Michelle Peterson

Michelle Peterson, director of Communications and Public Relations at Virginia Mason since 2007, has been promoted to Senior Director of Communications and Public Relations for the medical center.

In her new role, she continues to direct media relations, social media, internal communications, public relations and community benefit, while adding oversight responsibility for eHealth and medical photography.

During her tenure at Virginia Mason, Peterson managed patient communications for more than a decade. For eight years, she edited the award-winning Virginia Mason magazine. She is currently guiding development of a book to be published in 2020 commemorating the medical center’s 100th anniversary.

Before joining the organization nearly 25 years ago, Peterson worked in a variety of communications jobs at Puget Sound Energy. She served two terms as president of the Seattle Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), and achieved IABC Accredited Business Communicator certification in 2000. Also, Peterson is certified in the Virginia Mason Production System, an innovative health care management method, and earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Western Governors University in 2016. She has a bachelor’s degree in Communications from Washington State University.