Meet TrueCare Nonprofit Healthcare

A smiling female doctor outdoors in front of a medical building, wearing a white coat with a stethoscope around her neck.

TrueCare is a nonprofit health system that has been caring for San Diego’s communities since 1971. Formerly known as North County Health Services (NCHS), they serve patients from all walks of life, many of whom are underinsured, undocumented, or paying out of pocket—across multiple clinics and a rapidly growing network of 130+ providers.

In 2020, they made a bold move: rebranding from NCHS to TrueCare to reflect what they had always been at heart…

A human-focused healthcare provider committed to treating every person with dignity, warmth, and respect.

A doctor kneeling and giving a high five to a young girl, her mother assisting, while a family in the background waits in a bright, modern medical office.
A woman with long black hair and a young girl with curly hair sitting together in a waiting area, looking at a tablet with a colorful game or app on the screen.
A young girl with blonde hair, blue eyes, smiling, wearing an orange dress with buttons and a long-sleeved shirt with a yellow floral pattern. She is making a heart shape with her hands, with an adult's hands visible.
A young girl in a purple hospital gown sitting on an examination table as a doctor examines her ear with an otoscope.
A female doctor using an otoscope to examine a young boy's ear in a medical clinic.
A young girl with braided hair smiling as a healthcare worker administers a vaccine to her upper arm.
A healthcare professional, a female doctor, with a stethoscope around her neck, is smiling and talking with an elderly woman who is sitting on an examination table. The woman is wearing a blue top and has her hair tied back. They are in a medical examination room.
A woman and a boy walking outdoors and smiling at each other, with a building and some bushes in the background.
A woman in a medical examination room is being examined by a healthcare provider. The healthcare provider is touching the woman's shoulder, and both are engaged in a serious conversation. Medical equipment is attached to the wall.
Two women hugging and smiling in a friendly embrace, one wearing a white dress and the other in a medical coat.
A healthcare professional, wearing blue scrubs and a stethoscope, smiling at a young girl in a white hospital gown who is sitting on an examination table and holding the nurse's hand.
A young boy with curly hair smiling while wearing a white shirt and carrying a blue backpack with white streaks, standing outdoors.
A female healthcare professional in a white coat smiling and talking to a young boy sitting in a hospital bed, wearing a teal shirt, with a cheerful expression.
Two women engaged in conversation in a room with large windows; one woman is smiling, wearing glasses, and a black jacket with a colorful logo, while the other has long brown hair and is facing away from the camera.
A male doctor standing in a healthcare facility, smiling and wearing a white coat and stethoscope, in front of a sign that says 'true care'.
A smiling woman with gray hair, glasses, and a blue collared shirt, sitting in a waiting area. Behind her is a health care promotional poster with the words "truecare" and a mobile app image. 
The Challenge

Making the Brand Feel as Human as the Care

A woman and a boy sitting in chairs at a waiting area, looking at a tablet together. The woman is smiling, and the boy appears engaged. There is a promotional sign behind them for MyChart truecare with a colorful background and text.

The old name, “North County Health Services,” sounded clinical and government-adjacent. For the people TrueCare serves, that kind of language can feel intimidating and unsafe. Internally, they knew they were delivering compassionate, community-rooted care. Externally, the brand didn’t show that.

As they stepped into the TrueCare name, their branding agency was clear:a new logo and color palette weren’t enough. The entire visual experience from the provider directory to the careers page needed to reflect:

  • Real people instead of generic stock

  • Real patients instead of staged models

  • The actual diversity of their communities, especially Latina moms and families

  • A warm, welcoming environment that made care feel accessible, not bureaucratic

They wanted their new website to launch with imagery that felt like walking into one of their clinics: human, trustworthy, and genuinely caring. That meant replacing years of inconsistent headshots and stock photos with a living, breathing visual identity.

The Connection

a Healthy Partnership

From the first conversation, it was clear that TrueCare and I shared a similar lens on the world.

They believe in human-centered care, equity, and community impact. I believe in human-centered imagery, equity, and community impact. They are intentional about who they serve and how they show up. I am intentional about who I work with and how I tell their stories.

A few things that made this such a natural match:

  • They wanted real people, not stock. I build brands around real humans and real stories.

  • They care deeply about local communities. I am rooted in North County and committed to the organizations that shape it.

  • They invest in their people—from providers to staff—and wanted that to show. My work is all about capturing culture, not just faces.

This wasn’t a quick photoshoot to decorate a website.It was a long-term partnership built on shared values: authenticity, accessibility, and leaving our community better than we found it.

Static Pictures to a Living Visual Brand

The Work

I first joined the project during the 2020 rebrand. My initial role was straightforward on paper: refresh the provider headshots across their system. In practice, it was the first building block of a much larger transformation.

I visited multiple clinics across San Diego and photographed more than 120 providers on-site, creating a consistent, on-brand portrait for each one. For the first time, their provider directory looked unified and current. Patients visiting the new TrueCare website could see the real people they’d be meeting, not a patchwork of old images and placeholders.

From there, the relationship deepened. As TrueCare continued to grow, we created a rhythm:

  • Quarterly headshot days to welcome new providers into the visual brand, so the website and marketing materials always reflect the actual care team.

  • Ongoing lifestyle and storytelling shoots that show providers interacting with real patients and families in real clinics—capturing the warmth, diversity, and everyday humanity of their work.

TrueCare made a clear choice:no stock, no hired models. Every lifestyle session we’ve done together has featured real patients and real communities, photographed with care and consent. That decision alone says more about who they are than any tagline ever could.

Over time, what started as “we need new headshots for the rebrand” became a long-term visual partnership. I now work directly with their internal marketing team to plan shoots that support new initiatives, campaigns, and growth, always with the same question in mind: Does this imagery feel as human as the care you provide?

The Result

A Recognizable Community Leader

Today, when someone encounters TrueCare online, the visuals finally match the experience their patients have been receiving for decades.

  • The provider directory is filled with current, cohesive portraits that reflect a diverse, welcoming team.

  • The website and marketing materials are built around real patients and real providers, so people can see themselves in the brand.

  • New providers are photographed quickly and seamlessly as they join, keeping the brand alive and up to date as the organization grows.

  • The marketing and brand teams have a deep, ever-growing library of images they can draw from for recruiting, community outreach, donor relations, and beyond.

  • There is a clear, repeatable system taking pressure off of management to prepare the team

Most importantly, the rebrand to TrueCare didn’t stop at a new name. It shows up in every photo, every story, and every face: this is a place where you will be seen and cared for as a human being.

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Behind every one of these projects is a company that decided its people and culture deserved more than stock photos and outdated headshots.

These community leaders chose to show who they really are—aligned teams, visible leadership, and workplaces that feel as human as they claim to be. As you explore these other projects, imagine how your own organization’s story, values, and talent could look when your brand finally reflects the caliber of the company you’re building.

Other Projects
A young female scientist in a lab coat holding a small test tube with a liquid sample, observing it closely.
Two women sitting outdoors at a table with a laptop, engaging in a conversation, with a colorful mural in the background.
Three people standing together inside a futuristic aircraft mockup, looking at a laptop, with an interior resembling a commercial airplane.
Four people standing and talking outside the Masat building, a modern glass office building with palm trees nearby and flags, in sunny weather.
Group of happy people gathered in front of the Discovery Center building, smiling and raising their hands in celebration, with the center's sign and decorative elements above the entrance.
A scientist in a white lab coat and blue gloves working inside a laboratory fume hood with chemical containers and tubing.
A group of eight diverse professionals standing outside in front of a modern glass building, smiling for a photo. The group includes both men and women dressed in business attire, with two women at either end wearing dark blue blazers and the others
Three men working on an electric vehicle in a large, well-lit manufacturing or assembly factory. One man is seated on a stool working under the open hood, while another man, seated with a laptop, appears to be programming or diagnosing. The third man
A man with glasses and a buzz cut hairstyle working in a warehouse or packaging facility, handling labels or packaging materials.
A group of scientists working in a laboratory, with one scientist in the foreground holding a pipette and smiling at the camera, surrounded by lab equipment and supplies.
Three scientists in lab coats and safety goggles working in a laboratory with laboratory equipment and computer monitors, engaging in a discussion or demonstration.
A female scientist in a white lab coat seated by a row of lab equipment, and four scientists standing together in a laboratory.
Three smiling workers in blue shirts and beige aprons standing on a sidewalk surrounded by green plants. One is holding a black bag with supplies and a small dog, another also has a bag, and the third has a bag and supplies.
Elderly people participating in a water aerobics class at an outdoor swimming pool on a sunny day, using colorful pool noodles and wearing hats and sunglasses.
An elderly man with gray hair painting a landscape on a small canvas set on an easel at an art class. Several women sit at tables in the background, some using laptops or looking at their paintings, while others are standing and socializing.
A smiling woman and a smiling man sitting at a black metal railing outdoors, with a brick wall behind them. The woman has long wavy brown hair and is wearing a black top and a smartwatch. The man has short gray hair, a blue checkered shirt, and a sil

A Corporate partnership embodies the kind of work I love most

A woman with brunette hair wearing a black suit and beige high heel sandals, holding a camera, sitting on a stool against a plain white background.

Where visuals are not just decoration, but a vital part of how an organization lives its values in public. Together, we’ve built a visual brand that honors the people of TrueCare and the communities they serve, and continues to grow alongside them.

If you’re leading a values-driven organization and you’re ready for your visuals to finally match the level of care and impact you deliver, I’d love to talk about what we can build together.

Work With Me