A Brave New Podcast

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

Josh Dougherty is a brand strategist, speaker, and the founder and CEO of A Brave New, a Seattle-based B2B digital marketing agency specializing in tech and healthcare. Over the last decade plus, he's worked with clients to develop unique brands and accelerate business growth using web design, inbound marketing, and account-based marketing strategies.

What you'll learn about in this episode:

• The importance of team-wide brand ownership, and why brand only becomes real when it's embraced across the entire organization, not just marketing, to drive authenticity, credibility, and emotional connection.
• How simple and easy-to-use tools empower your entire team to live out the brand.
• How to use a brand filter to create and apply 5-7 open ended questions that guide everyday decisions and help shape ideas to stay signed with your brand.
• How to implement branded behaviors to translate your brand into simple, actionable, behaviors that employees can consistently practice in their daily work.
• Why quarterly brand training matters: including ongoing, interactive training to keep the brand on top of mind and turn it into action through repetition, team discussion, and real commitments.
• How to develop messaging themes by defining 3-5 brand-aligned themes that guide all communications over time, creating consistency and improving brand recall.

Additional resources:

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

Annie Furlong is VP of Consumer and Growth (B2C) Marketing at Carrum Health. Annie brings 15+ years of experience as a B2C, B2B2C, and B2B marketer and people manager to healthtech and employer benefits markets. She has worked at and consulted for startups, associations, and large publicly traded organizations. As a strategic, creative, & energetic marketer, Annie's professional passions include business and account strategy, process creation & improvement, shaping customer experiences, professional development and women's leadership, driving adoption and engagement of products, and leading teams.

She is the proud parent of two little girls, an avid downhill and cross-country skier, and a lover of all things that living in Colorado has to offer. Annie received her bachelor's degree from Colby College, where she studied neurobiology and business, and has a master's in Organizational Leadership with a concentration in Strategic Innovation and Change from the University of Denver.

What you'll learn about in this episode:

• How branding works in B2B2C healthcare marketing, including Annie's framework for building brand trust through consistency, reputation, and real customer experiences.
• How to market to employees inside a B2B company, and why understanding both the employer buyer and the employee end-user is critical to driving adoption.
• How to maintain brand consistency across multiple channels, and why B2B2C brands should adapt their messaging for different employee populations, including strategies for reaching office workers, frontline teams, and distributed workforces.
• How Annie approaches consumer and growth marketing within a healthcare benefits platform, and the shifts that Carrum Health is making in specialty care access.
• What it takes to stand out in the crowded B2B2C healthcare marketing landscape, and why empathy and meeting people where they are in their healthy journey matters.
• How unconventional channels like direct mail, QR codes, billboards, and benefits fairs can cut through the noise when marketing healthcare solutions to employees.
• How to balance performance marketing with long-term brand building when your goal is both immediate action and lasting trust.
• Why rebuilding trust in healthcare marketing is essential today, and how brands can acknowledge the broken system while positioning a better path forward.

Additional resources:

• Annie Furlong on LinkedIn
• B2B2C Marketing Collective on Slack
• Carrum Health Website
• Josh Dougherty on LinkedIn
• Josh Dougherty's speaking site
• A Brave New's Website

Adam Taylor is a multidisciplinary designer, illustrator, and educator with more than 15 years of professional experience in Utah, Michigan, and Seattle. Throughout his career, he has worn many hats within the ever-evolving world of design, but his strongest affinities lie in strategic brand development, UI/UX, and illustration.

Adam also serves as a remote Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at Michigan State University, where he teaches courses on design tools, theory, and brand identity development. Outside of work, he's an occasional exhibiting fine artist, a novice dungeon master for a very patient group of friends, and a small-time local musician.

What you'll learn about in this episode:

• When to pursue a brand refresh or rebrand including outdated visual identities, poor digital performance, or falling behind competitors.
• The classical branding process: research, strategy, brand identity, touchpoints, and asset management.
• How organizations can approach rebrands incrementally by tackling different phases of the branding process over time instead of everything at once.
• Why research is the foundation of successful branding, guiding strategy, messaging, and design decisions.
• How to refresh brand positioning when messaging lacks clarity, value propositions are weak, or target audience shifts.
• Why new company or product launches require a strong brand story, clear positioning, and a distinctive visual identity.
• How mergers and acquisitions create opportunities to unify cultures, align offerings, and establish a shared brand DNA.
• Less common triggers for rebranding, including name changes, leadership transitions, and major market shifts.
• How brand strategy helps organizations win in the market by building authentic connections and creating long-term value.

Additional resources:

• Adam Taylor on LinkedIn
• Brand Naming by Robert Meyerson
• Josh's Podcast with Rob Myerson
• Just Enough Research by Erika Hall
• Josh Dougherty on LinkedIn
• Josh Dougherty's speaking site
• A Brave New's Website

Jen Bruursema is Senior Director of Marketing and PR at DELFI Diagnostics, where she leads marketing strategy for FirstLook Lung, a blood-based test for early lung cancer detection.

With more than 20 years in healthcare diagnostics, Jen has built her career at the intersection of complex science and human behavior. She got her start at Digene, where she commercialized the first FDA-approved HPV DNA test for cervical cancer screening, and has since held marketing leadership roles at QIAGEN, Ariosa Diagnostics (acquired by Roche), Karius, IDbyDNA (acquired by Illumina), Metabiota (acquired by Ginkgo Bioworks), and Clear Labs. Across genomics, infectious disease, prenatal screening, and oncology, her focus has remained consistent: translating breakthrough diagnostics into tools that actually reach the patients and providers who need them.

Jen is certified in AI and data-driven marketing and actively applies generative AI to scale marketing operations. She's based in San Francisco.

What you'll learn about in this episode:

• Why branding in diagnostics is about keeping a promise and earning trust with every interaction.
• The importance of meeting people where they are in their journey with their health.
• How to differentiate in a regulated healthcare industry and why education, transparency, and medical-legal alignment are your strongest marketing assets.
• How to position innovation without triggering resistance and why DELFI frames its AI-powered First Look Lung test as an on-ramp to CT screening, not a disruption to existing standards of care.
• What it takes to stand out in a crowded diagnostic space by diving into focus, clinical evidence, and meaningful differentiation.
• The delicate balance between clinical credibility and the deeply emotional reality of cancer detection where fear and stigma are real.
• Why partnerships with health systems shapes everything from messaging hierarchy to channel strategy.
• How AI will transform marketing workflows by enabling smaller teams to scale content while protecting brand voice and regulatory guardrails.

Additional resources:

• Jen Bruursema on LinkedIn
• DELFI Diagnostics' Website
• Josh Dougherty on LinkedIn
• Josh Dougherty's speaking site
• A Brave New's Website

Erica Klinger is the VP of Marketing at AMCP, the professional association for managed care pharmacy professionals, where she works to optimize medicine and improve lives with a diverse group of stakeholders from health plans, PBMs, policymakers, biopharma, students and educational institutions. Under her leadership, AMCP was recognized by ASAE in 2025 for a Gold Circle Award for best website and a Power of Associations Award for addressing health disparities in medication through an awareness campaign.

Erica is active on brand and marketing advisory groups such as the National Health Council Brand Value Task Force, National Digital Roundtable and Global Biosimilars Week on the board of the DC Tech & Venture Coalition. Her experience as a digital pioneer has earned her speaking appearances and podcasts including Voices of Advocacy podcast, Advocacy Desk podcast, ASAE conferences, AMPLIFY 2023 and the first-ever Google Nonprofit Summit in DC.

• Erica's definition of branding and why your brand is the sum of experiences, perceptions, and trust.
• Practical trends for brand and marketing experts including how AI will shape brand and product innovation, and why social media and search results are becoming the new face of your brand.
• How the future of healthcare membership marketing lies in agile, AI-powered personalization that meets members in real time, removes friction, and builds lasting trust and loyalty through meaningful, surprise and delight engagement.
• How to build and protect trust in a healthcare environment by positioning your organization as an unbiased, evidence-based perspective.
• Why marketing leaders in membership organizations need to act as organizational orchestrators aligning education, policy, membership, and corporate partners around one unified mission.
• Why trust is the core product in membership based organizations, and how retention becomes the growth strategy.
• How community building differs from selling a static product, and why brand work is a living, breathing tool that happens every day.

• Erica Klinger on LinkedIn
• AMCP'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 B2B digital marketing agency specializing in tech and healthcare. Over the last decade plus, he's worked with clients to develop unique brands and accelerate business growth using web design, inbound marketing, and account-based marketing strategies.

What you'll learn about in this episode:

• Key findings from the 2025-2026 Edelman Trust Barometer and what they reveal about global mistrust trends.
• How declining public trust and societal insularity are reshaping marketing strategy.
• Why businesses are now viewed as the most trusted and competent institutions.
• What it means for brands to act as "trust brokers" in a polarized environment.
• How healthcare and health tech companies can build trust in the age of AI.
• Strategies to reduce skepticism through transparency, outcomes, and social proof.
• Why patients trust local healthcare providers and community-centered establishments.
• How to earn trust through authentic storytelling, earned media, and value-driven positioning.

Additional resources:

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

Kevin is a fourth generation Seattle entrepreneur and small business owner who founded Dynamic Computing in the year 2000 while attending the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington.

Over the past 20+ years, Kevin has built Dynamic Computing from the ground up into the thriving small business it is today. Kevin holds degrees in both Business Administration and Political Science from the University of Washington in Seattle. He was recognized as Washington State's Mr. Future Business Leader in 1998 and as a Puget Sound Business Journal 40 under 40 honoree in 2018.

Outside of work, Kevin is an avid golfer, perennial Little League coach, budding education and policy advocate, husband to a wonderful wife, and father of two twice-exceptional boys.

What you'll learn about in this episode:

• How IT directly impacts your brand and reputation
• How Kevin defines branding: Branding isn't a logo or tagline, it's what people think and feel about your business when they're not actively interacting with you. It's the impressions that stick, the emotions they remember, and the moments that shape how your company is perceived long after the interaction ends.
• How healthcare organizations can protect PHI and stay HIPAA compliant: Kevin explains how managed IT providers support healthcare teams by starting with a comprehensive IT and compliance audit, identifying HIPAA HITECH, and other regulatory gaps, and building a roadmap that aligns security tools, employee training, budgeting, and long-term IT planning.
• The connection between technology, people strategy, and productivity: Discover how the right tech stack enables happier employees, lower labor costs, and stronger company culture.
• How to build an entrepreneurial business without outside capital: Kevin shares his journey of founding Dynamic Computing, reinvesting profits, prioritizing cash flow disciplines, and maintaining sustainable growth by focusing on quality over rapid scale.
• Why quality-driven growth matters: Learn how focusing on strong client relationships, recurring revenue, and employee retention creates a healthy, self-reinforcing business cycle.
• The real risks of underinvesting in IT security: Hear a firsthand example of how a security breach led to financial loss and legal consequences, and why proactive security is essential for trust and risk mitigation.
• How to plan IT budgets, capital expenses, and tech refresh cycles: Get practical advice on separating operating expenses from capital investments, avoiding surprise costs, and proactively managing tech debt.

Additional resources:

• Kevin Gemeroy on LinkedIn
• Dynamic Computing Website
• Josh Dougherty on LinkedIn
• Josh Dougherty's speaking site
• A Brave New's Website

Saige Carpenter is the Director of Brand Marketing at PointClickCare, where she leads brand strategy, enterprise positioning, and integrated marketing programs designed to build and protect brand equity, establish trust, and fuel buying consideration. She spearheaded the company's enterprise-wide brand refresh and ensures the brand shows up clearly and credibly at every stage of the buyer journey.

With a background in sales across long-term post-acute care, Saige brings a future-focused, commercially grounded approach to brand—rooted in real buyer insight, market understanding, and purpose-led storytelling.

What you'll learn about in this episode:

• Why PointClickCare embarked on a corporate rebrand after rapid growth, and why clarity mattered more than reinvention.

• How to define branding in healthcare as a consistent, authentic experience and not just a visual identity.

• What it takes to execute a large scale rebrand across products, teams, and customer touchpoints.

• How PointClickCare aligned its brand to a clear mission: helping providers deliver exceptional care.

• Ways a strong brand enables teams to better serve diverse healthcare audiences.

• How to simplify complex healthcare offerings through focused brand storytelling.

• Strategies for gaining executive buy-in during a high-stakes rebranding effort.

• Common barriers to successful rebrands and how to overcome them with data and customer insight.

• How to measure brand success and maintain momentum and consistency after a brand launch.

Additional resources:

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