“People with passion can change the world for the better.”

Steve Jobs believed that. I do, too.

And that is why I seek to leverage my marcom experience to deliver outstanding results for forward-thinking, for-profit companies, marcom agencies, and nonprofit organizations characterized by: purposeful leadership; a results-driven, people-centric culture; and meaningful impact.

CURRENTLY, I AM SEEKING FREELANCE PR / MARCOM PROJECTS. I AM ALSO AVAILABLE FOR FULL-TIME OR PART-TIME POSITIONS.

Here’s what I have to offer. As a Brand {Cause} Storyteller, Purpose Strategist and PR Creative/Writer, my work centers on creatively capturing, curating and conveying organizational value and selling propositions via compelling stories that engage, inform, inspire and activate target audiences to embrace good products and good causes. My bold and boundary-pushing work has included:

• Partnering with the National Hemophilia Foundation and 11 sponsors to create and steer a new movement, The Red Tie Challenge, that further: emboldened and united the bleeding disorders community; placed these disorders higher up on the nation’s health radar; and galvanized advocacy to fight in Washington, D.C. and state-by-state for expanded access to affordable, optimal healthcare for them and nearly 150M Americans with chronic conditions. I created the movement’s color (red), symbol (red tie), challenge (tie-a-red-tie), stories, and official HHS-designated month (Bleeding Disorders Awareness Month in March);

• Forging and navigating a brand-centric partnership between Bayer and K9s For Warriors, which rescues dogs from high-kill shelters, then trains and pairs them with post-9/11 war veterans impacted by post-traumatic stress (PTS), traumatic brain injury (TBI) and/or military sexual trauma (MST). Our consumer call-to-action met all sales and donation goals and garnered: great retail, veterinary and employee engagement; and 1.3B media impressions. Most important, warriors’ and dogs’ lives were saved and transformed;

• Leading agency support for beyond medicine, signature initiatives for Lilly Oncology that enhanced the lives of cancer patients and strengthened bonds between Lilly and its stakeholders. Our signature initiative was Lilly Oncology On Canvas (LOOC), which enabled patients, their families and caregivers/HCPs to share their journeys through art and narrative—with thousands of entries received and exhibits staged, and 1B media impressions secured. Led internal comms and drove use of LOOC, patient-journey-sharing-talks and more to helped Lilly more directly connect employees to patients so they could more fully embrace their WHY—bettering patients’ lives.

PLEASE EXPLORE MY WORK IN “HOW” AND “STORIES,” DOWNLOAD MY RESUME, AND IF SOMETHING RESONATES, LET’S CONNECT!

Dennis da Costa | dennisdacosta1898@gmail.com | 914.645.7553 

A baker's dozen ways I amplify brands and accelerate missions:

I may not be in The 500 Home Run Club—like The Babe (#3, with 714) or Harmon “The Killer” Killebrew (#12, with 573), with whom I worked. But I’ve hit quite a few out of the park, with a lot of help from my friends (clients & colleagues). Here are a few:

CREATE A MOVEMENT THAT MATTERS

Imagine having blood that doesn't clot normally, so after an injury or surgery, extended bleeding can be dangerous and even life-threatening. For more than three million Americans, bleeding disorders—like hemophilia, von Willebrand disease and rare bleeding disorders—are part of everyday life. But thanks to the National Hemophilia Foundation's (NHF) leadership in research, advocacy and education, members of this community can live the lives they were meant to lead.

Still, a piece of the puzzle seemed to be missing: a movement to take bleeding disorders out of the shadows and into the light alongside other chronic diseases. So I partnered with NHF and 11 corporate sponsors to build and steer that movement—the Red Tie Challenge*—which further: emboldened and united the bleeding disorders community; placed these disorders higher on the nation’s health radar; and galvanized advocacy to fight in Washington, D.C. and state-by-state for expanded access to affordable, optimal healthcare for the nearly 150 million Americans with chronic conditions. I created the movement’s color (red), symbol (red tie), challenge (tie-a-red-tie), stories, and month (U.S. Health and Human Services Department’s official designation of March as Bleeding Disorders Awareness Month). And in one month alone, 65 million traditional and social media impressions were earned, including a HuffPost byliner I wrote (see “STORIES” tab).

The following videos feature: Year 1 Red Tie Challenge highlights; Jeanne & Ryan White's story, & Daniel’s— two of dozens of journeys I captured. 

*The genesis of the Red Tie Challenge is threefold. First, deep-diving into such iconic symbols as the American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women’s red dress, Susan G. Komen’s pink ribbon, Comic Relief’s red nose, and the HIV red ribbon, among others, made me want to create a relevant symbol for the bleeding disorders community, as well. Second, I experienced firsthand how blood ties are what bound this community together, hence the color red and the tie; moreover, the color red also conveys strength, leadership, courage, determination and, above all, love—qualities and emotions that define people with bleeding disorders. Third, I needed to do something with the red tie and the first thing that came to mind was obviously to tie it, in this case, creatively. And so The Red Tie Challenge was born!

TRANSFORM LIVES…MAN & DOG’s

Few if any dog owners have an emotional attachment to their pet's flea and tick product, leaving marketers in a quandary as to how to differentiate their brand from competitors. So I was tasked by Bayer Animal Health to find that differentiator—a cause that aligned with its flagship K9 Advantix II product's brand character: the unique human-dog bond AND owners’ responsibility to care for their dogs. 

I found that cause in K9s For Warriors, which pairs specially-trained dogs rescued from animal shelters with veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress (PTS), traumatic brain injury (TBI), and/or military sexual trauma (MTS). The incidence of PTS alone is high, with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs estimating that 20% of Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans—1 in 5 or more than 600,000 service members to date—are impacted by it, as are their loved ones. (Other studies cite the percentage of PTS impact as high as 30%.)

The Bayer-K9s For Warriors partnership succeeded on many levels, from meeting all sales and donation goals, to achieving tremendous support from employees and the retail and veterinary sectors. In Year 1 alone, the "We Buy, You Donate" campaign generated one billion social media impressions and 255 million media impressions—including "The Real Story with Gretchen Carlson" (FOX), People.com and USAToday.com.

Most important, the lives of warriors and dogs—many of whom were from "high-kill" shelters—were saved and transformed. 

The following videos feature campaign highlights and the stories of two warrior-dog teams.

GO BEYOND MEDICINE

Today, more than 18 million Americans are living with, through or beyond a cancer diagnosis—a number projected to jump to more than 22 million in 2030. Each of these individuals—as well as millions more who comprise their circles of love and care—are on a cancer journey. Yet their stories go largely untold, despite their need to share them and our need to experience them.

We created the Lilly Oncology Oncology On Canvas Art Competition (LOOC) in partnership with Lilly and the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship to enable patients—and their families, caregivers and healthcare providers—to express through art and narrative the life-affirming changes that give their cancer journeys meaning. For seven years, I managed agency support for LOOC, reviewing every artwork and narrative, engaging with advocacy groups nationwide, and capturing and conveying the stories of upwards of a hundred participants externally and internally—the latter to provide employees with the chance to get closer to patients and deepen the meaning of their WHY: why they do what they do at Lilly.

It was a success on many levels: 5,000 entries were received; 3,000+ art exhibitions were held; 150,000 LOOC artbooks were distributed to cancer centers nationwide; 4,000 individuals created giant murals of Oncology On Canvas art in 10 cities at such landmarks as New York’s Grand Central Terminal and the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC; and 1 billion traditional and social media impressions were garnered.

The following videos feature: the story of a mother who lovingly brought to life her late daughter, Kendra's art (and hers); an event honoring the three winners of one year’s competition; and a snapshot of the mural painting event at the Lincoln Memorial.

COMBAT DISEASE & FIGHT POVERTY

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDS)—like elephantiasis, river blindness and trachoma—have long been overlooked in the global health agenda. Yet, NTDs keep one billion of the world's poorest people trapped in a cycle of poverty from generation to generation by causing blindness, horrible swelling of the limbs, and even death.

In 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced perhaps an overly-ambitious plan to prevent, control, eliminate and eradicate a set of 20 NTDs by 2030. But it was the 2007 introduction of the “50-Cents-Per-Person-Per-Year” Campaign—perhaps still the most cost-effective solution in global health and poverty alleviation—that spurred the fight against NTDs to enter the global health radar. It’s premise simply stated:

An investment of less than 50 cents per year will treat or protect one person from the seven most common NTDs—that’s $2.50 over five years, or five cents less than an 8-ounce coffee at Starbuck’s!

My team and I worked with global health and poverty alleviation experts—first at the International Trachoma Initiative (ITI) and then with the Sabin Vaccine Institute's Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases—to expand awareness of and support for the fight against NTDs. To that end, as ITI’s communications director, I participated in summits on blindness at WHO Headquarters in Geneva and journeyed to the remotest parts of Ethiopia to view progress on the SAFE strategy for trachoma control.

But I'm proudest of my work at MMWPR, where I managed a million-dollar, pro bono commitment—created and led by CEO Michael Kempner—comprising PR, advocacy, development and capacity-building services in support of Sabin's brilliant $25 million "STOP NTDs"/”50-Cents-Per-Person-Per-Year” Campaign. This initiative centered on the distribution of a "rapid impact package" comprised of up to four donated medicines to prevent or treat the seven most common NTDs.

Our communications campaign generated extensive coverage and support, including 100 million media impressions and high-profile endorsements from Senators Ted Kennedy and Dianne Feinstein, NBA legend Dikembe Motumbo, and actors Alyssa Milano and Jackie Chan. But it was former President Bill Clinton's enthusiastic endorsement at the Clinton Global Initiative that truly legitimized the “STOP NTDs” campaign, which since then has alleviated untold suffering, saved countless lives, and helped chip away at the cycle of poverty.

This video provides a snapshot of the burden of NTDs.    

THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY

Give Local America! was the first single-day, crowdfunding event centered on advancing communities through local charitable giving. In 2016 alone, 13,000 nonprofits and thousands of donors nationwide rallied to raise $64 million to benefit local nonprofits.

I partnered with Give Local America! to develop messaging and create stories about select, participating charities—all aimed at attracting more donors, sponsors, nonprofits and ultimately, additional funding to keep local communities strong. One of the most inspiring organizations I profiled was The Fairy Godmother Project (FGP), based in Fredericksburg, Virginia. FGP provides emotional and financial support to families with children in treatment for pediatric cancer.

This video features the journey of a remarkable family I met: the Motts. 

If there are angels among us, they work at The Fairy Godmother Project.  

BUILD A LASTING LEGACY

“What is a legacy? It’s planting seeds in a garden you never get to see.”

Lin Manuel Miranda

If you were born prior to the chickenpox vaccine's approval in 1995, you probably had it as a child. In fact, in the 1990s, each year more than four million Americans developed chickenpox, also known as varicella. While it can cause serious complications, chickenpox is generally mild in healthy children. But when the chickenpox rash clears, the virus that causes it—the varicella-zoster virus or VZV—doesn’t disappear. Rather, it stays in your body for the rest of your life. And years later, that virus may reactivate—may strike a second time—as shingles (zoster) and it does in 1 in 3 people in the U.S., typically aged 50-plus. Most commonly, the shingles rash appears in a bandlike pattern or stripe of blisters that wraps around either the left or right side of the torso, but it can also occur around one eye or on one side of the neck or face. Shingles can be extremely painful and if the rash occurs near an eye—and is left untreated—permanent eye damage may occur. Shingles can further develop into post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN), which is severe nerve damage that can cause intractable, unbearable pain.

As a disease most prevalent among older Americans, few cared and, as a result, shingles was way off the nation’s health radar. Still, leading infectious disease experts globally recognized the need for a shingles vaccine. But there was no one to foster awareness of and action to prevent and treat VZV disease—chickenpox, shingles and PHN. That is until 1991, when Richard T. Perkin launched the VZV Research Foundation.

For a decade-plus as communications counsel to the Foundation, my colleague, Liliana Coletti and I collaborated with true giants in the field of infectious diseases from Harvard, Columbia and Stanford Universities, the NIH and CDC—in addition to two Nobel Laureates and the developers of the chickenpox and ultimately, first shingles vaccine. They were the VZV champions in the field. But the unsung hero in this fight was Dick Perkin.

The son of the founder of then Perkin-Elmer—a global company focused on precision optics—Dick inherited a family fortune, so he didn't have to work a day in his life. But after his mother was incapacitated by shingles and then PHN, he created the Foundation to fund research and patient advocacy. And under his leadership and grace, we directed all major initiatives, from scientific conferences and CME courses, to patient education and advocacy. Our high-water mark was the formation and operation of a 13-nation working group that ultimately endorsed universal chickenpox and MMRV vaccination. 

When Dick died in 2003, so did his beloved VZV Research Foundation. But in the dozen years of its existence, he created a legacy—he planted seeds in a garden he never got to see, including the development, approval (in 2017) and uptake of an effective shingles vaccine that was soon offered alongside other vaccines at CVS, Walgreen's, Sam's Club and beyond. Dick would have loved that.

But he would have been amazed to see television and digital ads for the shingles vaccine, especially the original, breakthrough spots featuring Terry Bradshaw. Had he seen them, he would have felt like he scored a touchdown. He did that and more. Dick Perkin won the game. He built a lasting legacy.

If I had to convey the essence of impactful communications with one word, that word would be: STORYTELLING. And good storytelling is rooted in the careful and creative capture, curation and conveyance of life stories…of journeys.

Over the years, I’ve shared the inspiring journeys of hundreds of people from all walks of life...

• From Congressional leaders, Nobel Laureates, major TV stars and Julia Child; 

• To 4-time Iditarod champions, and Baseball and Country Music Hall of Famers; 

• To stage 4 lung cancer patients who never smoked, men with hemophilia who contracted HIV/AIDS from contaminated blood supplies, and everyday people thrust into the spotlight—like Ryan White's mom and Julius and Ethel Rosenberg's son.

Voltaire said writing is the painting of the voice. It is. And I love to story-paint with words and still and moving imagery—on both digital and traditional canvases. But what moves me most is when the stories I craft help: empower individuals to live the lives they were meant to lead—as Mary Ann Evans (aka George Eliot) urged us to; spur purpose-driven companies to do well by doing good; and enable real-results-driven nonprofits to truly change the life trajectories of humans in need.

EMPOWERING YOUTH TO ACHIEVE THEIR PERSONAL BEST

Since 2019, I’ve produced videos featuring the journeys of youth with special needs at St. Christopher’s, an evolving human services agency. Typically, they come to us with a range of educational and developmental disabilities, significant emotional issues, and/or psychiatric and behavioral difficulties. Many have multiple diagnoses and medication regimes, and have experienced childhood trauma, such as physical, sexual and/or emotional abuse.

Following are two stories, the first being a profile of Jennie White, who personifies the power of resilience and perseverance. Throughout her life, when faced with trauma and setbacks, she chose not to succumb or adapt to those hardships, but rather to turn adversity into advantage and evolve into her best self. The second video features William, whose Mom spent a lot of time worrying if her son would end up in jail. Then she turned to St. Christopher's and William’s life started turning around. In fact, he credits our animal-assisted therapy with helping him learn to control his anger and rediscover his caring side.

THE TIES THAT BIND

I created The Red Tie Challenge to further embolden the Bleeding Disorders Community to stand up and be noticed in their fight for better care, better treatments and even cures. Central to this initiative was sharing the stories of individuals with bleeding disorders, including a bylined piece I wrote and placed on HuffPost on then-National Hemophilia Foundation CEO, Val Bias. In the 1980’s, Val contracted HIV and hepatitis C from contaminated blood products to treat his hemophilia.

One morning in 1988, I heard a loud noise coming from the bathroom. The door was blocked, so I pushed my way in to find my beautiful wife, Katie, lying on the floor. She had had a seizure. I rushed her to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with a tumor and given six months to live.

Following surgery to remove the tumor, her immune system flattened out.

That day, we learned Katie had HIV.

I had it, too.

Katie held on to life for another five years, but she declined day-by-day. When she became so weak that she had to leave her job in advertising, her coworkers assumed she had cancer. Learning of this misperception, she returned to tell them the truth.

That’s true courage.

I’d like to say I had that same courage at the time, but that wouldn’t be true. I was running a large before- and after-school program at the local YMCA and was concerned that, if I revealed my diagnosis, I might lose my job. We needed the income, so I remained silent.

Then in April 1992, Katie died.

Looking back, I recall that, even in her final days, Katie’s selflessness and inner strength remained intact.

“There are three things I want you to do,” she said. “Remarry, have kids, and fight to live your life.”

I heeded her words. I married a remarkable woman named Robin, we adopted a boy named Langston—now 7-years old and the love of our lives—and I have been fighting to live a full life ever since.

But the greatest gift she gave me was forgiveness.

“Val, never blame yourself for what happened to me.”

I don’t. But it wasn’t easy at first.

You see, Katie contracted HIV from me after I became infected with not only HIV/AIDs, but hepatitis C, as a result of contaminated blood products used to treat my hemophilia. Hemophilia and other inheritable bleeding disorders—von Willebrand disease and rare factor deficiencies—prevent the blood from clotting normally, which can result in extended bleeding after injury, surgery, or trauma, and can be fatal if not treated effectively.

From the late 1970s to the mid-1980s—prior to more stringent blood safety measures and more sensitive tests—HIV made its way into blood products. As a result, many people with hemophilia developed AIDS and thousands died.

I survived and committed myself to working for the bleeding disorders community by engaging with the National Hemophilia Foundation (NHF). Since 1948, NHF has led the fight against bleeding disorders through research, advocacy and public policy.

In 1992, the year Katie died, I went to NHF’s annual meeting and was elected Chairman of the Board. We began a crusade to help people who had developed HIV from tainted blood products, culminating with the passage of the Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief Act of 1998. I went on to serve in various roles within NHF and became CEO in 2008, a position I (held until 2020).

Since Katie’s death nearly 25 years ago, the bleeding disorders community has made great strides in treatment, public policy and advocacy—and in blood safety, as well. And this month, we launched a new movement called the “Red Tie Challenge,” which aims to start a national conversation about bleeding disorders.

The “Red Tie Challenge” challenges individuals and groups to: get creative in showing how they wear a red tie; record and post their “best red tie looks” to their social channels with #RedTieChallenge; and encourage their fans and followers to take it too, while considering making a donation to support the bleeding disorders community.

Since blood ties—embodied in the color red and the tie—are what bind our community together, the red tie is our new symbol. The color red also conveys strength, leadership, courage, determination and, above all, love—qualities and emotions that define our community.

This year, NHF also worked with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to designate every March, beginning this month, as Bleeding Disorders Awareness Month. Its purpose is to unite all members of our community and engage the American public in our journey, as well.

My own journey began in Buffalo, where, when I was born, every male member of my family with hemophilia had already died. Then, fast forward to the fourth grade, where one day I excitedly turned to the section on hemophilia in my new science textbook, only to learn that my life expectancy was 20 years and, being 10, realized I was half way there.

Today, at age 57, I’ve nearly tripled my life expectancy and recently, thanks to advances in medicine, have been cured of hepatitis C.

I am so grateful to have had Katie in my life. Without her, I wouldn’t be who I am today: a husband, father and advocate striving to be the best I can be—for Robin, Langston and our more than three million member community.

And it’s with my advocate’s hat that I ask you to join me, this month, in celebrating Bleeding Disorders Awareness Month and taking the Red Tie Challenge. Learn more at www.redtiechallenge.org.

A sad postscript to the story. On December 30, 2021, Val died suddenly at the age of 63.

Dennis da Costa  | dennisdacosta1898@gmail.com  | 914.645.7553