Meet Redster Taylor Fife, a senior account executive who’s passionate about fighting health disparities

Hometown

Steeler Nation a.k.a. Pittsburgh, PA – born and raised!

Currently reside in 

Pittsburgh, PA — though I’ve moved around quite a bit in the city from my childhood home on the East Side, to living in the heart of downtown during undergrad, to now 15-minutes (tops) away from the Red Havas Pittsburgh office on the west side of town. 

Favorite current hobby 

It’s hard to pick just one! Like many of us, COVID-19 safety restrictions during the initial outbreak of the virus in March 2020 kept me indoors—but also allowed me more time to pursue my hobbies and develop new interests. Recently, I became in love with Paint-by-Number sets and completing 1,500+ puzzles. For me, these two activities are great stress relievers and allow me a moment to reset. For example, if I’m putting together a puzzle that features a beach scene, I often like to picture myself there amongst the salty waves and hot sand. 

Reading is also a favorite hobby of mine—though I can never seem to finish my to-be-read pile. Since I was a little girl, I’ve loved to read and I believe this has made me restlessly curious and a life-time lover of learning. 

Also, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that at my core, I’m a HUGE foodie and lover of fine wine and craft cocktails. As such, when I’m off-the-clock, I enjoy exploring new restaurants and bars in the city with my fiancée. 

 

If you could start a movement, what would it be?

Tough question! I have many passions in life that I pursue in my job and through my graduate course work that I’d like to see our world continue to improve on and make developments in—DEIB in the workforce, healthcare accessibility and Black mental and maternal health to name a few. Ultimately, I’d love to start a movement that promotes health and well-being. Our lives are so fast-paced, especially as PR pros, that we often do not prioritize checking in on ourselves. Self-care ultimately helps us perform our best in all aspects of our lives and enables resilience. So, if you’re reading this and haven’t taken a moment yet to self-reflect or complete an activity that brings you joy today—I encourage you to do that now! 

What’s something inspiring you right now?

I’m currently pursuing my Master of Science in Health Communication online through Boston University’s Metropolitan College. So far, I’ve taken three courses that have allowed me to explore public health issues and create campaign strategies to help improve patient outcomes. One project that has really inspired me and allowed me to continue to act on my passion for DEIB and health equity is the final project I completed for my U.S. Health Care System class. The project focused on introducing a policy intervention campaign to help lower the Black maternal mortality rate in Pennsylvania. Did you know non-Hispanic Black women’s pregnancy-associated mortality ratio—a numerical estimate of pregnancy-associated deaths for every 100,000 live births—is 163? It is actually the highest in the state compared to other ethnic groups.

My project consisted of a proposed partnership with the National Birth Equity Collaborative to implement the policy intervention of introducing Medicaid coverage for doula services in PA. Doulas are trained professionals who provide continuous physical, emotional and informational support to their client before, during and after childbirth. Notably, Doulas have always been a part of communities of color, and they can step into a role that allows them to advocate for a mother at her most vulnerable. 

I thought of the policy intervention as during 2018-2020, the average rate of Medicaid coverage utilization at the time of birth was 62.6% among Black women in PA. Medicaid was also the primary payer in PA in about 53% of pregnancy-associated deaths among Black women, and nearly 60% of all pregnancy-associated deaths came between six weeks and one year after giving birth. As Medicaid pays for over half of births and pregnancy-associated deaths for Black women in PA and Doula services have been shown to help improve maternal health outcomes, especially for Black women, I focused on how introducing a policy intervention that offers Medicaid coverage and reimbursement for doula services could reduce the mortality rate by improving the quality-of-care Black women receive during the perinatal period. 

As you can probably tell, completing this project has really inspired me to learn more about the Black maternal health crisis in my home state and around the world as well as to continue to investigate ways that I can create, amplify or participate in work that addresses health disparities as a communicator. 

What part of your job brings you the most joy?

My team. Each of my colleagues have years of valuable experience and unique perspectives as well as a particular skill or set of skills that they are truly masters at. For example, at any time, I can reach out to one of my colleagues and they can offer me a different way of executing a media pitch that I never thought of before. Working with such dedicated, enthusiastic and hard-working PR pros that motivate me and inspire me every day is the best part about my job. Any true Redster knows our company culture runs on fearless ambition and we welcome challenges with a smile. We all share a common goal to deliver the best results for our clients and never hesitate to lean on each other for creative brainstorm sessions or a gut-check. 

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