2022 Class of SHSMD Rising Stars

Lexy Eggert is the Chief Development and Strategy Officer for Horizon Health Care, a Federally Qualified Health Center serving 22 communities in South Dakota. Lexy started with Horizon Health Care in 2015 as Public Relations and Marketing Manager and has since built a team dedicated to the marketing and communications efforts for the organization.

She moved into her current role in 2022 and is now responsible for the strategic planning and business development of the organization, as well as guiding marketing and communications efforts.

Lexy received a Bachelor’s degree in Business with a specialization in Marketing from Dakota State University. She currently serves in a leadership position for the South Dakota Association of Healthcare Marketing & Public Relations and has previously held leadership positions for the local United Way and Trojan Athletic Club boards. She resides in Howard, SD, with her husband and daughter.

Julie Akers is the Marketing Coordinator at Madison Health, a non-profit, rural healthcare organization in London, Ohio. Her passion for healthcare marketing and diverse experience play a vital role within a growing organization. Julie has helped organize an effective rebrand and the launch of six satellite locations, and continuously collaborates with executives, service line directors and fellow employees to create strategies for development.

She is a vested member of her community and cultivates strategic partnerships with area businesses, schools and health agencies. She serves as a board member for the Madison County Arts Council and is a member of the London High School Academic Achievement Boosters.

Julie holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. She is a proud parent of two teenagers, and enjoys creative writing for both professional and personal growth.

Lauren Poe currently serves as the Chief of Staff to the President and CEO and Vice President of Strategy at JPS Health Network in Fort Worth, TX. Poe joined JPS in 2018 as the Director of Population Health and 1115 Waiver DSRIP program, overseeing delivery system reform initiatives to improve operational efficiencies and clinical workflows that has contributed to improved quality outcomes for our patients and financial incentives for JPS. Most recently, Lauren served as Executive Director of Strategy and Business Development. Under her leadership, JPS adopted a new network strategic planning process and developed one of its first Strategic Plans.

In her newest role as Chief of Staff and Vice President of Strategy, she serves as a liaison between the CEO office and the Board of Managers, Community Leaders and Executive Team to ensure consistent communication around organizational priorities and activities. Lauren also continues to lead the Office of Strategy Management and oversee the planning, development, and deployment of strategic initiatives to advance the Vision of the network.

Lauren holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in Health Care Administration from Texas A&M University.  Prior to joining JPS Health Network in 2018, Lauren served in leadership positions of strategy and business development as well as ambulatory services at CHI St. Joseph health, where she led efforts to expand senior health services, overseeing the implementation of a mobile care team, house call program, geriatric wellness team and a one-of-a-kind senior wellness center.

Alison Pondo, MPH, CPH, is the Assistant Director of Marketing & Consumerism for Tampa General Hospital, one of the most comprehensive medical facilities in West Central Florida. Specializing in data-driven marketing solutions to drive awareness and support brand and service line objectives, Alison has experience in all areas of health care marketing. She strives for excellence from content writing to social media management to digital campaign planning/implementation and ROI reporting. Over the past few years, she has been a member of the marketing leadership team taking Tampa General Hospital’s world-class brand from a locally known hospital to a nationally recognized powerhouse with an over 300% increase in brand visibility in year over year comparisons.  

During her time at TGH, she has worked internally to stand up marketing partnerships, build the marketing team, instill new processes, and advance reporting capabilities to support TGH’s evolving service lines, expansions and strategic initiatives. 

Alison is a graduate of the University of Florida College of Journalism & Communications and her master’s degree is from the University of Florida College of Public Health. She has also earned additional certificates including Advances in Modern Leadership from the University of Tampa and is a Certified Marketing Professional from the American Marketing Association and Digital Marketing Institute.

Tiffany Conover is the Director of Marketing & Public Relations at Good Samaritan, an independent, not-for-profit, regional academic medical center in southwest Indiana. She has been in health care marketing for more than 14 years, beginning at Good Samaritan as a communications specialist.

After spending two years at other health care organizations, Tiffany returned to Good Samaritan as the marketing director in 2015. In her role, she is responsible for the strategic planning, development and execution of all internal and external marketing campaigns and communications.

Tiffany is the Vice President of the Indiana Healthcare Marketing & Public Relations Society, a member of the Good Samaritan Foundation Board of Directors, and a member of the Knox County CEO Advisory Board. She is actively involved in her community through volunteer activities, including Knox County 100 Women Who Care.

Tiffany earned her Bachelor of Science in Communications from Indiana State University and her Master of Business Administration from Western Governors University. She and her husband live in Vincennes, Indiana and have an 8-year-old son. They are also licensed foster parents.

Emily MacMillan is the Manager of Marketing & Creative Services for Renown Health, northern Nevada’s largest locally governed, not-for-profit healthcare network. She leads the development and implementation of marketing strategies while managing the brand’s presence in the 100,000 square mile radius that Renown serves.

During her time at Renown, Emily has led numerous marketing campaigns for the health system, resulting in successful volume growth for service lines and health insurance products. She leads a team of talented specialists who manage external marketing and customer engagement activities on behalf of the health network, which includes two acute care hospitals, the region’s only children’s hospital, a rehabilitation hospital, the area’s most comprehensive medical group and urgent care network, and the region’s largest not-for-profit insurance company, Hometown Health.

Emily is the driver behind Renown's award-winning Fight the Good Fight campaign. Launched in 2019, Fight the Good Fight branding and messaging has centered on telling stories about the healthcare heroes and patients at the heart of Renown's mission. This innovative approach to healthcare marketing has resulted in increased NPS ratings for the health system and improved community preference for the brand.

Emily joined Renown in 2017 after beginning her career as a graphic designer and production manager at Swift Communications. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of Nevada, Reno’s Reynolds School of Journalism. Emily brings with her a unique perspective on what it means to develop and implement integrated marketing communication plans.

Emily lives in Reno with her husband Kevin, and is an active supporter of various nonprofit organizations.

Shannon Swiger is a director of internal communications at Novant Health. In this role she drives the organization’s strategy and approach to clinical communications, including physician, nursing, medical staff and safety/quality communication. She is also deeply embedded in diversity, inclusion and health equity work at Novant Health. Shannon serves as co-leader of Novant Health’s persons with disabilities business resource group (BRG). Previously, Shannon worked as a senior communications specialist for Johns Hopkins Medicine, and as a public relations/marketing specialist for Novant Health.

In 2020, Shannon was named a “40 Under 40” honoree by Wilmington StarNews and Wilmington Chamber of Commerce. She was also a Member of the Leadership Wilmington Class of 2020. In 2017, Shannon was one of 50 employees to receive Novant Health’s “Mark” award for demonstrating excellence in the organization’s values. She was also named a Top 100 Under 50 Emerging Leader by DiversityMBA.

Shannon received her B.A. in journalism, mass communication and political science from UNC at Chapel Hill and a M.B.A. at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with concentrations in marketing and sustainability.

She serves on the Board of Directors for Disability:IN North Carolina.

Danielle Torbet serves as Director of Marketing for Saint Francis Healthcare System.

Her operational oversight includes a six member Marketing team who are responsible for developing and executing strategic marketing plans for a five-state tertiary referral center that serves more than 713,000 people and includes a 306-bed hospital, 50 specialties and more than 40 outreach clinics.

Torbet joined the Healthcare System in 2013 as a Development Officer in the Saint Francis Foundation. Throughout her time at Saint Francis, she has served as Senior Development Officer in the Foundation and Manager of Marketing and Foundation.

She has nearly ten years of professional experience in public relations, advertising, marketing, media relations and event planning in nonprofit and healthcare industries; and more than 16 years of fundraising experience in corporate and volunteer recruitment, special event fundraising, major gifts, planned gifts, donor solicitation/cultivation and stewardship.

Torbet completed her Bachelor of Science in Organizational Administration from Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

She serves as the Public Information Officer for Saint Francis Healthcare System, sits on the SEMO IOA Steering Committee and serves as director-at-large for the Missouri Association for Healthcare Public Relations and Marketing Board.

Sarah Gebhart, Director of Strategy Management, leads both system and regional market strategy for WellSpan Health. WellSpan Health is an integrated delivery system located in Southcentral Pennsylvania serving:

- Six counties with eight hospitals
- 340 ambulatory care and outpatient locations
- Over 1,000 employed physicians
- A strong behavioral health service line
- And a dedicated hospital and three home health services

Sarah is a healthcare strategist, supporting the creation of long-term transformational and strategic work across a multitude of key industry topic areas. She has supported both service line and regional strategic planning at WellSpan Health for the past several years, including the development of a diversified growth portfolio for the organization. Before joining WellSpan, Sarah completed her Masters in Healthcare Administration from Penn State University and her Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from York College of Pennsylvania.

Megan Stinchcomb currently serves as a senior marketing manager for Mayo Clinic’s flagship campus in Rochester, Minn., where she leads regional marketing initiatives for the country's top-ranked hospital. Her prior roles involved working in many facets of healthcare marketing—including adult oncology, pediatric specialty care, value-based care, and clinically integrated networks—with some of the country’s brightest clinicians and administrators. The result has been a journey both adventurous and rewarding, and she has loved (almost) every minute of it.

A print newspaper refugee, Megan started her career in journalism at the University of Florida and at community newspapers before going on to work for University of Chicago Medicine, Piedmont Healthcare, Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center and Nemours Children's Health. She holds a master's degree from the University of North Florida and has been a longtime volunteer with many conservation groups, most notably the North Florida Land Trust. Megan and her husband Gary have a son, Wyatt, and live a coastal life in one of Jacksonville's many great seaside communities.