Caitlin Finnegan Priest
Caitlin Finnegan Priest is an experienced government relations leader with a proven track record of developing and executing high-priority initiatives and maximizing team performance. She has worked collaboratively and effectively with stakeholders across political parties, backgrounds, and lived experience on issues including higher education, Medicaid managed care, Affordable Care Act implementation, and expansion of services to individuals exiting incarceration. She currently serves as Director of Government and Community Relations at Western Governors University, where she executes a regional external affairs strategy that advances WGU’s mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs. Before joining WGU in 2025, she managed multistate government relations for CareSource, a nonprofit health plan headquartered in Dayton, Ohio. She holds a Master of Public Health degree from Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut.
