Spotlight: Amber Martin, senior health promotion specialist 

As organizations continue investing in workforce well-being, Sharecare’s Health Promotion Specialist (HPS) team works to support employees and serve as a consistent, human presence behind well-being programs. This month’s Employee Spotlight features Amber Martin, senior health promotion specialist, who supports a multi-site client based in St. Louis.

Amber joined Sharecare in 2023 when the client transitioned from a previous vendor. She says it honestly couldn’t have worked out any better, and that she’s still glad the decision allowed her to continue supporting a workforce she had already built strong relationships with.

Amber earned both her bachelor’s degree in public health and her master’s degree in exercise physiology from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Outside of work, she and her husband enjoy spending time outdoors with their golden retriever and traveling. Last September, the pair spent their honeymoon in Cancun, both visiting Mexico for the first time.

Can you tell us about your role?

As a senior health promotion specialist, I support a multi-site client based in St. Louis, where I’m located. The St. Louis location acts as a hub, with seven individual worksites of varying sizes. Two additional health promotion specialists support other worksites for this same client on the East Coast, and together we ensure coverage across locations.

In my role, I serve as the on-the-ground point of contact for well-being initiatives. That includes providing member support, promoting challenges, and engagement campaigns, planning events based on workforce needs, and conducting regular check-ins with client contacts to make sure everything is running smoothly. Because this workforce includes both office employees and manufacturing, production, and packaging employees, the engagement approach varies depending on the audience.

I also oversee a well-being champion network for our client. This is a voluntary group of employees across U.S. worksites who are passionate about well-being and help promote Sharecare offerings locally. Since there isn’t a health promotion specialist at every site, these champions help extend the reach of the program.

Can you tell us a little about your team?

I work closely with our account manager, Zanthe, who oversees the health promotion specialists and marketing teams, and Allison Turner, our designated engagement marketing specialist.

There’s a lot of collaboration between the three of us on this client and with the broader health promotion specialist team. We’re always bouncing ideas off each other and sharing what types of engagement tactics are working for different populations. Especially as contracts move into year two or three and offerings don’t change much, it can feel repetitive at times. Having that fresh viewpoint from teammates is really valuable. We lean on each other a lot, and I value that.

What’s your favorite part of being at Sharecare?

Definitely the people.

Everyone is so helpful and willing to lend a hand. I’ve interacted with folks on the account management team who are super busy, but they still make time to answer questions or clarify something to make sure things are being delivered in a way that makes sense for the client.

Our team has gone through restructures and org changes over the past year, but seeing how everyone adapts and fills gaps to keep clients supported has been great. There’s a lot of teamwork and pride in the work we do.

Do you have a project or milestone you’re most proud of?

Maybe not one single project, but one of my favorite things is receiving direct feedback from members. Being able to build rapport and have our client’s employees feel comfortable reaching out to say, “I really love this about the Sharecare program,” is meaningful. They’re very gracious about the support we provide.

More recently, we introduced what we call Health Promotion Specialist-sponsored events — virtual offerings from our team’s bespoke catalog. Those can include unwind time meditations, stretch and flex sessions, or wellness roundtables on different health topics. They’ve gone over really well.

You’d be surprised how open people are. It creates a snowball effect — others start sharing achievements in their wellness journey or something inspirational that relates to the topic. That’s been great to see.

What’s one of the biggest challenges in your role?

When you’re promoting a well-being program within an employer setting, not everyone immediately sees the value. Encouraging participation and helping employees see that the program is here to benefit them can be a hard sell for certain segments of the population.

I’ve found that being able to talk to people on a human level, putting a face to the program, and making it feel approachable rather than intimidating — really helps. Adding that human aspect makes a big difference.

Can you share a little about your path leading up to Sharecare?

I have a bachelor’s degree in public health and a master’s degree in exercise physiology. I went to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville for both degrees. Before moving into corporate wellness, I worked in personal training and group fitness.

I officially made the switch to corporate wellness in 2022 with EMD Millipore, the same client I work for now, under a different vendor. When they decided to part ways with that vendor and move to Sharecare, I had the opportunity to stay — and it honestly couldn’t have worked out better. I had built strong relationships and was excited when I learned I could continue supporting them. I’m still glad I made that choice a couple of years later.

How do you like to spend your time outside of work?

My husband and I love being outdoors. We have a golden retriever, Ellie, who loves to swim, so we’re in the pool with her in the summer as much as we can be. We’re planning to get another golden soon, so hopefully we’ll have a puppy running around here in the next few months.

We like hiking, spending time with friends and family, and traveling when schedules allow. Our most recent trip was our honeymoon in Cancun last September — both of our first times in Mexico. We absolutely loved it.

Are there any causes that are important to you?

Any cause related to animals is near and dear to my heart. On a more personal level, dementia and Alzheimer’s awareness and different types of cancer awareness are important to me because of how they’ve impacted both my family and my husband’s family.

Have you ever had 15 minutes of fame?

I don’t know about 15 full minutes, but my husband and I made a cameo in a Hardy music video from one of his concert tours. The photographer was filming the crowd, and we had about a two-second snippet from the St. Louis show.

So we made a cameo.