Karen Foster is the Executive Director of All Out Adventures based in Massachusetts. Prior to being appointed as its Executive Director, Karen worked for this organization as a program leader. She has also been a 9th grade history teacher and school-based program administrator. Karen is certified to teach coastal kayaking and stand-up paddle boardi…

Molly Lynch, MPH, and Linda Squiers, PhD, both work within the Communication Practice Area at RTI International. Lynch has over 15 years of experience developing, implementing, and evaluating public health programs with a focus on health literacy. She now directs RTI’s Audience Engagement Research Program. This includes using human-centered design …

Rohini Khillan, MPH, has been working in the field of public health policy for over a decade in both federal agencies and large nonprofit organizations. While her focus is primarily on issues of aging and disability, Rohini has worked on a variety of topics that include access to care and socioeconomic disparities. Much of her work centers on makin…

Cindy Brach was the lead for health literacy and cultural competence at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and co-chaired the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Literacy Workgroup. Brach led the creation of many important health literacy tools and resources including the AHRQ Health Literacy Universal Precaution…

Aditya Tummala and Beier Nelson are Co-Founders and Executive Directors of The Health Fluency Project. Their goal is to use AI (Artificial Intelligence) and other technology to help dismantle barriers that prevent people from accessing health services. Tummala is an undergrad student at Harvard College studying Biomedical Engineering. His primary f…

Rear Admiral (RDML) Paul Reed, MD is the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health, the Director of the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, a pediatrician, and a senior U.S. Public Health Service Officer. His primary responsibility is to advise the Assistant Secretary for Health on disease prevention and health promotion programs an…

Akila Muthukumar graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College with a major in human developmental and regenerative biology and a minor in English. Muthukumar helped establish and lead a question-listing service at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. She also has done a lot of writing, including for the health and medicine website, STAT News…

Katie Leath MPH, MA, is Director of the Center for Health Literacy at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). Leath is a passionate health communicator who brings years of experience in making health information easy to read, understand, and use. She leads a team of health literacy experts who create and edit health-related material…

Richard Lui is an award-winning journalist with more than 30 years in media, technology, and business. He has served as a television news anchor at MSNBC, NBC News, and CNN Worldwide. Among his many accomplishments, Lui spent 15 years in business, serves on boards at non-profit organizations and for-profit firms, and is an ambassador for non-govern…

Greg O’Neill, MSN, APRN, AGCNS-BC, is Director of Patient & Family Health Education at ChristianaCare in Delaware. Building on his experience in patient care as a trauma/surgical ICU nurse, O’Neill has developed a team of professionals who champion health literacy best practices systemwide and support all manner of patient education initiatives and…

Dr. Mark V. Williams serves as Professor & Chief of the Division of Hospital Medicine at the Washington University School of Medicine and BJC HealthCare in Saint Louis, Missouri. Dr. Williams established the first hospitalist program in a U.S. public hospital and continues to promote the role of hospitalists as leaders in the delivery of health car…

Claire Wardle, PhD, is co-founder and co-director of the Information Futures Lab and Professor of the Practice at Brown University’s School of Public Health. Wardle is considered a leader in the field of misinformation, verification, and user generated content. Among her many accomplishments, Wardle developed an organization-wide training program a…

LouAnn Bala MSN, RN, brings a background as clinical nurse educator and health coach to her work at Get Well. Her publications and research aim to improve quality and safety for patients, further the study of alternative and lifestyle medicine, and build the case for using technology to improve care delivery. Bala has created numerous patient educa…

Diana Zuckerman, Ph.D. is President of the National Center for Health Research, a nonprofit think tank that conducts and analyzes research on a wide range of healthcare and health policy issues. She and a team use this research to inform policies and programs that affect the health of adults and children. Among her many accomplishments, Diana Zucke…

Karen Komondor RN, BSN, CCRN is passionate about health literacy. This comes from knowing why understandable health communication matters so much to her, both personally and professionally. Karen is Founder and President of Health Literacy 360, LLC. Her work includes chairing health literacy programs at an urban teaching hospital, leading health li…

Christopher Booth MD, FRCPC, is a Medical Oncologist and Health Services Researcher at Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada. In his clinical practice, Dr. Booth provides care to patients with gastrointestinal cancers. His research explores issues of access, quality, and value of cancer care in Canada, India, and other nations. Dr. Booth is a well…

Maria Baimas-George, MD, MPH, not only is a transplant surgeon but also the author and illustrator of The Strength of My Scars, a series of children’s books about a wide range of medical and surgical conditions. Dr. Baimas-George is passionate about the value of intertwining art and surgery to improve patient understanding, increase satisfaction, a…

Nicole Liebau, BSW, is Director of the Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) National Resource Center at the Northeast Iowa Area Agency on Aging, Inc. There are over 50 SMP projects across the United States that focus on issues of Medicare fraud, outreach, and education. In this podcast, Nicole Liebau talks with Helen Osborne about: Fraud and abuse. What th…

Elena T. Carbone, DrPH, RD/LDN, FAND is Professor of Nutrition and Associate Dean for Curriculum & Academic Oversight in the Honors College at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Carbone has over 25 years of experience in health education, health literacy, and nutrition communication. Her research engages multi-ethnic communities with low heal…

Teresa Wagner DrPH, RD/LD, CHWI, has expertise in both wellness and health literacy. She is Assistant Professor in the School of Health Professions and in the School of Public Health at the University of North Texas Health Science Center. She’s also Interim Director/Clinical Executive for Health Literacy at SaferCare Texas, the state’s patient safe…

Alice Horowitz, RDH, MA, PhD, is a Research Professor in the Department of Behavioral and Community Health at University of Maryland’s School of Public Health in College Park. She was instrumental in initiating the need to address health literacy in dentistry. Dr. Horowitz’s ongoing advocacy, research, and teaching have helped professionals of all …

Genevieve Walker, PhD, is a medical writer and editor who creates plain-language educational and marketing content for patients and other health care consumers. Through her business, Bridge Health Communications, Genevieve helps organizations strategize, develop, and execute communications with patients and the public. In this podcast, Genevieve Wa…

Kip Clark describes himself as being passionate about better and more meaningful communication. This belief guides his work as a standardized patient with medical students and as a podcast host and producer. Clark came to working as a standardized patient work from a background in improv comedy. He is a graduate of Kenyon College with a degree in E…

Lenora Johnson, DrPH, MPH directs the science policy, engagement, health education, and public-facing communication initiatives of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) at the National Institute of Health (NIH). This office supports and coordinates the public facing messaging and information delivery channels on behalf of NHLBI. One…

Tedi Brash and Melissa Yan are based in Toronto, Canada. They, along with Rashmi Bhide, are authors of the terrific how-to resource, “A Guide to Developing Live Virtual Group Patient Education: Nine Steps to Success.” Brash is a Patient and Family Education Specialist at Unity Health Toronto. She works with clinical teams, patients, and families to…