Our Team
We’re passionate about our work.
Our team includes the best of the best: talented communicators who excel in their fields and are passionate about bringing health information to the people who need it. Our collaborative approach fuels creativity, integrates our diverse skills and expertise, and produces real results.
Leadership
Jason Young
President
Jason has decades of experience in health communications, marketing and policy, with a passion for expanding access to care, boosting mental health care and ending disparities. Plus he spends weekends helping injured and orphaned wildlife.
Erin Turner
Vice President, Strategy
Erin has a lot of enthusiasm—for domestic pursuits like knitting and canning, for all things Disney, and for using strategic communication to help people improve their lives.
Amber Boehm, PhD
Director of Editorial Services
Amber has pulled off a career transformation: from cell and molecular biologist to editorial leader. She loves conveying how bench and clinical research reveal pieces of the human puzzle.
Michael King
Director of Strategic Communications
Though directionally challenged, Michael can steer a client to the perfect communications message—or to the best D.C. art galleries and gastropubs. Plus, he’s licensed to sell you a house.
Valentine Neira, CGMP
Director of Virtual and In-Person Conference Services
Valentine is flexible and good with details—traits that help her produce seamless meetings as she leads our conference team. She also helps improve the public’s health by exercising with friends and neighbors.
Juanita Thompson
Creative Director
Juanita’s compassion for others is the fuel that drives her creativity. She views leading a creative team that promotes health equity as a privilege.
Team
Sarah Acs
Sarah has worked on campaigns to market everything from clothing to desserts, but she keeps coming back to health. She loves when people learn something new from her work.
Faduma Aden
Faduma is passionate about change—through increasing cultural competence, fighting health disparities, and making public health issues digestible for all. Her go-to for lighter fare? YouTube hairdo tutorials.
Ashrifia Adomako-Ankomah, PhD
Ashrifia’s science writing career is inspired by a simple principle: that science, especially biology, is really interesting. She even writes for science blogs in her free time.
Aisha Agily
Educated in London and Cairo, taught to drive in South Africa, and formerly employed by the World Bank, this senior communications associate is now seeking Italian citizenship, which follows nicely. [seems apt]
David Arbor
The first time he saw “Star Wars,” David knew what to do with his life: produce video. He produces all kinds of videos and especially loves animating our graphic designers’ work.
Corinne Baker, MBA
Passionate about organizing and design, Corinne puts her whole heart into building beautiful digital content for NIMHD and beautiful DIY content for her home. Theater is another of her passions.
Darcy Barton
Darcy’s interest in developing mobile apps helps feed her responsive, audience-focused approach to web design and development. Her work crackles with energy and enthusiasm and delights Palladian’s digital clients.
Mary Beckman, PhD
Her mom always said Mary was going to be a writer. But Mary didn’t believe her, so she got two degrees in biology before finding her way to science writing.
Rae Benedetto
Rae specializes in making documents accessible for people with disabilities. In her free time, she enjoys various outdoor pursuits: gardening, visiting other people’s gardens, and pondering the existence of Bigfoot.
Maureen Berg
Maureen has a keen eye for the visual. A designer during the week and a photographer on the weekends, she imbues each of her projects with personal flair.
Steve Boehm
In his free time, Steve sings sea chanteys and other nautical songs. At work, he’s in tune with colleagues, coordinating Section 508 compliance and production of publications and web content.
Erin Boring
Erin’s digital communications, public relations, and social media skills help Palladian’s clients navigate the world’s streams of information—when she’s not navigating rivers in a kayak.
Kevin Brooks
With a production management background and unbeatable fix-it skills, Kevin keeps our printers and computers humming. He’s passionate about technology, problem-solving, and the Dallas Cowboys.
Marielle Campbell, SHRM-CP
Marielle is a big “I Love Lucy” fan, but not to worry—this HR generalist’s understanding of the workplace stretches beyond how to manage an assembly line at a candy factory.
Jessica Clark, CGMP
Jessica is a master at juggling multiple tasks. She uses this skill overseeing and coordinating countless meetings for clients at NIH.
Nancy Cours, MA
Nancy’s a pro at digital communications, managing online content that pleases both clients and users. She also loves a less modern mode of communication: sending and receiving handwritten letters.
Sarah Dalton
Sarah loves people—she considered a career in social work—and puzzles. So it’s pretty much perfect that she’s on Palladian’s traffic team, keeping our work flowing.
Ida Donner, CMP
Ida loves meeting new people, taking on interesting challenges, and playing the banjo. She gets to do two of these three activities in her work as a meeting planner.
Karen Eddleman
Karen excels at writing that bridges the gap between the scientific and lay communities. Formerly a microbiology and parasitology researcher, her current biology practice is in Italian cooking and beekeeping.
Helen Fields, MS
A talented and versatile science writer, Helen writes everything from tweets to feature stories to meeting minutes. She’s been to six continents; please contact us about writing needs in Antarctica.
Kathy Foltin, MA
Kathy has done yoga on horseback, so balancing work for our many clients is no big deal for her. An experienced art director, she loves using her skills for the public good.
Laura Foree, MPH
Laura uses her background in health marketing to help clients promote issue awareness and drive behavior change. A seasoned world traveler, she is ready for assignments anywhere.
Elaine Garber, MFA
Elaine edits and coordinates books, newsletters, reports, and other publications at Palladian. With an MFA in creative writing, she knows how to spin a yarn—and she knits, too.
Stephen Gilberg
Steve is an avid movie-goer and reviewer. At work, he turns his critical eye to copy editing, Section 508 compliance, and other tasks that ensure high-quality written materials.
Ann Rose Greenberg
History buff Ann Rose treasures her 19th-century map of Massachusetts. At work, she maps a path to a healthier future with skills in user experience, content strategy, and marketing.
Daniel Greenstein
Got a question? Ask Daniel. He competed in trivia championships in high school, college, and beyond. He uses that encyclopedic knowledge in his work as a copy editor and coordinator.
Cate Hagman
When she worked at a wire service, Cate transcribed remarks by everyone from policy wonks to the Pope. Now she makes sure our products too are clean, clear, and accurate.
Sara Harris, M.P.S., M.A., MWC
Sara practices taiko, a Japanese drumming style that uses the whole body to make music. At work, she makes words sing, conveying technical content in a clear, accessible way.
Mark Hewitt, MA
Outside of work, Mark is a dedicated, published, and bearded fiction writer. This serves Palladian well as Mark turns his skills to editing, proofreading, and fact-checking for our clients.
Jennifer Holland, M.S.
Science writing has taken Jenny to Fiji, the Arctic…and the New York Times Best Seller list. She loves all animals, even spiders, and has 30-plus geckos in her basement.
Roseline Hooks, M.A.
Rose’s teamwork skills go way back—she played volleyball as a teen. She’s passionate about women’s health and fitness and has supported campaigns on everything from smoking to sepsis.
Kate Horowitz, MA
Kate loves explaining things and has been talking—and writing—nonstop since childhood. In addition to writing about science and health, she writes poetry and has a formidable sticker collection.
Tamirra Johnson, CHES
Tamirra loves sharing what she’s learned, whether that’s health information or one of her many skills: guitar, piano, cello, knitting, embroidery, crochet, sewing, photography, glass painting, graphic design…
Jo Anne Kenney
From facilities and production management to purchasing, Jo Anne keeps Palladian running. Outside the office, she swims and skis, draws and paints, and passionately defends animal rights.
Anna Kern, MA
Anna uses social media to reach out to individuals and nudge them to change their health behaviors. When she’s not working, she reaches out to far-flung individuals through world travel.
Saara Khadir, MPH
Saara loves travel and planning vacations, especially beach vacations. As a project manager with a passion for public health, she reminds you to use sunscreen and stay in the shade.
Emily Krebbs, MA
Emily’s love for absurdist drama and live theater feeds the infectious enthusiasm she brings to directing several of Palladian’s largest communications support contracts.
Rochelle Ku, MS
As a biology student, Rochelle saw first-hand the difficulties of communicating science. Now she works as a production artist, combining her visual skills with her love of life sciences.
Sheran Law, PhD
Sheran’s biomedical expertise is impressive, and her enthusiasm for science is contagious. On the weekends, she shares her love of the natural world with her young daughter.
Drew Lemerise, MLIS
As a web project coordinator, Drew brings creativity, organization, and digital skills to the job. A Massachusetts native, he loves the New England Patriots and the cold.
Danny Lopes, MS
Danny says web developers are the heroes behind the scenes, programming websites that people use every day—sort of like Batman. Unlike Batman, Danny is also a big soccer fan.
Erin McMahon
Years ago, Erin led backstage tours at Disney World. Now she enjoys creating delightful experiences for others as a content strategist. (Plot twist: She also loves dystopian novels.)
Amber Mosher, MPH, RD
Amber is a registered dietitian with a Master of Public Health in nutrition and a healthy love for bacon. She enjoys digesting complex nutrition concepts into information anyone can understand.
Rachel Pepling, MA
With degrees in wildlife ecology and science writing, plus lots of experience in digital project management, Rachel is ready to wrangle both your content and your squirrels.
Heidi Phelon
As a vegan (plus eggs) who loves outdoor activities, Heidi makes her own health a priority, so focusing on nutrition and heart disease and stroke prevention at Palladian feels just right.
Lauren Plowman, MPH
Lauren loves exploring. Whether she’s out hiking with her husband and pup or deep in the spreadsheets of our clients’ data, she’s finding all the interesting stories.
Joan Quigley, JD, MS
Joan enjoys solving problems, meeting deadlines, and working with writers. She’s detail oriented and notes that her name contains all of the vowels, including Y.
Sheryl Rhoads
Some of Sheryl’s loves: her daughters, her husband, reading, wedding cake, and developing strategies to provide trustworthy online health content that is easy to find, understand, and use.
Kisha Rose
Kisha enjoys the challenge of keeping up with changes to various desktop publishing software packages. At home, her husband, kids, and mischievous Yorkshire terrier keep her on her toes.
Diana Rubin, MA
Diana won her middle school spelling bee. She’s still keeping on top of spelling errors today—and the fast-changing pace of the digital world.
Amy Schneider
Amy works as a project coordinator and editor, keeping Palladian’s writers busy and keeping their writing clear. In her free time, she plays clarinet in a community band.
Salaeha Shariff, M.S.
Salaeha works hard to have a positive impact on the world, through her close collaborations with clients; her time with family, friends, and community—and her cooking and baking skills.
Chris Sheppard, MPS
Chris is a big Doctor Who fan, but there’s no Tardis to help her coordinate our editorial projects. Good thing she’s also a big fan of writing, organizing, and learning.
Claire Simon
Though she’s watched the entire “Grey’s Anatomy” series four times, Claire knows fact from fiction when managing public health outreach campaigns. Her passion for helping others includes non-human animals, too.
Alexandra Simpson, CMP.
Alex loves meeting new people and getting creative with events, which means she’s right at home on our conference team. She’s also at home on horseback.
Haley Spencer
A college class on gender and international development got Haley interested in public health. She likes thinking about how to make our work more inclusive and accessible to diverse populations.
Kelsey Sugrue, PhD
Kelsey always knew she wanted to study biology, but she was good at writing, too. In grad school, she realized she could combine the two; now she’s a science writer.
Carly Sullivan
Carly assists with the ins and outs of planning events for many clients. When she’s not in meetings, she’s often outside with her German shepherd.
Isabel Turi
Isabel can’t whistle or snap, but she can use her passions for health, writing, and helping others to communicate about scary and stressful health issues in a clear, gentle way.
Nicole Vincent, MA
In strategic health communications, Nicole has found her niche: a place where she can think creatively to come up with new and better ways to share knowledge about health.
Rob Wald, MA
Senior Advisor
Rob believes in the power of collaboration—working to each person’s strengths to find the best solutions. He is also a big fan of coffee, biking, beer, barbecue, and pie.
Jing Wang
Jing studied chemical engineering in college…until a new major was created in computer gaming. Now he works as a web developer, exploring and creating our digital world.
Alaina Willing, MA
Alaina has encountered five black bears in two national parks. Fortunately, they haven’t followed her to the office, where she helps people encounter the health information they need.
Maria Young, CMP, CMM
Maria approaches her work team with patience, attention to detail, diplomacy—and a great sense of humor. Her interests include new recipes and music from the 80s and 90s.
Michelle Zahler
The other kids started asking Michelle to proofread their papers in middle school. When she’s not sniffing out errors at Palladian, she’s practicing Krav Maga or volunteering to help animals.
Laura Zeifang
Laura uses her background in new media communications and strategic planning to support many of our projects. Outside of work she enjoys ballet and acting.