Allison O’Toole joined Second Harvest Heartland in February of 2019 from the United States of Care, where she served as Senior Director of State Affairs focusing on the mission that every American has affordable health care.
Before her tenure at United States of Care, Allison was CEO of MNsure, joining in 2014 as the Deputy for External Affairs and then promoted to CEO in 2015. During her leadership at MNsure, Allison led an aggressive marketing campaign and strategic overhaul of the MNsure operations, customer service, and outreach programs, resulting in three years of record-breaking enrollment, improved customer service and increased system stability. She testified twice before Congress, is a leading advocate for Minnesota’s reinsurance program and is often a national spokesperson on behalf of state-based exchanges across the country.
Before joining MNsure, Allison was a director at a Minneapolis-based public affairs firm where she specialized in issues management for businesses and organizations primarily in Minnesota. Prior to that, she served as state director for U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar. Earlier in her career, she spent nearly a decade as a prosecutor, where she prosecuted some of the most violent criminals in the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
Allison received her BA in Political Science and Art History from Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, PA. She received her JD from Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul, MN. She serves on the board of directors at the Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery and is an active volunteer for her neighborhood association and high school alumni council.
Allison loves art, good food and Prince.
