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The year 2020 was one that we will not soon forget. A 

global pandemic brought the world to its knees, social 

unrest reached a boiling point, and divisive politics 

made us weary.

 And yet, there were countless bright spots amid the 

chaos. One of those bright spots occurred right here within 

AMWA, with Katrina Burton, BS, elected to serve as AMWA’s 

next President-Elect. She is the first Black person to hold this 

position in the organization.

 The announcement of her election filled me with excite-

ment. Being asked to interview Burton for the Journal was 

like icing on the cake. 

 As a Black woman, I felt honored to be tasked with inter-

viewing Burton to learn more about her life, medical writing 

career, and goals for AMWA.

 I sat down with Burton—via Zoom, of course—prepared 

for an interview that ended up feeling more like a conversa-

tion between friends.

Growing Up in Texas
Burton was born in Houston, Texas, and grew up on the city’s 

north side. Like many of us, her original career aspirations 

didn’t include medical writing. 

 “I always had an interest in the medical field, especially 

the skin,” she said. Her older sister battled a severe case of 

eczema, inspiring Burton to want to become a dermatolo-

gist. Without Google as an aid, she spent time at the school 

library and took advantage of her family’s home encyclope-

dia collection to learn about dermatology.

 Even with dreams of becoming a medical doctor, Burton 

loved writing. She enjoyed reading and writing fiction and 

family stories. “I was always told that I had a vivid imagina-

tion and that I should become a writer,” she said. 

 After graduating from Booker T. Washington High School, 

a historically Black high school in Houston, Burton attended 

Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. Initially 

entering college as a pre-med major, she switched to jour-

nalism, earning a Bachelor of Science in Journalism and a 

minor in Marketing. 

 While at Texas A&M, she served as a backup writer for 

The Battalion, the college newspaper. 

Career Beginnings
“My journey is a very interesting story,” Burton explained as 

she described her first few jobs after college.

 Burton decided to stay in the Houston area after gradua-

tion. Although she loved writing, she discovered that writing 

for the local newsletter wasn’t exactly lucrative. She took a 

job opportunity in retail instead while she pondered her  

next steps.

 At a local retail clothing store, she began as an assistant 

manager and was promoted to manager. Burton weaved her 

love of writing in with her managerial responsibilities by cre-

ating a store newsletter. This newsletter caught the attention 

of the retail company’s national office, and Burton was asked 

to expand the newsletter to the store’s local region. 

 Knowing that writing was her true passion and retail 

would not be part of her long-term career plans, she started 

looking for opportunities that combined both her manage-

ment and writing skills.

 In addition to working in retail, Burton also explored her 

interest in graphic design and layout, still managing to weave 

writing into her work, landing several positions with well-

known companies over the years. 

Becoming a Medical Writer
Edging ever closer to medical writing, Burton worked as the 

Marketing Manager at Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center for 

4 years. In her position, she worked with her team to recruit 

talent to appear in television commercials and marketing 

JoAnna Pendergrass, DVM  / Freelance Medical Writer, Sandy Springs, GA 

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Making History: An Interview 
With Katrina Burton, AMWA’s 
New President-Elect



      AMWA Journal / V36 N1 / 2021 / amwa.org    49

materials in support of various projects, such as incentive pro-

grams and marketing initiatives. “This is where I honed my 

skills with project development,” she said.

 She spoke with pride about leading the launch of the 

Center’s African American Commits for Life Program (now the 

Diversity Program), aiming to increase the number of Black 

blood donors. Within the first 6 months of the program, blood 

donations from Black blood donors increased by 25%.

 As a part of her position, Burton wrote extensively for the 

blood bank and worked with philanthropic organizations on 

strategic initiatives. Working at the Center brought her back 

into the medical field, creating the beginnings of her medical 

writing career.

 Burton then began working at The University of Texas MD 

Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, where she has been for 

13 years.

 Personal experiences spurred her decision to work at  

MD Anderson. Her father passed away from prostate cancer, 

and other family members have had a range of cancers and 

health issues.

 At MD Anderson, she first served as an external communi-

cations specialist, then senior communications specialist. For 

7 years, she covered cancer prevention, worked with local and 

national reporters, and wrote about groundbreaking cancer 

research and clinical trials.

 Currently, she serves as a Program Manager in the Public 

Relations Office, managing the communications and media 

relations for MD Anderson’s Children’s Cancer Hospital. In 

this role, she continues to write and work with media to share 

pediatric patients' experiences, essential research, and impor-

tant patient programs.

 Burton’s work varies from day to day, and she loves it.  

“I don’t just write stories and work with media: I also build 

relationships with researchers, clinicians, and other col-

leagues,” she said. “I truly enjoy getting to know patients and 

their families, and I am honored when they share a glimpse of 

their cancer journey with me. Seeing the patients do well and 

achieve success in life gives me so much joy.”

 She has continued to pursue her passion for learning 

about the health care industry and sharing that information 

with others. “When you’re in a place where you can do good 

and share important stories, your job doesn’t feel like a job. 

Rather, it feels like a calling,” Burton remarked.

Getting Involved in AMWA
In 2010, early in her medical writing career, Burton’s director 

advised her to seek out science writing organizations to join. A 

Google search listed AMWA as the first search result.

 She joined AMWA shortly before the Annual Conference 

that year. The conference, in her words, was “love at first sight.” 

It was an exhausting yet exhilarating experience for Burton, 

connecting her with others who were passionate about medi-

cal writing. Since then, she has attended every AMWA Medical 

Writing & Communication Conference, participating as a 

roundtable facilitator (2012, 2013) and open session speaker 

(2013, 2017, 2019).

 Burton’s involvement in AMWA could fill an entire page. As 

a bonafide lover of volunteering, she first held numerous roles 

in the Southwest Chapter. To name just a few, she served as the 

chapter’s Publicity Coordinator, President and Immediate Past 

President, Chapter Delegate to AMWA’s Board of Directors, and 

the Chapter Advisory Council (CAC) Representative. 

 After being instrumental in the most recent restructuring of 

AMWA’s National Board, Burton was invited to become active 

on the national level, serving as the first Chair of the CAC. 

When she was elected AMWA National Secretary, she was Chair 

of the Constitution and Bylaws Committee. Now, as President-

Elect, she is the Chair of the Nomination Committee.

 In 2020, Burton earned the distinction of being named a 

2020 AMWA Fellow, a designation bestowed upon members 

who have achieved an exceptional level of service to the orga-

nization over time.

 To add to her extensive list of AMWA activities, Burton also 

actively volunteers in her local community, serving on several 

boards and councils. She works with local schools to inspire 

a love of communication in young children. “This work helps 

build a diverse group of future communicators and allows me 

to do my part to ensure that the field of communications con-

tinues to thrive with different voices,” she said.

Tackling Misinformation
Burton believes that health and science misinformation is the 

biggest challenge in medical communication. This is not a new 

problem, of course, but medical communicators are uniquely 

positioned to take on this challenge.

 To do so, Burton encourages all medical communicators to 

be proactive in writing accurate, fact-based information and 

When you’re in a place where you can do good 
and share important stories, your job doesn’t 

feel like a job. Rather, it feels like a calling.




MEMBERS MATTER



50    AMWA Journal / V36 N1 / 2021 / amwa.org        

being credible sources of medical information. AMWA, she 

believes, can be the driving force in countering misinformation 

and teaching medical communicators how to be part of that 

driving force.

Serving as President-Elect
Since joining AMWA, Burton has been continually inspired 

by the organization’s leaders with whom she has worked. 

She takes her commitment to AMWA, and her new role as 

President-Elect, seriously. “It is an honor and privilege to be 

elected as President-Elect of an organization that is doing 

essential, critical, and amazing work to promote excellence in 

the medical communication field,” she said.

 As President-Elect, Burton aims to grow AMWA’s member-

ship, expand AMWA Online Learning, and encourage member-

ship among medical writers who specialize in public relations 

and marketing.

 She also aspires to increase the ethnic diversity of AMWA’s 

membership. To Burton, though, diversity in medical com-

munication is about more than just ethnicity. It is also about a 

diversity of writing specialties, employment status, and medi-

cal topics (cancer, dental care, etc.).

 “An organization is strenghened by its diversity,” she said. 

“Diversity allows the opportunity to be educated on different 

perspectives, ideas, and values that can be crucial to organiza-

tional growth.” 

Becoming the First Black Female President-Elect
Burton considers being AMWA’s first Black female President-

Elect an accomplishment for her personally and for AMWA. 

 At first, though, she did not even realize that she was the 

first. Nevertheless, she recognizes the significance of this 

moment in AMWA’s history. She plans to use her platform to 

encourage more minority medical writers to join AMWA,  

get involved, and pursue leadership positions within the  

organization.

Closing Thoughts
As we closed out our interview, I asked Burton to provide some 

words of wisdom for medical communicators who are starting 

their careers.

 “Take advantage of AMWA’s educational resources and 

tools, attend the AMWA Medical Writing & Communication 

Conferences, volunteer in your local AMWA chapter, and be 

intentional about building your expertise to align with your 

career trajectory.” She also recommended taking advantage of 

AMWA’s many networking opportunities that can promote col-

laborations and long-lasting friendships.

 I am thrilled to see Burton serve as AMWA’s President-Elect. 

While holding AMWA close to her heart, there is no doubt that 

she will continue to serve the organization well and push the 

medical communication field forward.

Author declaration and disclosures: The authors note no commercial 
associations that may pose a conflict of interest in relation to this article.

Author contact: joanna@jpencmc.com

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