Alison MacDonald is gearing up to end a long run supporting Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), who is retiring from Congress at the end of this term. MacDonald, a New Hampshire native, first crossed paths with Shaheen during the senator's initial Senate bid in 2002, but it wasn't until 2008 that she joined her team, drawn by the prospect of working for a female senator and the chance to shape healthcare policy as President Obama took office.
For about seven years, MacDonald served as a senior health policy adviser, helping steer Shaheen's work on issues like diabetes and insulin pricing. She then took a break from Capitol Hill to work as a vice president for policy at Dartmouth Health, aiming to get closer to patients. But the pull of public service and her former colleagues proved strong, and she returned to serve as Shaheen's chief of staff in 2022.
In that role, MacDonald oversees not just the policy team she once led but the entire office operation. "I love working on the Hill because it's so team oriented," she said. "The goal is clear, with all facets of the office coordinated and working together to support the Senator in serving the constituents of the state."
Shaheen praised MacDonald's steady leadership, saying she "has shaped my office's approach with a steady hand through some of the most challenging and rewarding moments that have defined my tenure in the Senate, earning respect from other Senate offices across the ideological spectrum all the while."
As Shaheen enters her final months, MacDonald is still focused on policy wins. They are pushing a bipartisan bill to cap insulin prices, a cause she has championed throughout her career. At the same time, the office is beginning to pack up, with staff uncovering old memos and projects from MacDonald's early days.
"It's been a bittersweet opportunity for us to really reflect on her full 30-year career in elected office," MacDonald said, "as we look through old files and reminisce about the colleagues we've been lucky to work with and the impact the senator, and this office, has had on the people of New Hampshire."
MacDonald's departure is part of a broader transition in Senate offices as several veteran staffers move on. Her experience underscores the importance of institutional knowledge in shaping policy, a theme echoed in other Hill staffers' reflections on bipartisan work.
As she prepares to leave, MacDonald hopes the insulin pricing bill will be a lasting achievement. The effort reflects a career spent bridging policy and politics, a skill that has earned her respect across the aisle. Her legacy, like that of her boss, will be measured in the lives touched by the laws they helped craft.
