Baltimore vs. COVID
Centering community voices to
build trust in public health
Context
In 2022, Baltimore City’s Mayor’s Office and Health Department needed a public service campaign to boost COVID-19 vaccine confidence across racially and culturally diverse communities. Generic “get vaccinated” messaging wasn’t working. The campaign had to address barriers to trust and reflect the lived experiences of Baltimore residents.
Approach
The campaign strategy was simple but powerful: elevate authentic community voices instead of relying on top-down directives. My role spanned every phase of the work:
Pre-production: Contributed to campaign strategy and messaging approach, ensuring that resident voices were central to the narrative.
On set (field producer): Supported the director and crew while focusing on story quality — listening for usable soundbites, asking follow-up questions to elicit authentic responses, and maintaining the energy and comfort of interviewees.
Post-production: Gave narrative and editorial notes to preserve authenticity, clarity, and cultural resonance while aligning with public health messaging.
Output
A multi-video PSA campaign featuring Baltimore residents sharing their perspectives on COVID-19 vaccination and community health
Distribution across city channels, social media, broadcast, and community partners
Alignment with print and web collateral to form a unified public health messaging ecosystem
Results
The Baltimore vs. COVID campaign reframed public health communication in the city by shifting from directives to dialogue. By spotlighting real Baltimoreans and their stories, the campaign helped reduce skepticism, build trust, and resonate with communities that had previously felt unheard.
Value
This project demonstrates the strength of narrative strategy in high-stakes communication. By shaping authentic, human-centered storytelling, we helped turn a public health mandate into a community message that people could relate to and act on.
