I use behavioral science, research, and product strategy to help teams see people more clearly, understand what actually shapes their lives and choices, and build systems that better support human flourishing.
A way of working
I try to get close enough to the problem to see what the categories and metrics miss. Who is this person? What are they trying to do? What makes their behavior sensible from where they stand? What in the environment is helping or getting in the way?
Seeing clearly changes the work. It changes what feels important, what deserves care, and what we choose to build.
Notice
What is
actually here?
Love
What deserves
our care?
Tend
What does care
ask of us?
Flourish
What becomes
possible?
Selected work
01
A digital clinical workflow appeared to be growing quickly. Closer analysis revealed that averages were hiding a more important story: who was actually using it, whether they returned, and where sustained behavior was breaking down.
Behavioral science
Quantitative research
Product strategy
Reframed the problem from simple adoption to activation, repeat use, and meaningful outcomes.
02
Treatment decisions are rarely just information problems. I worked on research and behavioral strategy aimed at helping people understand meaningful options, recognize what mattered to them, and participate more fully in decisions about their care.
Healthcare
Behavioral strategy
Decision-making
Focused on the conditions around choice—not simply giving people more information and hoping behavior followed.
03
Behavioral science becomes much less useful when teams need an expert in the room every time they make a decision. I developed lightweight tools that help teams define the behavioral problem, surface their assumptions, identify what evidence matters, and choose the smallest useful next action.
Decision science
Research practice
Capability building
The goal was not another framework to admire. It was a way of thinking teams could actually use.
Notes
Working ideas about behavior, research, product, healthcare, and building things for human beings.
About
I’m Zachary Rethorn, a behavioral scientist and researcher by training, a physical therapist by background, and a product strategist by practice.
My work has moved through clinical care, academia, implementation science, technology, healthcare, and product development. Across those settings, I keep returning to the same question: how do we understand people well enough to build conditions in which they can flourish?
Behavior is never simply a matter of knowing the right thing. It is shaped by what people notice, what they care about, what their environment makes possible, and whether there is a path they can actually walk.
Elsewhere
Writing
Learning to notice, love, and tend to what matters through attention, affection, place, culture, and everyday life.
Visit ReEnchanting Us →Photography
A photographic practice of reverent attention to light, shadow, people, and place.
Visit ReEnchanting Vision →Clinical practice
A physical therapy practice focused on helping people with persistent pain recover agency, movement, and participation in the lives they want to live.
Visit Rethorn PT →Hospitality
Guided wine nights built around good bottles, shared attention, conversation, and the pleasure of discovering something together.
Visit Late Light →Contact