Meet the Team

Danielle Blanch Hartigan, PhD, MPH is an Associate Professor in the Department of Natural and Applied Sciences at Bentley University. Her interdisciplinary research in psychology and public health aims to improve the patient and practitioner experience and foster patient-centered care through better communication. She studies how patients and clinicians use verbal and nonverbal behavior to form impressions and how these perceptions influence clinical interactions. Dr. Hartigan holds a PhD in social psychology from Northeastern University, a Master of Public Health from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and was a Cancer Prevention Fellow in the Behavioral Research Program and Office of Cancer Survivorship at the National Cancer Institute. Dr. Hartigan's work has been presented at over 100 national and international conferences in behavioral medicine, psychology and health care communication. She has given workshops and presentations on clinical communication for academic institutions, hospital systems and Fortune 100 health care companies. In 2020, she was named as one of the 40 Under 40 in Cancer. Dr. Hartigan has published over 60 articles in peer-reviewed journals across psychology, health communication and medicine.

Andy works with the CHB and Executive Education (Office of Strategy and Innovation) to expand Bentley’s brand externally through new partnerships and programs. Andy has spent most of his professional career in business development roles for media and publishing outfits including The New York Times/The Boston Globe, Gannett, Nature Publishing Group and Booking Holdings. More recently, Andy served as the Head of Growth for InnoLead, a media and events company focused on corporate innovation. During his tenure with the organization, Andy developed a passion for strategy and innovation while securing funding for research and thought leadership from organizations like KPMG, Mastercard and Kaiser Permanente on topics such as trend scouting/emerging tech, creating culture and design as a competitive advantage.

Prior to landing in higher education, Danielle Solar gained a variety of experience as a mental health counselor, research assistant, content editor, field marketer and project manager providing her with a diverse skill set. In her current role as a program director, Danielle wears many hats, primarily developing, implementing and managing programs and initiatives that foster the health ecosystem at Bentley University; managing program staff and students; collaborating across the university and with external partners to develop and implement cross-functional initiatives; and thinking strategically about new initiatives and how everything can fit together. Danielle has a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and sociology from Saint Michael’s College. 

After receiving her MA from the University of Bristol in Bristol, England, Sara Zarro served two years with AmeriCorps: at Habitat for Humanity and at Providence Children’s Museum. After relocating to California, she accepted a job as Director of Operations for Habitat for Humanity Inland Valley. There she worked closely with the Executive Director to build institutional strength and increase funding and visibility for the (formerly) small affiliate. Upon returning to Massachusetts, Sara worked as Business Coordinator for Results Business Coaching, a small but successful woman-owned business, where she created educational and marketing material and maintained the social media for the company.