Who We Are

The Stanford Medicine Office of Communications includes a diverse team of science writers, media relations specialists, and experts in executive and internal communications. Our team has a wealth of experience covering biomedical research, clinical advances, medical education and health-care policy. We are passionate advocates of Stanford Medicine’s educational, research and clinical enterprise.

Please take a look at our biographies and let us know how we can help you. 

Hanae Armitage edits the Stanford Medicine blog, Scope, and reports on genetics and big data, among other areas for the office. She is a proud banana slug (UC-Santa Cruz alum) and earned her master's at Boston University, where she studied science journalism. Outside of the office, she loves a good hike and enjoys free diving and sushi.

Office: (650) 725-5376
harmitag@stanford.edu

Cecilia Arradaza is the Chief Communications Officer at Stanford Medicine. She helps craft integrated communications strategies that bring to life the organization’s leadership, value proposition, and strategic priorities. She previously served as the Executive Director of Strategy for the social impact agency Wondros where she provided integrated communications leadership for Operation Warp Speed and the National Institute of Health’s All of Us Research Program. Prior to that, she led communications and engagement efforts for the Biden Cancer Initiative and the Milken Institute and its FasterCures center. Earlier in her career, she held leadership roles at various corporate and nonprofit organizations including: Brunswick Group, Chandler Chicco Agency, American Psychiatric Association, and Powell Tate. She actively serves on the boards of the BrightFocus Foundation and Sage Bionetworks, and is part of the Ad Council’s issues advisory group. She graduated from George Washington University’s Mount Vernon Women’s College.

Office: (650) 723-8812
arradaza@stanford.edu

Nina Bai joined Stanford Medicine in 2022 and covers cardiology, epidemiology, mental health, pain and surgery. Previously, she wrote for various research institutions and magazines, including Scientific American, Discover, and Lucky Peach. She earned a master’s in science writing from Johns Hopkins University and is a Yale University alum. In her free time, Nina enjoys gazing at the sky and staring into trees, looking for birds.

Office: (650) 724-2763
nina.bai@stanford.edu

Claire Cheung-Solow helps oversee social media for Stanford Medicine and Stanford Health Care, and also produces and edits video and social media content. Prior to joining Stanford in 2021, she worked with FEMA helping to vaccinate people all over the Bay Area. Claire graduated from UC Santa Cruz with a BA in both Legal Studies and Theater Arts, where she worked on numerous theater department productions as a scenic designer, director, and media editor.

Office: (650) 785-5392
ccheung2@stanford.edu

Krista Conger, PhD '99, covers cancer, stem cells, dermatology and developmental biology for the office. She received her degree in cancer biology from Stanford. After completing the science writing program at the University of California-Santa Cruz, she joined the medical school's communication office full time in 2000. She is a member of the National Association of Science Writers and a BELS-certified science editor. In her spare time she enjoys cooking, knitting and running while wrangling three kids, 13 chickens, a dog, a cat and a parakeet.

Office: (650) 725-5371
kristac@stanford.edu

Brian Conlin supports executive communications for Stanford Medicine leadership – helping developing communications strategies and speeches, newsletters, and other communications. He previously worked at Johns Hopkins Medicine, leading communications strategy for Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures. He earned a master’s in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Office: (240) 298-1706
brian.conlin@stanford.edu

Erin Digitale, PhD, earned her doctorate in nutrition at the University of California, Davis, where she also learned how to knit and how to ride her bicycle all the way across campus with no hands. She holds a certificate in science writing from UC Santa Cruz and has been writing about pediatrics, obstetrics, nutrition and children's health policy for the School of Medicine since 2008.

Office: (650) 724-9175
digitale@stanford.edu

Mandy Erickson oversees the writing team and the News Center. An alumna of UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism, she was a freelance writer and editor before joining the school of medicine. Much of her freelance work was in the health care realm, though she also reviewed restaurants for the San Francisco Chronicle and wrote how-to books, among other gigs. Outside of work, she likes to bake, play tennis and hike with her Chihuahua-Jack Russell mix.

Office: (650) 736-0264
merickso@stanford.edu

Margarita Gallardo produces video and social media content for Stanford Medicine, and oversees photography, digital assets and documentary film requests. Before joining Stanford in 2003, she worked in local television production. Margarita is a graduate of the University of San Francisco, where she studied communications and sociology.

Office: (650) 723-7897
mjgallardo@stanford.edu

Bruce Goldman, MS, covers immunology, infectious disease, transplantation, neurosciences, neurosurgery, bioengineering, molecular and cellular physiology, structural biology and biochemistry. A recovering philosophy major from the University of Wisconsin, he’s done his best to cover his tracks by obtaining yet another bachelor's degree, this time in engineering physics from the University of Colorado, and attending finishing school, in cell biology, at Harvard University. He is a member of the National Association of Science Writers and the co-author of two books about the future: 2020 Visions (Portable Stanford) and Fast Forward (Harper).

Office: (650) 725-2106
goldmanb@stanford.edu

Mark makes documentaries that tell the stories of researchers, clinicians and patients at Stanford Medicine. A recipient of multiple awards, including both national and regional Emmy nominations, his work has appeared across Stanford platforms, on most major broadcast networks, and in the digital editions of publications such as the New York Times and the Washington Post.

Office: (650) 384-5249 
mhanlon@stanford.edu

Patricia Hannon is associate editor of Stanford Medicine magazine, a Scope blog editor and a writer covering biomedical ethics. She is a Pulitzer Prize-winning editor from The (San Jose) Mercury News and Bay Area News Group, with expertise in digital publishing and managing crisis communications. A Bay Area native and a fifth-generation Californian, she enjoys live music, hiking, traveling with friends and family, and watching San Francisco Giants baseball. She is a San Jose State University graduate in journalism and anthropology.

Office: (650) 725-3244
phannon@stanford.edu

Amy Jeter Hansen has been writing about medicine and health policy for more than a decade. Before joining Stanford in 2017, she was a communications officer and digital editor at the Kaiser Family Foundation, and an award-winning newspaper reporter for 15 years. She holds a master’s degree in public affairs reporting from the University of Maryland and is a Rice University alum. In her spare time, she enjoys running, traveling and working on her novel.

Office: (650) 497-6995
ajeterhansen@stanford.edu

Emily Harrington supports all employee and internal communication needs for the School of Medicine and Stanford Health Care Human Resources departments. Previously, Emily worked in human capital consulting, where her work focused primarily on employee communications, change management and organizational transformation. Emily graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial and Labor Relations.

Office: (650) 313-8129 
emilyharrington@stanfordhealthcare.org

Karissa Hayes is the Communications Coordinator for the Office of Communications at Stanford Medicine. Her role is split between supporting the internal communications team and supporting the Chief Communications Officer, Cecilia Arradaza. Karissa graduated from University of Colorado Boulder with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and a minor in Leadership Studies.

Office: (650) 723-7250 
khayes37@stanford.edu

Amy Hernandez supports internal communications for the Stanford Health Care and the School of Medicine. Prior to joining Stanford, Amy worked as a freelance internal communications consultant, supporting her clients’ employee engagement and executive communications strategies in the tech, medical devices, retail and pharma spaces. Prior to that, she held communications roles at Kaiser Permanente and Wells Fargo Bank. She graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo where she majored in journalism.

Cell: (650) 304-6992
amyhernandez@stanfordhealthcare.org

Annic Jobin leads the team responsible for strategic content communications initiatives for Stanford Medicine. She previously served as vice president of content for WebMD and Medscape, where she oversaw editorial strategies and content production for consumer and professional audiences. Before joining WebMD, she produced cross-platform news coverage and integrated key TV programming initiatives on CNN.com.

Office: (678) 612-1414
ajobin@stanford.edu

Janet Joson has more than 15 years of experience in corporate, internal and executive communications across industries (health care, tech, manufacturing and higher education). Before joining Stanford in 2021, she held communications manager roles at Intuit, Blue Shield of California and Kaiser Permanente. She is an alumna of Cal’s Graduate School of Journalism and worked as a newspaper reporter for several California newspapers, including the Oakland Tribune and Hayward Daily Review.

Office: (650) 374-9098
jjoson@stanfordhealthcare.org

Lisa Kim manages media relations for Stanford Health Care and the School of Medicine, interacting with broadcast and print reporters. She also helps produce video projects for internal communications. A former Emmy award-winning journalist, Lisa spent most of her career in broadcast news as an anchor and reporter at the local and network level. She’s a graduate of Northwestern University and earned her master’s degree in journalism there as well.

Office: (650) 346-4454
likim@stanfordhealthcare.org

Aris Lazdins leads executive communications for Stanford Medicine, overseeing strategy, special projects, and content in support of senior leadership. Before joining Stanford, he spent more than a decade in various health care consulting roles, most recently at Golin, where he launched the global PR agency’s digital health practice on the West Coast. Aris is an enthusiastic home cook, hiker, and proud dad of two young boys. He is a graduate of American University in Washington, DC.

Office: (650) 723-8088
lazdinsa@stanford.edu

Courtney Lodato leads strategic communications planning, trademark name use and media relations for Stanford Health Care and the School of Medicine. She most recently led the communications to support the Stanford Medicine Renewal Project and the opening of the new Stanford Hospital. Prior to joining Stanford in 2011, Courtney served as a vice president at Singer Associates where she led communications, community outreach, advertising and marketing campaigns for clients in health care, transportation and land use. She is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Office: (650) 724-0873
clodato@stanfordhealthcare.org

Lora oversees social media, Web, and video strategy for Stanford Medicine. She was previously the director of content at BabyCenter and has spent two decades covering health and education as a journalist and multimedia producer. Lora has held staff positions at Edutopia (the George Lucas Educational Foundation), Time Inc. Interactive, and Teaching Channel. She is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles.

Office: (415) 823-7924
lorama@stanford.edu

Vaishnavi Mahajan helps oversee trademark and name use for Stanford Medicine and Stanford Health Care and aides in documenting DEI efforts in Stanford Medicine publications. Prior to joining the team, she was a leader in digital marketing campaigns, SEO, and online presence for a senior health care company. Vaishnavi graduated from San Jose State University with a BS in Business Administration/International Business with focuses in Global Leadership & Management, as well as Marketing.

Office: (661) 476-8131
mahajan2@stanford.edu

Alfredo Martinez Jr., ’12, manages insights and analytics for Stanford Medicine’s digital channels. He graduated from Stanford with a B.A. in History. If he’s not working, he’s probably out running, reading, baking, or playing a board game.

Office: (858) 444-6093
alfredom@stanford.edu

Emily Moskal is a science writer for the School of Medicine, covering a wide variety of topics from aging and wellness to endocrinology. She received her bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Texas at Austin after which she worked seven years in nonprofit, government and university communications. She completed the science communication master’s program at the University of California, Santa Cruz, shortly before joining the team.

Office: (650) 723-0711
emoskal@stanford.edu

Andrew Padgett is a writer and communications strategist supporting the leadership team at Stanford Medicine. Before joining Stanford in 2021, he managed marketing and communications for digital health startups including Propeller Health and Clover Health. He developed his passion for health and science communications while working for various global PR agencies in San Francisco. He holds a degree in English from Tufts University.

Office: (415) 872-2285
apadgett@stanford.edu

Alison Peterson is the office's business manager. She started working at the university in 2007 at the Stanford Management Company. Long, long ago she graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in English. She enjoys cooking, reading and spending time with her two kids and three grandkids.

Office: (650) 736-7572
alison.peterson@stanford.edu

Rosanne Spector serves as editor of Stanford Medicine magazine and as mentor to science writing interns. Originally, she wanted to be a biologist, and she earned a master’s degree in plant pathology from UC-Berkeley. But her love of reading, writing and asking lots of questions led her to a career in science writing. After several years covering science as a newspaper reporter, she came to Stanford Medicine as a science writer and began editing Stanford Medicine in 1997.

Office: (650) 725-5374
manishma@stanford.edu
@StanMedMag

Yimy Antonio Villa is the Manager, Executive Communications for Stanford Medicine and manages social media content and engagement.  Prior to his role at Stanford, he worked for the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the state agency that funds stem cell and regenerative medicine research, as a vital part of their communications team.  His professional career began at Americans for Cures - a non-profit focused on stem cell research and patient advocacy. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences from the University of California, Irvine and a Master of Science with a Stem Cell Research Emphasis from San Francisco State University.

Office: (650) 862-1896
yimy@stanford.edu

Jen Winder is the Senior Manager of Internal Communications for Stanford Health Care and the School of Medicine. Before joining Stanford in 2015, she worked in public affairs and public relations consulting. Jen holds a master’s degree in Public Affairs from the University of San Francisco and is a George Washington University alum.

Office: (650) 492-3088
jwinder@stanfordhealthcare.org