We help our clients make intelligent decisions.
R&J Public Relations is a full-service public relations firm that consistently achieves superior results for a strong and diverse client base that ranges from divisions of large, multi-national conglomerates to regional market leaders. By employing only the best and brightest PR professionals and delivering 5-Star Client Service, we have become one of the most respected, admired and prestigious PR agencies in the Greater New York/New Jersey region. In addition to yielding significant dividends for our clients, our philosophy has earned us numerous awards and resulted in R&J being named a “Top Place to Work in PR” by PR News.
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Our People
John Lonsdorf
president
John is a recognized leader in the public relations and marketing communications fields. He founded R&J Public Relations in 1986, and has built the firm into one of the region’s leading communications consultancies. John has authored numerous articles on brand building and the role of public relations in the overall marketing mix, and has been a speaker and presenter at national conferences and symposia. John impacts each account at R&J through his drive to provide clients with the best returns on investment for their goals.
Scott Marioni
executive vice president
Scott is a principal of R&J Public Relations, and a 17-year veteran of the communications industry. He has engineered numerous successful campaigns and initiatives in practice areas including crisis management, corporate communications/reputation management, issues management and product publicity/media relations. Scott’s expertise ranges from top consumer companies to tightly focused advocacy campaigns. His deep knowledge of industry best practices affects all R&J clients through his pairing of the right campaigns to client needs.
Tracey Benjamini
Account Executive
Tracey manages a wide variety of strategic and tactical activities on R&J’s technology and consumer products accounts. In this critical role, Tracey leads the account team with client relations, the development of strategic and persuasive communication materials, and in generating widespread media coverage in both traditional and social media channels.
Abby Forman
account coordinator
Abby manages a wide range of tactical activities for R&J’s consumer products and technology accounts. She assists the account team with client relations and the development of strategic and persuasive communication materials. Abby is also actively involved in generating widespread media coverage and elevating R&J’s clients’ visibility, engagement and traffic across all media platforms.
Dan Capawana
media relations specialist
Dan focuses on the tactical execution of Media Relations, moderating communications between the agency and various media outlets such as newspapers, radio and television stations. He informs the media when something new happens with the agency’s clients or within their industries. He is significantly involved on the front lines of media relations, and is focused on achieving meaningful and measurable results for R&J’s clients.
Melissa Hoistion
Senior Account Executive
Melissa is a senior account executive in R&J’s consumer and technology client group, providing strategic counsel and managing tactical executions for a number of the agency’s clients. Blending her experience in social media, digital marketing and SEO with a strong background in traditional media, Melissa works to elevate R&J’s clients’ presence to increase visibility, engagement and traffic across all media platforms.
Mike Jamieson
director of business development
Mike is a veteran of more than 25 years in marketing communications at the highest levels, working with some of the largest marketing agencies and corporations in the New York area. Mike works with each potential client to ensure there is an extremely good fit between R&J and the client’s organization, while driving a complete understanding of the needs and expectations of both client and agency.
Nick LaPlaca
account coordinator
Nick plays a vital support role for the agency’s B2B and healthcare team by driving and implementing strategic communication initiatives in both traditional and social platforms. Nick also assists in media relations activities resulting in widespread media coverage for our clients and plays a key role in developing strategic communication materials which are essential to building our client’s brands and moving their products and services forward.
Jason Ledder
Vice President of Media Relations
Jason is R&J Public Relations’ chief media relations strategist, developing and executing media outreach that spans from top-tier, mass-market print and broadcast media to very narrow niche trade outlets to social media campaigns and outreach. He is a veteran of dozens of trade shows, preparing and directing clients in their at-event meetings with press and analysts. Jason, an 11-year PR veteran, provides an excellent eye in assessing the “news” for any circumstance, and guides R&J’s clients through the intricacies of presenting their messages with the best possible techniques.
Leann McDonough
account executive
Leann drives tactical activities on a variety of R&J accounts, which include B2B clients, not-for-profit and association clients and real estate clients. As a critical member of R&J’s account team, Leann plays a key role in client relations, developing strategic and persuasive communication materials, generating media coverage and coordinating many essential aspects of communications campaigns for our clients.
Tiffany Miller
Account Supervisor
Tiffany’s deep expertise with messaging and campaign execution guides R&J’s clients from planning through results measurement. She brings strong leadership to her accounts, anticipates client needs, builds positive relationships and generates positive results in all of her activities. Tiffany focuses on the bottom line for R&J’s clients, bringing results that move their products and services forward.
Carlee Pett
account coordinator
Carlee drives a wide variety of tactical actions for the agency’s B2B clients in both traditional and social media. Carlee plays a critical role within the agency’s healthcare specialty practice area, generating media coverage and developing strategic communication materials which generate tangible results and help to build our clients’ brands.
Gina Salerno
account coordinator
Gina manages a broad range of tactical activities for the agency and its clients in both traditional and social media. She plays a vital role in logistical support within our account teams, ensuring effective client communication that yields superior results.