Strategic Communications & Operations

Clarity
at the
highest
level.

Hilltop Strategy helps organizations communicate with precision and operate with purpose — turning complexity into competitive advantage.

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Hilltop Strategy — Washington, D.C.

20+ Years of Senior-Level
Experience

$10M+ Revenue Growth
Generated

4 Sectors: Philanthropy,
Government, Health, Politics

01

Our Story

Strategy without execution is just a good idea. Execution without strategy is just noise."

Hilltop Strategy was built on a career's worth of hard-won insight: that the organizations best positioned to lead are those that can communicate with clarity, operate with discipline, and make decisions with confidence — especially under pressure.

Founded by a senior executive with over 13 years advising CEOs, presidents, and boards across philanthropy, national politics, healthcare, and government, Hilltop brings a rare combination of strategic communications expertise and operational rigor to every engagement. We've worked at the highest levels — shaping national narratives, managing reputational risk, building coalitions, and driving institutional growth — and we bring that same caliber of thinking to our clients.

We don't hand off work to junior staff or recycle generic frameworks. Every engagement is led by principals who have sat in the rooms where consequential decisions get made. We understand what's at stake because we've been there.

Based in the Washington, D.C. area and working across sectors, Hilltop Strategy is the partner for organizations ready to move with intention, lead with credibility, and grow with purpose.

02

Services

S — 01

Strategic Communications

From national narrative campaigns to crisis response, we build communications infrastructure that positions your organization to lead. We've shaped messaging at the highest levels of government and philanthropy — and we bring that same discipline to every client.

Narrative & Messaging Crisis Communications Media Strategy Brand Architecture Coalition Messaging

S — 02

Operations & Organizational Design

We help organizations build the internal infrastructure their ambitions require — aligning teams, processes, and resources so strategy actually gets executed. Effective operations aren't separate from leadership; they are leadership.

Cross-Functional Alignment Team Structure & Design Budget Strategy Change Management Workflow Optimization

S — 03

Executive & Board Advisory

A trusted thought partner for CEOs, presidents, and boards navigating high-stakes decisions. We offer strategic counsel on institutional positioning, reputational risk, stakeholder engagement, and leadership visibility — with candor, not just validation.

CEO & Board Counsel Reputational Risk Stakeholder Strategy Institutional Positioning Leadership Visibility

03

Selected Work

National Politics

Building the communications infrastructure behind a landmark midterm strategy

Led growth strategy that expanded organizational revenue by $10M, diversified the funding base, and strengthened national standing as the leading force in state-level democratic politics.

2022

Philanthropy

Repositioning a major foundation through a period of rapid institutional expansion

Advised CEO and Board on institutional strategy and public positioning as the organization surpassed $1B in assets and scaled annual giving fivefold to $130M.

2024

Healthcare / Nonprofit

Launching national health communications and advocacy initiatives for a $150M nonprofit

Designed brand architecture unifying organizational identity across regions; led major CDC partnership engagement that elevated national credibility in public health.

2023

Government / Congress

Creating a national messaging framework adopted at the presidential campaign level

Developed the House Democrats' "For The People" narrative strategy — a messaging architecture later adopted by national campaign leadership — while advising Speaker Pelosi and Rep. Jeffries on strategic positioning.

2018

Federal Healthcare Policy

Shaping the national ACA debate during the 2018 midterm election cycle

Led rapid-response and proactive communications strategy that unified national coalition messaging and influenced the federal healthcare debate across earned and paid media channels.

2018

04

The Team

GC

Gabrielle Chew

Founder & Managing Principal

Senior executive and trusted advisor to CEOs, presidents, and boards with over 13 years of experience across philanthropy, national politics, healthcare advocacy, and government. Gabrielle has led enterprise-wide communications strategy, driven $10M+ in organizational revenue growth, and counseled leaders through moments of expansion, scrutiny, and change. She holds an M.S. in Strategic Communications from Georgetown University, earned cum laude, and a B.A. in Political Science from Hampton University.

JC

Jeremy Chew

Principal, Operations & Strategy

Operations and strategy leader with deep experience building organizational infrastructure, managing complex budgets, and driving cross-functional alignment in high-stakes environments. Jeremy brings the operational discipline that translates strategic vision into measurable results — ensuring every engagement delivers with precision and purpose.

Featured Projects

nyt Launch: The Fight Moves to the States

When the Supreme Court's draft opinion threatening to overturn Roe v. Wade leaked in 2022, Hilltop Strategy founder, Gabrielle Chew, secured a national story on how Democrats were turning the moment into a midterm advantage — not in Congress, but in statehouses across the country. The New York Times piece revealed how the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee was deploying a targeted, state-by-state strategy to defend key chambers and flip others, betting that abortion rights could galvanize voters in an otherwise brutal political environment.

High-stakes, high-impact coverage — exactly what we deliver.

TIme 100: Bold Philanthropy in Action

When TIME named Carmen Rojas to its 2026 TIME100 Philanthropy Trailblazers list, Hilltop Strategy founder Gabrielle Chew, crafted the narrative as a part of the overall strategy to tell MCF’s story. As president of the Marguerite Casey Foundation, Rojas made headlines by challenging the philanthropic sector to stop sitting on endowment funds — and then proved it could be done, quadrupling MCF's annual grant making to $130 million without gutting the foundation's financial footing.

A bold leader. A powerful story. And exactly the kind of coverage we help our clients earn.