Alumni Profile: Jamie Sawyer, PWC'22

A Nevada native, Jamie Sawyer has dedicated her career to bettering people’s lives by assisting them with all aspects of healthcare. “From when I had my first job, I’ve always thought to myself: How can I improve someone’s day today?"

Sawyer received her associate degree in business management from Western Nevada College in 2016 and soon after began working for Nevada's Silver State Health Insurance Exchange as an IT analyst. “I didn’t know a thing about IT when I walked in there, but they saw my passion and gave me a shot. I primarily helped develop systems with the IT director to protect the PII—Personally Identifiable Information—of our clients.”

The following year, a Plan Certification Manager role became available at the Exchange, and Sawyer jumped at the opportunity. “At the Exchange, plan certification is the door to policy. I spent a lot of time re-examining existing rules and proposing rule changes, and that work ultimately became my foundation when I subsequently became a Policy and Compliance Manager.” In this role, Sawyer became a subject matter expert in the organization's policies and procedures and was responsible for researching and analyzing federal laws related to the Affordable Care Act to provide impact analysis insights for the Exchange.

During that time, Sawyer also earned two additional degrees: a bachelor’s in business with a minor in psychology at Nevada State College in 2018 and a master’s in law studies with a focus in corporate healthcare from Arizona State University in 2020.

Sawyer then moved to GetInsured as a Policy and Operations Lead. "GetInsured is a healthcare tech vendor that works with states to provide affordable healthcare options for residents: as Nevada is one of our clients, they saw the benefit of me already having an established relationship here.” GetInsured, Sawyer said, was looking to expand its policy capacity—a critical part of the complicated healthcare landscape. "They trusted my skills, which was a really important factor for me.”

Sawyer said it was her boss at GetInsured who introduced her to Harris’ Persuasive Writing Credential (PWC). “They have always supported my growth and development, but I only considered myself a policy person. However, colleagues would sometimes tell me they didn’t fully understand what I was trying to communicate. I realized I needed to be able to write in a way that someone without the same policy background as me could understand.”

Sawyer said two elements of the PWC particularly stood out for her. “First, David Chrisinger. He made it an incredibly personable experience—no small feat for a remote course. Second, the program's flexibility. As a mother and full-time worker, the flexibility was very much welcomed.”

Sawyer said she utilizes her PWC skills daily. “I find myself thinking much more strategically about the most important information I need to relay, whether it’s through a policy memo or an email. I also focus a lot more on formatting written documents to effectively communicate that information. I lean into the breadth of skills I gained through the PWC every day, professionally and personally.”