OUR STORY
Health+ Studio launched in 2019 with an inspired idea: What if we were all just healthy? Not trying to be healthy or worried about being healthy. Just healthy because the places where we live, work, play, and learn are filled with experiences and opportunities to make us healthy, regardless of what we look like, how we identify, what resources we have, or where we live.
What would that world look like?
We decided to try and find out. We designed our approach to bring together the creative energy of a design firm, the behavior-change and communication skills of a marketing agency, and the scientific rigor of public health. Turns out, it’s a powerful combination. And it’s been an amazing journey so far.
We've helped mission-driven organizations map out their exciting future path, launched new programs and change initiatives, and supported communities in becoming more resilient. Since our start, we’ve been privileged to partner with organizations that want to make the world better through reframing how we define health and how we achieve it.
Non-profit organizations
Philanthropy
Public agencies and policymakers
Private sector
Health and research institutions
Child, youth, family and community health
Mental and behavioral health
Social determinants of health
Education
Food and nature justice
OUR VALUES
How we operate, what’s important, and how we see the world
Stay optimistic: Optimism is our engine for action. We believe it’s contagious and has the power to bring everyone together to create a better and more just world.
Center partnership: We thrive on collaboration. Open dialogue, reflection, and co-design are essential to our process.
Cultivate curiosity: We turn things over to see what’s underneath. We’re passionate about thinking differently and wanting to learn more. We’re always questioning what’s working and what’s not so we can do better next time.
Create with care: We’re intentional about who we partner with. And about what we build. We design to appeal to people’s senses and make them stop, think, and take action.
Lead with humility: We’re all teachers and we’re all learners. We embrace listening, observing, and growing with others. We celebrate being a part of something bigger.
OUR TEAM
We believe the best ideas, strategies, and results come from a mix of perspectives, knowledge, and creative energy. We’ve built a diverse bench of experts who love working together and who bring just the right skills, curiosity, and passion to every project.
Social strategists
Program managers
Community engagement specialists
Communications professionals
Public health experts
Researchers
Visual designers
Creative writers
Subject matter experts
Developers and UX designers
Lover of strategy. Believer of possibilities. Connector of dots. Perpetual mover. Seeker of joy.
Idea ponderer. Critic of the status quo. Believer in group process. Pursuer of balance. More ocean than mountains.
Creative collaborator. Big picture puzzler. Passionate believer in the power of storytelling and human-centered design to ignite curiosity, connection, and positive change.
Compassionate critical thinker. Creative communicator. Champion of kindness and whimsy drawn to the weird and wild. Arbiter of administrative chaos.
Jabeen Yusuf – Studio Founder
Jabeen Yusuf (she/her) is a seasoned social impact strategist and brand marketer. Prior to founding Health+ Studio, Jabeen was Vice President of Strategic Engagement at Center For Youth Wellness, a pediatric health care non-profit organization founded by former California Surgeon General Dr. Nadine Burke Harris to improve health outcomes for children impacted by trauma and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). Jabeen led the Center’s marketing communications, thought leadership, and public education efforts, including the Stress Health National Public Education Initiative.
In addition, Jabeen spent 20 years spearheading brand strategies for global brands such as Procter & Gamble and Google. She led Ad Council campaigns for Partnership For a Drug Free America and American Psychological Association (APA). Jabeen sits on the board for YES Nature to Neighborhoods, a community-based non-profit providing leadership pathways through nature enrichment to youth and families.
Jabeen is an experienced Design Thinking practitioner and was a cohort for the California College of the Arts (CCA) Leading by Design Fellows Program. She is a magna cum laude graduate of FIT School of Art and Design in New York City.
A citizen of the world, Jabeen was born in Pakistan and spent her formative school years in Saudi Arabia. She speaks English, Hindi, and Urdu fluently and can understand conversational Arabic. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and daughter.
Sara Silvério Marques, DrPH, MPH – Studio Founder
Sara Silvério Marques (she/her) is an experienced public health leader. Sara believes deeply in the power of thought partnership and “building better together.” Her experience spans direct service, program management, capacity building, research, and policy advocacy. She has worked in community-based organizations and as part of state, national, and multi-country efforts.
Prior to Health+ Studio, Sara was on the leadership team at the Center for Youth Wellness, a pediatric health care non-profit organization founded by former California Surgeon General Dr. Nadine Burke Harris to improve health outcomes for children impacted by trauma and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). She led the organization’s strategy on field building, which included cross-sector policy advocacy, statewide coalition building, and health care provider training and technical assistance.
Sara has developed and implemented many public health and health promotion programs including individual and group-based, peer education, parenting, workforce, re-entry and opportunity youth programs. Her work has also included capacity building and training around effective program design in childhood trauma, youth development, violence prevention, sexual health promotion, and family support programming.
Sara earned her Doctor of Public Health degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master of Public Health, with a focus on global health promotion, from George Washington University.
Sara is a first generation American, native of the Washington, D.C. area, with family roots in Portugal and El Salvador. She speaks English, Portuguese, and Spanish fluently. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her family.
Kathleen Miller – Program Manager
Kathleen Miller (she/her) is a versatile project manager and communications professional with a deep background in content development and creative partnerships, and more than 10 years of experience working in publishing and communications in a variety of roles, including editorial development, book production, product design, and account management. She’s honed her creative instincts across a wide array of subject areas, including academic texts, professional development tools, Japanese comics, programming manuals, cookbooks, picture books, and specialty gifting (including everything from puzzles to dog bandanas!).
Born and raised in the Bay Area (unceded ancestral homeland of Ramaytush, Miwok, Tamien, Awaswas, Mutsun, and Chochenyo Ohlone), Kathleen holds a dual BA in English and Rhetoric from UC Berkeley and currently calls Oakland home. In her spare time, you can find her digging in the garden, volunteering at local concerts and literary events, hiking and biking, and exploring California’s many natural wonders.
Danni Gorden – Program Coordinator
Danni Gorden (she/her) is a Jill-of-all-trades who feels like she’s done a little bit of everything, including book publishing, mobile game localization, youth mental health support and advocacy, nonprofit communications, content marketing, freelance copy editing and writing, hospital clerical work, and library work.
Danni gravitates towards projects that advance equity and accessibility for all, especially those that have a mental health or disability focus. She identifies as a mental health peer and has a background in peer work with youth involved in the wraparound process in Washington County, Oregon. She often uses her lived experience navigating systems as a framework through which to examine those systems and advocate for change.
Danni has a degree in English Literature from UC Berkeley, where she studied poetry and poetics. A Central Valley native, she lives in Modesto, California with her partner and two canine children, Biscuit and Jot.
Greg Mitchell – Senior Research Advisor
Greg Mitchell serves as a senior research advisor at Health+ Studio and runs Sharpen Consulting out of New York and Brussels, Belgium. Prior to joining Health+, he was the Research Lead at The New York Times, applying a design thinking approach in support of the core news app as well as the newsletter products. In this role, he conducted product-oriented research using both qualitative and quantitative methods, including foundational research, usability research, Jobs To Be Done, and product satisfaction.
Greg believes in the power of empathy and connection in designing products, services, and experiences regardless of the intended audience. In the social advocacy space, he has conducted research for the likes of the Center for Youth Wellness, the Cleveland Clinic, and PlanetOut. Prior to his role at The Times, he held senior leadership roles at boutique market research agencies—Greenberg, 2CV, and The Big Picture, specifically. His client base included Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Microsoft, SAP, Electronic Arts, Diageo, and Pernod Richard.
Greg started his career as a communications planner at some of the greats in advertising—Ogilvy, McCann, and Deutsch. He holds a MSc in Business Management & Leadership from City University of New York, NY and a BA in Economics from Drew University, Madison, NJ. He has also trained in Design Thinking at the Nielsen/Norman Group.
Leslie Ernst – Managing Producer
With 20+ years of experience in marketing, entertainment, and advertising, Leslie has had the opportunity to work on a wide range of projects, from websites, mobile apps, and contests to social content, live events, and photo and video shoots. Known for an eye for detail and a hands-on approach, she thrives on transforming creative ideas into flawlessly executed productions.
Leslie takes pride in contributing to projects of all shapes and sizes, whether it’s managing budgets and timelines, finding creative solutions to keep things moving forward, or collaborating with clients and teams to turn complex ideas into successful outcomes.
While living in Cape Town, South Africa, Leslie worked as a volunteer trainer at a seabird hospital helping penguins, pelicans, gannets, and cormorants, and in 2019, she was part of the team that worked to save 2000 rescued baby flamingos.
Whether coordinating intricate productions, crafting strategies to meet unique client needs, or sharing travel tips for Southern Africa, Leslie is dedicated to bringing experience, creativity, and passion to every project.
