Where stories meet systems.
Public health researcher and policy professional focused on information failures, institutional trust, and the communication strategies that shape how people make health decisions.
I came to public health in an unlikely way. After more than fifteen years as a professional writer in Hollywood I became fascinated by a question that turned out to be central to both fields: what happens when information breaks down?
In entertainment, I became an expert in how audiences receive and interpret stories, and why some narratives stick while others are forgettable. In public health, I've found the same dynamics at work — in vaccine hesitancy, in cancer misinformation, in the collapse of institutional trust that defines our current moment.
My research sits at the intersection of communications, information systems, and health policy. I'm particularly interested in interventions that treat misinformation not as a knowledge deficit, but as a failure of relationship between institutions and the communities they serve.
Outside of work, I train with a masters swim team and run too many miles. I'm currently based in Salt Lake City, UT.
AIDS treatment activism and today's "medical freedom" movement both arose from institutional failure — but they represent opposite power relationships. One fought for access to a system that excluded them; the other fights against a system they believe has overreached. Understanding this distinction is essential to effective public health communication.
Public health institutions have defaulted to correction-first messaging for decades. This approach assumes an information deficit — that people resist guidance because they lack facts. Contemporary movements reveal a different mechanism: eroded trust, perceived condescension, and the felt experience of being managed rather than heard.
Effective communication strategy requires diagnosing what kind of problem you're actually facing. Rhetorical analysis of activist histories offers public health practitioners a framework for identifying whether resistance signals a structural power dispute — and adjusting approach accordingly.
Dual MPP / MPH Master of Public Policy and Master of Public Health, with a focus on health communication, policy, and information systems.
Ongoing script analysis and coverage work while completing graduate studies. Evaluating narrative structure, character, and commercial viability for streaming content development.
15+ years as a professional writer in the film and television industry, including script coverage, development work, and narrative consulting. Developed expertise in how information, persuasion, and storytelling function across mass communication systems.
12-week summer project developing a clinical decision support tool for oncologists navigating patient misinformation conversations. Includes React prototype and implementation framework.
200-hour research project examining systematic data gaps in rural and tribal death records, with implications for public health infrastructure and resource allocation.
Comparative rhetorical analysis of AIDS treatment activism and contemporary medical freedom movements, with implications for public health communication strategy in low-trust environments.
I'm interested in conversations about health communication, information systems, institutional trust, and what public health can learn from studying how stories actually work. Always happy to connect with researchers, practitioners, and collaborators.