Brian Biroscak, (he/him/his)

Case Western Reserve University Center for Community Health Integration

In December 2021, Brian relocated to Cleveland, Ohio and joined Case Western Reserve University’s Center for Community Health Integration (CHI Center) as an Assistant Professor. He researches, writes, and lectures in the areas of violence prevention, injury prevention, systems science, social marketing, and participatory research methods. He has a strong interest in the integration of social marketing and systems science to advance social change.

Before joining the CHI Center, Brian was the first-ever Senior Research Scientist at Weitzman Institute within Community Health Center, Inc., a federally qualified health center headquartered in Middletown, Connecticut. As Weitzman’s Managing Director of Research and Evaluation, he was responsible for providing direct project management for individual research projects; working with internal researchers and outside collaborators to expand Weitzman Institute’s research program through collaboration with academic entities; and providing support and mentoring students and trainees. Previously, Brian worked as an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Yale School of Medicine.

Prior to pursuing his doctoral degree, Brian worked as an Epidemiologist with both a state and local health department. He holds a Bachelor degree in Applied Biology and Master’s degrees in Epidemiology and Health Communication. He completed his Doctor of Philosophy degree in Public Health with a focus on Social Marketing, and recently earned a Graduate Certificate in System Dynamics Modeling. Brian has published articles in multiple peer-reviewed journals and is a member of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Collaborator Network. He serves on the Editorial Board for Social Marketing Quarterly, and is Associate Editor for the Journal of Social Marketing.

Brian is a co-founder of SMANA, a multi-term SMANA board member, and past chair of our bi-annual North American Social Marketing Conference with USF.

Brian is currently enjoying learning about all the wonderful things Cleveland has to offer, and marks his calendar each time his Detroit Tigers come to town.

Nancy Lee, (she/her/hers)

Social Marketing Services, Inc.

Nancy, representing the Pacific Northwest Social Marketing Association (PNSMA), brings over 30 years of marketing experience to the table, specializing in Social Marketing. Armed with an MBA with a major in marketing from the University of Puget Sound, Nancy founded Social Marketing Services, Inc. in 1993. Her consultancy provides global professionals with strategic social marketing plans through consulting and training. Nancy is also an accomplished author, co-authoring 16 books on Social Marketing, 13 of them alongside Philip Kotler. As an Affiliate Professor at the University of Washington and an instructor for iSMA’s Certificate Course on Introduction to Social Marketing, Nancy is dedicated to advancing the field of Social Marketing. Her latest book (2024), written passion and urgency, is Reducing Gun Deaths and Injuries: A Social Marketing Approach.

Nancy provides consulting services and training on social marketing strategies. She is passionate about empowering professionals worldwide to develop effective social marketing plans that drive positive social change. Additionally, as a Board Director of the Pacific Northwest Social Marketing Association (PNSMA), Nancy plays a pivotal role in fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing within the regional social marketing community.

Nancy’s dedication to advancing social marketing extends to her involvement with SMANA where she values the opportunity to collaborate with fellow professionals and contribute to the growth of social marketing initiatives on a broader scale. Serving on the board, Nancy volunteers her time and expertise to support SMANA’s mission in North America and globally by driving iSMA’s initiative to “Get Social Marketing in Orbit by 2025”.

Nancy resides on Mercer Island in Washington State. What she enjoys most is doing something everyday to support the dissemination of Social Marketing as a discipline.

Christin H. D’Ovidio, (she/her/hers)

Putney Consulting

Christin is the Founder of Putney Consulting, a social marketer, and a consultant who has helped organizations amplify their impact through development, research, marketing, and change strategy. At Putney Consulting, Christin helps local businesses, mission-driven organizations and public sector partners grow through strategic project development, research, campaigns, and human-centered program design. Her project teams have annually won awards (2015 – 2022,  2024) for excellence in marketing for public health and social good.

After receiving her MFA from The New School, Christin moved from NYC and began a career in US state government and public health and she became involved in social marketing and behavior change science through the University of South Florida during the launch years of the Social Marketing and Public Health program. Concurrently, she became involved in the National Public Health Information Coalition (NPHIC) and served as a reviewer for the Communicator in Public Health (CCPH) certification, shortly after becoming a CCPH herself. In 2018 she joined the original SMANA Communications Committee to assist in growth efforts. She is happy to return as a Member of the Board and Chair of SMANA’s Communications Committee, and to continue to promote the scientifically rigorous intervention of social marketing and its practitioners across North America and the world.

Some of Christin’s passion areas include: youth substance use prevention and positive protective factors, harm reduction and recovery, climate and environmental health, and rural health and care access. Christin volunteers time to support the Yankee Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and serves as a Climate for Health Ambassador for ecoAmerica. She is a graduate of the Yale Climate Change and Health Program and the former host of the Power of Prevention podcast.

Christin lives in New England, and a large body of her work is ingrained in the health of that region. Her heart will also always belong to the fine arts and theatrical production. She enjoys taking time to grow and smell the fruits and flowers to share with her family and friends.

Lynda Bardfield (she/her/hers)

Creative Conscience & Tufts University School of Medicine

Leaving her private sector life behind, Lynda crossed over from commercial marketing to social marketing in 1990, bringing with her a wealth of experience having led strategic creative efforts for multinational advertising agencies in the U.S., Hong Kong, and across Latin America. Washington D.C. was a bit of a culture shock for this Executive Creative Director, a title that had not yet seemed to make it to the nation’s capital. Since then, her contributions as a social marketing practitioner and academic have included institutionalizing the Creative Brief with public sector clients, advocating for a creative seat at the strategic planning table, bridging the gap between research and program design, and directing numerous award-winning campaigns for federal and state agencies. 

As Chief Creative Officer of Creative Conscience, Lynda’s work focuses on branding behavior, creating media and moments that inspire, and helping to prepare the next generation of change agents. With this in mind, she joined SMANA to contribute to the future of Social Marketing with lessons learned over the past three decades working in over forty countries. Fluent in Spanish, Portuguese, and her native English, Lynda currently serves as SMANA’s Vice President. 

Lynda spends most of her time on Cape Cod with her husband and visiting adult children, surrounded by natural beauty and all sorts of wild animals. Walking in nature and practicing yoga helps to ground and balance her and when things get slow, New York City is only a train ride away.

Rochelle Germano (she/her/hers)

Fors Marsh

Rochelle is a strategic communications and marketing leader with expertise in social marketing, brand development, thought leadership, and human-centered design for clients and programs working to better communities. She has more than a decade of experience consulting for federal, state, local, and private clients on social marketing issues. She has a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of California, Berkeley and completed the Professional Certificate in Sustainability and Behavior Change from the University of California, San Diego.

Rochelle currently uses data-driven processes that focus on outcomes, not outputs, and specializes in project management, audience analysis and market research, program advocacy, and behavior change strategies for lasting social impact. Her projects have included sustainability, waste reduction, public transportation, clean energy, volunteerism, and water programs.

In addition to her current SMANA board role, Rochelle has served on SMANA’s Fundraising Committee for three years and has been the committee chair for two years. She volunteers with SMANA to help promote the importance of social marketing and data-driven communications in helping tackle some of our biggest societal challenges.

She lives in Northern Virginia and enjoys gardening, cooking, hiking, and traveling.

Emily Patterson (she/her/hers)

Bee Measure

Emily Patterson founded Bee Measure in 2016 to help nonprofit organizations of all sizes understand their audiences and create impactful digital communications. She specializes in turning spreadsheets of data into practical digital strategy insights and tangible improvements to content and design. She is also a PMI-certified Project Management Professional.

Emily works specifically with nonprofit and government communication teams. She focuses on democratizing data, helping teams gain the skills they need to understand their metrics and make data-driven decisions. She has worked with the Smithsonian, the State of New York, WCS, Better Business Bureau, NWF, Rainforest Alliance, and more. Before starting Bee Measure, Emily was the Sr. Manager for Digital Analytics at Public Broadcasting Service. There, she helped PBS gain insight into their diverse audiences and create easy-to-use websites and applications.

Emily is a returning SMANA board member and serves as SMANA’s Secretary. She initially joined the SMANA board in 2019 and served as SMANA’s President in 2020.

When she’s not getting nerdy at work, Emily enjoys the outdoors, reading, and running the Charlottesville Puzzle Hunt.

Catalina Garcia, (she/her/hers/ella)

AB InBev

Catalina (Cata) is the Global Director of Corporate Affairs at Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) and Board Director of the AB InBev Foundation. Cata leads the AB InBev Global Corporate Affairs team, with her work focused on expanding the company’s reputation and community strategies, emphasizing social impact and entrepreneurship, and integrating Social Marketing into the responsible drinking program. Additionally, she manages AB InBev’s partnership with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), which is working towards improving road safety globally.

She is the co-author of How Business Can Drive Inclusive Growth and Development published by Harvard Kennedy School. She was named a U.S. Top Women in PR winner in 2017, and was selected as one of the Hispanic Rising Stars by the We Are All Human Foundation in 2022. Cata currently serves on the board of IAVE (International Association of Volunteering Effort) and Latimpacto, and is a member of the Business for Impact Advisory Group at Georgetown University.

As a member of the SMANA board, Cata supports our External Affairs Committee and technology developments.

Born and raised in Colombia, US Citizen, Cata graduated as an Industrial Engineer from Javeriana University and has worked with several multinational companies across different industries, such as consumer goods, mining, technology, and communications (AB InBev, IBM, BHP Billiton, LLYC). She currently lives in New York City.

Tracey Haldeman (Past-President) (she/her/hers)

Pinnacle Communications Resource Company

Tracey wanted to make a difference in the world. Her role as President and owner of Pinnacle Communications has allowed her to do just that. She is a seasoned professional with a proven track record in social marketing, brand development, advertising, and behavior change communication. She has dedicated over 30 years to crafting impactful strategies that drive meaningful change. Tracey has a strong foundation in designing and implementing successful campaigns in various areas, including opioid misuse and abuse prevention, binge drinking prevention, smoking cessation and prevention, reduction of infant mortality, diabetes prevention and control, binge drinking prevention, and environmental protection and sustainability. She has contributed multiple articles to Social Marketing Quarterly including the 2022 article “Using Community-Based Social Marketing to Reduce Pet Waste Bacteria in Streams”. Tracey holds a master’s degree in Communication, Culture & Technology from Georgetown University.

Tracey’s current focus includes work for public water, dementia awareness and prevention, smoking prevention, recycling, and promoting the health of women, infants, and children.

Tracey served on the SMANA board from 2018 through 2023. She is currently the President of the newly founded SMANA Foundation.

Tracey resides in Baldwin, MD with her husband Brian, three daughters, and six goldfish, who have since expanded to live in an outdoor pond. Tracey’s commitment to her work and community is evident through her extensive expertise and ongoing contributions to the field.

Karyn Dudley Madore (she/her/hers)

JSI Research and Training Institute, Inc.

In 2009, Karyn discovered the field of Social Marketing and she knew she had found her life’s work. She has over 25 years of professional experience in public health and social marketing. As the JSI Health Communications Director, she led a variety of award-winning public health campaigns including tobacco cessation, substance use prevention, opioid awareness, youth sex trafficking awareness, immunizations, diabetes, social norms, and COVID-19.

Karyn is an Adjunct Professor at Rivier University teaching social marketing and social marketing theory at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. She holds a BS in marketing, an M.Ed. in Counseling, a USF graduate certificate degree in social marketing for public health, is a Certified Communicator in Public Health (CCPH), and recently completed the Yale School of Public Health’s Climate Change and Health Certificate program.

Karyn currently leads the communication team for a national HRSA Workforce well-being technical assistance effort that aims to deliver innovative technical assistance that meets the identified, evolving, and emerging needs of health centers. She continues to be interested in communicating about climate change, the environment, and substance misuse across the continuum.

Karyn is currently SMANA’s President. In this role, she is focusing on the promotion of social marketing as a field of study and working with SMANA members and partners to create awareness about this important discipline. This is her second appointment to the SMANA board of directors.

Karyn lives in NH with her husband Andy where you can find them on the lake during the summer. She stays busy with her adult children, two grandchildren, and a rescue dog, Lulu.

Sara Isaac (she/her/hers)

Marketing For Change

As chief strategist and a principal at Marketing for Change, Sara has led hundreds of social marketing campaigns across the U.S. to combat election misinformation, support baby brain development, encourage help seeking for mental health, reduce fertilizer pollution in waterways, and prevent gun violence. Sara is an international keynote speaker and an adjunct professor of social marketing at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. 

In 2017, working with the CDC Climate and Health Program, Sara led a team of subject matter experts to develop the first national communications framework on the health impacts of climate change and then spent two years equipping local health officials to conduct adaptation planning in their communities. She then applied what she’d learned to her own hometown, organizing a grassroots coalition that pushed the Orlando City Council to pledge to transition to 100% renewable energy by 2030 — a transition now well under way. Sara’s efforts were featured in the 2018 National Geographic green energy documentary Paris to Pittsburgh.

Sara holds a bachelors in International Relations from the University of California-Davis and a master’s degree specializing in Latin American studies from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. In 2020, she received a second master’s degree in behavioral science at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Sara currently serves on the SMANA Communications Committee. She is excited to contribute to the ongoing growth and evolution of social marketing as an academic discipline and a real world driver of effective behavior change. Her passion and her purpose is to help more people do good better.

In her free time, Sara loves language learning, books, hiking, cycling, and yoga. She lives in Orlando, Florida.

Tom Pynn (he, him, his, el)

Pynn & Associates

Tom is a healthcare researcher with over 40 years of experience endeavoring to discover how and why people make decisions about their health. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of South Florida with a BA in Political Science and Latin American Studies and an MA in Latin American Studies. He continued his graduate work at the University of New Mexico, where he taught Latin American Studies. Tom spent much of his career on multimillion-dollar health-related projects at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He worked to disseminate research on health issues to the medical community and general public for the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the National Cancer Institute, the National Center for Health Statistics, and the Office of the NIH Director.

He speaks Spanish fluently and spent over 20 years in Latin America and Asia working with governments to design drug abuse prevention campaigns. Working under contract with the Bureau of International Narcotics Matters at the Department of State, he developed social marketing programs in 12 countries in Latin America. He developed a National Drug Abuse Prevention Campaign in Pakistan, disseminated in 19 dialects by Pakistan Radio and Television, obtaining funding for the campaign from the United Nations.

Tom serves as Chair of SMANA’s External Affairs Committee, working happily in social marketing, the first love of his career. When not supporting SMANA, Tom volunteers as Treasurer for two nonprofit organizations in Phoenix, Arizona, and collaborates with companies to assemble teams of people to develop computer health systems in Latin American countries.

Tom has one grown son, and enjoys getting together with family whenever possible.

Melissa Schock, (she/her/hers)

Alberta Health Services

Melissa is a health communications professional with over 15 years of experience in communications, social marketing, research, knowledge translation, and stakeholder engagement in the healthcare sector. She works with programs to develop effective strategies that strive to positively impact lives. Having spent her career in the healthcare sector, Melissa uses her knowledge and expertise to provide health communications, marketing and research guidance for population and public health programs throughout Alberta, Canada.

Melissa is currently completing a Master of Arts in Leadership from Royal Roads University. She also holds Bachelor degrees from the University of Lethbridge and the University of Calgary and an Associate of the Royal Conservatory of Toronto diploma with first class honours. 

Melissa has been an active SMANA member since 2019. She currently serves as a SMANA board member and Chair of SMANA’s Programs Committee. Melissa enjoys collaborating with other SMANA volunteers to advance the practice of social marketing. 

Melissa lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. As a classically trained pianist, Melissa loves to play and teach piano. She also enjoys reading, cooking and spending time in the beautiful Rocky Mountains.