Christine Bechtel is a nationally-known expert in health and social impact design, and the co-founder of X4 Health, a purpose-driven organization that specializes in complex problem solving, inside and outside of health care. Bechtel has spent her career shaping public policies and on-the-ground practices for improving key social sectors, with a particular focus building models for systems change. She has designed several national initiatives, including: ROCKit© a community-powered problem-solving model led by local officials that uses relational strategies and asset mapping to uncover new solutions to intractable issues like homelessness, mental health access for people in crisis and child care deserts. She also co-designed 3rd Conversation® a national initiative that rebuilds relationships in health care as the foundation of meaningful systems change.
Bechtel’s previous positions include vice president at the National Partnership for Women & Families, the non-profit consumer organization that was the driving force behind laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act.
She co-founded the award-winning GetMyHealthData campaign, an initiative that helped consumers across the country access their medical records in electronic formats, based on public policies she helped draft as a consumer representative on a high profile Federal Advisory Committee. Bechtel also served as vice president of the eHealth Initiative (eHI) and as a senior research advisor at AARP, conducting public opinion studies on consumer attitudes regarding national health care policy issues. She also spent 18 months embedded in a local primary care practice as an expert in both organizational development and person- and family-centered care. Bechtel has served on a number of high-visibility boards and bodies, including the federal Health IT Policy Committee and the National Quality Forum’s Measures Application Partnership. She currently serves on a Board committee for AARP Services Inc. She has testified before Congress three times regarding federal Health IT laws and policies.
Earlier in her career, Bechtel served as Director of Government Affairs for the American Health Quality Association where she helped state-based organizations and health care professionals improve care quality in communities across America. As the director of community development for Louisiana-based eQHealth Solutions, she was responsible for designing, implementing and overseeing innovative community-based projects to improve health care quality and reduce health disparities for older Americans in Louisiana.
Bechtel began her career as a legislative associate for United States Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-MD), working on issues ranging from women’s health and stem cell research to Medicare and Social Security, and proofreading every piece of outgoing legislative mail. She holds a bachelor's degree in politics and public policy from Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland and a master's degree in political management from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. An avid golfer, she splits her time between Montgomery County, Maryland and Fort Myers, Florida.