Stefanie Gunning and Julianna Strong of McKinney Health on the Power of Creativity to Educate and Inspire

Health is evolving through personalization

Stefanie and Julianna are co-creative leads at McKinney Health. 

We spent two minutes with Stefanie and Julianna to learn more about their backgrounds, their creative inspirations and recent work they’ve admired. 

Stefanie and Julianna, tell us …

Where you grew up, and where you live now.

• Stefanie: I’m a born and bred New Yorker. I grew up in the Bronx and Westchester, went to college near Rochester and have lived in Brooklyn since before it was cool.
• Julianna: I grew up all over. My dad was in the military, so I was born in Washington State, spent time in Alabama, Florida and then Tennessee. I have been living in Manhattan for eight years.

How you first got interested in health.

• Stefanie: I was working on several wellness and “health-adjacent” consumer brands when I joined Edelman Health. Their strategists are brilliant, which is what drew me to the position. The more I learned about the level of self-advocacy it takes for patients to get the care they need, the more passionate I became about helping people to understand the treatment options available.
• Julianna: I’ve always loved design and visual storytelling, and at a certain point in my career I wanted to use those skills for something meaningful. There’s something powerful about using creativity to educate, inspire hope and make healthcare feel more human and accessible.

One of your favorite projects you’ve ever worked on.

• Stefanie: Lung cancer causes more deaths each year than breast, ovarian and cervical cancers combined. If any other killer was preying on women at this rate, they would be on the FBI’s 10 Most-Wanted list. Despite the danger, a combination of insufficient screening, lack of awareness and stigma results in significant diagnostic delays. To confront this threat, the American Lung Association/Lung Force and my team at Edelman launched “Lock Up Lung Cancer,” a campaign that took its cues from the true crime genre. Everything about this project clicked from the first—the sharp insights, the creative opportunity, the partnership with the client, the chance to raise awareness and the powerful stories told firsthand.

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• Julianna: One of my favorite projects was for Zoetis. We developed “Ditch the Itch” to highlight the negative impact and growing consequences antihistamines can have when used to treat pruritic itch. Dog’s itching is not a trained behavior, so it was a unique challenge trying to capture the necessary action for the campaign.

A recent project you’re proud of.

• Stefanie: Julianna and I worked together to reimagine “More Is Possible” for Spinraza—the first approved treatment for spinal muscular atrophy, a rare genetic disorder that leads to muscle weakness and wasting. Since it became available nearly a decade ago, Spinraza has helped transform life with SMA—but representation of community hasn’t kept pace. Our campaign puts a new generation of bold, thriving individuals front and center, inspiring healthcare providers to rethink what’s possible. In terms of results, we saw downloads triple year-on-year. We saw 5x YOY video starts and multiple page-visits double. HCPs spent more time on the site engaging with crucial content more often. All of this led to more start forms downloaded—which was our primary objective.
• Julianna: For Spinraza, we reimagined how SMA could show up in the world by taking a sophisticated, editorial approach to the way patients are portrayed. The experience was incredibly inspiring—being on set with such amazing people, hearing their stories and capturing their unique personalities. I’m proud of the beautiful photography and how the campaign came to life.

One thing about how health is evolving that you’re excited about.

• Stefanie: As a Gen-X woman I am so grateful that menopause is finally being talked about openly, with relatable humor and in a practical, science-based way.
• Julianna: Health is evolving through personalization—especially with things like wearable tech, AI and genetic insights. The industry is moving into a space where treatments, prevention and communication can be tailored to the individual. It’s exciting because it opens the door for more empathetic, nuanced and relevant creative that speaks to real people.

Someone else’s work, in health or beyond, that you admired lately.

• Stefanie: The Eos and Mischief @ No Fixed Address “Evolution of Smooth” campaign is “Damn, I wish I’d made that” good.
• Julianna: “The Identity Builder,” which is an algorithm that transforms data on rare diseases into unique visual identities.

Your main strength as a marketer/creative.

• Stefanie: I excel at getting started, even with very little information. Charles Schulz once said, “Writer’s block is for amateurs. If you don’t have something to say every day, then you don’t belong in this business.” He was talking about cartooning, but it stuck with me.
• Julianna: Health is personal. I have a strong sense of how to shape visuals that respect the emotional weight of the category/condition while still being bold, fresh and compelling.

Your biggest weakness.

• Stefanie: I’m always surprised when someone does me wrong. It’s not naïveté, it’s just that if I were a dog, I’d be a Golden Retriever.
• Julianna: I can be quiet at times, which can be misinterpreted as disinterest or shyness.

What you’d be doing if you weren’t in health.

• Stefanie: I’d be everyone’s favorite theater professor at a small liberal arts college on a bucolic campus in New England.
• Julianna: Full-time colored pencil pet-portrait artist.