Meet the Speakers

Jill Sonke, PhD, is a US Cultural Policy Fellow with Stanford Arts at Stanford University, serving at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. She is also Co-director of the EpiArts Lab, a National Endowment for the Arts Research Lab in partnership with University College London, and Director of Research Initiatives and Research Professor in the Center for Arts in Medicine at the University of Florida (UF).

Dr. Sonke served during the pandemic as a senior advisor to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Vaccine Confidence and Demand Team on the COVID-19 Vaccine Confidence Task Force, and served from 2021-2025 as Director of National Research and Impact for the One Nation/One Project initiative. She currently serves on the steering committee and as an Affiliated Researcher in the WHO’s Jameel Arts & Health Lab, and as an editorial board member for Health Promotion Practice journal.

With 30+ years of leadership in arts in health and a PhD in arts in public health from Ulster University in Northern Ireland, Dr. Sonke is active in research and policy advocacy nationally and internationally. She is an artist, cultural strategist, and a mixed methods researcher with over 150 publications She is the recipient of numerous awards and over 350 grants for her programs and research.

Christine is Lead (Acting) of Behavioural Science for health and public health at Impact Canada. Working in close partnership with the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Behavioural Science Office, she oversees work carried out by a team of 10+ Behavioural Scientists and Policy Analysts involving the application of Behavioural Science to the Government of Canada’s public health priorities, through population-based surveying as well as topical surveys and field studies.

Christine has over 15 years of experience researching factors underlying human decision-making, with most of her published research to date focused on sustainability-related behaviour change. Christine joined the federal government in 2022, having previously worked as a Senior Behavioural Scientist at the BC Behavioural Insights Group with the Government of British Columbia. Through her public sector work, as well as her previous academic research and private consulting experience, Christine strives to inform behavioural policy by positioning human perceptions and tendencies at the centre of program and policy design.

She holds a PhD and MSc in Applied Social Psychology from the University of Victoria, prior to which she earned a BSc in Psychology and Biology from Queen's University.

James Miles worked as an educator in the New York City public schools for almost 20 years prior to moving to Seattle in 2017. Originally from Chicago, Miles has worked internationally as an artist and educator, and his work has been featured in magazines, books, podcasts, and newspapers. Miles is the Chief Growth Officer at Path with Art, an assistant professor at Seattle University, and on the advisory board of SXSW. His work has been featured in media including the New York Times, Complex magazine, the Seattle Times, NPR, Billboard Magazine, CBS, NBC, the US Department of Education, ASCD, and more. His acclaimed Tedx Talk focuses on his mission to narrow achievement gaps using the arts as a tool to navigate systems of educational inequality. He is the author of Gotta Stay Fresh and you can learn more about James at FreshProfessor.com.

Julie believes that marketing can change the world for the better. So much so that she co-authored a book on the topic (The Environmental Marketing Imperative) and founded her communications agency C+C in 2005 to use social marketing principles to improve public health, recycling, reduce energy waste, inspire people to use public transit…and generally make world a healthier, happier place. Today, C+C is a national leader in cause-driven marketing, working with clients including REI, Nike, Alaska Airlines and ENERGY STAR. The agency's blend of social science, inspired creative and multicultural marketing expertise earned the it the titles of 2021 PRovoke Creative Agency of the Year and 2018 Boutique Agency of the Year from The Holmes Report (now PRovoke) and Small Agency of the Year from PR Week. Julie also leads C+C's team working with the Washington State Department of Health on their statewide COVID-19 campaigns, which was named Best of Show at the Public Relations Society of America's Silver Anvil Awards earlier this year. Outside of life at C+C, Julie serves as chair of the board for both Washington Conservation Voters and the Washington Environmental Council, skis a lot, sleeps a little and finds her happy place in the woods as often as possible.

Paj’s background in public health and social equity aligns perfectly with the ethos of DH, where he serves as strategic counsel on work related to equity-centered communications. Whether that means advising our agency’s internal DEI collaborative or providing a sounding board for our marketing and communications work, Paj ensures that we take a truly equitable approach to business.

Tracey is President of the Social Marketing Foundartion of North America (SMFNA). As the President of SMFNA and past president of SMANA Tracey has been at the forefront of advancing the field of social marketing. She is also the President and owner of Pinnacle Communications, a leading social marketing agency located in Baltimore, Maryland. Her extensive experience and leadership roles in these organizations reflect her commitment to driving positive change.

She has been a practitioner in the field of social marketing, brand development, advertising and behavior change communication for over three decades. Tracey has a deep understanding of designing and implementing strategies for campaign success. Her most recent projects include opioid misuse and abuse prevention, binge drinking prevention, smoking cessation and prevention, reduction of infant mortality, diabetes prevention and control, binge drinking prevention, and a multitude of projects for environmental protection and sustainability. Her dedication to these causes has led to tangible improvements in public health and environmental sustainability. Tracey’s ability to apply social marketing principles to such diverse challenges underscores her adaptability and creativity.

Tracey’s commitment to advancing the field of social marketing extends to academic contributions as well. In 2009 she contributed to Social Marketing Quarterly with her article “Implementing a Community-Based Social Marketing Program to Increase Recycling”. Her research has continued to influence the field, as evidenced by her 2022 contribution, “Using Community-Based Social Marketing to Reduce Pet Waste Bacteria in Streams,” also published in Social Marketing Quarterly. 

Tracey holds a master’s degree in Communication, Culture & Technology from Georgetown University.

Andrés is a behavior change strategist and creative thinker who helps organizations engage audiences in more meaningful, effective, and culturally relevant ways. As VP of Strategy at C+C, he specializes in audience-centric strategy, multicultural marketing, and campaign development, bringing together insight, culture, and creativity to shape work that is both clear and impactful. Throughout his career, Andrés has helped organizations move beyond assumptions and tactics to uncover the strategic foundations behind campaigns focused on vaccination uptake, opioid overdose prevention, suicide prevention, and more.

For over four decades, Dr. Doug McKenzie-Mohr has worked to incorporate scientific knowledge on behavior change into the design and delivery of environmental programs. He founded community-based social marketing, a framework for developing environmental behavior change programs, which is now used globally. Doug is the author/co-author of three books on community-based social marketing — one of which, "Fostering Sustainable Behavior," has been recommended by Time Magazine and has become requisite reading for those who deliver environmental programs.   His work has been featured in the New York Times, and he is the recipient of the American Psychological Association's inaugural award for innovation in environmental psychology, the World Social Marketing Conference's inaugural award for contributions to the field of social marketing, and he is a B.F. Skinner distinguished lecturer. More than 75,000 program managers have attended his workshops. Doug is a former Professor of Psychology and is currently an adjunct professor at the University of Victoria and Royal Roads University in Victoria, Canada.