Rachael Kagan

Director of Communications & Public Affairs at Blue Shield of California Foundation

Rachael Kagan (she/her) is director of communications and public affairs at Blue Shield of California Foundation. In this role, she leads the Foundation’s strategic communications to make California the healthiest state and end domestic violence.

Rachael started her career as a journalist and spent the last 20 years in public health and health-related organizations, most recently as director of communications for the San Francisco Department of Public Health. There, she built a team responsible for communications for the department’s vast services and programs, including thoughtfully leading the department’s proactive communications strategy and response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prior to that, she led communications for the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, California Prison Health Care Receivership, and California Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems. Kagan earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Macalester College in Minnesota and a master’s in journalism from Syracuse University.