and I am excited to take on this issue through the communications platform at Hitchcock," Young said.
Young, who left his position at OPA on Friday, said his experience at the College will help with his transition to his new position at Dartmouth-Hitchcok.
"My work at the College and my interaction with individuals such as Jim Yong Kim and Al Mulley ['70] will be employed at DHMC," Young said. "There will be a lot of interlinking between Dartmouth and DHMC that will help in the storytelling of both organizations."
Anderson, who worked with Young at OPA, said the new position provides an opportunity to strengthen the relationship and facilitate collaboration between the College and DHMC.
"He has an incredibly positive attitude and energetic approach, which I am sure he will bring to DHMC," Anderson said. "It's an exciting time for the enterprise, and it's a really great opportunity for him."
When Young began work at OPA, he gathered the office's employees and asked each person to tell him about him- or herself, Anderson said, emphasizing Young's interest in people and individual stories.
Prior to joining the College as vice president of communications, Young was a senior vice president with TMG Strategies/MSLGroup, a Washington, D.C.-based communications firm. He was the chair of the MSLGroup's Reputation Management Practice and the director of TMG's media relations team. Young has also worked in the government, education and business sectors and served as press secretary for both NASA and the office of former Representative Esteban Torres, D-Calif, according to Young.
Andy Tannen, senior vice president in the corporate practice at MSLGroup, said he worked with Young on two project proposals during the last two years before Young left for Dartmouth.
"He's one of the smartest people I've met, and I've been in the business for 30 years," Tannen said in an interview with The Dartmouth. "One of the pitches I worked on with him was for on going crisis communications for an insurance company. Roddy is smart, calm and level-headed, and for a crisis you need someone like that."
Mike Huckman, senior vice president at MSL New York, who worked with Young while he was stationed in the Washington, D.C. office, said Young is "strategic and well-connected," and should excel in his new position.
Young said his background, especially his work in public policy, is cumulative and relevant to his new position.
"I have worked with organizations facing tough challenges regarding the way they present themselves in the world," he said. "While I haven't worked in the hospital industry, what I bring is perspective and what I can learn is what [the DHMC team] already knows. It will be mutually beneficial."
Anderson said that OPA has not yet determined how it will adjust to the departure of Young.
"The details of the transition are still being worked out, and we expect to be in a position to share that information soon," he said.