Who We Are

Marcus Thygeson, MD, MPH
I have had a long career in patient care and leadership of both care delivery and health insurance organizations. I am also a patient myself and am aware of how challenging that can be. I started my career practicing primary care in a small, rural community. I then practiced as a digestive disease specialist in the San Francisco Bay Area for fifteen years. For the past twenty-five years I have been using my leadership skills to make health care and health insurance better.

Throughout my career, I have provided what I jokingly call “free medical advice for what it’s worth” to friends and family. Invariably, those friends and family members have said that talking to me was extremely valuable. Now, through The Parrhesia Foundation, I can provide this service for everyone.

Megan Vered, MFA
I spent the first part of my career as a patient advocate, first as a Lamaze teacher and then as a perinatal education supervisor, supporting women and families to advocate for themselves through childbirth and early parenting. Following that, I worked as a scientific writer for the research department at Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, where I helped fund research and sponsored programs. I then returned to my lifelong passion for personal writing and obtained an MFA in Creative Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Throughout my career I have learned about and taught the value of informed self-care for improving health and wellness.