Dr. Allysha Maragh-Bass

Public Speaking Coach | PhD Scientist & Professor | Comms Director

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
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You're a high achiever on paper but running on empty underneath it. I get. I WAS this, in my early 20's. I was pre-hypertensive, and weighed almost 300 pounds. I have now kept 150+ pounds off for over a decade, but I didn't turn it around by white knuckling a restrictive plan. I changed things by putting wellness at the center of a career I refused to slow down. I didn't do it on vibes or 'woo' either - I am a board-certified wellness coach trained at Emory, a Johns Hopkins PhD-level behavioral scientist, and a former Harvard Medical School Fellow. Behavior change is my actual field and expertise and ironically that career ambition was what had me sacrificing my wellness! I learned quickly that it had to change. What I do with clients is taking honest stock of where your time and energy are going, and optimizing them to move forward. That shift is preventive for your overall wellbeing — the evidence on this is not ambiguous. So here's some of what we can build together: 1) A burnout early-warning system. Know your real risk of burning and stress management you can run on a bad week, not just a good one. 2) Nutrition, movement and self-care built as routines, not rules — so work-life balance stops being a word and starts being a calendar. 3) Boundaries and time management. What to protect, what to put down, and how to say so. 4) Your team: who you need around you, and how to advocate for yourself in the exam room. 5) A skillset for managing conflict with tools to de-escalate, collaborate, and establish ways to resolve challenges proactively at work and at home. Those two journeys (1) flourishing in my career and (2) losing weight in favor of a healthier lifestyle were interconnected for me and are for my clients too. The outcomes are clear too: more than 80% of my clients are still with me at twelve months. Together they have lost *hundreds* of pounds, reversed prediabetes and prehypertension, run thousands of miles, managed chronic conditions, and found real mindfulness. And the part they never expect — while doing it, they got promoted, got funded, and got in. Wellness is the input. Everything else is downstream.

Dr. Allysha also coaches for Leadership Coaching and Mental Health & Wellness. View all.

Work with Dr. Allysha

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Dr. Allysha’s Communication & Public Speaking Qualifications

Coaches professionally

Experience level: Director

I completed my PhD in behavioral sciences with a focus on communication at Johns Hopkins University. Since then, I have held senior social marketing and communications roles and taught at institutions including the Duke Global Health Institute. These roles enabled me to cultivate a precise and influential speaking style and assist others in doing the same. I previously served as an Executive Communications Coach for a tech startup where I advised leaders on how to develop executive presence, speak with clarity, and deliver points with impact. I have coached hundreds of individuals to enhance their communication skills and achieve measurable professional results: Secured 3 million dollars for a Series A startup round through a successful series of sales pitches. Negotiated salary increases of 10 to 30 percent for new job offers across tech, nonprofits, and healthcare. Pivoted from research to consulting, successfully forming an LLC and booking a 10 thousand dollar client within 6 months. Supervised teams that reported increases in psychological safety and inclusion of 20 to 40 percent within 9 months. Leveraged AI coaching tools to facilitate role-play for cross-cultural communication and conflict resolution. As a professor and coach, my ratings average 4.7 out of 5.0. I specialize in helping clients navigate complex transitions and improve their presentation skills by leveraging evidence-based insights and AI-enabled learning tools. Let us work together to elevate your communication skills and unlock new opportunities.

Dr. Allysha can help with:

Active Listening

Conflict Resolution

Cross-Cultural Communication

Effective Communication

Negotiation Skills

Nonverbal Communication

Presentation Skills

Why do I coach?

In my early 20s I was prehypertensive and weighed almost 300 pounds. Ten years later I had lost more than half my body weight — and found my voice as a leader. Those two things were not a coincidence. They are the entire thesis of how I coach. The science behind it: I am a Johns Hopkins PhD behavioral scientist, Harvard Medical School–trained, and board-certified as a health and wellness coach through Emory. I have published 200+ peer-reviewed papers, abstracts, white papers, keynotes and podcasts, won $5M in grants and contracts, and managed portfolios four times that size across academia, healthcare, nonprofits, tech startups and global consulting. I have been faculty at Duke, UNC and George Washington, co-developed a behavioral health app, and advised on AI use in patient care. The practice: I coach high-achievers who are winning on paper and running on empty. This includes executives, founders, physicians and clinicians, researchers and academics, and professionals in the middle of a hard season whether early career or well-established.

Work Experience

Capacity-Building Consultant & Public Health Advisor

allies4outcomes

April 2026 - Present

Provide expertise as a Organizational Development expert, Public Health Scientist and board-certified Coach supporting North Carolina Department of Social Services initiatives and quality improvement programs.

Service Delivery Specialist

Crimson Education

February 2025 - Present

Provide expertise across three verticals related to academic advising, university admissions, GTM, and communications. Design and scale mentorship and professional-development programs for early-career talent; maintain a 5.0/5.0 performance rating across 100+ engagement hours with high pass KPIs.

Assistant Director, Center for AIDS Research

University of North Carolinaat Chapel Hill

November 2023 - May 2025

Supported 10+ funding applications for early career investigators pursuing government grants. Led dozens of career networking and mentorship sessions focusing on skills in time management, systematic and scoping reviews, implementation science, and community-based participatory research.

Adjunct Full Professor and Career Coach

Duke University

April 2020 - October 2025

Served as faculty advisor for multiple service learning and practicum experiences for both undergraduate and graduate students. Designed a career coaching program for early career professionals, achieving 90+% return rate with 50 students and student outcomes including graduate school acceptance and global health research positions.

Senior Scientist & Leadership Advisor

FHI 360

January 2020 - May 2025

Hiring Manager

Served as a cross-sector liaison through joint appointments and collaborations with institutions including Duke University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and University of California, San Francisco. Led a global learning and research portfolio across grants, IRB, publication, and strategic partnerships, securing $4M+ in funding while advising on pharmaceutical-sponsored clinical trials and cross-sector collaboration.

Director, Communications & Marketing

FHI 360

July 2016 - December 2019

Hiring Manager

Owned a $10-20M marketing research portfolio, with clients including federal contracts, PR firms, healthcare centers, and pharmaceutical companies. Delivered user insights to inform national health campaigns, and coached 20 direct and indirect reports, many of whom advanced into leadership roles. My work included leading human-centered design initiatives, facilitating 10+ stakeholder workshops, and scaling digital engagement strategies across multiple markets.

Adjunct Faculty

The George Washington University

January 2016 - April 2026

Reappointed after 8 previous years of service. Teach hundreds of public health professionals at all levels in program planning, monitoring and evaluation, and oral and written communication. Utilize multiple digital LMS/LXP and video platforms for promoting long-term student engagement and effective learning ecosystems. Supervise dozens of cohorts independently, consistently earning instructor ratings higher than schoolwide averages (cumulative average 4.7/5.0).

User Experience and Change Management Lead

Brigham and Women's Hospital

August 2014 - July 2016

Interviewer

During pre- and post-doctoral fellowship, co-led a $6M transformative change management initiative aimed at enhancing patient-centered care using the EHR across 4 healthcare centers which began during my previous role at Johns Hopkins. Designed and delivered training for over 60 healthcare professionals focused on LGBT health and organizational change readiness for technical and clinical guideline transformations.

Strategy Consultant & Analyst

Johns Hopkins Medicine

December 2010 - December 2015

Interviewer

Provided strategy consulting to advance operational effectiveness and change readiness across public health and housing sectors. This included launching long-term programs like a self-monitoring medication system still in use today. Conducted behavioral science research operations for 2 multisite studies at a federally-funded center developing training in motivational interviewing, and multi-level modeling. Responsible for federal regulations governing clinical research and associated compliance requirements.

Dr. Allysha was also given offers to work at