About Us

Senior Leadership

Scott Allison Co-Founder and Partner	Andy Hardie-Brown Co-Founder and COO	Scott Pansky Co-Founder and Partner
San Francisco	Los Angeles	New York
Phil Carpenter Tania Condon	Dawn Wilcox Larry Krutchik	Anne Colaiacovo Matt Harris Jonathan Heit Lauren Selikoff Matthew Della Croce
Washington, DC	Atlanta	San Diego
Brian Feldman Sonia Taylor	Brian Feldman	Tim Wheatcroft
Phoenix	Seattle
Cathy Planchard	Tom Biro

Scott Allison

As President and CEO of Allison & Partners, Scott oversees new business development across the company and remains actively involved in a number of client accounts. In 2001 he and partners Andy Hardie-Brown and Scott Pansky completed a management buyout of the West Coast assets of Connors Communications to form Allison & Partners.

Prior to founding the company, Scott was West Coast president of Connors Communications. He began his career in public relations at The Gable Group, one of the largest independent public relations firms in Southern California. By 1999 he was a senior vice president and partner with the firm. While at The Gable Group Scott was responsible for launching its nationally recognized Cause Marketing Practice.

In 1986, Allison served as a supervisor with Direct Communications, a San Diego-based political consulting group. Prior to that Scott was Deputy Communications Director with United States Senator Pete Wilson.

Andy Hardie-Brown

Andy has 25 years of management experience, serving as CEO, CMO or managing director of a number of leading financial and marketing services corporations. In 2001, he co-founded Allison & Partners with Scott Allison with the intent to build a communications firm that addressed the need for a national, independent alternative to holding company-owned PR companies and small regional agencies. Under his direction, Allison & Partners has grown to eight offices within its first eight years of operation.

From 1998 to 2001, Andy was COO of Connors Communications, a PR firm specializing in emerging technology companies, with offices in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and London. From 1996 to 1998, Andy served as senior vice president of Citigate Communications, a global agency with offices in San Francisco, New York, London and Hong Kong.

From 1991 to 1996, Andy was Founder & CEO of Greenfield Group, a leading London-based marketing communications company. The Greenfield Group comprised seven individual business units, including advertising, public relations and direct marketing. During Andy’s five-year tenure, Greenfield was one of the fastest growing agencies in the UK with a strong creative track record. In 1996, Greenfield was purchased by a European publicly traded marketing services holding company.

Scott Pansky

Scott oversees new business and major client initiatives throughout Southern California. He has developed strategies for clients including the Disney Channel Paramount Home Video, Sony Pictures, eUniverse, American Express, Barrington Associates, Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation and The Daniel Pearl Foundation, among others. Prior to Allison & Partners Scott developed entertainment programs for The Gable Group. There he led national promotional campaigns with NBC, A&E, Columbia Pictures, MGM, New Line Cinema, Paramount Pictures, Archie Comic Publications and Malibu Comics Entertainment.  He has also developed corporate initiatives for Microsoft, Travelodge Hotels, Ore–Ida Foods, Southwest Airlines, The Home Depot, the American Heart Association, Goodwill Industries International, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Camp Fire Boys & Girls, The Alzheimer's Association, and United Cerebral Palsy Associations.

Scott is a national speaker on cause-related marketing and teaches courses on public relations, cause marketing and sponsorship at UCLA. He is an active member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the Association of Professional Fundraisers, Los Angeles Unified School District's Adopt-A-School Program Council and serves on the board of directors of Interact Theater and City Scholars. He has chaired conferences on cause-related marketing including the Institute for International Research and the American Marketing Association.

Phil Carpenter

General Manager, San Francisco

Phil Carpenter oversees Allison & Partners' San Francisco office, where he is responsible for providing strategic counsel to clients, managing the firm's practice groups, and cultivating new business.

Prior to joining Allison & Partners, Phil served as Vice President of Marketing for Simply Hired, a popular search engine for job seekers. Before this, he was Vice President of Corporate Marketing for travel search engine SideStep. In this role, Phil created a new category and defined its leading brand. As the company's marketing leader, Phil was responsible for positioning, public relations, partner marketing and online marketing and helped to drive annual revenues from zero to more than $20 million during his tenure. The company was recently sold to Kayak Software for $200 million.

Phil has also held senior marketing management roles at RemarQ, PointCast, Intuit and Mozart Systems. At Regis McKenna, Inc., he developed marketing and communications strategies for companies such as IBM, Software AG and Texas Instruments.

Phil is the author of eBrands (Harvard Business School Press) and has written for publications that range from USAToday.com to the Japanese edition of The Harvard Business Review. Phil is a frequent speaker at marketing and technology events and has taught marketing classes for the Stanford University Continuing Studies Program. He received an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School and a B.A. from Stanford University.

Tania Condon

Senior Vice President

Tania provides strategic counsel to both clients and account teams, specializing in message development, internal communications, brand protection and issues management. She has represented clients in the hospitality, consumer, technology, nonprofit and telecommunications industries, including: Best Western International, ARAMARK, University of California, Berkeley, Bay Area Air Quality Management District, Pillsbury & Levinson, Roche, Visa International, Cisco, Dell, Vodafone and Globalstar.

Prior to joining Allison & Partners, Tania counseled clients in the technology and corporate practice areas at GCI Group, San Francisco. From 1996 to 2000 she headed Condon & Company Communications where she developed strategies for financial services, nonprofit and public affairs clients, including Piper Jaffray Equity Investment Group, Citizens Funds (formally Working Assets), Leave a Legacy, and the Northern California & Silicon Valley Planned Giving Councils.

Tania holds a bachelor's degree from Alfred University and a master's degree from Harvard University. She is past president and a member of the San Francisco Public Relations Roundtable and serves on the board of the Harvard Club of San Francisco.

Dawn Wilcox

General Manager, Los Angeles

Dawn Wilcox, APR serves as General Manager of the Los Angeles office for Allison & Partners. In this role she manages a team of 25 professionals representing clients such as Boost Mobile, Hasbro, HomeGoods, Hyundai Hope on Wheels and Chapman University College.  Dawn has been working with corporations, government agencies, nonprofits and community-based organizations since 1995, creating and managing campaigns for clients such as the Association of Hole in the Wall Camps, The California Wellness Foundation, California Office of Traffic Safety, City of Santa Monica, Santa Monica Public Library, City and County of Los Angeles, FreeCar Media, Hasbro, Inc., UNITE-LA and Los Angeles Unified School District, Minnesota Health Department, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Nestle, Nevada Department of Public Safety, the U.S. Army, and TIAA-CREF, a global financial services provider.

She has created and implemented social marketing, cause marketing, nonprofit, consumer, business-to-business, multicultural, youth marketing, sports partnerships, and public education campaigns for issues such as child abuse prevention, teen pregnancy, literacy, school reform, disability rights, reproductive health, traffic safety and family violence prevention.

Dawn Wilcox previously served as General Manager of the Los Angeles office of Deen+Black Public Relations, a firm which was acquired by Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide in 2001. She then served as a Senior Vice President at Ogilvy PR and managed teams across various sectors including government agencies, foundations, and corporations. Dawn joined Allison & Partners in January 2005 as a Vice President and part-time strategic consultant while running her own public affairs and social marketing consulting firm, Penguin PR, Inc.

Dawn is Accredited in Public Relations (APR), has served on the Board of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), Los Angeles for the past several years, speaks at conferences around the country, lectures at universities throughout Southern California, taught “PR for Nonprofits” at UCLA and created “Quality Time with PR Minds,” an annual event now in its 7th year during which dozens of area nonprofits receive free PR and marketing advice from Southern California public relations professionals.  She has received two Joseph Roos Community Service Awards and is a graduate of California State University, Chico, with a bachelor's degree in journalism and English.

Larry Krutchik

Senior Vice President

Larry Krutchik specializes in grassroots advocacy and strategic communications for corporations, nonprofits and trade associations. He represents a diverse client list of Fortune 500 companies, national trade groups and national and local nonprofit organizations.

A veteran public affairs and public relations strategist, Larry has run grassroots, public affairs and media relations campaigns at the national, regional and local levels.  He has been honored by Campaign & Elections as one of its “Rising Stars of Politics” and was selected by the San Fernando Valley Business Journal for its inaugural “40 under 40” list.  He is also a frequent speaker on public affairs topics.

Before becoming involved in public affairs, Larry spent six years as an attorney with the Los Angeles-based law firm Barger & Wolen, handling commercial litigation matters.

Larry received his Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the University of Florida College of Law.  He also earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, cum laude, from the University of Florida.

Anne Colaiacovo

General Manager, New York

Anne manages all client activities, provides strategic communications counsel and oversees creative communications programming on behalf of Allison & Partners' New York office. She provides senior counsel to clients in the consumer, non-profit and technology industries, specializing in consumer branding initiatives, consumer product launches and strategic partnership development.

Before joining Allison & Partners, Anne was a part of Jericho Communications which later merged with LIME public relations + promotion, a division of kirshenbaum bond + partners. While there, she directed a wide range of public relations and integrated brand marketing activities for clients in the consumer, food and beverage, and hospitality industries including The Dial Corporation, TCBY “The Country's Best Yogurt” Mrs. Fields Cookies, The Progressive Group of Insurance Companies and The Cosmopolitan Resort & Casino.

Anne previously executed a diverse set of media and grassroots community relations activities for clients in the development, non-profit and travel industries including the Yankee/Nets ownership group, The City of Newark, The New Jersey Office of Travel and Tourism, The Prudential Foundation and Environmental Defense.

Throughout her tenure, Anne has received numerous awards including a Public Relations Society of America Big Apple Award and an International Public Relations Association Golden World Award of Excellence.

Matt Harris

Senior Vice President, National Media and Entertainment

Matt is a seasoned media relations professional with more than 11 years of demonstrated success in developing, implementing and executing a wide-range of national awareness and special events campaigns for private entities and Fortune 500 companies. Matt has worked with clients in sectors that include entertainment/sports, franchise/retail, financial services, technology, toys, lifestyle and food & consumer package goods.

Matt has worked with a number of former clients including Bank of America; Clorox; 3M, Dreyer's/Edy's Ice Cream; Frito-Lay; Hasbro; Hyatt Hotels & Resorts; IBM; Jim Beam; Pernod Ricard, Kimberly Clark; Kodak and Schweppes, among others.

With a wide range of national and regional press contacts, Matt has regularly placed clients on major television programs such as Today, Good Morning America, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Access Hollywood, Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Live! with Regis and Kelly. He has also secured substantial coverage in prominent print outlets such as USA Today, Forbes, Fortune, InTouch, People, US Weekly, AP, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. In addition, Matt has also coordinated major multimedia marketing and entertainment campaigns for clients such as Dr Pepper, Stride Gum, Bubblicious, Bank of America, Jim Beam and Scott Towels.

Prior to joining Allison & Partners, Matt provided senior media counsel for clients at Ketchum in his role as vice president, media relations. He also created and managed the media relations department for Ketchum's spin-off agency, Emanate. Before that, Matt created and managed the media relations department for Hunter Public Relations, a full-service marketing and public relations agency where he was senior media director for nearly six years. Matt got his start in public relations at MarketSource/360 Youth, where he was a public relations supervisor in charge of new business outreach, events and promotions.

Jonathan Heit

Senior Vice President,  Technology and Digital Media

Jonathan has been with Allison & Partners since its inception, helping build its Southern California practice and now leading its technology and digital media strategy practice.

In his current role Jonathan advises clients including Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, PF Chang's, Best Western, philosophy, Gallup and Progressive Insurance on strategies relating to social media, online video and the digital lifestyle as they map out their approach.His senior counsel has been integral in work the agency has done for brands like YouTube, Deloitte, Toys R' Us, MySpace and Plymouth Gin. Jonathan has been instrumental in leveraging the firm's roots in technology and entertainment to help build out relevant business nationally.

Prior to Allison & Partners, he spent seven years with both large and boutique agencies conducting marketing communications campaigns for consumer products, health care and technology companies, including Pfizer, Merck and Samsung Electronics, introducing the brand's first HDTV into the marketplace.

Jonathan received a bachelor's degree from Cornell University and is also a freelance music journalist whose work has appeared in Entertainment Today, Flavorpill and FM Sound. Has also produced videos for YouTube and Funny or Die.

Lauren Selikoff

Chief Marketing Officer

Lauren Selikoff is an experienced marketing and business development professional who has spent more than 15 years creating brand and marketing campaigns for clients ranging from start -ups to Fortune 100 companies. At Allison & Partners she is responsible for new business development and strategic marketing for the agency. Prior to joining Allison & Partners she was Chief Marketing Officer of MWW Group , where she led all of the firm's marketing and business development efforts and played a central role with its clients on branding and marketing campaigns , strategy and execution. She was also responsible for managing the agency's creative services , advertising , promotion, marketing and trend research activities.

She has experience in the technology, corporate, consumer and sports marketing sectors, and has developed marketing programs and strategies for clients that include The Natural Resources Defense Council, Brazos Higher Education Service Corporation, Bloomberg , Sun Microsystems, Gardenburger, TheKnot.com, A&E Networks , the Princeton Review Online , and Modern Bride , among many others.

Lauren also served as Director of Marketing at FirstRain (a leader in search-driven research applications for investment professionals, Director of Marketing at ReefEdge(where she implemented the branding and positioning strategy behind the rollout of a new wireless networking security system ) and Director of Internet Strategy at the Natural Resources Defense Council.  She graduated cum laude from Colgate University with a bachelor's degree in English.

Matthew Della Croce

Managing Director,  Corporate Practice

Matthew Della Croce brings nearly twenty years' experience in executive positioning, reputation management, business, financial and trade media relations, investor relations, crisis/issues management and transaction communications on behalf of some of the world's leading corporations to Allison & Partners.

Prior to joining Allison & Partners Matthew was with MWW Group, where he served as Senior Vice President and General Manager of the firm's New York office. Previously, he was President at Phase IV Scientific Health & Performance, a startup in the health, wellness and fitness industry. Earlier in his career he was Executive Vice President at Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide and held executive positions at Fleishman-Hillard and Georgeson Shareholder.

His client experience includes DHL, NASDAQ, Sun Microsystems, Deloitte & Touche, Wells Fargo and BP. He has led communications around transactions including Cendant/Orbitz, DHL/Airborne, JP Morgan/Chase, CanWest/Hollinger, Prudential/American Skandia, and the UPS IPO. Della Croce has served as a regular speaker at the PRSA Annual Conference, Investor Relations Magazine workshops and has served as a guest lecturer at New York University and Columbia University's Masters in Strategic Communications program.

Brian Feldman

Partner and General Manager, Atlanta and Washington, DC

Brian Feldman specializes in advocacy and public affairs, providing a variety of grassroots, coalition building and political intelligence services throughout the United States. He has spoken to numerous groups around the country on topics including federal legislation, all aspects of healthcare and politics and elections. Mr. Feldman has also served as a moderator and speaker at hundreds of town hall meetings on various issues over the last 15 years.

His clients include the Healthcare Leadership Council, a group of more than 50 healthcare industry CEOs from the hospital, health plan, pharmaceutical and medical technology sectors. In addition to providing political intelligence, Mr. Feldman conducts grassroots, coalition building and media event management for the HLC in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan,  Massachusetts, Ohio, Rhode Island and Wisconsin.  He has worked with the healthcare industry in more than twenty states.

Mr. Feldman has also managed numerous state and national projects for other corporate clients, trade associations and nonprofits including the Pharmaceutical and Research Manufacturers of America,  the Partnership for Prescription Assistance,  the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and Covering the Uninsured Week.

Prior to serving as a public affairs consultant, Mr. Feldman was an attorney with the Atlanta law firm of Gray, Gilliland & Gold. Mr. Feldman is a member of The State Bar of Georgia. He was also active in state and national politics, having worked for the Clinton-Gore campaigns as well as numerous Congressional and state campaigns in Florida and Georgia.

Mr. Feldman earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree cum laude from The University of Florida. He also received his Law degree with Honors from the University of Florida College of Law.

Sonia Taylor

Sonia has been with Allison & Partners since the company was founded and currently oversees the Washington, D.C. office, where she manages client service, provides strategic counsel on all accounts and cultivates new business. Sonia specializes in technology and professional services and has represented KPMG Corporate Finance LLC, Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll LLP, MagTek, Deloitte & Touche IT Security Services Group, ZipRealty, Washington Metropolitan Area Corporate Counsel Association and Axis Communications.

Prior to her present role, Sonia worked out of the company&#39:s headquarters in San Francisco, using her experience as a former journalist to build the media relations department and media training program. She has successfully media trained executives from Fortune 500 companies and secured coverage in top-tier national mainstream and trade outlets.

In addition to working with Allison & Partners, Sonia held a position in-house, managing public relations activities for Williams-Sonoma Inc.&s high-growth, modern brand, west elm. She also worked in production for MTV&s high definition channel, MHD (Music High Definition), and was a TV anchor, reporter and producer for a CBS affiliate in Maryland.

Sonia has received industry awards such as the Public Relations Society of America Compass Award and is currently a member of the Northern Virginia Technology Council and the Chesapeake Regional Technology Council. She earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from University of Maryland College Park and lives in Annapolis, Maryland.

Tim Wheatcroft

General Manager, San Diego

Tim leads all aspects of Allison & Partners' San Diego office, from client servicing and strategic development through to staff and business development initiatives. Tim oversees daily activity and strategy on all campaigns based out of San Diego, including clients involved in hospitality and recreation, professional services and consumer products.

He joined Allison & Partners in early 2008 from global technology PR agency LEWIS, one of the world's largest independent agencies with over 30 offices across four continents. At LEWIS, he led the San Diego office as well as overseeing new client strategic development for the entire US operation, spanning eight offices.

Tim has over ten years' experience in the US, Europe and Asia overseeing a wide range of consumer and trade campaigns as well as developing the agency's internal strategy and processes.

Tim is also a board member of the San Diego Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth. He has a degree in French Language and Literature from the University of Hull in England.

Cathy Planchard

General Manager, Phoenix

As head of the Phoenix office, Cathy is responsible for managing and accelerating the firm's growth in the region, leveraging her extensive experience in brand building and communications to fortify business development and the management of key accounts.

A marketing and communications veteran, Cathy has 18 years of experience in all facets of branding, lead generation, public relations, strategic planning, government affairs, community partnerships and executive communications. Prior to joining Allison & Partners, Cathy worked with some of the Southwest's leading consumer, hospitality, healthcare and technology companies such as LifeLock, Hilton Resorts, Hilton, Doubletree and Motorola, among others.

She is active in the local business community, serving as the Vice President of Communications for the Junior League of Phoenix and as a Board Member of the Phoenix Public Relations Society.  She holds a BS, BA in Communications and Marketing from University of Nevada-Las Vegas and an MBA from University of Nevada-Las Vegas College of Business.

Cathy is accredited by the Public Relations Society of America (APR) and International Association of Business Communicators (ABC).

Tom Biro

Vice President, Seattle

Tom brings his public relations and digital media expertise to the Pacific Northwest to build Allison &  Partners's presence in the region. He will provide additional support to the agency's existing clients in the region and along the West Coast, and add to the firm's strong digital and technology teams.

Prior to joining Allison &  Partners, Tom was Senior Director of Communications for MTV and MTV.com, where he led media relations for the network's digital efforts, including coordination with strategic and development teams on the integration and use of social media tools. While at MTV, Tom also handled integrated marketing, ad sales, ratings, music, and business news for the company. Previously, he was Vice President of Digital Media for MWW Group's Dialogue Media digital practice, where he developed social media campaigns for clients that included Nikon, Samsung, Anheuser- Busch, Gardenburger, Volkswagen, Sun Microsystems and more. He has also held public relations, advertising and marketing positions at Deutsche Telekom and American Express.

Tom is a long-time user of digital media. He founded Weblogs, Inc./AOL's AdJab blog, has written for its Cinematical and TV Squad blogs, and edited a media-focused blog, The Media Drop, for more than four years. He has also been a part of nationally-recognized hyperlocal blog Baristanet since 2004. Biro is a PRWEEK columnist covering the intersection between public relations and the digital space and a regular speaker on digital media strategies. He graduated from Monmouth University and holds a degree in Business Administration with a Management Concentration.