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Joy Allen-Altimare of Vella Bioscience on the Shift Toward Patient-Led Care
Helping to bring visibility and access to underserved areas of health
Joy has over 25 years of experience leading brand innovation, growth and commercialization across evolving markets. She currently serves as president of Vella Bioscience, a company focused on advancing women’s sexual and hormonal health with rigor, clarity and empathy. She oversees strategy across brands, products, operations and external engagement, supporting women throughout their full hormonal lifecycle—from menstruation to menopause.
We spent two minutes with Joy to learn more about her background, her creative inspirations and recent work she’s admired.
Joy, tell us …
Where you grew up, and where you live now.
I grew up in Chattanooga, which gave me a strong sense of grounding and perspective early on. I spent nearly 25 years in New York City, where I built my career. Recently, our family made the decision to move to Grand Rapids, Mich.—a shift to create a different pace and provide our daughter with a more balanced, supportive environment as she moves through those formative middle and high school years. It’s been an important reset in many ways.
How you first got interested in health.
My interest in health evolved over time through the roles I’ve had the privilege to take on. At EHE Health, I saw the power of preventive medicine—what happens when you intervene before something breaks. At Kindbody, I stepped into reproductive and fertility health, where the emotional and clinical dimensions of care intersect in very real ways. And now at Vella, I’m focused on hormonal and sexual wellness—an area that’s long been overlooked, but deeply tied to identity, confidence and quality of life. The through line has always been the same: helping bring visibility, credibility and access to areas of health that have historically been underserved.
One of your favorite projects you’ve ever worked on.
Helping scale Kindbody during a time when fertility was shifting from a private conversation to a more open, culturally relevant one. It wasn’t just about building a brand. It was about helping people feel seen in something that had previously felt isolating. That kind of work stays with you.
A recent project you’re proud of.
At Vella, we’re building something that sits at a very unique intersection—clinical rigor and real human experience. We take complex science and translate it into something that is not only understandable, but truly felt in someone’s daily life.
One thing about how health is evolving that you’re excited about.
We’re finally seeing a shift toward more personalized, preventative and patient-led care. People are no longer waiting to be told what to do. They’re asking better questions, seeking out information and expecting more from the systems around them. That’s especially true in women’s health, where the bar is rising quickly.
Someone else’s work, in health or beyond, that you admired lately.
I’ve always been drawn to the work of Esther Perel. While not traditional “health” in the clinical sense, the way she explores relationships, intimacy and human connection feels deeply relevant. She has a way of making complex emotional dynamics feel both accessible and intellectually rigorous. It’s a reminder that health isn’t just physical—it’s relational, psychological and deeply human.
Your main strength as a marketer/creative.
I’m able to connect strategy to storytelling in a way that feels both clear and culturally relevant. I like taking something complex, distilling it down to what actually matters and building from there.
Your biggest weakness.
I have a high bar, and I don’t tend to lower it. The upside is quality. The trade-off is that I have to be very intentional about where perfection actually matters, and where progress is more important.
2 Minutes With is our regular interview series where we chat with creatives about their backgrounds, creative inspirations, work they admire and more. For more about 2 Minutes With, or to be considered for the series, please get in touch.
