JULIE ROSENTHAL, President

(Washington, DC)

NORMA KELLY, Media Relations Specialist

(Los Angeles, CA)

SINIKKA MONDINI, Media Relations Specialist

(Chicago, IL)

LIZA MAKABENTA SACILIOC, Communications Specialist

(Los Angeles, CA)

VANESSA BILANCERI, Hispanic Marketing/PR Specialist

(Washington, DC)

JULIE ROSENTHAL, President
(Washington, DC)

Julie has more than 20 years of domestic and international PR and marketing communications expertise.  Clients in a variety of corporate and nonprofit sectors enjoy her flair for everything from PR/Marcom strategy to putting major organizations and start-ups on the business map. 

Prior to creating her own firm, Julie led a marketing communications strategy for Sprint's $3 billion start-up telecommunications venture in Brazil.  There she built a marketing communications department that included advertising and branding, Web site development, media relations, internal communications, and events/sponsorships.  One of her greatest accomplishments there was the development and launch of the first long distance competitor in the country – a new brand, Intelig – through a nationwide multimedia blitz encouraging all Brazilians to get involved and vote on the name of their new phone company.

And stateside, Julie was the East Coast Regional PR Director for Sprint PCS where she was responsible for launching this first digital competitor in the wireless market in the late nineties.  Specifically, she retained and managed six local PR firms to assist her efforts.  During her three-year stint, she built relationships with all telecom reporters in her key metro markets of Boston, Hartford, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, DC and Miami.  As a result, Sprint PCS received consistent and prominent coverage in all major dailies and broadcast outlets.

Before joining Sprint, Julie was PR Director of Cellular One’s Washington / Baltimore market and prior to that served in leadership positions at major advertising and PR firms such as DDB Needham and Blanc and Otus where she served clients including McDonald’s, Prime Outlets (formerly McArthur Glen), Southwestern Bell Mobile Systems and Luray Caverns.  Julie has directed multilingual press events, conducted media training sessions, spearheaded branding strategy, created and managed employee events, and launched a multitude of successful advertising and public relations programs.

Julie serves on the board of Leadership Greater Washington and the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company. Her volunteer endeavors include serving as a Business Volunteer for the Arts for the Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington and being a member of Hexagon, a volunteer musical theatrical organization. She has also served on the boards of Hexagon, Greater DC Cares and the Washington Regional Alcohol Program. Julie holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism from the University of Maryland.

NORMA KELLY, Media Relations Specialist
(Los Angeles, CA)

A seasoned public relations professional with 10 years of experience, Norma Kelly brings unique expertise in the areas of media relations to clients. She has held positions with public relations agencies focused on consumer lifestyle, travel/tourism, transportation, visual and performing arts, interactive entertainment, fashion, and hospitality, and is a specialist in building and maintaining strong media relationships.

Most recently, while working with Cohn/Wolfe Public Relations, Kelly successfully managed the media relations efforts for the Electronic Entertainment Expo’s (E3Expo) “Into the Pixel” Video Game Art Exhibition – one of the Cohn/Wolfe’s most prestigious clients.

As a supervisor at Bragman Nyman Cafarelli, a marketing communications firm operating within the entertainment and lifestyle/pop culture arena, Kelly led the media relations team for Sony Computer Entertainment America (Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation Portable and all first-party software titles). She established and managed public relations programs, provided strategic counsel, media relations expertise and client positioning services.

Prior to her work at Bragman Nyman Cafarelli, Kelly held positions with several large public relations agencies including Golin/Harris International, where she managed and implemented public relations programs for Nintendo of America.

At Manning Selvage & Lee her roster of clients included General Motors, Nike and Nestle. Kelly also worked at Yesawich, Pepperdine and Brown in Orlando Fl., where she handled media relations for several hospitality clients including Fiesta Americana resorts and hotels in Mexico, the Dominican Republic Ministry of Tourism and Temptress Adventure Cruises in Costa Rica.

A graduate of the University of West Florida in Pensacola, Florida, Kelly has a Bachelor’s in Communication Arts.

SINIKKA MONDINI, Media Relations Specialist
(Chicago, IL)

Sinikka Mondini has fifteen years of public relations experience including agency, not-for-profit and consulting.  For the past six years, she has focused her expertise as a media relation’s specialist with such notable companies as Iridium Satellite, CSC, Time Warner Cable, Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, Comcast, and Deloitte.  For her clients, she focuses on pitching national and trade media, writing op-eds and other promotional material, coordinating local and national programs, analyst relations, and speaking opportunities.

Previously Sinikka was at the Ketchum Washington, D.C. office where she was an account supervisor in the Corporate/Social Marketing practice.  As an account supervisor at Ketchum, Sinikka supervised several government contracts including public education campaigns; media relations to national and local print and broadcast outlets; the launch of PSAs, VNRs and B-roll; production of literature and materials, trade show exposure; and third-party alliances.

Sinikka’s experience also includes not-for-profit work as a communications manager for the Wireless Foundation, the non-profit arm of the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association.  Her duties included community outreach, media relations, and planning and implementation of Wireless Foundation programs.

A native of Minnesota, Ms. Mondini earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Communication and a minor in women's studies from American University in Washington, D.C.

LIZA MAKABENTA SACILIOC,
Communications Specialist
(Los Angeles, CA)

Liza Sacilioc has more than 10 years experience in public relations and marketing for nonprofit organizations, consumer technology, retail, and arts and entertainment businesses.

Sacilioc specializes in media strategy, research, writing and social media outreach. In particular, she has a personal interest in identifying key emerging technologies that are likely to have an impact on communications, marketing and branding. She helps determine which social media clients should be actively applying to their communications strategy to reach their target markets.

In 2004, Sacilioc launched Smitten, Southern California's first and only women's snowboarding and street wear boutique in Pasadena, CA. As co-founder and president, Sacilioc spearheaded all of Smitten's branding, public relations and social media marketing efforts, securing coverage in Angeleno magazine, Los Angeles Magazine's "Best of" issue, Pasadena Star-News; a feature in PowderRoom.net, a global online magazine and community for women snowboarders; and several local newspapers and industry trade publications.

Prior to Smitten, Sacilioc worked for Southern California's largest non-profit provider of senior retirement communities, Front Porch. As a member of the communications team, she contributed to all facets of the organization's internal and external communications, including writing and designing newsletters and brochures, crisis communication, and advertising.

Before joining Front Porch, Sacilioc served as the project manager for Edge Communications, Inc., a boutique public relations agency that served start-up businesses, such as NetZero, CarsDirect.com and consumer product manufacturer Casio Phonemate.

Since 2004, Sacilioc has worked with MEND (Meet Each Need with Dignity), the San Fernando Valley's largest anti-poverty non-profit agency, and has secured numerous articles in the local media, such as the Los Angeles Times, Daily News, San Fernando Sun; and local news segments on ABC, Telemundo and more.

Sacilioc received a Bachelor of Arts from California State University, Long Beach, in Journalism, and a minor in Marketing.

VANESSA BILANCERI,
Hispanic Marketing/PR Specialist
(Washington, DC)

Vanessa Bilanceri specializes in developing smart and creative communications and media strategies to reach the growing US Hispanic community.   
Vanessa regularly advises clients on collaborating with the media to reach their key audiences.  She has secured placements in all forms of media – web, radio, TV and print. Some examples include The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, La Opinión, The Dallas Morning News, Washington Hispanic, NPR, and local affiliates of Univision and CBS.
She has initiated media relations and marketing strategy and materials development for a variety of organizations and entities in the Washington, DC area, including the Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute, National Hispanic Council on Aging, and Nyack College's Washington DC Campus.  She has also worked on international projects in Mexico and Uganda.