We were lucky to catch up with Sharon Carothers recently and have shared our conversation below.

Sharon, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.

I have always had a keen focus on women’s issues, particularly their health and well-being, and wanted to move to Washington, DC as soon as I could to affect change. Those were the bright-eyed and bushy tailed days of my professional youth. I struggled to understand how to influence not just one person but to make change to support women’s lives more broadly in a meaningful way – pay equity, affordable child care, more effective cancer diagnosis and treatment, and aging with dignity were a few that filled my mind during college. As I arrived in DC, the health care reform efforts in the 1990s and the legislatively driven inclusion of women and people of color in clinical trials (NIH Revitalization Act of 1993) both had a major impact on me as I began my career as a healthcare consultant. I remain cautiously optimistic as to what it takes to improve domestic public health but I have certainly been humbled over the past couple of decades by the complexities and timetables for real change. One of my favorite quotes is from Ben Franklin and sums it up well, “Energy and persistence conquer all things”.

Sharon, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I grew up in the Philadelphia area and my passion for public health was seeded in a couple different ways, most notably, I interned for Dr. Norma Finkelstein at Institute for Health & Recovery in Cambridge, MA and observed firsthand how services for women with substance abuse issues were funded, delivered, and legislated. This was the first time I participated in a state legislative hearing where Norma shared her testimony. The experiences were both thrilling and maddening as the challenges were seemingly endless. My first professional job was at The Lewin Group and I am eternally grateful for what I learned, the colleagues I met (many who are still friends!), and the foundational network that took root.

I am proud of my current role as Managing Director of SensisHealth.
Sensis is turning 25 years old this year and what a journey they have been on with incredible growth in federal and commercial sectors, and a global office footprint with more than 150 employees! We are a full-service integrated marketing agency with a passion and expertise in multicultural marketing. We believe in delivering outstanding services that leaves no one behind. SensisHealth specifically leverages digital capabilities and strategic insights to better reach diverse audiences with a majority-minority staff that represents the very communities our clients need to connect with. Our work encourages good outcomes, impacts population health, advances health equity, and supports high-quality care for every individual.

Two highlights include The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and AltaMed. The goal of RWJF project, Amplifying Unheard Voices of the Medicaid Community: People of Color, with Disabilities, and LGBTQ+, was to conduct a national research study of multicultural Medicaid enrolled and eligible individuals to better understand how they think Medicaid currently serves and could better serve them for the program as a whole, and as it relates to specific social needs: food insecurity, housing insecurity, and social isolation. The research aimed to create a repository of data and insights about the Medicaid consumer journey that will drive improvements in health equity, policy, and advocacy. For the last six years, Sensis has been the Agency of Record to AltaMed Health Services, the nation’s largest community clinic chain of federally qualified health centers, with 46 locations in Los Angeles and Orange County. We have launched multiple ad campaigns annually, including brand awareness campaigns, Open Enrollment campaigns, and PACE marketing campaigns. We spearheaded the award-winning “Grow Healthy” integrated campaign, which included multicultural research, media planning, creative, production, and website design to establish greater awareness of AltaMed and its brand positioning.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

Managing a team now is in some ways very different and yet the same as before the pandemic. I highly value and prefer in-person time to get to know people, spend time together, collaborate, etc. but realize that is not always possible so I have had to adapt and truly meet colleagues where they are – Zoom, Teams, mobile calls, text, email, in-person, etc. Some key principles still remain: recognizing employees for the good work they do is a critical leadership skill and has a major impact on morale, productivity, performance, and retention. Actively engaging employees, instilling trust (both ways) so they can perform their job with appropriate autonomy, and being accountable at every turn.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Relationships, relationships, relationships! Building them, maintaining them, nurturing them, repairing them, etc. Nobody really teaches you how to do this and it takes real time to do it well but it is so important, and never burn bridges! I learned from the best networkers by paying attention and observing. Those who were always being asked for a recommendation or receiving and making business referrals, these were the individuals who I focused on. Having a strong knowledge base and being curious and flexible are important attributes to success.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sensisagency.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sensisagency/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharon-carothers-530a451/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/sensisagency