Charmaine Yoest

Dr. Yoest will serve as Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Yoest is a Senior Fellow at American Values in Washington, D.C. She earned a B.A. from Wheaton College and an M.A. and Ph.D. in American Government from the University of Virginia, where she received Mellon, Olin, Bradley and Kohler fellowships. She served as the Project Director of a national study funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation which focused on paid parental leave in academia. Dr. Yoest previously served as President and CEO of Americans United for Life, a public interest law firm. She began her career serving in the White House under Ronald Reagan in the Office of Presidential Personnel. She also served as a Trump for President surrogate and as a Senior Advisor to the 2008 Huckabee for President campaign. Dr. Yoest and her husband are the parents of five children and live in Virginia.