Pioneers in Health

Welcome to the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund Podcast, Pioneers in Health. We hope to bring you inspiring stories of pioneering health leaders who led important efforts to improve health. We’ll bring you guests from our state, from our nation and from your backyard to tell their stories of how they broke new ground and changed the landscape of health care.

Pioneers in Health is a health podcast hosted by David Jordan, with 60 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

David Jordan hosts Pioneers in Health, a health show with 60 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

• 

  Episode #59

  Clay Wirestone, opinion editor and author, Kansas Reflector

  Sep 24, 202654 min

  Ep. 59: Clay Wirestone returns to Pioneers in Health to discuss his new book, “Opinionated.” Clay serves as the opinion editor at the Kansas Reflector, and his new book provides an eye-opening tour through the golden age of Kansas journalism and proves why local newspapers and incisive commentary are indispensable for an informed public. Listen now, and learn more about this new book covering innovative leaders in Kansas. For more about the Health Fund: https://healthfund.org/

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #58

  Wendell Potter, bestselling author and journalist

  Sep 10, 202652 min

  Ep. 58: Wendell Potter is a bestselling author and journalist whose work has been published in The New York Times , The Washington Po st, USA Today and many other media outlets. Since leaving his 20-year career as an executive at two of the world’s largest healthcare corporations – Cigna and Humana – he has testified before Congress numerous times to explain how the health insurance industry really works. A former investigative reporter, Washington correspondent and corporate executive, Wendell delivers an insider’s perspective into those issues as editor-in-chief of his HEALTH CARE un-covered newsletter and through the nonprofit work he leads. He is the founder and president of the Center for Health and Democracy and leads the Lower Out-of-Pockets (LOOP) NOW coalition, which works with policymakers, employers and health benefits consultants to reduce the unsustainably high deductibles and other cost-sharing requirements that burden millions of American families. He also has helped produce four documentaries that delve into various aspects of the U.S. health care system. Listen now, and learn how Wendell is an innovative leader in healthcare. For more about the Health Fund: https://healthfund.org/

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #56

  Anthony Wright, executive director, Families USA

  Aug 13, 202636 min

  Ep. 56: Anthony Wright serves as the executive director of Families USA. Before joining the organization, Anthony Wright served 22 years as executive director of Health Access California, a statewide healthcare consumer advocacy coalition. Under Anthony’s leadership, Health Access California led state efforts to win patient protections, fight budget cuts, invest in the safety net, expand coverage, and advance equity and prevention. Anthony led California’s coalition effort to help pass and later defend the Affordable Care Act, and for state policies to implement and improve the law to attain the biggest drop of the uninsured rate in the nation. He was responsible for numerous successful health care advocacy efforts to pass critical health reforms — such as nation-leading laws to stop surprise medical bills, ensure timely access to care, stop hospitals overcharging, and expand Medicaid regardless of age, assets, or immigration status. A consumer advocate and community organizer quoted widely in state and national media, Anthony’s background also includes working for New Jersey Citizen Action, the Center for Media Education, The Nation magazine, and at the White House in Vice President Al Gore’s office. Raised in the Bronx, he graduated from Amherst College magna cum laude in both English and Sociology. Listen now, and learn how Anthony is an innovative leader in healthcare. For more about the Health Fund, visit www.healthfund.org .

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #55

  Sharla Smith, Ph.D., MPH, associate professor, KU Medical Center

  Jul 30, 202635 min

  Ep. 55: Dr. Sharla Smith completed her Ph.D. in Health Systems and Services Research with a concentration in Health Economics from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in 2013. Sharla is a health services and systems researcher whose primary research is maternal and infant health disparities, women cancer disparities, and community engagement. She is the co-founder of Kansas Sisters and Brothers for Healthy Infants and the founder of the Kansas Birth Equity Network. She has experience manipulating large datasets and performing descriptive, cross-sectional, and longitudinal data analysis using SAS and Stata, and conducting social network analysis. In addition, she has over four years of experience in clinical research. Dr. Smith is passionate about developing a culture of birth equity through community engagement, empowerment and education. Sharla has experience teaching public health law, public health policy and law, introduction to public health, developing public health interventions, introduction to health policy and politics, and epidemiology. She advises students and has served as a faculty mentor on master's-level and Ph.D. research projects. Listen now, and learn how Sharla is an innovative leader in health care. For more about the Health Fund, visit www.healthfund.org .

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #54

  Avenel Joseph, Ph.D., vice president for policy, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

  Jul 16, 202634 min

  Ep. 54: Avenel Joseph, Ph.D, joined the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in early 2020 as the vice president for policy, where she leads the foundation’s policy office and heads its Washington presence. Previously, Joseph served for more than 10 years shaping public policy in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. She began her career on Capitol Hill in 2009 in the U.S. House of Representatives, where she worked in both a personal office and on the Natural Resources Committee. In July 2013, she moved to the Senate as the chief health advisor for Senator Edward J. Markey, managing a comprehensive health care portfolio before transitioning to become his director of policy and oversight. Joseph received her Ph.D. in cell and molecular biology at Emory University; graduated with a master’s degree in developmental toxicology from the University of Illinois, Urbana‐Champaign; and earned her bachelor’s degree in animal sciences from Pennsylvania State University. Listen now, and learn how Avenel is an innovative leader in health care policy. For more about the Health Fund: https://healthfund.org/

  ListenShow Notes

Recent guests on Pioneers in Health. Study who booked and why before you pitch.

Based on semantic analysis of episode topics and host coverage, this show is a strong guest fit for executives in:

Industry fit is computed by PitchCentric using vector embeddings of the show's episode catalog.