Jennifer is a seasoned healthcare leader with expertise in leading start-up and high growth organizations, with a proven track record of executing on go-to-market and growth strategies in the employer, payor and provider channels.

Jennifer currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of Pacify Health, a leader in tech-enabled Maternity Management Solutions. Previously, Jennifer served as General Manager and Chief Commercial Officer for Vera Whole Health, an advanced primary care organization and at Optum as Senior Vice President, Commercial Growth. Jennifer serves as a board member for Zero Health, a leader in employer direct contracting and as the Board Chair for the Minnesota Milk Bank for Babies.

Jennifer holds an MBA from the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management and an MS in Kinesiology from the University of North Dakota.

What you'll learn about in this episode:

• How Jennifer and the Pacify team made the strategic decision to expand from on-demand lactation into a doula-led maternity management model
• What the research actually shows about doulas' impact on clinical outcomes and birth experience
• How to apply "calculated bravery" when making a fundamental shift to your business model
• Why Pacify chose to evolve its brand positioning rather than rename the company
• How to balance brand messaging across complex audiences, including members, providers, paying customers, and internal teams
• Why education and human outbound calls are essential to driving engagement, even for free services
• How Jennifer thinks about the role of AI and technology in a deeply human care experience

Additional resources:

• Jennifer Sargent on LinkedIn
• Pacify Health's Website
• Josh Dougherty on LinkedIn
• Josh Dougherty's speaking site
• A Brave New's Website

Josh Dougherty is a brand strategist, speaker, and the founder and CEO of A Brave New, a Seattle-based branding agency that crafts bold and memorable healthcare brands. They have specific expertise in healthcare technology, hospitals and specialty care providers, and healthcare nonprofits. Josh has 15 years experience building new brands from scratch, refreshing existing brands and building strategies to bring those brands to life in the market.

What you'll learn about in this episode:

• Why branding decisions during mergers and acquisitions shouldn't be treated as an afterthought.
• The hidden cost of delaying brand strategy until after a deal closes.
• The three main brand architecture approaches: monolithic brands, endorsed brands, and house of brands.
• How to determine which brand architecture approach is right for your organization.
• Why understanding buyer behavior is critical when evaluating brand consolidation.
• How brand architecture and on the ground teams can serve as a driving force in aligning leadership around how to communicate about the future of the combined organizations
• Why tactical branding changes made under pressure often create long-term challenges.

Additional resources:

• Josh Dougherty on LinkedIn
• Josh Dougherty's speaking site
• A Brave New's Website

Bridget Locke is Vice President of Strategic Marketing at VitalPath, a leading contract design and manufacturing partner focused on complex catheter solutions for the medical device industry. She specializes in helping highly technical B2B organizations translate complex capabilities into clear market positioning, scalable growth strategies, and high-impact customer engagement.

With experience spanning strategic marketing, sales alignment, brand development, M&A integration, and commercial strategy, Bridget has built and led growth initiatives across the medtech manufacturing ecosystem. Her career has included leadership roles at Vantedge Medical, ATL Technology, Heraeus Medevio, and Northwire, where she partnered closely with executive teams to align marketing, sales, and business strategy in complex and regulated industries.

At VitalPath, Bridget focuses on building a brand centered around collaboration, technical partnership, responsiveness, and innovation, helping OEMs accelerate the development and commercialization of next-generation catheter technologies. She is particularly passionate about aligning strategy with execution, creating strong sales and marketing integration, and leveraging emerging technologies like AI to enhance both customer experience and operational effectiveness.

Based in the Minneapolis-St. Paul medtech hub, Bridget brings a practical, growth-oriented perspective on branding, leadership, and the evolving future of medical device innovation.

What you'll learn about in this episode:

• How VitalPath differentiates in a competitive market by being the responsive, collaborative specialist rather than the large generalist.
• Why the strongest MedTech brands are built on focus and people, not capabilities lists.
• The importance of understanding your customer journey and what it looks like to map that out in a B2B contract manufacturing context.
• How Bridget approaches sales and marketing alignment, including her perspective on having sales operations aligned within the marketing organization.
• What marketing in a PE-backed company looks like, and how to think about your four distinct audience profiles.
• Where AI is adding value today in MedTech marketing, and where the human touch can't be replaced.

Additional resources:

• Bridget Locke on LinkedIn
• VitalPath's Website
• Josh Dougherty on LinkedIn
• Josh Dougherty's speaking site
• A Brave New's Website

Sharon Dayan is an accomplished, strategic marketing executive with over 15 years of experience driving growth for B2B, early-stage, and global technology and healthcare companies. Dedicated to working towards a "Healthier Tomorrow," Sharon has built a career around using cutting-edge technology to improve patient outcomes and solve complex market needs.

Currently serving as the VP of Marketing at Biobeat, Sharon leads the marketing strategy for the company's ground-breaking, FDA-cleared, cuffless 24-hour blood pressure monitoring platform. By replacing uncomfortable, legacy cuff-based measurements with, a wireless patch that provides day and night data, the platform empowers clinicians to detect hypertension early and manage this condition, transition care to reactive precise management. Prior to this, she was the VP of Marketing at BRIA AI, responsible, Visual Generative AI platform for enterprises, and the Head of Global Marketing at Medix Global, where she managed multi-lingual teams across 12 global offices to advance health equity. Her diverse background also includes pivotal early leadership roles.

A proactive, fast-learning leader, Sharon blends a strong academic foundation-including an MBA in Marketing & Entrepreneurship and a Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) with a proven track record of building brand stories, fostering strategic partnerships, and scaling businesses.

What you'll learn about in this episode:

• Why branding in medical devices isn't just about visibility, and why it's about building clinical credibility including giving physicians the confidence to rethink long-standing approaches.
• How Biobeat is redefining hypertension management with the first FDA-cleared cuffless 24-hour blood pressure monitoring patch, and why nighttime blood pressure data matters more than people realize.
• Why brand voice and creative strategy are still deeply human strengths, and why the soul of a brand can't be automated, even as AI continues to evolve.
• Why product-market fit is a powerful marketing tool, and how solving a clear, meaningful problem makes storytelling more impactful.
• Why nearly half of Americans are living with hypertension, and how earlier, more accurate diagnosis could prevent serious downstream health issues and costs.
• How to identify and empower early adopters in a highly regulated industry where change moves slowly, and why those champions are essential for building momentum.
• Sharon's perspective on using AI in regulated marketing: where it's valuable, where it falls short, and why human oversight remains critical.

Additional resources:

• Sharon Dayan on LinkedIn
• Biobeat's Website
• Josh Dougherty on LinkedIn
• Josh Dougherty's speaking site
• A Brave New's Website

Josh Dougherty is a brand strategist, speaker, and the founder and CEO of A Brave New, a Seattle-based branding agency that crafts bold and memorable healthcare brands. They have specific expertise in healthcare technology, hospitals and specialty care providers, and healthcare nonprofits. Josh has 15 years experience building new brands from scratch, refreshing existing brands and building strategies to bring those brands to life in the market.

What you'll learn about in this episode:

• Josh's key takeaways from the 2026 NACCDO-CMCA Annual Conference in Toronto, Canada.
• Why cancer centers need to champion the value of cancer research, and what's at stake as federal research funding faces pressure.
• Why NCI designated cancer centers have a unique opportunity to become trusted information hubs in an era of AI search, misinformation, and fragmented media.
• How to think about differentiation for cancer centers in contrast to smaller facilities that can't match the level of care.
• How AI is accelerating cancer care through lung cancer screening, clinical trial matching, and AI-assisted radiation treatment plans.
• The challenges matrix cancer centers face when it comes to developing a differentiated brand and aligning all parties around a single communication strategy; and how enterprise content strategy and brand architecture can improve coordination, alignment, and consistency across complex health systems.
• Why findability is getting harder, and why the shift from informational keywords to mid-funnel, decision-stage content is critical for cancer center websites.
• How to show up in AI-powered answer engines like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity using structured data, schema, and answer engine optimization (AEO).

Additional resources:

• National Association of Cancer Center Development Offices Website
• Cancer Marketing and Communications Association Website
• Josh Dougherty on LinkedIn
• Josh Dougherty's speaking site
• A Brave New's Website

Jacqueline Parisi is the Head of Marketing at Elektra Health and brings over a decade of experience in brand strategy and growth marketing. She kicked off her career as the first U.S. copywriter at HelloFresh before transitioning into the digital health space. She has consulted for Seed to Series C digital health startups like Ophelia, Tend, Local Infusion, and Proper (incubated by Redesign Health). Jacqueline is an alumna of Boston College and NYU. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

What you'll learn about in this episode:

• How Elektra Health is redefining women's healthcare through a virtual, evidence-based model that combines clinical care, coaching, and community support.
• Jacqueline's definition of branding and why it's not just what you say, but what customers experience and believe after interacting with your brand.
• Jacqueline's three pillars of a great brand including, consistency across every touchpoint, distinctiveness you can recognize without a logo, and the ability to deliver on your promise every time.
• Why a bold, positive brand is essential in breaking stigmas, especially in a space like menopause that has been historically overlooked or misrepresented.
• Why growth and brand-building should never be treated as separate efforts, and how strong branding improves performance marketing efficiency.
• How to think about measuring brand impact, from cost of acquisition (CAC and branded search to qualitative signals like perception in AI tools and customer feedback.
• Real-world ways AI is being used today to gain deeper research, social listening, and uncovering customer insights.
• The emerging trends shaping the future of marketing beyond AI, and why staying close to your customer will always be your biggest advantage.
• How to balance being critically rigorous and evidence-based while still sounding human, conversational, and actionable in your messaging.
• What Elektra Health wants to be known for in the next year, including approachability, unbiased care, and a commitment to science-backed outcomes.

Additional resources:

• Jacqueline Parisi on LinkedIn
• Elektra Health's Website
• Josh Dougherty on LinkedIn
• Josh Dougherty's speaking site
• A Brave New's Website

Chad Kearns is a Senior Vice President at Fired Up! Culture, bringing nearly 15 years of experience in building teams and leading organizations to his work in helping leaders build culture and engagement in the organizations they lead.

Before joining Fired Up! Culture in 2022, Chad headed a 50+ person marketing agency, guiding the organization through multiple growth periods and acquisitions. During that time, he built seven-figure service lines from the ground up, developed leaders and executives who elevated their teams, and drove the kind of employee engagement that produces remarkable business results.

Today, as Senior Vice President at Fired Up! Culture, Chad partners with executive leadership teams of all sizes to navigate meaningful change management processes, cultivating healthy, high-performing cultures and business outcomes.

What you'll learn about in this episode:

• The similarities and differences between building a great brand and a great culture
• The specific areas of overlap between brand and culture in an organization
• The markers of a healthy culture
• How to tell if you have a culture issue that needs to be addressed
• The level of influence and control that leaders have over their organizational culture
• The importance of alignment in building a great culture
• Why building a great culture almost always comes down to having the right people on the team
• Chad's hot take that middle managers are more important than people think and flat organizations may not be as effective as people assume

Additional resources:

• Chad Kearns on LinkedIn
• Fired Up! Culture's Website
• Fired Up! Culture's Newsletter
• Josh Dougherty on LinkedIn
• Josh Dougherty's speaking site
• A Brave New's Website

Lon Hecht is a seasoned healthcare executive with over 25 years of experience leading transformative growth. He joined Care2U as Chief Growth Officer in 2023 and became CEO in 2024, reflecting his strategic vision and results-driven leadership. Previously, Lon was SVP of Growth at Optum Home and Community Care, where he helped integrate and scale innovative healthcare models, including naviHealth, Landmark, Prospero, and Optum at Home.

His leadership portfolio includes roles as Chief Commercial Officer at Utilize Health, VP of Payor and Provider Markets at Teladoc, Founder and CEO of QuickSeeMD, and VP of Sales at eviCore. Known for delivering exponential growth and building high-performing teams, Lon is a recognized leader in value-based care. He combines entrepreneurial drive with operational expertise and a strong network across payor and provider markets.

Lon holds a B.S. in Marketing from West Chester University of Pennsylvania and resides with his family on the Jersey Shore.

What you'll learn about in this episode:

• How Care2U has positioned its brand around a disruptive care model, delivering high acuity care at home, and how that promise is translated into messaging that makes a complex healthcare service understandable to different audiences.
• How Care2U differentiates its brand by owning a distinct positioning around acuity, access, and cost in a way that resonates with both payers and patients.
• The real-world patient impact of receiving hospital-level care at home, combined with a rapid-response model that deploys clinicians within 2-4 hours to deliver high-acuity treatment at home.
• How payer alignment shapes credibility, and why the ability to speak directly to the insurance economics is important when scaling a healthcare brand.
• How Care2U aligns with insurers and differentiates from both hospital at home programs and urgent care providers.
• Why spending more time with patients and less time spent in waiting rooms leads to better outcomes and smarter care decisions.
• The measurable clinical outcomes behind the NPS (Net Promoter Score) model including hospital escalation rates, strong patient experiences, and effective and safe recovery at home.
• Where this care model is headed next and the broader vision for transforming the future of healthcare delivery, following its success in the New York market.

Additional resources:

• Lon Hecht on LinkedIn
• Care2U Website
• Josh Dougherty on LinkedIn
• Josh Dougherty's speaking site
• A Brave New's Website

Danielle Ruckert has built RH Strategic's healthcare practice into a hub for some of the industry's most urgent conversations.

She consistently and deftly guides clients through thorny issues—from Medicaid cuts for rural providers to new technologies reshaping organ transplantation—shaping messages that resonate with policymakers, patients and investors alike.

Her leadership has expanded the firm's portfolio into women's health, hospital systems and reputation management, adding to longstanding strengths in health IT and medical devices. She is especially passionate about bringing visibility to underrepresented areas of healthcare, from women's health innovations to reform in the transplant system.

Danielle's strategic eye is matched by her curiosity: She's constantly scanning the policy environment, exploring new tools and mentoring colleagues who share her passion for communications and healthcare. That mix of industry fluency and forward vision has made her a trusted partner to companies navigating one of the most complicated and consequential sectors of the economy.

What you'll learn about in this episode:

• How PR (public relations) validates your brand in the "court of public opinion" ensuring your positioning, messaging, and values actually resonate in the real world.
• How consistency across channels builds (or breaks) trust by maintaining the same brand story across social, website, and executive voices to maintain credibility.
• Why PR is a powerful brand signal, not just a comms function, and how earned media shapes perception at scale and reinforces your entire brand ecosystem.
• Why your executive team are essential ambassadors for your brand, and how to activate them via thought leadership on platforms like LinkedIn.
• Why patient storytelling is the anchor for all healthcare brands, and how leading organizations align messaging back to patient impact to create relevance and trust.
• What you need to build a high-performing PR program from an audience and objective setting to executive visibility, media, and thought leadership.
• How to uncover white space and stay ahead of risk using social listening and intelligence to identify emerging narratives before your competitors do.
• The difference between healthcare and health tech PR strategies like how traditional healthcare relies on data and outcomes, while health tech leans into innovation.
• How to align innovation storytelling with buyer-readiness in a way that meets more conservative buyers, like health systems, where they are.
• Why AI search is becoming your most important audience and how to think about AEO (AI Engine Optimization) to stay discoverable.

Additional resources:

• Danielle Ruckert on LinkedIn
• Raffetto Herman Strategic Communications Website
• Josh Dougherty on LinkedIn
• Josh Dougherty's speaking site
• A Brave New's Website

Gail is passionate about fostering awareness and helping Canadians feel educated and empowered to take control of their health. She is driven to connect more people with high-quality healthcare because she wholeheartedly believes that proactive and preventive actions lead to better health outcomes. To this end, she is always seeking new opportunities and innovative methods to share Harrison's clinical knowledge and expertise, ensuring as many people as possible feel informed and supported.

Her professional background is enriched by a variety of experiences, including roles in marketing agencies, consulting, and in-house positions with several notable brands. Over her career, she has contributed to projects for the Province of British Columbia, Vancity Credit Union, Hootsuite, Haribo, and Best Buy, among others. Her portfolio also includes managing the Robson Square Celebration Site during the 2010 Olympics, along with extensive expertise in experiential marketing and brand management. This diverse experience enables Gail to excel at creating polished, memorable experiences throughout the client journey.

What you'll learn about in this episode:

• Why brand is more about the experience and what you feel rather than visuals or what you say—and how to stay consistent across locations.
• How Harrison healthcare is redefining primary care with longer appointments and full care teams with its team-based, preventative care designed to remove the mental load for patients.
• What makes Harrison Healthcare's model stand out in Canada's healthcare landscape.
• The challenge of marketing something people don't think they need–until they do.
• Why selling private healthcare in Canada requires education, trust, and a clear value proposition.
• What client feedback reveals about the gaps in perceived proactivity, and how marketing is addressing it.
• The driver behind high retention: outcomes, relationships, and consistent experience.
• Where AI is improving speed in healthcare marketing, and why human oversight is essential to maintain brand voice and trust.
• How Harrison translates "peace of mind" into a tangible, proactive care experience through ongoing communication.

Additional resources:

• Gail Findlay-Shirras on LinkedIn
• Harrison Healthcare Website
• Josh Dougherty on LinkedIn
• Josh Dougherty's speaking site
• A Brave New's Website