Kate Abel joined Merck in April 2018 as the Director of Political Programs in the Washington, DC office, where she manages Merck's PAC, employee grassroots advocacy program, Merck Action Network and federal HIV alliance portfolio.
For eight years, Kate was the Political Director at Aetna where she helped the company build Aetna PAC into a top corporate health insurance PAC, coordinated extensive redevelopment of the Aetna employee grassroots network and developed multiple executive political education and fundraising programs. Prior to her work at Aetna, Kate spent close to five years at the Credit Union National Association as a Political Programs Manager where she helped to build and implement their nationwide payroll deduction program for their PAC as well as traveled around the country speaking to credit union employees and volunteers on the importance of political involvement. Before making the switch to the association and corporate world, Kate was the Assistant Director of American University's Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies during which she received her M.A. in political science.
