When Jennifer Kaplan founded Scottsdale-based Evolve Public Relations and Marketing in late 2010, she was laser-focused on building the best team of publicists in the Valley. What started as a three-person operation is now a 14-person team that manages nearly 100 public relations and social media accounts.
“I am so proud of what my team has accomplished over the last decade,” Kaplan said. “When you love what you do, you don’t work a day in your life. We truly are an extension of our clients and care about the communities they serve. We are immensely grateful to the media who help us tell their stories.”
Kaplan has plans to add even more departments at the firm that support her strategic growth for the next decade. To position the company for further growth, she has expanded her leadership team by appointing a chief operating officer and internal promotions.
Anthony Farinacci, a retired supervisory special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), has joined Evolve as the company’s chief operating officer. Farinacci served nearly 23 years with the FBI and was most recently the team lead for the Domestic Security Alliance Council, a partnership program that supports private sector engagement with Fortune 500 companies.
“It’s an honor to join Evolve and bring my years of leadership and strategic management experience to an already great organization,” Farinacci said. “I look forward to being a part of taking the firm to the next level. After serving the country and community, I feel the transition into the private sector will bring new and exciting challenges.”
Evolve has promoted Liz Renninger to vice president. This is a new role at the company, in which Renninger will oversee internal operations, continue to build strong customer relationships, maximizing the company’s operating performance, and help with the strategic growth of the PR team. Renninger has been at the company since 2013, serving as its director of public relations for the last four years. Before coming to Evolve as an account manager, Renninger worked as a broadcast reporter and on national client accounts for a boutique public relations firm.
“Our team has grown exponentially at Evolve,” Renninger said. “Being part of this growth is exciting. We have a very loyal client base and continue to add to it with even more diverse accounts that allow us to extend our reach into other new markets and territories. This is a dynamic time for us.”
Evolve’s Claire Natale has been promoted to director of client services. In this role, Natale carries out part of the company’s mission to support clients in a robust way through networking, education and training events. Ongoing virtual webinars for clients, covering everything from crisis communication to media training, are also handled by Natale.. Natale has worked at public relations agencies in New York and Arizona for more than a decade.
Karah Van Kammen is the newest addition to the Evolve social media team. With more than 10 years of experience, Van Kammen operates a strategic department that includes individual social media plans, creating original ad campaigns and contests, and managing, designing and publishing high-quality content. Evolve’s Social Media team has a proven track record of significantly building brands and achieving client’s marketing objectives.
Evolve’s marketing outreach includes national and local public relations, media relations and social media management. The company continues to be a leader in the industry working with such clients as Waymo, HomeSmart, Senior Helpers, Grimaldi’s and Lectric eBikes. Learn more about Evolve, its clients and career opportunities on Facebook, Twitter or by visiting evolveprandmarketing.com.
