Jennifer Sweeney

President 

Jairo Moncada

Vice President

Jairo Moncada has been an SPRA member for three years. Jairo has previously served two terms on the SPRA Board of Directors, serving as Board Treasurer (2005-2006) and Board Secretary (2006-2007). As Vice President, he will provide strategic counsel to the Board President and will help oversee the various SPRA committees. He will also lead SPRA’s efforts in establishing a championship softball team!

Jairo has been part of the PR landscape in Sacramento for the last three years and currently serves as Public Relations Manager for Astone/Crocker/Flanagan. In this position, Jairo is responsible for managing the day-to-day activities on various public relations accounts. His client roster includes a pharmaceutical company based out of Mexico, the City of Fresno, Wendy’s International, the California Community Colleges, and the Fresno Chapter of Court Appointed Special Advocates. Prior to joining Astone/Crocker/Flanagan, Jairo provided public relations support to clients seeking to establish themselves in the Hispanic market. Jairo earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Davis.

Andy Larson

Secretary

Actively involved in the PR industry since graduating from UC Davis, Andy Larson has joined the SPRA Board of Directors last year as the Programming Co-Chair. In that capacity, Andy has planned SPRA functions and events, such as our monthly Professional Speaker Series luncheons, and has assisted with the planning of evening mixers. Andy has been working in the field of public relations and marketing for the past 3 years. His past involvement involves stints at The California State Fair and Exposition, Edelman Public Relations, and the Bernard Hodes Advertising Agency. He is currently the Marketing Coordinator for ASC Profiles in West Sacramento, where he coordinates public relations and marketing efforts within the construction and building products industry. In addition, he has degrees in Communication and Political Science from UC Davis.

Sheryl Brown

Treasurer and Past President

An SPRA supporter since 1994, Sheryl Brown just completed her second term as SPRA’s President, previously holding the positions of vice president, and chair of the CAPPIE committee. In 2003, she received SPRA’s Volunteer of the Year award. Brown has been working in the field of non-profit public relations for over 16 years. She currently holds the position of marketing communications manager at KVIE Public Television managing all aspects of the promotions department. She was the station’s publicist, executing local and national publicity campaigns from 2000 to 2003. Prior she coordinated public relations at the Crocker Art Museum. In addition, she has worked for clients such as the California State Library, the California State History Museum, and the Western States Horse Expo. She is a past volunteer and officer of the MLK Committee Board of Directors and was a member of the Sacramento Museum Association marketing committee in the early 1990s. She has a special studies degree in Marketing and Public Relations from UC Davis.

Megan Lloyd Jones

Membership Co-Chair

Originally from Australia, Megan Lloyd-Jones transferred from the University of South Australia to further her career in journalism. While at Sacramento State, Megan became a reporter and editor for the State Hornet. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in journalism and a minor in government. While still in college, Megan became a member of SPRA and joined the board as membership co-chair. Networking opportunities, such as the annual SPRA Networking & Career Day and mentorship within the organization, helped Megan become involved in the public relations industry and land her first job in the field. Shortly after graduating, Megan became a public relations coordinator at Merlot Marketing, Inc., a Sacramento-based, full service marketing agency. In this position, Megan spearheaded a variety of consumer programs, including Fuego North America, a high-end kitchen appliance company, Walker Zanger, a luxury tile and stone company and local clients, such as River City Bank. Megan is currently an account executive at Edelman, where she works on national consumer programs, such as eBay Motors, to build consumer awareness and generate both local and national coverage.

Sam Caygill

Membership Co-Chair

Sam Caygill has been a member of the SPRA for nearly four years and is currently serving her third term on the board. She previously served as the PR/Outreach Chair. With over six years of experience in public relations, Caygill presently serves as a public affairs program manager for the League of California Cities where she implements a variety of programs including the League’s California Civic Leadership Institute. Previously she served as a media relations manager for the California Travel and Tourism Commission where she marketed the state of California as a tourism destination through a variety of outreach including media relations and events. Caygill also worked at Edelman where she contributed to a variety of education and tourism accounts including BP’s A+ for Energy grant program, Pearson Education, and the Stanford Mansion. Prior to Edelman she coordinated a variety of environmental public outreach programs at Lucy & Company. Caygill holds bachelors degrees in communications and Spanish from California State University, Sacramento.

Alicia Clark

Programming Co-Chair

Alicia Clark has been an active member of SPRA from the moment she discovered the organization. Shortly after receiving the 2006 SPRA Volunteer of the Year, she joined the board as Programming Co-char. Alicia is currently the Corporate Communications Specialist for Holt of California. She established and maintains clear, consistent employee communications for a Caterpillar dealership with the development of an internal communications strategy. She publishes the internal quarterly newsletter, redesigned and maintains the company Intranet, coordinates company events, creates and develops the corporate video for new and current employees, and also assists the Executive Team and managers in developing oral and written technological presentations. Prior to finding her niche in public relations she was an actress and is a member of the Screen Actors Guild. Alicia holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Relations from California State University, Sacramento.

Dawn Deason

Programming Co-Chair

Dawn Deason has 23 years of experience in television news, marketing and promotions. She produced and edited major news stories for NBC Nightly News, the BBC World Service and other international networks. Dawn covered news beats in India, The Philippines, Hong Kong, China, South Korea, Japan and Spain, as well as the United States. She received a national EMMY award for her work with NBC Sports during the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. During her last nine years in television, she focused on promotions and marketing production. She specializes in public service announcement production and non-profit promotions. For the last two years, Dawn has been the Manager of Public Affairs and Development for BloodSource, the second largest non-profit blood center in California. She has worked as an independent media consultant since 1993.

Krista Noonan

Newsletter

Krista Noonan has been a member of SPRA since 2003. She’s currently serving on the Board as the Newsletter editor and designer. Noonan has over 16 years of experience in the public relations, advertising, and marketing industries. In her current position as the public information coordinator for the City of Citrus Heights, she is responsible for planning, developing, and implementing all public information programs and events. Prior to joining the City of Citrus Heights, Noonan worked as the public relations director for KB Home and The Salvation Army’s Northern California and Nevada divisions. Noonan has a breadth of public relations and marketing experience with for-profit and non-profit/public service organizations. Noonan is an active volunteer in the local community, lending a helping hand to organizations such as The Salvation Army and Rebuilding Together (also a Board member). Noonan is a graduate of UC Davis with a degree in Rhetoric and Communication, and a minor in Sociology.

Jana Sanders Perry

CAPPIE Co-Chair

Jana Sanders Perry joined SPRA as a member in 2003, while still a student at UC Davis. She became a board member in 2004. Through the 2006/2007 term, Perry served three terms as Networking & Career Day chair, and had been a CAPPIE committee volunteer since 2003. After graduating from UC Davis with a Bachelor of Arts in communication, Perry accepted a position with Merlot Marketing, a full-service marketing agency, in early 2004. Today, she is the events and promotions specialist at Merlot and works with the entire agency client roster to create exciting and effective events and promotions. She is also responsible for the day-to-day public relations activities for some of Merlot’s key local clients.

Megan Range

CAPPIE Co-Chair

Megan Range joined SPRA just last year and will be serving her first year on the board as CAPPIE Co-Chair. Megan is a Junior Associate at APCO Worldwide where she provides clients with expertise in coalition building, media relations and research. She has assisted in staging several large press events for which she has produced collateral materials, developed media lists and pitched reporters. In 2006, she collaborated with the office of Governor Schwarzenegger to stage a press event in the State Capitol on one of the Governor’s major policy initiatives. Megan studied journalism at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, with a concentration in public relations.

Amy Wall

PR/Outreach Chair

Amy Wall joined SPRA as a board member in 2005. She served two terms as the CAPPIE Committee Co-Chair before trying her hand at the PR/Outreach position.  She continues to volunteer on the CAPPIE committee to accommodate her love of event planning. Amy moved into PR after starting her career in legislative and regulatory affairs for the trucking industry's trade association and then a non-profit veteran’s organization.  She is currently a Senior Account Manager at Perry Communications Group (PCG) where a typical day finds her overseeing the execution of media events throughout California, Nevada and Hawaii; building and working with strategic coalitions; mobilizing grassroots efforts, and promoting industry interests for a variety of health care related clients. Amy earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies and a minor in government from CaliforniaState University, Sacramento. 

Kristy Garza

Student Liaison

An SPRA supporter since 2003, Kristy Garza is in her third term as SPRA’s Student Liaison. Garza has previously held the position of Secretary. As student liaison, Garza manages SPRA’s annual scholarship program. In addition, Garza informs college students of job and networking opportunities. She is in the process developing SPRA Student Chapters at local community colleges. Garza has been working in the field of public relations for over 6 years. She currently holds a position at Bouchard Communications Group as an Account Executive. She is responsible for executing results-driven promotions, special events, and public relations campaigns. Garza has a degree in Public Relations from California State University, Sacramento.

Sara Hanson

Hospitality/Events Chair

Sara Hanson has been a member of the SPRA for nearly two years and is excited to join the SPRA board as the Hospitality and Events Chair. She began working in public relations in 1999, when she proudly joined the public relations team for Tower Records corporate headquarters in West Sacramento. During her time with Tower Records, she gained an enormous amount of education and appreciation for developing strong relationships with both the media and the community at large, including working with the Sacramento Heritage Festival and a national collaboration with Kenneth Cole to collect clothing for the nation’s homeless, which resulted in collection of over 7,000 bags of clothing. In 2005, Sara became the public relations specialist for Sierra Adoption Services, a private non-profit adoption agency focused on finding permanent families for children in foster care. Sara expresses that she is thrilled to have learned so much during her time with Tower and that now she is able to apply that knowledge to a very meaningful cause: families for children. Sara is also heavily involved with the Sacramento theatre community as she has performed in over 60 shows in the area. She has also had the honor of directing and producing numerous shows along with her husband and their production company, ChinaCat Productions.