Pathways
From Bucknell to Broadcasting Health News typography

by Eveline Chao

Viv Williams ’86 comes from a medical lineage — her father, Robert Hess Williams ’50, is a fourth-generation physician, and sister Amy Williams Goucher ’80 is a nephrologist. Williams both branched out and stayed in the family business: She’s a freelance broadcast health journalist who also works for the Mayo Clinic News Network, whose stories run on local and network TV around the country.

Her Mayo Clinic segments present “health information that people can use to make their lives better,” Williams says. Lately, that’s included stories on how to protect oneself from COVID-19, and how to maintain mental and physical health while stuck at home. “It’s important to get accurate information out to the public,” says Williams.

Previously, she was co-host of a lifestyle show on NBC called Health + Happiness with Mayo Clinic alongside Joy Bauer of NBC’s Today show. Now, she’s developing more health- and wellness-oriented shows for TV.

“There’s lots of research and information out there, but it’s hard to cut through all the noise and get what really matters,” Williams says. “That’s why I’m so passionate about what I do.”

photograph by Joe Ahlquist/The Post Bulletin
Pathways
Pathways with Viv Williams
From Bucknell to Broadcasting Health News typography
by Eveline Chao

Viv Williams ’86 comes from a medical lineage — her father, Robert Hess Williams ’50, is a fourth-generation physician, and sister Amy Williams Goucher ’80 is a nephrologist. Williams both branched out and stayed in the family business: She’s a freelance broadcast health journalist who also works for the Mayo Clinic News Network, whose stories run on local and network TV around the country.

Her Mayo Clinic segments present “health information that people can use to make their lives better,” Williams says. Lately, that’s included stories on how to protect oneself from COVID-19, and how to maintain mental and physical health while stuck at home. “It’s important to get accurate information out to the public,” says Williams.

Previously, she was co-host of a lifestyle show on NBC called Health + Happiness with Mayo Clinic alongside Joy Bauer of NBC’s Today show. Now, she’s developing more health- and wellness-oriented shows for TV.

“There’s lots of research and information out there, but it’s hard to cut through all the noise and get what really matters,” Williams says. “That’s why I’m so passionate about what I do.”

photograph by Joe Ahlquist/The Post Bulletin