Having spent 16 years in DC, providing consulting services to a bevy of clients looking to differentiate themselves from the din, I can reliably say that the challenge of succeeding in DC has never been so difficult (though the reward so great!). The high spending days of the 2000’s led to a glut of companies looking to make their fortunes off the federal treasury. With the sequestration reality of today, these companies are competing for a significantly smaller total pot of money.
Back in February, we wrote a blog post, “What Sequestration Means for Communications with the Government.” At that time, our DC communications team was focused on helping our clientele shift the tone of technology conversations to values-driven decision making and building for the future. This effort has created significant traction within the media vis-a-vis our clients’ messages, increased sales opportunities for our clients, and led to the expansion of our team and their capabilities.
To that end, in April we welcomed a long-time friend of the firm, Trish Rimo, to the team as a Vice President of Public Sector Public Relations. Trish has been a fixture in the DC tech community for years. Prior to starting her own communications business, she was Vice President of Government Affairs for both SAIC and Lucent Technologies. She’s also held senior positions in public affairs and public relations for Telcordia Technologies and Verizon, and served as a senior consultant for the high-tech public affairs firm Washington Resource Associates.
By combining Trish’s perspective and experience with the leadership of Courtney Hastings, we have the capabilities to deliver unique and effective value to businesses looking to drive success in their government sales and marketing efforts.
Though this team has only been together for three months, it is clear that the collective experiences of its members – a former DC technology reporter, a communications director at a leading public safety association, and a government affairs leader for major technology and telecom companies – is providing high-value public relations and public affairs services to our clients.
It is with great excitement and anticipation that I look to the future success and continued growth of our Public Sector practice. Welcome to the team, Trish!
