At a time when political and public attention is re-focusing on needed changes in the country's health policy and public health arenas, Burness Communications has added four new senior staff members to enhance our ability to raise awareness, support advocacy and advance social change.

New additions to Burness Communications include:

Sara Knoll. Sara, a senior associate, has been vital to Burness' health policy team since last summer, focusing on such policy issues as disparities in health, health quality initiatives, and health research dissemination. Her current projects involve the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Commonwealth Fund, and the Harvard Interfaculty Program. Prior to joining Burness, Sara spent six years as a Senior Communications Officer at the Kaiser Family Foundation, working on the public information side of issues such as Medicare, Medicaid, the uninsured, health care marketplace trends and public opinion research.

Caroline Broder. Caroline joined Burness Communications in December 2006 as a senior associate on the health policy team, bringing with her in-depth knowledge of health information technology issues. She is currently providing communications support to groups spanning the health policy world, including the journal Health Affairs, NORC, and the national Cash and Counseling Program. Prior to joining Burness, Caroline was a reporter and editor for publications such as Healthcare IT News, iHealthBeat, Managed Care Week and the National Journal's Technology Daily. In addition, she worked in media relations for several technology clients.

Elizabeth Goodman. Elizabeth, a senior associate, joined Burness in January 2007 and will focus her energies on helping to reverse the troubling trend of childhood obesity in the United States. She recently earned a Master of Science in foreign service from Georgetown University, and has worked most recently at Population Services International where she was immersed in the world of social marketing, behavior change communications, and private sector approaches to improving public access to health products and services.

Todd Kutyla. Todd joined Burness in January 2007 as a senior associate and will spend the bulk of his time disseminating information in support of improvements in the field of public health. As the former communications manager at Grantmakers in Health, he brings with him extensive knowledge of nonprofits (foundations in particular) as well as health-related issues. At Grantmakers in Health he directed communications and outreach, editing and producing all publications, and acting as liaison with journalists interested in health philanthropy. Todd has also held communications and public affairs positions with the Economic and Social Research Institute and the Harvard Medical School Department of Health Policy.

“We are incredibly fortunate to have this influx of talent,” said company president Andy Burness. “This is a particularly hopeful time with respect to the dialogue on Americans' health, and we are committed to helping promote policies that encourage better health for all Americans.”

Linda Loranger directs Burness' health policy team, while Chuck Alexander oversees the company's work in public health. Burness' other principal areas of expertise include: global health, development and food security; policy outreach for nonprofits, focusing mostly on the federal government; and media and advocacy training for scientists, researchers and nonprofit leaders.

The addition of these senior staff people raises Burness Communications' staff level to a 21-year high of 32 people. Our work has increased exponentially in the past decade, as we support nonprofit leaders and visionaries offering solutions to problems ranging from childhood obesity to patient safety to expanding health coverage for all to successfully testing a new malaria vaccine and introducing existing vaccines for the children of Africa.

Burness Communications provides public relations support to nonprofit organizations in the United States and abroad. We seek to empower people with information that can be used to improve the human condition and advance social change.