Longtime healthcare communications strategist Jeff Ventura has joined the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) as the vice president of communications. He will report to CRN President and CEO Steve Mister.

Ventura previously held several positions within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) where he served in communications directorships at the agency’s headquarters and at two of its major operational divisions: the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

At FDA, Ventura was a senior advisor in the commissioner’s office and oversaw regulatory communications of the agency’s tobacco control program. He was also a spokesperson for the agency, handling media relations activities of several high-profile issues. At NIH, he ran all facets of the communications program for one of the agency’s research institutes.

Ventura has also worked in both the private and nonprofit healthcare sectors. He was the director of corporate communications at CVS Health, where he played a role in the company’s major rebranding effort, and in its community health and diversity initiatives. He also served in spokesperson positions at both Johns Hopkins Medicine and Brigham & Women’s Hospital.

“Jeff understands the health and wellness space, and how to communicate effectively within a regulated industry,” said Mister. “He brings to the role his expertise as a strategic leader, coupled with a deep and expansive understanding of scientific communications, and the role of both industry and government regarding a wide array of public health issues. We know he will prove to be a valuable resource to our members, and a dynamic, passionate voice in his representation of our industry.”

Ventura was also a director of communications in the Legislative Branch and, prior to his career in public relations, a journalist. He holds master’s degrees from Simmons University (Boston, MA) and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.