Justin DeJong

Vice President, Communications
American Medical Association

Justin DeJong is a strategic communications leader, specializing in public affairs, crisis communications and digital strategy. He currently works as the American Medical Association’s vice president for internal and external communications. In 2016, he led the digital reinvention of the organization by relaunching the AMA’s website, the AMA Wire news platform, and intranet. In 2017, he has been leading the AMA’s communications strategy to shape the national health reform debate, in which the organization has had an outsized voice.

Before joining AMA, DeJong was an appointee in President Barack Obama's administration and specialized in advancing initiatives to improve the health and nutrition of the American people. During the President’s first term, he worked at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and served as director of public affairs where he oversaw media relations for the third-largest federal agency. DeJong led USDA communications for First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! initiative and to both pass and implement the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which improved school meals for the first time in a generation. He also led the marketing and media strategy to unveil MyPlate and the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Previously, DeJong served as Illinois Director of Communications for the 2008 Obama campaign and as Director of Communications at the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. He's also served as a spokesperson for several state agencies in Illinois government, including the Governor's Budget Office.

DeJong earned his B.A. in public relations from Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa.