Scott Catey
Deputy Director of Digital Transformation

Dr. Scott Catey, Deputy Director, Digital Transformation for Ripple Effect Communications, brings 15 Years professional experience managing complex federal, state, and international projects involving IT, health equity, and evidence-based policy. Dr. Catey has co-managed projects in excess of $5 Million per year and over 35 people with diverse policy and programmatic responsibilities.

Dr. Catey earned his Ph.D. and J.D. (with honors) concurrently from the University of Florida in 2011.

From 1996 to 2001, Mr. Catey was Associate Program Director and then Program Director for a highly successful communications cluster in Missoula, Montana. Following this experience, he returned to graduate school to complete a second master’s Degree, and then his doctorate and law degrees, which he completed with honors. Following graduation, Dr. Catey had faculty appointments at Georgia State University and Agnes Scott College. Looking for a greater challenge, in 2012 he took a position with the Montana Department of Corrections to direct the agency’s implementation of the Prison Rape Elimination Act.

Following his brief but successful tenure at the Montana Department of Corrections, Dr. Catey transitioned to national-level PREA implementation work at the National PREA Resource Center, where he led the project’s digital growth and expansion, managed the development of the PREA Online Audit System, and managed complex data sets and analytics for Federal partners at the USDOJ. Most recently, Dr. Catey held the role of Associate Director at the PRC and managed a complex portfolio with four division heads and teams of eleven downstream reports.

Dr. Catey joined Ripple Effect Communications in June 2022, as the Deputy Director, Digital Transformation. He looks forward to providing excellent support to the organization and its clients.

Lex Helsel
Director of Research & Evaluation

Dr. Alexis Helsel has professional experience conducting applied health research and program evaluations for several federal agencies, including NIH and DOD. She has contributed and managed mixed-method scale evaluation projects that include bibliometric analyses of program outcomes and impacts and network analyses. Dr. Helsel has extensive experience abstracting administrative from NIH databases, including QVR, IMPACII, RePORT, iCite, as well as PubMed, Web of Science, USPTO, and Federal RePORTER. She also has experience using publication and grant data to construct research networks using VosViewer and CitNetExplorer. Dr. Helsel also has a strong record of effective communication and developing evidence-based recommendations. She has co-authored 20 briefings of research and evaluation findings for senior government and military stakeholders, eight technical reports, one peer-reviewed publication, and 12 professional conference presentations. She has trained and provided technical guidance on epidemiologic and evaluation methods to multi-disciplinary teams of Masters- and PhD-level scientists. She is proficient with STATA, SAS, and Microsoft Access, Excel, and DeDoose. Dr. Helsel earned a PhD in epidemiology from the University of Pittsburgh. 

Debbie McCarron
Deputy Director of Communications and Outreach

Debra McCarron has professional experience in strategic communications, project management, outreach and event planning, as well distance learning. She is the project manager for the Health Care Payment Learning and Action Network which involves the creation of materials such as fact sheets, infographics, white papers, Power Point reports, videos and learning modules and she has managed graphics teams in all aspects of the design process from conception to development to final production. Previously, she co-owned Quality Design Solutions, a full-service company specializing in web design and marketing as well as database development for non-profit and small business. She also has experience in community marketing and facilities management. Ms. McCarron helped brand and grow a small business to over $1.5 million per year where she assisted in the day to day operations of three facility sites including budget, human resources, facilities management, and internal and external communication. She has experience in WordPress, the Adobe Creative suite and has become versed in 508 compliance. Ms. McCarron received her Bachelors of Science in Biology from Virginia Tech. Her early experience in basic research at both Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Cambridge Biotech was to support grants from the NIH. She also has over 4 years of experience in clinical research performed at the University of Maryland, Department of Cardiology, where she worked with Interventionist developing IIb/IIIa inhibitors. 

Tierra Terrell-Johnson
Senior Human Resources Manager

Tell us about your career path. How did you get here?

I studied at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (Go Badgers!) and got my MBA from Concordia University. I concentrated on Human Resource Management because I wanted to prove that HR professionals can be analytical, strategic, and have a seat at the business table.

What motivates you?

I’ve made it my mission to ensure that when you come to work at Ripple Effect, you bring your whole self and feel comfortable doing so. We’re all equal here, and I will always fight for that.

What are some of your hobbies?

I love to organize (and color-coordinate!) I’d be a professional organizer if I could. My favorite store is Staples—I could spend a whole paycheck there.

Advice for future professionals entering your field?

Develop your people’s leadership skills, especially junior employees. Train them and involve them. As companies grow, they need succession plans—and if you invest in your people, they will invest in the company in return.