Meet the Team
Smoke and mirrors? Nope. Just magic. Meet the team that makes it happen.
Kathleen O'Brien Thompson
Founder, President
With over 15 years of diverse experience in business development, marketing, management, and building client relationships at all organizational levels, Kathleen is a skilled developer of broad-based coalitions and networks of influence to increase credibility and visibility. Analytical and possessing critical interviewing skills developed during her tenure in market research, she specializes in strategic communication consulting and the creation of polished, relevant content.
Kait Russell
Content Creator, Project Manager
Kait Russell is a highly skilled professional with a wealth of experience in both customer service and entrepreneurship. With 15 years of expertise in providing exceptional customer experiences, Kait has honed her skills to perfection. As the owner of her own successful business for the past 5 years, she has added entrepreneurship, leadership, marketing and sales skills to her arsenal.
Prashant Mankani
Marketing Account Manager
Prashant believes marketing is the perfect intersection between science and art. A highly motivated, hands-on Digital Marketing generalist, he has an innate ability to multi-task and prioritize his work to achieve the best results. He holds several marketing certifications and has previous experience in running PPC campaigns, building web pages, and creating and publishing content for social media, he is a jack of all trades and master of some!
Ed Wilhite
Website Developer
Intuitive, smart, focused, and a huge fan of puzzles and challenges, Ed is a master at solving client conundrums. A senior web developer with 15+ years experience creating unique, complex web sites and web applications. Ed also uses advanced developing techniques to customize and modify existing websites for Professional PUNCH clients.
Jeff Bleu
PPC Expert
A seasoned digital marketer and ad specialist, Jeff brings a deep knowledge of Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising. Analytical and determined, his expertise is in devising and implementing digital strategies that yield successful outcomes. Clients always appreciate his laser-focused budget efficiencies. A key component of the overall digital marketing efforts, his focus is on increasing brand awareness, engagement, and conversions from both LinkedIn and Google PPC efforts.
Lindsay Bowman
Account Manager, Content Creator
Lindsay is a content creator who uses her academic background to craft well-researched, engaging, and useful content. She loves researching and analyzing search volume to craft copy that both humans and bots are attracted to (humans first of course)! Lindsay’s diverse skillset and ability to see the bigger picture make her an efficient project manager.
Sandy Porter
Social Media Specialist
With a degree in Journalism and Mass Communication, Sandy has consistently used her skills in project management and content creation to craft advertising and marketing strategies for non-profits and corporations both domestically and internationally for over 20 years. She has ran departments with a staff as large as ten and as small as one and managed marketing budgets of several million dollars. She believes designing a unique message consistently and effectively is always the ultimate goal.
John Schatz
Lead Acquisition & Technical Strategy Director
John brings a unique background of high-level market research and branding consulting that is combined with an ability to get deep into code to help manage and guide our development teams. John has success in creating & executing strategic marketing plans for a diverse client portfolio: international and fortune 500 companies to small and medium-sized regional businesses. Apart from developing and guiding our clients’ strategic plans, John oversees technical aspects of development, SEO, digital advertising, and Social media.
Ita Udo-Ema
Social Media Consultant / Videographer
As a Social media strategist, Ita has excellent multitasking skills as well as a an artistic eye. He is an expert at planning, developing and implementing social media strategies in order to support and improve the online presence of our clients. A significant contributor to the overall digital marketing efforts, he provides value to clients by increasing brand awareness, engagement, and conversions from social media ads.
Laura Curtis
Marketing Coordinator
A curious and creative team member inspired by the transformative power and potential of digital marketing. Always excited to take opportunities to keep learning, Laura recently became certified as a digital marketing professional. Thoughtful and thorough, Laura has provided seamless support for high productivity workforces by drawing on her knowledge of online business management tools.
Emily Robertson
Video Director, SEO Specialist, Project Manager
A multimedia producer, director, copywriter and seasoned marketer. Emily has led and contributed to creative teams of all sizes in locations around the world. Experience is everything and with over 15 years under her belt, she’s learned the ins and outs of the ever-changing media and marketing industries. Clients appreciate her speed and efficiency.
Julie Justison
Designer
Julie Justison is a highly skilled Designer with over 20 years of experience in the design industry. She holds a BFA in Design and Illustration from Kansas City Art Institute where she studied traditional illustration, with an emphasis in graphic design. Over the years she has developed her artistic vision and business acumen as an entrepreneur, Senior Creative Art Director, and Artist.
Savannah Ivanitski
Digital Marketer, SEM
Savannah Ivanitski is an experienced digital marketer with a passion for all things adventure related. She has over a decade of experience creating and executing digital strategies that drive results through a variety of tactics like pay-per-click advertising, search engine marketing, and social media content.
Maureen OBrien Pirro
Operations , Project Director
Maureen oversees and contributes to a wide range of marketing functions, all while keeping a cool head. Her years of project direction experience in luxury new home construction and security system industry means that she is comfortable working at all organizational levels. Tapping into this expertise, Maureen is able to ensure the ongoing, consistent progress of marketing campaigns for our valued clients.
Glenna Goldman
Digital Media Marketing Speicalist
As a digital media marketing professional, Glenna enjoys using her skills in social media and web marketing, video production, and photography to connect with audiences across the globe. With over 6 years of experience creating visual and written content for a wide range of industries, she is able to help turn a marketing plan into a visually engaging campaign. A strong work ethic and a love for challenges make Glenna an asset to any team.
Lori Pasulka
Graphic Designer
Anne Watson
Digital Marketer
A digital marketing and WordPress website manager, Anne focuses on boosting conversions, ROI and traffic for websites. She has a background in journalism – she was a news editor for the Wall Street Journal Online (wsj.com) – and enjoys helping clients communicate their vision. With a can-do approach that’s all business, clients are often suprised the first time Annie (as she likes to be called), hits them with her quirky sense of humor!
Marisa Diaz-Waian
Writer, Project Manager
A project manager and freelance technical, content as well as editor, proofreader, and copywriter, Marisa’s experience spans consumer & hospitality, entertainment, health care, grassroots, legal, and business-to-business industries. As a member of the professional PUNCH team, Marisa uses her marketing experience, technical writing and research skills to contribute to high-level writing for numerous entities and manage marketing-related aspects for various accounts.
Connie Hunt
Marketing Coordinator, UX Tester
Bringing a better web page to you, Connie is an expert at delivering a premium user experience from top to bottom. Starting with her skills in marketing, task leading, and quality assurance down to getting her hands dirty “in the trenches” through website auditing and maintenance. Upbeat and ready with a quick laugh, clients and staff enjoy her lighthearted nature, but she’s all business when it comes to keeping projects moving forward and ensuring every detail is covered.
April Holle
WordPress, SEO, SEM Consultant
Creating strategies that address YOUR short and long term objectives for both your business and your marketing is what April is passionate about. April brings a wealth of expertise to the Professional PUNCH team. Her areas of expertise range from WordPress search engine optimization (SEO), Google Adwords CPC/PPC search engine marketing (SEM), and Google Analytics — website traffic monitoring and reporting to Google Analytics conversion goals and enhanced eCommerce, conversion rate optimization (CRO), brand strategy, and integrated inbound marketing strategy.
Jacqueline Zote
Writer, Content Specialist
Jacqueline Zote is a seasoned content specialist with 10 years of experience in developing online content. Her writing expertise spans a wide range of industries – including eCommerce, social media intelligence, education, entertainment, fashion, and skincare. A born multi-tasker, Jacqueline wears many hats, helping clients with content strategy, ideation, and editing in addition to her role as a writer. With a penchant for perfection and a strong work ethic, there are two things she loves most – meeting deadlines and creating the right message.
Finnegan
Mascot, President of Fun
Finnegan uses advanced strategies to perpetually gain snacks. The ingenious schemes he masterminds and their tactical implementation have led to much amusement. He leads the Professional Punch team in stress management and his snoring capabilities have no equal. His ongoing contribution in the area of office jester has led to his promotion to the auspicious position of President of Fun.
Interested in joining our team?
STRATEGIC PARTNERS
The Engage Marketing Consortium was born out of the realization that smart, self-managing, talented, driven and extremely creative professionals could collaborate on projects – allowing us to provide the very best expertise to you, our clients.
The team includes tech gurus, graphic designers, web developers, high end video producers, directors, videographers, editors and SEO experts. You get a team of people united under a common goal that is efficient, cost effective and best of all – at the top of their respective fields.
Finally, you can create a comprehensive marketing plan – all at a cost you can afford.
Give Your Business a Professional PUNCH!
Picked as One of the Best SEO Agencies in Alexandria, VA 2020!