How Western North Carolina Is Shaping the Future of Public Health Communication
The WNC Health Communicators Collaborative in Haywood County, June 2024
In a recent episode of The Measure of Everyday Life, host Brian Southwell sat down with Brandon Romstadt of WNC Health Network and Adrienne Ammerman, founder of Arclet, to explore the powerful role of local collaboration in public health communication—and how it’s laying the groundwork for national innovation.
Brandon Romstadt wearing his Arclet t-shirt, representing community-driven innovation in action
🌄 A Region Leading by Example
Western North Carolina isn’t just where Arclet was born—it’s where a bold, community-first model of public health messaging is actively thriving. From culturally attuned campaigns to resilient response strategies (even in the wake of events like Hurricane Helene), the region’s communicators are proving what’s possible when local leaders work together with trust, intention, and creativity.
At the center of this work is Brandon Romstadt, Director of Communications for WNC Health Network and a tireless advocate for the region’s health communicators. Brandon leads the WNC Health Communicators Collaborative—a peer-driven community that prioritizes mutual support, cultural relevance, and shared learning over one-size-fits-all strategies.
“Brandon brings heart, humor, and a deep understanding of what it takes to keep communities informed during both crisis and calm.”
💡 The Spark Behind Arclet
During the conversation, Adrienne reflected on how her time at WNC Health Network helped shape the vision for Arclet—a tool designed to help local public health communicators customize, share, and measure their messages with greater ease and impact.
Now backed by the National Science Foundation, Arclet is harnessing the power of AI to further support communicators—but with a key difference: this technology is being developed with input from the same regional partners who inspired it.
“Innovation doesn’t happen in a vacuum,” Adrienne emphasized. “It grows out of relationships, context, and trust.”
As Brandon noted, WNC’s openness to adopting new tools like Arclet stems from years of working together toward a shared goal: making health communication more effective and equitable.
🚀 Investing in Local Innovation
The episode closed with a call to action: if we want to build resilient, community-rooted public health systems, we must invest in the people and tools that power them. That means funding innovation, yes—but also uplifting the grassroots leaders already doing the work.
Western North Carolina is showing the country what’s possible when public health is locally led and nationally supported.
