Meet Us

Candace Kent

Senior Account Executive

In her “me” time, Candace enjoys good music, horseback riding, and reminiscing about shooting free throws with Michael Jordan. When she’s with her family or friends, it usually involves good food and better conversation.

Candace Kent

Joanne Lim

Vice President

Joanne is obsessed with culinary experiments in her kitchen, scouting places on Lonely Planet to explore with her husband, concocting stories with her Star Wars potato heads, and Zumba. She’s quite a character.

Joanne Lim

Mike Gallagher

Senior Vice President, Creative Director

Mike is an Emmy-winning writer who gained his knack for storytelling from his history teacher mom, his appreciation of multiple perspectives from his diplomat father, and his love of beer from those two years stationed in West Germany.

Mike Gallagher

Erika Lynn

Designer

Erika is a DMV newbie and has been spending her weekends exploring the area’s landmarks and restaurants. She is addicted to coffee, obsessed with sushi, and her guilty pleasure is reality TV.

Erika Lynn

Lindsey Young

Account Executive

Lindsey is a go-to for all things Disney, Virginia vineyards, and Alabama football—if she’s not too busy reading the news or talking about The Office.

Lindsey Young

Natausha Adamson

Project Accountant

Natausha enjoys spending time with family, shopping, and cooking recipes passed down from family members. In her spare time, she pursues her passion of planning special events.

Natausha Adamson

Sergio Vigas

Account Executive

When he isn’t working, you’ll likely find Sergio on a basketball court, tennis court, in a movie theater, or in the comfort of his home, exploring the depths of Netflix and all it has to offer.

Sergio Vigas

Megan Mills

Account Executive

A true nomad, Meg has lived in six US states and overseas. She’s thrilled to finally be putting down roots in DC, even if it means never having a great fresh fish taco again.

Megan Mills

Lauren Salay

Vice President

Lauren is a lover of hard copy, chilly weather, yoga, and travel, with a passion for positive social change. A Pittsburgh native, she can be caught daydreaming of pierogis, Pamela’s Diner, and Penguins hockey.

Lauren Salay

Martin Nugent

Production Coordinator

A true local, long-suffering Bullets/Wizards fan, and self-proclaimed “outgoing introvert”, Martin enjoys other people’s children and pets, and an appetite for travel, screenwriting, YouTube-inspired appliance repairs, and European board games.

Martin Nugent

Cecily Dumas

Vice President

Clients love her for being a health communications enthusiast, grammar nerd, and partnership facilitator. Her co-workers love her for her quick wit and constant smile. She loves working with experts who have fun while developing ideas that make a difference.

Cecily Dumas

Charlie Butler

Account Executive

As a proud owner of shoes that have been on four continents, Charlie revels in international travel and interacting with different cultures. He’s also a strong supporter of electronic music, video games, and coffee.

Charlie Butler

Maddie Stein

Account Executive

Maddie is an avid list-maker, nature lover, and self-proclaimed food nerd who never shies away from a challenge—whether it be perfecting her sourdough loaf or running a marathon.

Maddie Stein

Mariam Ayubi

Office Supervisor

Mariam has been the welcoming face of Hager Sharp’s office for 21 years. She enjoys helping others and ensuring the office runs smoothly.

Mariam Ayubi

Michael Hatch

Compliance Officer

When not cheering for the Ohio State Buckeyes, the Washington Nationals, or his son’s and daughter’s alma mater, UVA, Michael delights in talk radio, pocket billiards, and subjecting his long-suffering spouse to his culinary experiments.

Michael Hatch

Angela Young

Senior Account Supervisor

Angela is passionate about public health, food, 90’s sitcoms, and is an avid reader who always manages to stay calm under pressure.

Angela Young

Roshni Devchand

Vice President, Strategic Planning, Research & Evaluation

A left-brained engineer with a passion for right-brained work, Roshni uses her analytic thinking skills to plan, monitor, and evaluate Hager Sharp’s theory- and evidence-based approaches to making a difference.

Roshni Devchand

Aaron Murphy

Vice President, Creative Director

He hasn’t scaled a Peruvian mountain, lived among grizzly bears, or starred as a movie extra, but as a documentary film buff, Aaron can tell you a little about each of them.

Aaron Murphy

Anya Kaszubowski

Designer

In addition to loving dessert, traveling and all things spooky, Anya’s greatest passion, aside from art and design, is and will forever be cats.

Anya Kaszubowski

Allyson Harkey

Digital Content Writer

A professional actor/singer, Allyson became a writer/editor through her compulsive need to delete double spaces after periods. She loves scuba diving, social media, Waffle House, women’s issues, kitten GIFs, and fast cars.

Allyson Harkey

Patty Nicastri

Account Supervisor

Patty is the only person at Hager Sharp with a YouTube music video of her singing and playing ukulele. Her professional talents include writing, graphic design, and social media messaging and analytics.

Patty Nicastri

Emily Zeigenfuse

Vice President, Director of Digital Strategy

As a digital expert, Emily has honed her skills stalking the Internet’s most adorable pet celebrities. When she’s not watching cute dog videos, Emily enjoys running, reading, and the occasional DIY project.

Emily Zeigenfuse

Crystal Brown

Executive Vice President

Crystal has dedicated her career to shaping narratives. When she’s not helping clients own their story, she enjoys reading a good book and rooting for UVA basketball. A busy mom of two, you can find her most weekends at a dance competition or on the baseball diamond.

Crystal Brown

Laura Koehler

Account Supervisor

A self-proclaimed optimist and morning person, Laura takes each day head-on. She is also a proud cat mom, North Carolinian, public health nerd, and nature lover.

Laura Koehler

Carolin Serafini

Senior Account Executive

Carolin enjoys travelling, HIIT workouts, and a strong cup of coffee, but most of all, she loves to help others. As a native of the Dominican Republic, the beach is her favorite place to be!

Carolin Serafini

Elizabeth Osborn

Vice President

Elizabeth loves social marketing and her hometown of Rochester, NY. When she’s not thinking about the four P’s of marketing, she’s hitting the ski slopes, cheering on the Bills, shopping at Wegmans, or espousing the virtues of cold weather.

Elizabeth Osborn

Samantha Prior

Account Supervisor

Whether it be for the latest policy development or the latest trend in wellness, Samantha is your go-to girl. Just don’t look at the sheer number of tabs she has open on her browser if that’s the kind of thing that stresses you out.

Samantha Prior

Phindi Mngomezulu

Staff Accountant

Phindi is a South African native who loves nature and sunshine. She spends her days soaking in the sun and enjoying outdoor walks with her family. When she’s not outdoors catching some rays, she can be found caught in the webs and tangles of her young son who’s often playing Spiderman.

Phindi Mngomezulu

Katherine Nicol

Senior Vice President

Katherine is driven by making a difference and passionate about public health. Though a D.C.-area resident for nearly 20 years, she stays true to her N.J. roots—she’s a die-hard Yankees fan and gets satellite radio solely for the E Street Band channel.

Katherine Nicol

Daniel Horowitz

Account Executive

A politics junkie with a love for superhero shows and crime dramas, Daniel has an optimistic attitude and a drive to make the world a better place.

Daniel Horowitz

Natalya Maltseva

Art Director

Natalya’s power to alter reality makes her most sought-after. She comes equipped with a Magic Wand that can turn a frog into a prince and a prince back into a frog.

Natalya Maltseva

James Elias

Vice President

James’ ideal dinner party guests: Warhol, Halston, Liza, Mick, and Bianca. He has played blackjack in Las Vegas with Geoffrey Rush. He does not know how to ride a bicycle.

James Elias

Christina Nicols

Senior Vice President, Director of Strategic Planning and Research

Christina never met a white board she didn’t love. As Hager Sharp’s brainstorming expert, her infectious smile and gift for interacting with people helps draw out team ideas and insights that make her an invaluable strategic planner.

Christina Nicols

Michelle Copeland

Staff Accountant

Michelle enjoys spending time with family and friends but prefers lazy days at the beach. Some close to her say she has a Cleaning OCD. She just believes “a place for everything, everything in its place”.

Michelle Copeland

Trish Taylor

Executive Vice President, Health

As a PhD with background as an account planner and a fitness instructor, Trish is well versed in all aspects of successful public health communications. As the mother of three below the age of 7, she’s also an expert in multi-tasking her way out of chaos.

Trish Taylor

Cailin Jason

Account Supervisor

Despite her inability to whistle, knack for sarcasm, and tendency to over-quote movie lines, Cailin has a get-it-done attitude and is dedicated to meeting her clients’ needs.

Cailin Jason

Melissa Spade Cristler

Vice President

Melissa debated between three college majors: social work, communications, and political science. All three came together in her career and united with her passion for education at Hager Sharp.

Melissa Spade Cristler

David Neidlinger

Senior Multimedia Producer

David’s skills make him the Swiss Army Knife of video production at Hager Sharp. He’s actively involved in every step of our video projects and loves to collaborate with his brilliant teammates on how to take a good project and make it great.

David Neidlinger

Beatrice Hoppe

Director of Human Resources

Beatrice believes employees are an organization’s most valuable asset , inspiring her to provide HR services that attract, develop, and motivate a diverse workforce. She enjoys reading, good conversation, family time, and traveling.

Beatrice Hoppe

Jennifer Wayman

President and CEO

Jennifer leads Hager Sharp with a creative and entrepreneurial spirit. She enjoys traversing the United States in search of adventure with her husband and four children, and is a die-hard fan of the Washington Nationals.

Jennifer Wayman