People who know Banyan Collaborative often know us through one of us – a training, a project, a conference session. But they rarely get to hear us together. That changed recently when all three managing partners – Katie Dively, Jay Otto, and Annmarie McMahill — joined Dr. Rodney Wambeam on Episode 14 of Prevention Talks, a podcast produced by the Mountain Plains Prevention Technology Transfer Center.
The conversation explores how we approach the work at Banyan, and just as importantly, how we approach it together. Each of us brings a different professional background. Katie’s career is rooted in health education and translating science into structured practice. Jay comes from engineering and behavioral research, with decades spent studying how mindsets and systems shape decisions. Annmarie bridges research and strategic communication, with years of experience at the university level.
Those backgrounds could easily stay in their own lanes. What makes Banyan work is that they don’t. In this episode, you can hear how those different perspectives converge around a shared commitment: helping practitioners and organizations create lasting, positive change in the communities they serve.
What the conversation covers
The episode digs into several ideas at the core of Banyan’s work:
Communication as a prevention strategy. Not communication as an afterthought or a brochure at the end of a plan, but communication as a deliberate, evidence-informed intervention. The kind that addresses the values, beliefs, and social norms that actually shape how people behave.
The gap between research and practice. There is no shortage of good science in prevention. The challenge is translating that science into something practitioners can use in real-world settings and that is exactly where Banyan’s Improving Outcomes Framework was built to operate.
Adaptive challenges. Many of the problems communities face cannot be solved with a technical fix. They require new ways of thinking, new forms of leadership, and a willingness to sit in complexity. The episode touches on why this distinction matters and how it shapes the way Banyan works with clients.
Why listen
If you’ve worked with one of us, this conversation gives you a window into the full team and the thinking behind the work. If you haven’t, it’s a good place to start. Dr. Rodney Wambeam is a thoughtful interviewer who draws out not just what we do, but why we do it, and how our diverse backgrounds come together to create something greater than the sum of its parts.