Agency creativity. Insider counsel.
I'll never forget what a client told me a few years into our work together: "We got into this contract with your agency, but the person we get the most value from is you."
It wasn't a knock on the agency. I love agencies. I spent most of my career in them, most recently as an AVP at a leading independent firm, and they're where I learned how great PR gets made. But the model has a quiet tradeoff: the senior person who wins your business usually can't be the one doing the work every day.
Barrel removes that tradeoff. You get one-on-one senior counsel from someone who's worn the agency hat and knows healthcare front to back. No handoffs, no junior teams, no re-explaining your organization to someone new.
Agencies bring ideas. In-house teams know what will survive a Monday leadership meeting. I work like part of your team, so we spend less time catching up and more time moving.
How I work with clients
Senior counsel, always
You work with me. There is no team behind the curtain and no account manager relaying messages.
Strategy before tactics
A press release is not a plan. We start with what you're trying to change and work backwards.
Built for your reality
Approval chains, board sensitivities, a CEO who hates jargon — the plan accounts for all of it.
Why Barrel
A barrel is the hollow of a breaking wave — the few seconds where everything depends on reading the water right. Get the timing wrong and the moment closes over you.
Healthcare leaders live in those moments constantly. A funding round, a merger, a policy shift, a reporter with a half-finished story. The work is knowing when to move, how to position, and when to let the strategy carry the message forward on its own.
Something important coming up?
Launches, mergers, funding news, a leader who needs a voice — start the conversation early. That's when I'm most useful.