Our Team Is Our Equity
Peter Baron
Strategy, Messaging, Branding
Although Peter began his career in NYC, he ultimately found his way to the sunny South and made it home. True to our agency name, he is one connected guy—some think he knows pretty much everyone in the Atlanta tech community. While Peter drives agency direction, he also consults on accounts and offers campaign strategy. Fun fact: You may not realize it since he dropped the accent years ago, but Peter is an expatriate of the U.K.
Kathy Berardi
Media Relations, Social Media
Kathy strategizes with clients on the best way to share their message. If you want media coverage, she’s definitely your “go to” girl! Story drives everything Kathy does, in fact—she’s also an indie film producer and screenwriter. She has instructed courses for the Atlanta Film Society and holds an MFA in screenwriting. When not working, Kathy loves combing the beaches near her home in Southern California.
Paulette Brown
Strategy, Messaging, Branding, Media Relations, Content Development
Paulette has directed campaigns for clients ranging from high tech and finance to healthcare IT. As a writer, she creates compelling content on a range of topics. Paulette has significant agency experience, having served as director for an advertising and PR firm in Salt Lake City which she helped grow from two individuals to become the largest firm of its kind in Utah. Now a resident of Panama City, Florida, she loves to boat, waterski, and be a beach bum.
Dana Cogan
Strategy, Messaging, Branding,
Event Management
Adept at bringing calm to any storm, Dana provides team leadership, sets the strategy for achieving client goals, and clears any barriers to success. Her motto is “when the going gets tough, the tough get going.” In addition to her leadership role at Carabiner, Dana serves on the board of directors of the Atlanta Innovation Forum. Although she enjoys regular travel to new and exciting locales, she also has the distinction of being that rare find in Atlanta: someone actually born and raised here.
Judi Durand
Media Relations
Judi is our heavy hitter when it comes to garnering national and tier-1 media coverage. She has led high-profile media campaigns for clients, landing coverage in national publications and on major television news programs. Judi has a deep bench of contacts with TV networks and newspapers nationwide. She is musically talented as well and writes original compositions for brides and grooms for their wedding songs.
Suzanne Moccia
Strategy, Messaging, Branding
Suzanne leads account teams and helps create marketing strategies that include messaging, content development, branding, social media, demand generation, and more. Other team members view Suzanne as a leader, a creative and clear thinker, and a steadying presence. A native of Savannah, Georgia, Suzanne is an avid gardener and also enjoys reading, photography, jogging, and yoga.
Kira Perdue
Strategy, Messaging, Branding, Media Relations, Content Development
Kira develops media outreach programs that have helped to place new brands on the map and build the reputation of existing brands. As a writer, she is skilled in understanding technical details and putting them into words that resonate with key audiences. On a personal note, Kira loves football! Her father taught her to run routes before she was eight. She also comes from a long line of anglers—earning two “Fish Ohio” awards before graduating high school.
Jenn Pratt
Strategy, Media Relations, Content Development
Jenn is our triple threat—she writes, pitches stories for publication, and sets solid campaign strategy. Skilled at writing through a media relations lens, she also develops content that engages and informs. A hot yoga enthusiast, she can often be found at a studio practicing Vinyasa, Bikram, or Yin yoga. A resident of Kentucky, she also enjoys hiking and running, photography, and live music concerts.
Mike Rowan
Lead Generation, Digital Strategy
Mike helps companies generate ROI through digital strategies that use paid media, SEO, and analytics to measure campaign performance.
He has received honors for his work, including from the Atlanta Interactive Marketing Association. Mike is sports-oriented and loves snow skiing, baseball, college football, collecting sports memorabilia, and fantasy sports leagues. To balance things out, he also enjoys historical fiction.
Monica Shaw
Content Development, Healthcare
Monica was born to be a writer—she still has the note she wrote herself at age eight, stating her intention to be one. She now transforms highly complex information into easily readable, engaging materials. Monica likes to spend her free time training and hanging out with her two Belgian Malinois, a breed she has worked with for years, both as an owner and rescue coordinator.
Donna Shelton
Strategy, Messaging, Branding, Healthcare
Donna heads the agency’s healthcare practice, where she specializes in marketing campaigns for healthcare IT, pharma, environmental health, telemedicine, and medical device companies. In her free time, she sings with the Alpharetta Community Chorus and plays lots of ALTA and USTA tennis. She also likes to travel and take part in outdoor adventures like snow skiing, hiking, or scuba diving.
Jan Sisko
Media Relations, Content Development, Social Media
Jan is skilled at creating and managing multiple programs within a comprehensive marketing campaign. Team members view her as a creative thinker with the ability to solve any problem. Although she now resides in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, she is a native of Charleston, South Carolina, which maybe explains why she’s a lover of all things Southern-fried. In an earlier life, she was a professional ballerina which she says is why she’s always “on her toes!”
Sara Wakefield
Strategy, Messaging, Branding, Media Relations, Event Management
Sara has expertise in digital marketing, social media, thought leadership, media relations, and event management. She also has a knack for connecting the dots between marketing, PR, and sales to create strategic plans that drive results. She’s a big sports fan and even spent seven years coaching middle school girls’ basketball. A woman of many interests, she’s even been known to throw on some camo to bird hunt or hop in a boat to bass fish.
Thomas Starr
Creative, Branding
A skilled graphic designer and creative strategist, Thomas’s experience spans brand/identity development, video production, art direction, website, photography, illustration, corporate communications, social media, and more. In his free time, when not taking his family to a theme park or camping out in the backyard for a superhero movie night, he enjoys shooting life through his camera or drawing whatever comes to mind.
Leslie Tentler
Messaging, Content Development
As our in-house editor and one of our most senior writers, Leslie specializes in writing about technology topics for a business audience and also has significant experience writing for nonprofit healthcare foundations. Leslie is also an award-winning author, with seven novels under her belt. Her books have been published in print, digital, and audio and translated into multiple languages.
Susan Weber
Account Management
Susan provides marketing assistance to both the agency’s clients and internal team. Her work includes market research, client onboarding, and a range of administrative services. Previously, Susan worked for a telecom company as an IT project manager. She loves to play tennis, take part in her neighborhood’s book club, and hang out at her family’s beach house on Hilton Head Island.
Lisa Whitman
Creative
Lisa has experience exploring, writing, and filming the stories of companies and brands. Her ability to bring a narrative to life is the cornerstone of clients’ video strategies. Having been a video journalist in Moscow, Russia, a writer for a leading women’s magazine, and a TV host, she offers a broad business and life perspective. Lisa is also co-partner of a float therapy spa.
James Arrington
Creative, Branding, Web Development
James loves the psychology of storytelling and combines his creative communications experience with his visual expertise to develop award–winning brands and websites that perform and convert. He loves soccer, pickleball, and ping–pong, taking walks with his family, and engaging in deep, meaningful conversation with anyone. His insatiable appetite for knowledge always keeps him in the middle of five books, which ultimately contributes to his ever-growing experience.
Vicki Morris
Account Management, New Business Development
With over two decades of communications experience, Vicki works closely with brands to create and execute solid marketing strategies that produce measurable results. She is particularly skilled at creating and refining messaging and leading programs that align with her clients’ core business objectives, including revenue growth. Although a native of Atlanta, Vicki currently resides in Madison, Alabama, a stone’s throw from Huntsville. She is a twin, but her favorite compliment is when people tell her she looks like Janet Jackson. Vicki played violin from third grade through high school and wrote children’s instructional curriculum on music appreciation, which is registered with the Library of Congress. Fun fact about Vicki, she bakes homemade bread.
Andy Hagedon
Account Management, Content Development, Email Marketing
Andy works with clients to strategize and execute marketing campaigns that support the company’s objectives, whether to drive sales or build thought leadership and visibility. He offers over three decades of marketing and communications experience. A self-described serial entrepreneur, Andy’s career experience and skillset are diverse, spanning account management, content development, email marketing, and sales. Andy is also co-founder of a specialty food company and has worked as a commercial photographer, touring the country capturing shots for a pro fishing tour. While in school, he also earned licenses to pilot hot air balloons and operate a ham radio (KA8ZBZ).