Boldly clear.
Directly effective.

MAVERICK.

No strangers to the journey

The Maverick partners met on the trail leading communications at a top-3 US health system. Together, they found a shared passion for cutting through fluff, building trust through truth-telling, and making healthcare better for those it serves.

Experience gets you where you need to go—whether that’s breaking onto the scene or becoming the industry gold standard. Maverick’s decades in communications and marketing have spanned strategic executive counsel, innovation messaging, frontline change initiatives, and everything in between.

Drawn to open skies and big visions, Maverick stays ahead by watching the horizon and studying the shifting sands of markets, policy, and consumer expectations. We know the landscape and help you navigate it.

With Maverick, you get:

  • Bias toward clarity and boldly leading the conversation

  • Deep experience in healthcare, medicine and nonprofits

  • Trusted advisors to executives, clinicians, and innovators

  • Thought partnership on markets, strategies, B2B dynamics & financial drivers

  • Insight to on-the-ground realities for patients, clinicians, audiences, and front-line workers

  • Proven results in complex, regulated environments

  • Clear thinking, calm counsel, and crisp execution

 
 

Meet the Partners


 

Maryjane Fielding Banks, MBA

With a unique gift for cutting through complexity to identify key drivers, Maryjane brings more than 20 years of executive leadership to Maverick Communications. Her career spans the full spectrum of the industry, from serving as a nationwide Executive Director for one of the largest health systems in the U.S. to leading as the Director of Marketing and Customer Experience for a prominent multi-specialty clinic network. This deep experience across both hospital and ambulatory systems allows her to offer a strategic lens to communications, brand definition, and culture building.

  • Maryjane’s work is driven by a core conviction: Every person entering a healthcare system deserves the highest standard of care to live their longest, healthiest life. As a seasoned strategic partner to executive leaders, she understands the responsibility of creating space for open dialogue and translating high-level vision into clear, effective communication strategies that meet organizational goals.

    Healthcare is complex and constantly evolving, requiring an alignment of diverse functions to achieve success. Maryjane’s expertise spans the entire operational and strategic ecosystem:

    • Business & Operations: Business development, payor contracting, clinical operations, and budget management.

    • The Patient Experience: Consumer outreach, patient access (call center and referral management), and digital engagement.

    • Clinical & Executive Partnership: Physician engagement, physician-led content, and high-level strategic counsel.

    • Organizational Culture: Human Resources policy, internal communications, and health equity initiatives.

    Maryjane leverages her deep industry knowledge to align resources and streamline functions, ensuring organizations don't just react to industry shifts—they lead them. She is a firm believer in striving for excellence over perfection, ensuring that even amid consistent change, the focus remains on delivering the best version of the organization to the community.

 
 

Vanessa DeGier, MSc

Vanessa is a fearless and strategic storyteller, reputation architect and culture champion with more than 20 years of experience leading communications and marketing across health care and the medical sciences.

As AVP and chief communications officer for Providence Clinical Network, she advised executive and physician leaders through critical moments of growth, transformation and risk. Her work shaped communications for national media, clinicians and employees, supporting more than 1,000 clinics and reaching tens of millions of patients with clear, credible messaging.

  • Vanessa began her career at Boston Medical Center and UCSF, where she built a strong foundation in academic medicine, clinical environments and market research. She brings a data-informed approach to communications, using research, audience insight and stakeholder intelligence to translate complex clinical, scientific and regulatory information into narratives that build trust, guide decision-making, and drive results.

    Known for calm leadership under pressure, Vanessa helps organizations navigate disruption, protect reputation, and communicate with confidence when it matters most.

    A native of California, Vanessa enjoys travel, reading science fiction and fantasy, and bike rides with her husband, Fritz. She is also a committed advocate for animal adoption and believes meaningful work should leave both organizations and communities better than she found them.

 
 

Andy Varyu

Andy is an anthropological content strategist, social impact engineer, systems builder, and award-winning writer and editor.

In two years at Harvard Divinity School and the Kennedy School, Andy trained in theories of change and theologies of meaning-making. He employed these tools to launch a climate-change nonprofit and grow Habitat for Humanity’s corporate giving program by 70%.

At Providence, Andy led multichannel creative campaigns, built and taught regional SharePoint rollouts, streamlined enterprise operations with smart automations, launched numerous first-in-industry patient navigation aids, and ensured quality across all communications for 250 clinics.

  • Living with a well-managed rare disease, Andy is intimate with the patient perspective and a fierce advocate for patient-centered UX, content, and design.

    He is currently shopping a book about navigating the healthcare system and lives in Seattle’s Central District where he enjoys local politics and the vibrant music and theatre scene.

 
 

Folks are talking…

  • "A true thought partner to leaders, sage advisor to teams, and an innovative trailblazer."

    —U.S. healthcare director

  • "A strategic vision with a savviness that inspires creative thinking."

    —Partner, Seattle-based advertising & marketing firm

  • "Our clinics exceeded YOY new patient acquisition and increased Press Ganey ‘Top Box’ scores from 63% to 92%."

    -Regional director, Texas Health and Human Services

  • "We were able to automate and simplify systems like provider profiles that had previously required far more time and manual effort."

    —Communications Director, Top-3 US health system

  • "A marketing guru, able to analyze the business strategy from a big picture view, and dig into the details to find creative solutions to increase market share."

    —Strategic project manager, Stanford University School of Medicine

  • "One of the most thoughtful, skilled, and reliable communications [teams] I’ve ever worked with. The work had reach—and it had impact."

    —Chief Operating Officer, Multicare Health System

  • "The result? Content that not only informs but inspires action, always aligned with user needs and business goals. So much of leadership is about communication and I'm grateful for their mentorship as well as the material contribution to our projects!"

    —Physician & Division Chief, Ambulatory Medicine, Top-3 US health system

  • "Communications leaders who can support executives, physicians, and a large organization through periods of significant change with leadership, strategy, and clarity."

    —Director of Communications, Top-3 US health system

  • "Their infectious laugh and smile is a welcome balance to the high pressure, high level demands [on] anyone who works in a hospital or health care system."

    —Regional director, Top-3 US health system

  • "What sets them apart is the ability to seamlessly connect the dots between complex automation, AI capabilities and clear, effective communication."

    —Marcom director, Top-3 US health system

  • "In addition to hard skills, they bring a deep sense of empathy to their work, which shows in the work they produce and end user experience."

    —Chief of Staff, Central Division, Top-3 US health system

Get in touch

When your organization needs a clear path forward, call Maverick.