| Inspiring Behavior Change for Sustainable, Healthy, |
SPARKS 2024 Speakers |
| Crystal Hall Professor in Public Service and Adjunct Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Washington Reimagining the Use of Behavioral Insights: Centering Equity and Inclusion |
| Joel Kohlstedt Partnership Manager - Waste Reduction and Innovation, WM From Virtual Communities to Real-World Impact: Connecting with Latinas to Save Textiles Joel Kohlstedt is WM’s Partnership Manager for Waste Reduction and Innovation. With over a decade in the recycling industry, Joel is driving innovative programs to increase recycling and reduce waste. Joel’s expertise includes using research, data, and pilot programs to engage residents and foster behavior change in multicultural communities, at multifamily properties and in communities across Washington State. Want to learn more? Ask him about engaging Latinas to reduce textile waste or helping schools reduce waste and boost nutrition by transitioning from milk cartons to dispensers! Joel is a graduate of the University of Washington and former president of the Washington State Recycling Association. |
| Megan Schuyler Kennedy Creative Director, Rogue Heart Media SPC Self-Competition for the Win: How Individualized Goals Energize Change Megan Schuyler Kennedy is a documentary filmmaker and founder of Rogue Heart Media SPC, a B Corp Certified nonfiction media studio celebrating 13 years in Spokane, WA. She leads a team of nonfiction filmmakers and dynamic social marketers who are committed to developing and publishing media that makes a difference. For the past five years, Rogue Heart and the City of Spokane have evolved the Water Wise Spokane campaign to help shape water conservation and stewardship programs that reflect the needs and values of the region they serve. Megan holds a bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Production and Management from WSU, and carries a guiding belief that everyone has a role to play in positive change. |
| Kristen Zimmer Conservation Program Manager, City of Spokane Water Department Self-Competition for the Win: How Individualized Goals Energize Change Kristen Zimmer is a social marketing practitioner with a focus on sustainable water resource management. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Natural Science Education from Eastern Washington University and is a Certified Irrigation Auditor. Kristen has worked with the City of Spokane for over 10 years, where she designs and leads initiatives that encourage responsible water use and conservation. Her work explores the intersection of community behavior and environmental stewardship, with a focus on creating accessible, impactful campaigns. Kristen also oversees community outreach efforts and creative asset development, all with the goal of fostering a deeper, collective commitment to preserving water resources. |
| Jade Monroe Food Center Lead, Washington Department of Ecology Food for Thought: The Story of the Use Food Well Campaign Jade Monroe is the lead for the Washington Center for Sustainable Food Management (Food Center) at the Department of Ecology. She has a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Natural Resource Management from North Dakota State University, where her research on resilient systems won local and international awards. Her work at Ecology focuses on leading the Food Center, increasing education and awareness, and implementing the Use Food Well Washington Plan, Washington’s roadmap to meet the 2030 food waste reduction goals. When not focused on food waste, Jade enjoys the exploring the culinary arts and playing music with her band in Tacoma, Washington. |
 | Katherine Diers Account Director, PRR Food for Thought: The Story of the Use Food Well Campaign Katherine is a senior associate director of marketing and communications programs at PRR. She specializes in managing complex projects from start to finish with a focus on environmental marketing. Katherine has developed behavior change campaigns for issues including food waste, oil pollution, hazardous waste, electronics, and medicines. |
| Molly Burke Outreach and Education Specialist, Whatcom County Public Works Using social marketing for Paw-sitive Behavior Change Molly Burke has over 17 years of experience working in local government to improve environmental health. Her work focuses on public outreach and education for the Pollution Identification and Correction and shellfish protection district programs, engaging both thegeneral public and specific focus audiences. She is passionate about creating lasting positive impacts through public engagement in environmental stewardship. |
| Peggy Campbell Senior Planner Education & Outreach, Snohomish County Surface Water Management Solutions That Let The Rain Soak In: Did DIY Households take action? Improving water quality and aquatic habitat through residential behavior change, Peggy Campbell coordinates and advises on a variety of education and outreach campaigns for Snohomish County Surface Water Management. These social marketing based programs include RainScaping, Natural Yard Care, LakeWise, and Scoop the Poop (Pet Waste). Peggy constantly customizes, adapts and enhances programs to effectively overcome barriers for residents. |
.jpg) | Sofia Fall Sustainability Coordinator, City of Bellevue Effective heat pumps messaging for skeptical homeowners Sofia has a background in climate science, policy, and science communications, with professional experience at NASA, the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, and Columbia Climate School. She currently works as Sustainability Coordinator for the City of Bellevue. |
| Julie Burke Principal, Brand Strategy, GA Creative Effective heat pumps messaging for skeptical homeowners Julie has 25 years’ experience in branding, marketing, and advertising helping clients zone in on their target audiences, value propositions, and the best ways to reach them. She helps cultivate strategic brand solutions and marketing strategies that drive awareness and growth. |
| Doug Mckenzie-Mohr President, Mckenzie-Mohr & Associates Ten insights from the 4th edition of Fostering Sustainable Behavior 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 Environmental Psychology and is currently an adjunct professor at the University of Victoria and Royal Roads University in Victoria, Canada. |
| Jennifer Tabanico President, Action Research Ten insights from the 4th edition of Fostering Sustainable Behavior Jennifer Tabanico is the owner and President of Action Research, a firm dedicated to changing behavior for good through the application of behavioral and social science. With a Master’s in Experimental Psychology and over 20 years of experience, she specializes in developing community-based social marketing programs that promote safe, healthy, and sustainable communities. Jennifer has worked with numerous federal, state, and local government agencies, as well as private companies and community organizations, to help advance sustainability goals through behavior change initiatives. |
| Nikki Meline Social Marketing & Public Health Campaign Manager, Washington State Department of Health From Insight to Impact: Using an Audience-Centered Strategic Framework Nikki Meline (she/her) is the Social Marketing and Public Health Campaign Manager in the Executive Office of Public Affairs and Equity at the Washington State Department of Health. In this role she supervises a team health educators who lead all the social marketing campaigns at the agency. Her team works on approximately 30 campaigns per year, on a wide variety of health topics. Nikki previously served as the Cannabis Health Educator, leading the cannabis prevention and education campaigns at DOH. Prior to her time at the Washington State Department of Health, Nikki was a Health Educator in higher education with a focus on substance misuse prevention, suicide prevention and mental health promotion. |
| Carey Evenson EVP, Creative Services + Strategy, C+C From Insight to Impact: Using an Audience-Centered Strategic Framework Carey leads C+C’s creative, content and digital teams in helping clients articulate their creative vision to bring about meaningful behavior change. She believes the best work comes from successful collaboration, a focus on insights, and a healthy dose of grace and humor. Under Carey’s leadership, C+C develops the full spectrum of creative and content: high-profile PSAs, outdoor and TV ads, branding, integrated digital strategies and web experiences — all designed to reach the right audiences, at the right time with the right messages, often in 20+ languages. |
| Erica Stineman Unmaking a Beer Ad: Why Normal is Better and Details Matter Communications Manager, Washington Traffic Safety Commission Erica Stineman is the Communications Manager at the Washington Traffic Safety Commission and has been with the Commission since 2012. There, she manages public education campaigns aimed at changing driver behavior to make Washington’s roads safer for everyone. She lives in Olympia with her two daughters and her cat, Pepper. |
| Mark Fox Unmaking a Beer Ad: Why Normal is Better and Details Matter Senior Account Director, DH Communications Mark Fox is Senior Account Director at DH, a social impact agency based in Seattle and Spokane. At DH, Mark leads public education campaigns that promote safer roads, healthier communities, and thriving ecosystems. Mark is a graduate of Seattle University and currently lives in Oakland, CA. |
 | Claire Nitsche Health Educator, Washington State Department of Health A Case Study in “Scientific Off-Roading": Social Marketing on the Front Lines of the PFAS Response in Washington State |
| Sian Wu Managing Director, Resource Media Cutting through the politics of abortion care Fundamental to Sian’s approach to her work is leveraging cultural power for community engagement and social change. In her role as the managing director of Resource Media, a nonprofit creative change agency, she is a trusted partner for community health partners in the Seattle, King County region, providing communications capacity for video and content production, advertising, earned media and social promotion, while staying attuned to the needs, messaging and bandwidth for BIPOC-led organizations. She continuously expands and improves her approaches through her work as an instructor of multicultural marketing at the University of Washington’s CommLead program. As a part of her solidarity work to support communities directly, she is a board member for AMT Up 3D, a Black-led nonprofit that fosters wellness, leadership and economic opportunities through the sport of double dutch. Her board work for The International Examiner, the Pacific NW’s longest running AAPI-led and serving newspaper, provides a unique lens into cross-generational and place-based leadership through storytelling. Sian’s current and past clients include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Skoll Foundation, Public Health, Seattle & King County, If/When/How, Center for Multicultural Health and the Department of Energy and EPA under the Obama administration. |
| Camellia Mortezazadeh Director of Strategy and Insights, Civilian Agency Never a Bother and Live Beyond: Elevating Diverse Youth Voices in California’s Historic Youth Mental Health Awareness and Outreach Campaigns Camellia is the Director of Strategy and Insights at Civilian Agency, a cause-oriented marketing and communications agency based in San Diego, California leading local, state, and national clients. Camellia is a seasoned strategist, researcher, bridge builder, and problem solver with a focus on inclusive and equitable public sector work. She leads the development, implementation, and alignment of campaign strategy, with recent initiatives for the California Health and Human Services Agency, the Office of the California Surgeon General and their [livebeyondca.org]Live Beyond ACEs and toxic stress campaign, the California Department of Public Health’s inaugural [neverabother.org]Never a Bother youth suicide prevention campaign, and more. Camellia brings over 16 years of experience spearheading policy change, stakeholder engagement, and diversity and inclusion initiatives from California to New York, including for the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. She received her Master of Public Health degree in policy and administration from Yale University. |
Presentations
Note: Presentation titles are subject to change
Reimagining the Use of Behavioral Insights: Centering Equity and Inclusion
Crystal Hall
Joel Kohlstedt
You can connect with communities that aren't related to your desired behavior through virtual platforms, and program results are more impactful and longer lasting when they come from the community itself.
Self-Competition for the Win: How Individualized Goals Energize Change
Megan Schuyler Kennedy
Kristen Zimmer
Water Conservation can be a big, vague, and often philosophical topic - but by getting personal with participants who sign up to compete against their own household’s past water use, citizens connect with and see the impacts of their behavior change in real numbers, dollars, and water used. Rather than focusing on rule-following or competing against their neighbors, participants are invited to work as a team in their own household, learn to improve their habits, and take pride in their real, measurable savings.
Food for Thought: The Story of the Use Food Well Campaign
Jade Monroe
Katherine Diers
The way to motivate people to waste less food is not through environmental messaging – but cost savings. Consumers we surveyed were overwhelmingly motivated to adopt behaviors to reduce their food waste when learning that food waste costs them at least $1,500 every year. Find out more about how we coupled this financial message with strong partnerships to empower people to Use Food Well.
Using Social Marketing for Paw-sitive Behavior Change
Molly Burke
Everyone says the pick up after their dog, but piles left on trails say something else. Creative engagement solutions can help tease out the realities and create a window for behavior change conversations.
Solutions That Let The Rain Soak In: Did DIY Households take action?
Peggy Campbell
People love to be empowered! They have shown their willingness to roll up their sleeves and follow step-by-step guidance.
Effective heat pumps messaging for skeptical homeowners
Sofia Fall
Julie Burke
Most heat pump marketing features clunky appliances and confusing rebate structures. A more effective marketing strategy uses humor to connect with consumers around the experience of being comfortable at home.
Ten insights from the 4th edition of Fostering Sustainable Behavior
Doug McKenzie-Mohr
Jennifer Tabanico
This presentation highlights key behavioral change insights that you can incorporate into the programs you deliver.
From Insight to Impact: Using an Audience-Centered Strategic Framework
Nikki Meline
Carey Evenson
You have so much information, now what? This talk will show attendees how they can apply a strategic framework to identify an insight for their campaign that will then help drive the program and creative strategy.
Unmaking a Beer Ad: Why Normal is Better and Details Matter
Erica Stineman
Mark Fox
Behavior modeling is more effective if you do the work of reflecting your audience’s experiences back to them.
A Case Study in “Scientific Off-Roading": Social Marketing on the Front Lines of the PFAS Response in Washington State
Claire Nitsche
Sometimes, communities aren't the ones who "need" behavior change - sometimes, it's the agencies responding.
Cutting through the politics of abortion care
Sian Wu
Audiences typically get divided into "pro-life" and "pro-choice" camps. But when it comes to audiences who are most susceptible to abortion criminalization, political views become a lot less relevant. Instead, we focused on discovering behaviors and needs through keyword research (tricky when dealing with an issue that carries so much stigma and threat), and reaching them through a combination of search, forums, ads and influencers.
Never a Bother and Live Beyond: Elevating Diverse Youth Voices in California’s Historic Youth Mental Health Awareness and Outreach Campaigns
Camellia Mortezazadeh
This presentation will showcase Civilian Agency’s unique youth co-creation approach in the recently launched Never a Bother youth suicide prevention and Live Beyond Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) awareness campaigns, developed through the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI), a five-year historic investment transforming the way California supports children, youth, and families.