It all started in an accidental rhetoric class. That’s where Laura Nobles found herself as a UC Berkeley freshman many years ago. There – and in subsequent courses – she learned to argue a case, tell stories with power, and move audiences to act. And she’s made that passion her life’s work ever since.

Today, Laura is a trusted C suite advisor who offers clients strategic thinking and communication programming designed to drive market adoption, sales growth and, when appropriate, successful exit strategies.

With more than 20 years of experience, Laura is steeped in healthcare and adept across virtually all communication disciplines. Since opening Pazanga (previously Nobles Global Communications) in 2006, Laura has overseen growth-focused public relations and integrated marketing programs for U.S., European and Israeli clients ranging from emerging venture-backed companies to mid-size and Fortune 500 organizations. Her knowledge spans clinical segments.

Laura was previously senior vice president/managing director for FischerHealth, a subsidiary of global PR firm Porter Novelli. There she provided senior counsel to medical device, health information technology, health services and life sciences clients and led the execution of numerous strategic public relations and integrated marketing programs. Over her five-year tenure, Laura’s many clients included Boston Scientific, Medtronic, DePuy Orthopaedics, Thoratec Corporation, CSL Behring, Elsevier and Epocrates.

Laura wasn’t always in healthcare, even though it’s where she was destined to be. Her earlier leadership roles were in the high tech, industrial manufacturing and consumer products segments.

Laura is one of a long line of entrepreneurs, which includes her great grandfather, both of her grandfathers, her grandmother and her father. She lives in Newport Beach, Calif. with her husband (also an entrepreneur), 11-year-old daughter and three dogs.

After a 15-year career in journalism, Brad jumped to the “Dark Side” (as his journo buddies never tire of reminding him) in November 2019.

His experiences working at the Associated Press, daily newspapers, and industry magazine publishing exposed a vacuum in independent coverage of the medical device industry. In 2009, Brad and a partner launched MassDevice.com, quickly establishing it as the go-to source for information on medtech. After a successful exit to a larger publishing entity, Brad stayed on to lead the acquirer’s medical editorial team, overseeing the launch of three new publications – Medical Design & Outsourcing, Drug Delivery Business News, and The Robot Report.

Brad brings his deep knowledge and understanding of the medical technology industry and the broader life sciences sector to bear in helping companies clarify and tell their stories.

Brad earned a B.A. in English and Irish literature from Union College, and an M.S. in journalism from Boston University. A former professional brewer, Brad enjoys homebrewing and is an accomplished cook, ardent music fan, and avid cyclist. He lives in the Boston area with his wife and teenage son.

With a bachelor’s degree in Fine Art and Chemistry and a part-time job running a printing press, it was pretty much inevitable that Lauri would end up in graphic design in Silicon Valley. For 10 years she worked in-house first designing mylar balloons (yes it was fun!) and later for a start-up laser company (better pay, less fun!). By the time she left the corporate world, she ran the MarCom department for a company, New Focus, that was preparing for an IPO. At that point, she realized that she was heading for a career in management. “If I ever wanted to design again, it was time to go out on my own.”

In 2001 she started working as a freelance designer and over the next 18 years she built a small design house that serves mainly start-up high-tech and medical clients. “Our goal is to be nimble and to fill in the gaps for our clients. People often ask me about my process, but after 18 years I’ve realized that each client is unique. There are no cookie-cutter solutions when you are working in the fast-paced world of technology. So, my process is to understand your needs and then work with you to figure out what it will take to meet them.”

The partnership with Pazanga Health Communications has been exciting. It brings together the power of a well-articulated brand and the emotional impact of visuals that back that power. “Laura Nobles and I have a deep respect for each other’s skills and enough creative tension to push each one of us to deliver our best.”

Nik Vale was 4 years old when his Dad purchased their first home computer. It was a Memotech MTX 512. By today’s standards it wasn’t very powerful but it was enough to spark the curiosity in a young boy and it would end up shaping his education and career.

Today the Memotech lives on, but only as a “vintage” computer in a few museums. Meanwhile, Nik earned his Masters in Software Engineering and now has more than 25 years of experience in software and web development. Nik’s success has been built on the rare combination of technical skills and an artistic streak which allows him to build highly functional websites that also look amazing.

As “online presence” has continued to become more and more important to businesses of all sizes, Nik has made sure his toolbox has everything his clients need to be successful. Beyond building websites, Nik is also an expert in Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing, and Social Media Marketing.

Lastly, Nik’s problem solving skills and good “tech karma” means that things just work when he’s on your side – just ask his wife how many times he’s fixed her phone by simply being present!

​Sarah Bricker is a dynamic omnichannel marketing strategist and executor with more than 10 years of experience leading innovative agency and corporate initiatives for B2B and B2C audiences. Her career has primarily been focused within the healthcare industry, where she’s established herself as a reputable jack-of-all-traders. Sarah helps clients develop strategic and high-performing campaigns and efforts for content marketing, social media, paid digital media and social media advertising, video content marketing, influencer marketing, events, and brand growth.

She began her early career in college as a sports reporter and photojournalist and was fortunate to be able to cover the stories of a few Olympic qualifier swimmers and a renowned Olympic historian, local sports teams and more. Her exceptional storytelling and relationship building resulted four national and regional journalism awards including a Top Ten Associated Press Sports Editors in the 30,000 and under feature category, winning the Society of Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence Region 7 for Long Sports category, as well as two 2013 Missouri Press Association Best Newspaper Contest award for sports and the outdoors.

Following college, Sarah began the early years of her career freelancing for Yellow Scene Magazine, ALIVE Magazine, the St. Louis Business Journal, and the St. Louis Rams, before landing a B2B and B2C digital marketing agency in St. Louis. A personal disability and blog landed her a role with Starkey Hearing Technologies in 2015, where she revolutionized their corporate, national and international blog, social media, video campaigns, event promotion and product launch campaigns and materials to exponentially grow each YOY. During her last few years at Starkey, she was also blessed to take over the social media strategy and marketing campaign efforts for the Starkey Hearing Foundation’ So the World May Hear Gala and Race for Change partner event.

A chance to grow beyond the hearing health and technology came in 2018, with UnitedHealthcare, where Sarah took over the social media, paid media and content strategy work for Medicare Made Clear. Under her time, the program saw increased national and corporate attention, MOM and YOY growth in social media, paid media, email, organic traffic and SEO.

During the last five years, Sarah also began her own freelance business as a single contractor. She’s been fortunate to work with major brand and organizations with clients in healthcare, holistic wellness, medical device, pain management, retail, travel, food, photography, transportation and business software solutions spaces.

Today, she lives her career as a jack-of-all-trades who prides herself on providing clients with strategic ideas that are connected and high-quality. And while spends her career working across different time zones and on a variety of products, Sarah makes her home in the mountains of Colorado, the cities of Texas, or wherever her travel itch desires.

Joe started his career as a media relations strategist over twenty years ago. He began as a book publicist at various publishing companies, including Houghton Mifflin Publishers and HarperCollins Publishers. In 2000, he left book publishing to continue his publicity career in healthcare, where he worked in-house at some of New York City’s top public relations agencies, including Manning Selvage &  Lee and Edelman.

Over the years, Joe has been in charge of many exciting media initiatives for a variety of health organizations, including Weill Cornell Medicine, Consumer Reports, Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, as well as large pharma and start-up biotech companies. His experience includes serving as the primary day-to-day client contact, providing insight and counsel from a media perspective, increasing brand visibility, creating targeted media lists, brainstorming and implementing various targeted media program strategies, attending media interviews and trade conferences, building media relationships, drafting PR materials, and doing media training.

One of Joe’s proudest moments was when he spearheaded the FDA approval media campaign for a new category of cataract lens. The stories garnered included a CBS News interview with a New York doctor who performed the implantation in the United States. The story was picked up by 86 CBS affiliates in 39 states, including top 25 DMA markets (New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Dallas, Detroit, Atlanta, and Orlando), with more than 1.5 million broadcast media impressions.

Joe is passionate about healthcare and making a difference in the lives of people living with a variety of disease states. Having built relationships with health news media for the last two decades, Joe has an extensive network of media contacts across the country with a proven track record of creating, implementing, and executing strong storylines tailored to meet his clients’ needs with successful outcomes.

Joe is also an accomplished singer-songwriter. On most weekends, he performs his original music live with his band to enthusiastic audiences. The band even opened up for Gin Blossoms two years ago.

Joe lives in northern Westchester County, NY with his wife and their fifteen-year-old daughter.

As a child attending Catholic Church, Tim was nicknamed “the mayor” by his Dad. At “Peace be with You,” when most parishioners shake hands with people on either side, young Tim would stroll the pew shaking everyone’s hand in front, aside and behind him. Dad would say, “What, are you running for? Mayor? Get over here and sit down.” This networking tendency and fearlessness to approach people he didn’t know bode well for his public/media relations and military careers, and his almost 1,500 connections on LinkedIn.

With more than two decades of experience, Tim has worked in corporate, agency and freelance positions to enhance the visibility and awareness of companies large and small. Tim’s experience includes story placement in top national news, business, trade and online publications. His client experience ranges from NETGEAR, Novell and Corning to startups.

Tim received his bachelor’s degree in business and marketing from Worcester State University, Mass.

A political science major in college, Helen got the PR “bug” at her first job out of college at a jewelry company. She sent out a press release to Boston media about a landmark jewelry store’s impending closure after a century of business in Downtown Crossing. Within a few hours, reporters from the local TV stations and newspapers were at the store to report the news.

Several decades later, Helen still gets a thrill from seeing her clients featured in the news. Her next job was at a PR and marketing boutique agency where she got to work with medical device and technology clients.

Helen is a seasoned communications professional with 25 years of experience helping healthcare innovators break through the clutter and tell their stories to reach, engage and influence critical audiences. Helen spent the bulk of her career in agency, including 19 years at Schwartz Communications (acquired by MSLGROUP) where she progressed from senior account executive to senior vice president, healthcare. In that time, Helen advised clients across the corporate life cycle, from early stage to commercialization.

She derives great satisfaction from working with emerging companies and start-ups—and especially entrepreneurial game changers. From a tiny automatic external defibrillator that drove a paradigm shift in awareness and treatment of sudden cardiac arrest, to the first “pacemaker for the brain” to treat epilepsy and depression, to the first implanted device for obstructive sleep apnea—she has developed, managed and executed PR and communications campaigns for these and other game-changing technologies, providing the essential blend of strategic communications counsel with impeccable program execution.

As strategic partner, Helen develops, manages and executes PR and communications campaigns and is a trusted advisor and an extension of her clients’ marketing and communications teams. She works closely with the C-suite and top executives to develop corporate positioning and communications strategies; engages patients and caregivers to educate and advocate; develops positioning and strategies to drive awareness and influence adoption, reimbursement and policy. Helen provides the essential blend of strategic communications counsel with impeccable program execution.

Helen has worked with a wide range of healthcare companies spanning device, diagnostics, biotech, pharmaceutical and digital health developing new therapies and diagnostics in addiction, neurology, psychiatry, diabetes, oncology, cardiology, gastroenterology, transplant medicine, orthopedics, and women’s health. Her clients have included: AbbottPOC, Accuray, The Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study (UCSD), American Society of Breast Surgeons, BIOTRONIK, Braeburn Pharmaceuticals, Cyberonics (now LivaNova), EnteroMedics, Hologic, Inspire Medical, Proxima Therapeutics (now Hologic), Quest Diagnostics, Sanarus Medical, SPR Therapeutics, Saluda Medical, TransMedics, WellDoc and Wright Medical.

Helen earned a B.A. in political science from Boston University. A soccer mom and proud Brooklyn native, Helen loves to run, cook, travel, practice yoga, go to the movies and spend time with family.

Danielle Cormier-Smith is a strategic communications and PR veteran with 20 years of experience leading both agency and corporate teams. She has an uncanny knack for message development and brand positioning to help companies and organizations look their best, stand out from competitors and reach key decision makers.

The daughter of a journalist, she learned at a young age what makes a good story, and has spent her career driving integrated communications strategy for brands and organizations in a number of industries, telling compelling stories to key stakeholders and audiences across multiple channels. Naturally inquisitive and adept at thinking ahead, Danielle can anticipate a journalist’s questions before they’re asked. Her spokespeople are always prepared for any question that may get thrown their way.

Danielle’s career began in some of New York’s top independent agencies representing a diverse slate of accounts. Her experience includes launching startups and managing communications programs for iconic brands such as Bank of America, Polaroid, Pampers and Duracell, in addition to cause marketing and reputation management.

After 10 years honing her craft in agencies of all sizes, Danielle spent eight years in corporate communications at Oracle. There, she oversaw communications efforts for the company’s largest division, drove the company’s communications efforts during its massive transformation to a cloud computing company, and handled communications for dozens of acquisitions.

Danielle believes in giving back and can often be found volunteering her time and skills for a number of non-profits, including Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer (ALSF). She spent three years on the steering committee of the Young Professionals of ALSF, including two as chair, helping to raise awareness and funds for childhood cancer research.

While she has spent her entire career working seamlessly across time zones, Danielle makes her home in Philadelphia with her family. In her precious free time, she enjoys running, practicing yoga and gardening.

Nizar Krayem has been a graphic design professional since 1995. He is a multidisciplinary visual and UI/UX designer with experience in print, web and digital design, video, multimedia and software design. Nizar possesses a wealth of marketing and design experience spanning various industries and sectors including: Medical Devices, High-tech Manufacturing, Banking and Finance, Photonics and Optics, Education and Information Technology.

Drawing and doodling since he was a child, Nizar has spent a lifetime crafting his artistic design abilities. His influences stem from architecture, fine art, science fiction, comic books and action sports subcultures such as skateboarding, surfing and snowboarding.

While finishing his university degrees, Nizar worked as a graphic designer at Oregon State University. Upon graduating, Nizar got his professional start in the Silicon Valley working in high-tech. He later returned to Portland and worked at a design agency, then transitioned into web design. Nizar found his way back to corporate design as in-house designer for a large regional bank. After a promotion to Marketing Manager, he realized his design talent was not being used. He seized the opportunity to return to his graphic design passion in high tech.

Nizar earned his B.F.A. in graphic design and B.A. in English Literature from Oregon State University. Nizar enjoys travel, kayaking, hiking, and lives with his wife, daughter and two Labrador Retriever puppies in Portland, Oregon.