Team
Rachel Seeger
Rachel Seeger is the founder and principal strategist of North Country Communications, LLC. With three decades of experience in regulatory communications, public affairs, and media strategy, Rachel’s unique expertise and leadership enable organizations to navigate high-stakes situations. Her career includes key roles within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), including serving as Senior Advisor for Communications at the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) from 2010 through 2023, where she worked side-by-side with the agency’s senior leadership and HIPAA policy and enforcement teams.
Rachel joined OCR to lead the agency’s consumer and provider communications efforts to support the rollout of the HIPAA Breach Notification Rules and the HIPAA Omnibus Rule. Her efforts to promote patient trust in the adoption and meaningful use of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) under the HITECH Act, or Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, were recognized by Think with Google for innovation in marketing research and digital, and the HHS Secretary’s Award for Meritorious Service.
Rachel worked for over a decade at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), where her work supported the early rollout the HIPAA Standards and Security Rules from 2000 through 2005. She was on the ground floor of efforts to migrate health care providers and payers from paper to electronic transactions and ensure the adoption of HIPAA’s Security Rule. Rachel’s many hats with CMS included Branch Manager for Medicare Customer Service in Region V, serving Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
Rachel received her Master’s at the Sol Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California. She began her federal career as a 1993 Presidential Management Fellow at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. At North Country Communications, she is passionate about helping clients navigate data breaches, building patient trust, and strengthening reputations with integrity.
Ryan Dutcher
Ryan Dutcher is an Adirondack native and healthcare communications strategist with extensive experience guiding mission-driven organizations through high-stakes challenges and reputation-defining moments. He has led digital communications, media relations, and crisis response efforts for public health programs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the U.S. Department of State’s PEPFAR program, where his work advanced global and domestic messaging on HIV/AIDS, healthcare quality, and health policy.
Before his federal service, Ryan spent nearly a decade in Beijing working with international nonprofits and the American Chamber of Commerce in China, where he managed policy communications, media engagement, and stakeholder outreach for multinational audiences across the Asia-Pacific region.
Ryan is a graduate of Union College in New York and earned his master’s degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. At North Country Communications, Ryan leverages his combined experience in federal, public health, and international sectors to assist healthcare organizations with HIPAA breach response, brand storytelling, and strategic messaging that rebuilds trust while ensuring regulatory compliance.