NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
Learning to communicate
A communications studies degree came first. Before medicine or television, there was an interest in how we connect with one another.
THE PERSON BEHIND THE STORIES · MD, MPH
About
Zoanne.
Always becoming.
A physician’s curiosity.
A storyteller’s imagination.
A life connecting the two.
From emergency medicine and international public health to television, my path has been shaped by a desire to understand people—and to make a difference in their lives.
Follow the journeyMEDICINEPUBLIC HEALTHSTORYTELLINGADVOCACY
THE THREAD THROUGH IT ALL
Every chapter
has a purpose.
“I lead with service, truth, advocacy, vulnerability, and storytelling.”
My path has taken me from emergency departments to public health to a writers’ room. Looking back, those worlds have always been connected. Each asks us to pay attention to people: what they need, what they believe, and what happens when someone listens.
My mission is to use storytelling to help people become healthier, better informed, and more compassionate. Medicine brings the science. Public health asks how we reach people. Television gives us characters whose lives we can enter, question, and care about.
I also want to open doors for other physicians and underrepresented voices to build creative careers, scientific careers, or a path that brings both together. Science and creativity have shaped every part of my own journey.
THE PATH, IN CHAPTERS
From medicine
to the writers’ room.
UT SOUTHWESTERN · EMORY UNIVERSITY
Meeting people in the moment
An MD from UT Southwestern, followed by an emergency medicine residency at Emory. Then an injury prevention fellowship and a Master of Public Health in behavioral sciences—moving from treating one patient to thinking about whole communities.
CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL & PREVENTION
Looking beyond the hospital
A year of international emergency medicine work with the CDC, helping develop and expand emergency medicine in Tanzania and Palau. A wider view of health, access, and the communities we serve.
PRESIDIO MED · GREY’S ANATOMY · STATION 19
Finding the writers’ room
A first television writing role on Presidio Med led to Grey’s Anatomy, where Zoanne has been a writer and medical advisor since the beginning and serves as an executive producer. She later brought that experience to Station 19 as an executive producer and co-showrunner for its final season.
SERVICE, ADVOCACY & LEADERSHIP
The impact goes
beyond the credits.
Advisory board co-chair
Hollywood, Health & Society
Connecting entertainment and public health through USC Annenberg’s Norman Lear Center.
Trustee
Producer–WGA Pension & Health
Serving the benefits funds that support writers and their families.
Advisory board member
Population Media Center
Supporting the connection between entertainment, public health, and social change.
Advisor
Good Energy
Bringing a storyteller’s perspective to conversations about climate and our shared world.
Former board & negotiating committee member
Writers Guild of America West
A history of service to the writing community, alongside her creative work.
MAKING ROOM FOR WHAT’S NEXT
An open door.
A wider world.
I like speaking with people, mentoring, and partnering with organizations. That exchange is where so much of the possibility lives.
I’m interested in conversations and collaborations that connect health, equity, and access with the power of entertainment—and that make space for the next generation of voices in medicine and the arts.
Discuss a creative or advisory collaborationLET’S START A CONVERSATION
Bring Zoanne
into the room.
A keynote, a fireside conversation, or a panel with a different perspective. Tell CAA Speakers about your audience and what you hope to set in motion.
Check speaking availabilityInclude your event date, location, audience, and preferred format. CAA handles availability and booking details.