Taylor Linke

The ‘why’ behind my work is what keeps me grounded. For many, being in good health is something we take for granted. But at some point in our lives, we will all need access to high-quality health care services. Often when we reach this point, either for ourselves or someone we love, our emotions run high and the last thing we need is to encounter an inefficient, overly burdensome, de-humanizing, administratively complex process. This is where the work I do comes in. As the inaugural Director of IT Innovation and Customer Experience at the Washington State Health Care Authority, I am responsible for leveraging technology and person-centered design principles to enhance internal and external customer experience, as well as focusing on the development and support of the external health care delivery workforce. 

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The world around us is constantly evolving, and so are the needs of those we serve. I am proud of how our team responded to the many changes thrown at them throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, specifically related to client health care coverage options in our state. Federal and state regulatory changes seem to be never ending, and every law/rule change requires IT system updates and programmatic policy updates. Our IT teams have tackled each change with a ‘can do’ attitude, and our customer service team members have put the people we serve at the center of all that they do. Seeing compassion extended in every interaction, despite the personal levels of uncertainty and angst that our team members were experiencing themselves, has reinvigorated me and reminded me just how lucky I am to be a public servant!

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