Bios
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Russ Schriefer – Partner
For over twenty years, Russ Schriefer has been a successful strategist and media consultant and has worked on four of the last five presidential campaigns.
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In 2008, he directed media and messaging for former Governor Mitt Romney’s presidential effort. His specialties include overall campaign strategy, message development and advertising. Russ has provided strategy and project direction to a wide range of corporate clients including Fortune 500 companies and national associations.
As Program Director for the 2004 Republican National Convention, Russ helped reinvent the modern national political convention. Tom Shales of the Washington Post called the 2004 Republican convention "cool" and "hip" and The NY Observer called it, "The most meticulously produced campaign convention ever televised, and perhaps the most successful."
In addition to presidential campaigns, Russ has managed and served as a consultant to Republican campaigns at every level – helped elect governors, US Senators, and dozens of members of Congress. He served as a legislative assistant and as chief of staff to two members of Congress. He has consulted and lectured on politics and media in the United States, Russia, Africa and Cambodia and is currently an associate professor at The George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management.
Russ earned a bachelor's degree in Government with a concentration in Business from Manhattan College. He now resides in Chevy Chase, MD with his wife, two stepsons, and daughter. -
Patrick Dorton – Partner
Patrick Dorton has handled communications at the highest level of business and government, including serving as a senior advisor in the Clinton White House.
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Patrick is a public affairs communications expert with extensive experience in corporate, financial, public policy, and political strategy and messaging. He is an experienced spokesperson who has been quoted in more than 2000 news stories during the past several years. Patrick served as a senior strategic advisor in the White House and for U.S. Senators, Congressmen, and the Senate Agriculture Committee. Patrick has directed fully integrated communications campaigns on behalf of companies and non-profits. He has provided high-level counsel to companies and organizations such as RR Donnelley, Arthur Andersen, KPMG, and AIPAC; advised numerous Washington trade associations on sensitive PR situations; and worked on a wide variety of issues, including financial services, health care and medical research, business transactions, agriculture policy and education, human resources, tax policy, international trade, land use, privacy, aviation, and military defense.
Patrick was the chief spokesman and Director of Media Relations at Arthur Andersen LLP during the firm’s 2002 crisis and subsequent sale of assets. Before joining the global accounting firm, Patrick was Special Assistant to President Clinton and Communications Director for the White House National Economic Council. He served on the White House team governing the President’s communications, events, and speeches. He also wrote and coordinated economic press statements and talking points for the President, was the on-the-record economic spokesperson for the White House, and served as a senior advisor for National Economic Advisor Gene Sperling.
Patrick also served as the Press Secretary for U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio and for U.S. Senator Tom Harkin and the Senate Agriculture Committee minority from 1996 to 1999. He was Deputy Press Secretary for the Democratic National Committee in 1994 and 1995, and for U.S. Senator Richard Shelby from 1991 to 1993.
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Stuart Stevens, Partner
Stuart Stevens is one of the nation's most successful political strategists and media consultants.
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During the past twenty years, Stuart has been the lead strategist and media consultant for some of the nation's toughest political campaigns. Beginning his political career in his native Mississippi, Stuart worked on Thad Cochran's campaigns and has gone on to help elect more governors and US Senators than any other current Republican media consultant.
Educated at Colorado College, Middlebury College, Oxford University and UCLA Film School, Stuart is also a former Fellow of the American Film Institute. Currently working on his sixth book, he has published five books with the Atlantic Monthly Press, including the political novel Scorched Earth, as well as articles and essays in Esquire, Outside, The New Republic, Washington Monthly, The New York Times and others.
Stuart is the only Republican media consultant to have worked extensively on network television, writing for the Emmy Award winning CBS series, "Northern Exposure," the critically acclaimed and Emmy Award winning NBC/PBS series, "I'll Fly Away," the NBC series "Mr. Sterling," about a US Senator, and serving as Co-Producer on HBO's original series K. Street working with George Clooney and Steven Soderberg and as Consulting Producer on ABC's Emmy Award winning series, "Commander in Chief" about the first female President of the United States. Stuart has appeared as a commentator and guest on CNN, Fox News, The News Hour, The Charlie Rose Show and Politically Incorrect.
Stuart's leisure pursuits are no less challenging and accomplished. Stuart participates in endurance cycling events, has skied to the North Pole and is the only person to have completed all ten World Loppet (Nordic Ski Marathon) races in a single season.
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Don Marshall – Partner
Don Marshall is a communications strategist who combines deep political experience with an expertise in business and new media communications.
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Don has spent over 15 years working as a communications professional, handling public relations and new media strategy for political leaders, companies, non-profits and public policy organizations. Don served as a member of the senior management team for The Washington Post Company’s online subsidiary, Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive (WPNI). He led the company’s corporate communications and business marketing departments, and developed and executed public outreach strategies for washingtonpost.com and Newsweek.com. He has directed communications for numerous companies on the leading edge of technology and innovation, including the Information Technology Industry Association, Bright Automotive, the Online Publishers Association and the Software & Information Industry Association, and has built and implemented new media communications strategies for organizations of all sizes.
Don’s corporate experience includes taking a lead role in planning and executing Coca-Cola’s national communications strategy for the Olympic Torch Relay and serving as a top spokesperson for the company. An experienced political and public affairs communicator, Don has worked for numerous candidates and elected officials. He has held senior positions with three members of the U.S. Congress, including running the communications office and serving as lead spokesperson for Senator John D. Rockefeller IV. Don directed communications for political campaigns across the country, including in Ohio, Louisiana and Massachusetts. His public affairs work extends beyond government and campaigns to include policy organizations and international affairs. He has provided communications counsel to the nation’s largest anti-tobacco advocacy group and worked with the second democratically elected president of Nicaragua to improve his government’s national outreach.
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Heath Garrett – Partner
Heath Garrett runs the Rational 360 office in Atlanta and is a veteran policy and political communicator.
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Heath served as Johnny Isakson’s Chief of Staff in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives. He briefly left the Congressional office to serve as the chief political strategist for Isakson’s successful U.S. Senate campaign in 2004, where Isakson received more votes than any other elected official in Georgia history. Previously, he served as Isakson’s policy advisor on the Georgia State Board of Education and was an associate in the Washington, D.C., office of Troutman Sanders, LLP.
As a student at the University of Georgia, Heath was awarded membership to the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society and served as Student Body President before graduating with a degree in Political Science. He returned to UGA to earn his Juris Doctorate, graduating Magna Cum Laude.
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Rob Gray – Partner
Rob Gray runs Rational 360’s Boston office and is one of the Northeast’s most effective media relations executives, working for high profile corporate and public affairs clients.
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Rob is known as one of the most knowledgeable and effective public relations executives in the Northeast. Gray holds more than a decade of media and public affairs experience at the local, state, and national levels, specializing in developing and implementing communications plans for high-profile clients in both the corporate and public sectors. On a daily basis, he advises Fortune 500, Fortune 50 and other businesses regarding communications challenges.
Outside of his corporate communications practice, Rob was a senior advisor and media strategist to Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney’s 2002 campaign. In the 2000 and 2004 election cycles, he was a consultant to the Bush/Cheney presidential campaign and the Republican National Committee – assisting in the primaries, general election and Florida recount. Before joining Rational 360, Rob served as Press Secretary to Massachusetts Governor William Weld and Governor Paul Cellucci. In that capacity, he was the Governors’ top spokesman and media strategist and managed all media communications and planning for cabinet and sub-cabinet agencies. Rob has also worked as a gubernatorial campaign manager, U.S. Senate race Communications Director and Press Secretary on Capitol Hill. Recognized by The Boston Business Journal as one of the top public relations executives in Boston, Rob and his firm represent major corporations and other clients in fields including health care, construction, energy, real estate and finance.
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Jason Meath – Partner
Jason Meath is a longtime media strategist and veteran of presidential campaigns.
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Jason was member of the Maverick Media team that produced all advertising for President George W. Bush. He has written and produced hundreds of ads for political and corporate clients through eight major election cycles, including the historic '94 GOP landslide and three Republican National Conventions.
Leading corporations and associations comprise over half of Jason's background and expertise. His corporate clients include global Fortune 500 companies and America's largest associations, serving a variety of sectors. Tracking up-to-the-minute developments in Congress and state governments, Jason has developed media strategies for some of the country’s toughest legislative battles and corporate identity obstacles. He has built a breadth of experience assisting clients working in such diverse regions as native Alaskan villages and the jungles of Africa to more familiar, but equally daunting territory, such as the wilds of D.C. Beltway politics and maneuvering on Main Street.
An accomplished writer, Jason is author of the forthcoming book Hollywood on the Potomac (Arcadia, 2009). He has written three feature-length screenplays. One screenplay, winner in the New York Film Festival and Austin’s Heart of Film Festival Screenwriters Competition, is currently under option. Jason also wrote, directed and co-created the television series The Feds for The Discovery Channel.
Jason was Director of Marketing Communications at the Republican National Committee under then-Chairman Haley Barbour. He was part of a small team instrumental in launching GOP-TV, the first political television network in history. He was an on-camera spokesman for the RNC on the show Rising Tide, appearing on USA Network and ABC Family.Jason attended the Film & Television Workshops in Rockport, Maine, studied screen writing at Columbia University's Film Institute and has a BA in English from Hampden Sydney College. He grew up in Richmond, VA and resides with his wife and son in Washington, D.C.
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Ashley O’Connor – Partner
Ashley O’Connor has been a leader in advertising for the past decade, combining creativity, organization and strong business savvy.
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Ashley serves as the Executive Producer of all advertising and runs the day-to-day business operations for the firm. Simultaneously, Ashley is the owner and President of Red October Productions, Inc., Rational 360’s in-house production company.
In 2004, Ashley served as the Director of Production for the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign. She oversaw a team of seven advertising agencies that produced hundreds of television and radio commercials, films and videos. In this role, she was responsible for overseeing every film shoot with the President and First Lady. She produced the acclaimed keynote video, "The Pitch," that introduced President Bush at the Republican National Convention.
Ashley has also been lauded for her ability to reach out to young voters. In 2004, The New York Times referenced her as a vital link to this “critical voting group.” More recently, she has been a highlighted as an “Image Maker” in National Journal and in 2006 was named as one of the ten GOP “Rising Stars” for 2006. Prior to launching Red October, Ashley honed her advertising and production skills on Madison Avenue in New York City. While learning the commercial and film business, her corporate clients included the likes of Elizabeth Arden, Lifetime Television and MCI. Ashley has lectured at Harvard’s Kennedy School's Women and Public Policy Program, George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management, and the Art Institute of Baltimore. She is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College.
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Jeff O'Mara – Partner (Seattle Office)
Jeff has extensive experience running successful perception change campaigns for large corporations, start-ups, and public policy interests using public relations, integrated marketing, branding, positioning, and research.
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At Microsoft, Jeff was on point for some of the company's most high-profile efforts including the transition from Windows Vista to Windows 7 and Microsoft's proposed purchase of Yahoo! He also managed a global portfolio of corporate citizenship and reputation issues, ranging from education to security, intellectual property, and platform compete.
He got his start in technology running outbound marketing for a Silicon Valley networking services start-up (Slam Dunk Networks) founded by technology veterans and backed by Mayfield, El Dorado and a host of major corporations including American Express, Cisco, Oracle, SAP, VeriSign and others. His work helped to position the company as an innovative category leader.
Jeff spent the first decade of his career in Washington, DC. He was Press Secretary to U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky (D-IN) for six years. Then he left Capitol Hill to work on a number of high profile public affairs issues ranging from health care to telecommunications to education and the effort to use democracy to rid the Teamsters Union of corruption.
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Avery Easley – Director of Strategic Planning
Avery Easley focuses on the integration of traditional and new media communications formats to generate clear and concise messaging.
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Avery previously worked at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center where she handled development communications. In this capacity, she was a member of the institution-wide marketing, branding, and communications team. She was responsible for the development, implementation, and analysis of a new development marketing program, including an updated website, newsletters and direct mail, case studies and educational kits, as well as the creation of a system to quantify its effectiveness. Previously, she served as Associate Counsel to the General Counsel at the Department of Commerce.
Avery earned a marketing degree from Texas A&M University and is a graduate of St. Mary’s University School of Law and a member of the State Bar of Texas. She now resides in Washington, D.C.
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Brian Kaminski – Vice President
Brian Kaminski has led communications campaigns on behalf of high profile companies, ranging from Sallie Mae to the Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA).
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On behalf of the student loan and credit card industries, Brian developed and executed public relations outreach efforts surrounding reform legislation moving through Congress. For these projects, he led strategic message development, managed targeted advertising, and directed the work of third party groups seeking to educate lawmakers and consumers about the consequences of proposed legislation.
Prior to joining Rational PR, Brian worked as part of the communications teams in the Office of Senator Barbara Mikulski, the Office of First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, and at the Democratic National Committee, where he worked on national radio outreach. He also worked in the private sector for Accenture, Ltd. Brian received his BSLA from Georgetown University, and his Juris Doctor from the University of Notre Dame. He speaks Spanish fluently.
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Alissa Hinkson – Vice President
Alissa Hinkson has expertise in message development and strategic positioning for leading corporate and public affairs clients.
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Alissa has directed communications campaigns for a diverse range of clients, helping them articulate focused agendas, execute key communications objectives, and reach target audiences with their messages. She has led Rational 360’s work for the Personal Care Products Council, the leading trade association representing the global cosmetics industry, the American Dental Education Association, and the American Clean Skies Foundation.
A former senior aide at Luntz, Maslansky Strategic Research, Alissa worked with pollster Frank Luntz to develop communications for a variety of industries, ranging from healthcare, to financial services, to consumer goods. She worked to develop Disney’s corporate responsibility platform, helped Proctor & Gamble identify the best philanthropic focus, and identified the best strategies to increase corporate partnerships for the United Nations Foundation & the Nike Foundation, and for Conservation International. Other clients included State Farm, Citigroup, Pfizer, Anheuser-Busch, and PWC.
Alissa also edited both fiction and non-fiction trade books for ReganMedia and published features in the Hartford Courant as a contributing writer to the Sunday Magazine. Alissa is a graduate of Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.