Meet the Speakers

Joe Gunderson

Chief Creative Officer, Hailey Sault

Breakout 2.1 - The Visual Shift in Healthcare Marketing: Video Edition 

Joe possesses a profound understanding of consumer behavior and brand interaction in the digital landscape. His expertise in guiding the human-centered design process has cultivated deep and lasting connections between clients and their audiences. With nearly 25 years of experience in healthcare communication, this artist, photographer, videographer, and editor brings a visionary sensibility to the leadership of our creative team. Joe excels in building strategies for brand identity systems, integrated campaigns, organic social content, and human-centered experiences. He is also adept at mapping consumer journeys to optimize patient acquisition. He has been recognized with numerous healthcare marketing awards and was honored with a "20 under 40" Award from the Duluth News Tribune. Joe’s love of family and community makes him a person people know they can count on in a pinch—with an open mind and heart.

Janee Wolf

Associate Director of Strategy, Core Creative

Breakout 2.2 - Brand + Performance Marketing: A Smarter Strategy for Healthcare Growth

Janee is a problem solver with more than 18 years of experience. She loves to study people and believes some of the greatest magic we can create as marketers is memorable experiences. She brings a diverse background in healthcare, B2C and B2B marketing, and has helped develop and lead integrated marketing campaigns for a variety of clients including ThedaCare, Arkansas Children's, Med Center Health, Johnsonville Sausage, Florsheim Shoes, Bostik, Case IH and DOW Agriculture. Janee likes to ask questions and has honed her skills and ability to deliver key insights to keep her teams on-strategy for results-driven campaigns. When she's not at the office, Janee is at home chasing after her two kids and two dogs and loving every minute of the chaos.

Mickey Wildt

Associate Director, Client Engagement, Core Creative

Breakout 2.2 - Brand + Performance Marketing: A Smarter Strategy for Healthcare Growth

Knowing there’s always more to learn from others, Mickey believes in the magic of human connections. He’s fascinated by the psychology of working collaboratively, understanding individuals and sharing his own insights on how teams and clients can best work together to reach consumers. Working in account service roles for his full professional career, Mickey brings over a decade of healthcare marketing experience to the Core team, having worked with organizations throughout the U.S. He takes special pride in his work with TriHealth, where he’s helped create a brand position and creative platform focused on the emotional and functional benefits of their population health approach. When he’s not strengthening client connections, he’s still bringing people together, using his free time to cook and entertain friends and family with delicious food.

Emily Hartzog

President, Chartwell Agency 

Breakout 3.1 - Marketing with Intent: Aligning Strategy and Storytelling to Organizational Goals

Emily Hartzog is the President of Chartwell Agency, an integrated healthcare marketing firm known for delivering smart, strategic solutions that drive results. A sought-after speaker at national conferences and industry events, Emily brings real-world experience and proven strategies to audiences of all sizes— translating complex marketing and communications challenges into actionable insights for healthcare leaders at every level. With more than 22 years of experience in sales, marketing, and public relations, Emily is also a recognized expert in strategic planning, training, and crisis communication. She leads Chartwell’s training and strategic planning service line, while continuing to fuel her passion for branding, websites, and marketing campaigns that make an impact. Emily’s love of storytelling extends beyond the boardroom—she’s also an owner, instructor, and performer with the Aloha Hula Girls, a Polynesian dance performance group, bringing a creative and engaging spirit to everything she does.

Ebony Ssali

Marketing Manager, Outreach Community Health Centers 

Breakout 3.2 - Hashtag to Health Check

Ebony Ssali, MBA serves as Marketing Manager at Outreach Community Health Centers in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She is a recognized leader in place branding and multicultural marketing campaigns. As founder of a boutique marketing firm, she has directed regional & national print, broadcast, digital, and social media for brands. At Outreach, she is responsible for developing and implementing marketing strategies for primary care, behavioral health, community services, dental, and pharmacy pillars of care. In 2024, Ebony Ssali developed and hosted a monthly radio broadcast, presented by Outreach Community Health Centers, airing on dual Milwaukee stations entitled, Community Heartbeat. The show presents health topics and guests in a warm, approachable talk radio format.

Lacey Reichwald

Director of Marketing, Aha Media Group

General Session - How Plain Language Builds Trust, Drives Action, and Strengthens Your Hospital Brand

Lacey Reichwald loves to help people. But as a self-proclaimed word nerd (and not much of a math girl), she chose marketing over med school. Now, as director of marketing at Aha Media Group, she uses her practical experience to help healthcare marketers meet their goals. When not working, Lacey enjoys travel, reading, gaming, and backpacking with her family.

Kari Hofer

Vice President, External Affairs, Wisconsin Hospital Association

General Session - Shaping the Narrative: WHA’s Messaging Strategies to Support Wisconsin Hospitals

Kari Hofer joined the Wisconsin Hospital Association (WHA) in February 2018 as the Vice President of Advocacy and currently serves as the Vice President of External Affairs. In this role, she leads WHA’s external affairs efforts, overseeing strategic communications and coordinating initiatives that inform, engage, and mobilize WHA members and stakeholders across the state. Before joining WHA, Kari spent a decade fundraising for various political campaigns and committees. She previously served as Executive Director of the WMC Foundation, a nonprofit entity of Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce. She is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin–Madison and earned her Master of Business Administration (MBA) in 2015.

Rod Holmes

Managing Partner, Pilot Digital Marketing 

Breakout 4.1 - HIPAA-Compliant Website Tracking

Rod Holmes is a founding partner of Pilot Digital, a boutique digital marketing agency based in Chicago. Since launching in 2009, Rod has helped grow Pilot into a multi-million dollar, B-Corp-certified company with a team of 22 and a reputation for driving results for clients ranging from global corporations to local nonprofits. Known for its 4-day work week and open-book management style, Pilot specializes in helping businesses grow through strategic, targeted website traffic. With a background spanning digital marketing, e-learning, corporate training, and manufacturing, Rod brings a rare blend of technical fluency and strong communication to every project.

Kate Kishline

Senior Advertising and Brand Specialist, Children’s Wisconsin

Breakout 4.2 - Sponsorships and Healthcare: How to engage internal teams and bring strategy into community activations

Kate Kishline is a Senior Brand and Advertising Specialist at Children's Wisconsin, where she transforms healthcare branding into strategic community connections and storytelling. After building her career at marketing agencies and developing boutique hotel brands nationally, Kate found her calling in mission-driven healthcare. At Children's Wisconsin, she leads initiatives that blend storytelling with measurable outcomes to strengthen the organization's impact. Her professional expertise is complemented by volunteer work as an Advertising and Brand manager with Pride MKE and a mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters. Kate holds a degree in Journalism, Advertising and Media Studies from UW-Milwaukee and actively participates in numerous professional organizations to stay at the forefront of industry trends.