About Brighton
With Brighton Communications, your communications priorities receive hands-on, senior-level attention. Whether you need project-based support or an expert to serve as an extension of your team, Brighton Communications can help you define your goals and strategy, and bring smart, targeted communications programs to life. Our network of agency partners and consultants allows us to offer fully integrated communications services.
“Berna’s counsel and support during a season of back-to-back hurricanes helped my team at Healthcare Ready reach critical audiences and concretely define for our stakeholders the impact of our work. ”
About Berna Diehl
Brighton Communications is led by Berna Diehl, a senior health and science communications specialist with more than two decades of experience. Brighton brings a unique blend of federal and private sector experience, working closely with organizations to help align their work to their mission, translate complex ideas into accessible messages, and support meaningful engagement with stakeholders and target audiences.
Berna is known for her expertise in strategic planning, spokesperson training, media relations, content development, social media planning, stakeholder engagement, and program measurement.
At Brighton, she provides strategic communications counsel, training and day-to-day communications support for federal, non-profit, and industry clients, including various institutes and centers at the National Institutes of Health, non-profit organizations including the National Pharmaceutical Council and BLOODPAC (the Blood Profiling Atlas in Cancer). During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, she was proud to support the Federal COVID Response led by Health and Human Services’ Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response.
During her eight-year tenure as Senior Vice President at JPA Health Communications, she led communications initiatives for organizations including Intuitive Surgical, Provista Diagnostics, Healthcare Ready, Medicines360, the NIH’s National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, the Melanoma Research Foundation, Lamaze International, Children’s Hospital Association, the National Pharmaceutical Council and others.
During her four years at Edelman, she developed and implemented strategic communications programs for healthcare clients like the American Red Cross, Pfizer, Kaiser Permanente and the American Health Care Association. At the American Heart Association, Berna managed various communications efforts, supporting Scientific Sessions, as well as the organization’s advocacy efforts related to tobacco control, research funding, and prevention and wellness. Berna began her career at the agency of Capitoline/Manning, Selvage & Lee, where her clients included the Turkish Government and United Way of America.
Berna graduated from the College of William and Mary with a bachelor’s degree in international relations.