Lobbyists

NASW Colorado is pleased to introduce the team at Frontline Public Affairs as our contract lobbyists. We are even prouder to note that 2 of the 3 team members at Frontline are MSWs!

Jennifer Miles 

Jennifer established the lobbying and government relations firm of Miles Consulting, Inc. in 2003 and continues to serve as the Senior Partner. The firm began using the trade name of Frontline Public Affairs in 2016. Under her leadership, Frontline Public Affairs has grown in size and reputation. Jennifer is an accomplished lobbyist with 25 years of experience, with an emphasis on health and human services policy issues. She is widely recognized as a budget expert in these policy areas. Her successes include passing legislation and budget items related to:

• Tobacco tax, Tobacco settlement and Marijuana Tax Cash Fund
• Medicaid and CHP+ benefits, eligibility, enrollment, and reimbursement
• Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act (indoor smoke free law)
• Safety net health care provider reimbursement, funding, and operations
• Health care workforce issues, including training and loan forgiveness programs
• Health and mental health professional practice acts
• Health insurance benefits and costs
• Oral health, public health, environmental health, and maternal and child health
• Funding and capacity assessment for substance use disorder (SUD) services
• Affordable housing financing
• Early childhood education and child care improvements
• Colorado’s Equal Pay for Equal Work Law

Jennifer is also known for her ability to explain complex issues and the legislative process, making her a popular speaker. Prior to establishing the firm, she served for 9 years as Director of Public Policy for the Colorado Community Health Network, the state association for Community Health Centers. She also served as a Policy Analyst for the National Conference of State Legislatures. She holds a Master’s Degree in Social Work (MSW) from the University of Denver as well as a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology and Political Science from Tulane University.

Lisa Ward

Lisa is Frontline Public Affairs’ Lobbyist and Government Relations Consultant. Lisa has worked for the past 25 years within Colorado government and the health care system. She has a diverse background in clinical bedside care and health policy work in large urban health care systems, rural communities, statewide advisory committees, and the legislature. Lisa has worked in government affairs for both Denver Health and the Health District of Northern Larimer County. Prior to that, Lisa was a legislative aide for state Senator Rhonda Fields. Her experience also includes working for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment in both the Emergency Medical and Trauma Services Section and the Disease Control and Environmental Epidemiology Division. In 2010, she was the community paramedic coordinator for Western Eagle County, operationalizing the nation’s first successful community paramedic program. She worked collaboratively with local and state regulatory agencies to design a licensing and legislative framework. Lisa holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice and Criminology from Metropolitan State University and a Master’s Degree in Healthcare Policy from the University of Denver. She continues to work in the Emergency Department at Denver Health as an EMT, and currently serves as an appointed member of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s EMS system sustainability task force.

Katie Pachan Jacobson

Katie is Frontline Public Affairs’ Government Affairs Associate. She has over 18 years of experience in the areas of health, policy and advocacy, and supervision and leadership. She spent fifteen years working at the Colorado Community Health Network (CCHN), the state association for Community Health Centers. From 2012 – 2018 Katie was CCHN’s Policy Director developing and overseeing implementation of their policy agenda, providing leadership and supervision to policy staff, serving on the leadership team, and having a high level of accountability to the board and as a public representative for the organization. Frontline is utilizing Katie’s expertise in:

Katie currently teaches at Metropolitan State University’s Department of Social Work as an Affiliate Faculty. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Ohio University and a Master’s Degree in Social Work (MSW) from the University of Denver.