# Ben Texter

> Ben Texter is the New York-based co-founder and co-CEO of Digital Health Strategies, where he works at the intersection of healthcare data, technology, marketing, communications, and fundraising. Before co-founding the firm in 2014, he was a founding employee and director at electric-vehicle startup Coda Automotive and established the healthcare practice at Blue State Digital. He has advised major health systems, served briefly as interim vice president of marketing and communications at Geisinger, and received Pepperdine University's 2020 Outstanding Alumni in Healthcare Award.

- **Role:** Co-CEO, Co-Founder and Board Member at Digital Health Strategies
- **Organizations:** Digital Health Strategies, Blue State Digital, Coda Automotive, Geisinger
- **Education:** BA in Art History and Economics, Pepperdine University, Seaver College
- **Known for:** Co-founded Digital Health Strategies and serves as its co-CEO., Established the healthcare practice at Blue State Digital., Provided executive-level sponsorship for work with health systems including Geisinger, Johns Hopkins Hospital, PeaceHealth, PIH Health, Tower Health, and Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health.

## Career timeline

- **2002-2006** — Studied art history and economics at Pepperdine University's Seaver College.
- **Before 2014** — Worked as a founding employee and director at Coda Automotive, which imported a street-legal Chinese electric vehicle to the United States.
- **Before 2014** — Served as a director at Blue State Digital and established its healthcare practice.
- **2014** — Co-founded Digital Health Strategies with John Simpson.
- **2018-01 to 2018-03** — Served on contract as interim vice president of marketing and communications at Geisinger.
- **2020** — Received Pepperdine University's Outstanding Alumni in Healthcare Award.
- **2021** — Authored an article in the Healthcare Philanthropy Journal about lessons from a digital fundraising benchmark report for hospitals.
- **2023-04** — Joined Sam Seering of Epic on the Touch Point podcast to discuss the changing role of health-system marketing and the use of electronic medical record data in engagement.
- **2023-11** — Digital Health Strategies completed a $1.55 million Series A, its first funding round after nearly a decade of operation.
- **2025-04** — Facilitated a Healthcare Marketing & Physician Strategies Summit session about digital patient transactions.
- **2026-05** — Spoke at the Healthcare Marketing & Physician Strategies Summit on the modern digital team's organization, skills, and operating model.
- **2026-06** — Joined a Forum for Healthcare Strategists webinar about patient activation as a health-system growth opportunity.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Digital Health Strategies and serves as its co-CEO.
- Established the healthcare practice at Blue State Digital.
- Provided executive-level sponsorship for work with health systems including Geisinger, Johns Hopkins Hospital, PeaceHealth, PIH Health, Tower Health, and Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health.
- Served as interim vice president of marketing and communications at Geisinger in early 2018.
- Received Pepperdine University's 2020 Outstanding Alumni in Healthcare Award.
- Presented to boards and professional gatherings including the American Hospital Association, Federation of American Hospitals, California Hospital Association, SHSMD, Association for Healthcare Philanthropy, and Forum for Healthcare Strategists.
- Co-authored industry guidance connecting healthcare marketing, patient engagement, and philanthropic fundraising.

## Latest updates

- **2026-06** — Participated in a Forum for Healthcare Strategists webinar on patient activation with Daniel Ahern and Kelly Faley.
- **2026-05** — Appeared at the Healthcare Marketing & Physician Strategies Summit in Salt Lake City in a session on modern digital-team structure and operating models.
- **2026-05** — Was included among the industry leaders interviewed for the Forum's Live from HMPS26 podcast series about AI, data-driven growth, patient activation, and personalization.
- **2025-04** — Facilitated a summit discussion about digital patient experience and the transaction layer behind it.
- **2023-11** — Digital Health Strategies completed a $1.55 million Series A round.

## Links

- Website: https://www.digitalhealthstrategies.com/team/ben-texter/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamintexter

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/ben-texter
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-10