From Sound Byte to My Story
My career journey has taken me from the front lines of research to roles in which I have reported and produced broadcast, print, and digital media. Whether gathering data for a clinical trial, producing medical features for a national audience, or crafting corporate relations messages, I am a voice for the people behind the science, medicine and statistics. This ongoing journey follows parallel, occasionally converging paths focused on health and food. The common denominator — and the reason I am passionate about both — is my desire to help people discover the tools that enable them to lead healthy, vibrant lives.
I first entered the world of clinical research at Northwest Spine Surgeons and later at the Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center in Seattle, using my health research skills to implement injury-prevention campaigns. My research experiences included coordinating clinical trials in pediatrics, orthopedics, and electrophysiology at the University of Washington, Children’s Hospital Boston, and the University of California at San Francisco. While assisting in research, I co-authored several articles for medical journals. During this time, I attended the Harvard School of Public Health Summer Institute to formally study epidemiology and biostatistics.
These public-health experiences inspired me to enroll in the Tufts University School of Medicine Health Communications Program, where I was named an Albert Schweitzer Fellow; my master’s degree thesis won top honors.
From there it was off to the broadcasting world, where I produced daily news reporting for ABC News Medical Editor, Dr. Timothy Johnson. Primetime health specials came next, producing documentaries for ABC News Medical Correspondent Dr. Nancy Synderman. Later, I moved to Lifetime TV, producing Speaking of Women’s Health, a serial talk show, and then to Discovery Health’s Berman and Berman: For Women Only.
My career progressed in a slightly different direction at the Food Network, where I served the dual role of production coordinator and editorial producer for several programs. I helped shape the content on the highly acclaimed show Everyday Italian with Giada de Laurentiis for four seasons, managing everything from identifying food vendors to selecting features on the show. For the programs Recipe for Success and Roker on the Road, it was my job to develop story ideas, hand-select food artisans and cast food-industry experts.
I transitioned to the marketing agency world in 2006 as a senior copywriter and producer for Publicis Modem. There my responsibilities included writing medical content and producing video and multimedia for a variety of websites, including Amgen and Wyeth’s Enbrel.com and also the disease-awareness sites InsideRA.com and RAadvisor.com. I explored the client side client side of medical marketing through my role at Elan Pharmaceuticals, creating and managing external communication programs for the company and for Biogen Idec’s Tysabri® autoimmune franchise. I refreshed Elan’s website and supported corporate activities, including patient testimonial casting and production of its annual report. I was also the HBO liaison for Elan's participation in The Alzheimer's Project.
At the same time, I continued to work in the food world as a creative consultant for celebrity chef Michael Mina’s restaurant group, conceptualizing and creating branded concept press books for three of his famous restaurants.
Throughout my career I’ve mastered the most effective methods of disseminating information from the world of science to the public in informative yet entertaining ways, across the full spectrum of media platforms. I continue as a contributor of feature articles to the San Francisco Chronicle.
My future goals include the application of my creative, academic, corporate and agency work in health communications to the world of digital media.