Experienced Marketing + PR Consultants

Over the last 10 years, Amy has grown Synergy into one of country’s most respected Internet marketing and online lead generation firms. Leveraging her 15-year career in B2B marketing, she has established the agency’s vertical industry dominance in the areas of technology and software, healthcare and medical informatics, pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical, medical device and orthotics, and manufacturing and logistics. Amy is actively involved in the strategy development and brand creation of every client, and she directly manages several key accounts. She splits her time between the agency’s three offices in Indianapolis, Dallas/Fort Worth and St. Louis to ensure Synergy’s culture of accountability, passion for Internet marketing, focus on client satisfaction and dedication to quality and excellence are shared by everyone in the company. Amy enjoys working with executive leadership teams and is a trusted advisor to dozens of CEOs. Her areas of expertise include strategic planning; brand transformation and differentiation; new product/service/company launches; the entire spectrum of Internet marketing (website development, social media, e-mail marketing, SEO, online PR and blogging); and media relations. Amy is a published author and frequent speaker on a variety of interactive marketing topics.

With more than 15 years of business, operational and financial management experience, Marc serves is a trusted resource to many entrepreneurs, business owners and executives. In this role he develops corporate sales and marketing programs that meet revenue objectives and produce measurable results. He has spent his career working with high-growth companies that are continuously evaluating opportunities to expand through mergers and acquisitions or organically by launching new products and services, entering new vertical sectors or expanding geographically. As an executive marketing, sales and business advisor, Marc helps his clients set and measure key performance indicators (KPIs), develop strategic plans and aggressively pursue new market opportunities. This includes refining sales, distribution and pricing models, developing industry partnerships and strategic alliances and creating exit and next stage plans.  Marc is an experienced facilitator and effective spokesperson who brings significant insights and value to Synergy’s clients. He offers extensive knowledge of the technology and software, telecommunications, biopharmaceutical, medical device, healthcare and manufacturing industries.

Devra Callaghan has 20 years of strategic marketing, public relations and advertising experience. Throughout her impressive career, she has led the development and marketing of some of the country’s largest brands across a variety of consumer and business-to-business industries. These include financial services, legal, retail, health care, food service, arts, sports, entertainment, education, manufacturing, logistics/distribution and not-for-profits. As Synergy’s Chief Marketing Officer, Devra is responsible for setting the strategic direction on all client accounts and providing them with executive marketing counsel throughout the relationship. Her areas of expertise include market research and analysis, establishing brand and creative direction, strategic message development, determining the best way to reach target audience groups, creating sponsorship opportunities and measuring marketing ROI (return on investment). In her role, Devra is a strong client advocate and plays an active part of their strategic planning and budgeting processes.

Susan is an accomplished branding and interactive design professional with nearly 20 years of experience. She works with Synergy’s clients to set the strategic creative direction and design all of the tangible elements that become part of their corporate brands. Her areas of expertise include brand development and management, identity system development, advertising, Internet marketing, Web design and usability, corporate and internal communications, promotional strategies, large-scale event concepts and trade show strategy. In addition to her role as Synergy’s Chief Creative Officer, Susan oversees Synergy’s talented creative, production and Web development teams in the Dallas/Fort Worth public relations/marketing agency office. Susan is known for her ability to listen carefully to her clients and translate their goals into compelling brand identities that reflect the organization’s strategic direction and vision. Throughout her career she has played a pivotal role in branding and marketing initiatives for regional, national and international organizations in industries such as restaurant and food service; retail and consumer goods; non-profit; higher education; technology services and software; healthcare, medical and life science; manufacturing, logistics and industrial; and financial services. Susan stays current in best practices in design and Web development standards by participating in educational programs sponsored by industry leaders such as Google, WebTrends, American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) and ExactTarget. Susan attended Miami University (Miami of Ohio) and earned a bachelors degree in fine arts from Wittenberg University.

Becky (Moore) Polston, APR is a versatile communications professional with 15 years of strategic planning, marketing and PR experience across a variety of industries. During her tenure with Synergy, she has led many of the firm’s brand strategy, media relations, community relations, crisis management and media training initiatives. Becky also has been an active proponent in evolving Synergy’s PR strategies to systematically integrate high-impact, measurable online and Internet marketing and communications vehicles. These include search engine optimization, search engine marketing (SEM), SEO press releases, SEO articles, blogging, social media, e-mail marketing and link building. Through her career she has established lasting relationships and a reputation as a respected PR practitioner among local and national reporters, producers and editors. Becky is a PRSA Silver Anvil award winner, a certified Accredited in Public Relations (APR) professional and the president of Indiana’s Public Relations Society of America chapter (PRSA Hoosier Chapter). She offers expertise in healthcare and medical marketing/PR, higher education marketing/PR, biopharmaceutical marketing/PR and technology marketing/PR.

In his role as Director of Interactive Systems, Chris Carrel is responsible for architecting, developing and supporting the robust technology platforms and systems that power Synergy’s proprietary lead generation/ lead converting websites and online marketing programs. As an IT engineering expert and an integral part of the agency’s leadership team, Chris develops Internet-based solutions that leverage the newest content management systems (CMS), online data research and analytics tools and software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications to enable Synergy to quickly create, publish and feed customized and search engine optimized (SEO) content to our clients’ websites, online affiliate partner websites, segmented databases and social media networks. Prior to joining Synergy and throughout his 15-year career, Chris provided technology engineering, software development, website development, search engine optimization, quality assurance, database integration and network architecture for companies such as Angie’s List, ATA Airlines and Access Technologies. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial management with a minor in MIS from Purdue University.

Rachel is a strategic public relations and marketing communications professional with nearly 15 year of experience influencing public opinion for healthcare, technology, education, energy, automotive, manufacturing, restaurant and retail companies. Her areas of expertise are defining, crystallizing and evangelizing her clients’ brand messages through media relations, employee communications, community relations, Internet and viral marketing, social media, special events and speaking circuits. Rachel architects and executes PR campaigns for Synergy’s clients. As a native Texan, she has cultivated strong relationships with the most influential Dallas/Fort Worth (Metroplex area) reporters, editors, producers, government officials and community leaders. Before working with Synergy, Rachel served as the media relations manager at the Children’s Medical Center in Dallas. Prior to this, she worked for a Dallas public relations/marketing agency promoting high-profile clients including Toyota, Lexus, MAPSCO, la Madeleine, Uncle Julio’s and TXU Energy (Oncor). Rachel began her career in Washington, D.C., serving long-term Congressman Ralph M. Hall’s North Texas constituency. She is a licensed pilot and race car driver. She also served in the Civil Air Patrol, a volunteer auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force that performs important search and rescue operations on a local and state level, and regularly draws upon that background in crisis communications to benefit her clients. Rachel is currently the Dallas PRSA president.

Dallas/Fort Worth-native Jessica Thrasher brings an eclectic mix of intelligence, whit, passion and refinement to her role as Synergy’s Senior Graphic Designer. After a career in IT for global business consultant KPMG, she established her artistic chops in Seattle and L.A. building brand identities and creative assets for organizations such Worktank Seattle, Allegro Manufacturing, Annex Theatre, as well as a variety of magazine and book publishers, clothing lines and restaurants. Jessica works with Synergy’s clients to transform their brands to make them more relevant, memorable and competitive. She accomplishes this by introducing a differentiating perspective, striking visual elements and a structured design framework.