OurTeam
We’re All in Together on behalf of our clients. Our team has expertise in media relations, messaging, digital engagement, content creation, crisis communications, events, graphic design, website development, Corporate Social Responsibility and visual storytelling.
Sarah Hogan
Sarah Hogan (she/her/hers) is Barefoot PR’s resident word nerd and co-founder. Sarah has been telling stories since before she knew how to hold a pencil. One of her earliest memories is as an impatient 3-year-old urging her mom to write down the poems she had in her head.
Sarah has channeled this lifelong passion for storytelling into a career in PR and community investment. She currently leads Barefoot PR’s Research-Based Messaging work and contributes to the strategy we build for clients through Communications Roadmaps. She has a knack for writing passionate op-eds and believes Corporate Social Responsibility is systems change.
When she is not at work, you can find Sarah reading long articles on her iPad, listening to podcasts, championing Denver’s creative community or building Legos with her son Andrew. She is married to Matt the Engineer and is dog mom to Birdie the goldendoodle.
Cori Streetman
Cori Streetman (she/her/hers) is Barefoot PR’s co-founder and chief executive in charge of making the dream work. Cori has been learning through life experience since she left home to travel the world at 19. From teaching English in Peru to studying cultural anthropology in West Africa, Cori has a knack for relating to and understanding people.
Cori’s sense of adventure led her to build a company where heart is valued alongside expertise, and where we are all in together. Cori manages Barefoot PR’s operations and leads the team in turning strategy into reality for clients. Cool under pressure, Cori is skilled at helping clients navigate difficult situations. She is also an expert matchmaker, helping clients connect purpose with passion through nonprofit and civic board service.
Cori continues to travel the world with her husband, Tyler, and two kiddos, Brayden and Jacob. You can also find her dancing to Widespread Panic and sharing her passion for creating a better Denver through volunteer board service.
Gail Bransteitter
Gail Marie Bransteitter (she/her/hers) is passionate about her community and advocating for causes she believes in. She thrives when she is able to shine the spotlight on stories that matter and help amplify the voices of others. She also loves to collaborate to create meaningful solutions that have a lasting impact.
Gail has a background in the performing arts as well as 15 years of nonprofit communications and marketing experience working for national, regional and local organizations.
Born and raised in Denver, Gail tries to take full advantage of the amazing life Colorado has to offer – especially the arts and culture scene. Gail is an active patron and supporter of Colorado’s performing-arts community and currently serves on the Board of Directors for Buntport Theater as well as The Denver Actors Fund.
Kathryn Britton
Kathryn Britton (she/her/hers) gets things done. With a keen eye for detail and a unique ability to turn roadblocks into interstates, Kathryn uses her expertise to bring special projects and strategic initiatives to the finish line for Barefoot PR and our clients.
Before stepping into her current role, Kathryn served as a storyteller on our PR team. Now, as Director of Operations and Special Projects, she continues to flex her storytelling skills by leading video production and event management projects for our purpose-driven clients. When she’s not busy with special projects, she’s working to ensure Barefoot’s vision, values and purpose are incorporated into our business practices and client deliverables.
Organized and loyal, Kathryn is the event planner of her friend group, the creator of detailed trip itineraries and a passionate mentor to others throughout their life and career journeys. She is a Colorado native and Rockies fan who loves cozying up with a good true crime documentary or spending time with her husband Zach.
Laura Schwinkendorf
Laura Schwinkendorf (she/her/hers) is Barefoot PR’s strategy guide, leading the work we do to build Communications Roadmaps for clients. Laura has an eye for opportunity and a mastery of tactics that work. As she learns about a client’s audiences and the outcomes they hope to achieve, Laura builds Editorial Calendars, Story Banks, Big Ideas and Tactical Plans to guide clients through the actions they need to take to infuse purpose into their communications.
Her approach to communications planning was shaped by a desire to seek out new ideas, experience different ways of living and stretch her comfort zone while traveling to Maui, Paris, Uganda and the neighborhoods of Denver. She brings skillful exploration to her work with clients – balancing proven recommendations with opportunities to stray from the path and try something new.
When she is not at work, Laura volunteers her time as a board member for Youth on Record, dotes on Dez the cat, and cheers on the Texas A&M Aggies alongside her partner, Michael. If you ever need a restaurant or happy hour recommendation, Laura will have one ready and she suggests walking along Cherry Creek Trail or through the Jefferson Park neighborhood to soak up the best Denver vibes.
Jinha Servais
Jinha (she/her/hers) loves the feeling of pride that comes from sharing the final result of a project that took a lot of creativity, time and heart. She remembers the first time she got this feeling. Her grandmother taught her how to sew when she was young, and together they made her sister a skirt. Her sister never wore the skirt, but it didn’t matter. That was the moment that set her up for a career in and passion for design. This career started in the fashion industry. After a decade, Jinha switched to the non-profit sector and found fulfillment she didn’t realize she was missing.
Today, as the Director of Design at Barefoot, she has the perfect mix of working to build something useful and helping fill a gap for individuals and organizations who need support. When she’s not on the web, she is a self-proclaimed “boardgame-playing-super-nerd” who enjoys running, hiking and snowboarding her way through Colorado. She lives in Denver with her husband Ryan and their two boys, Sam and Remy, who are artists in the making. Their preferred mediums are Legos and car tracks.
Hallie Kim
Hallie Kim (she/her/hers) is most comfortable when she’s lost in a book, song or crowd. Barefoot’s fiercely positive music lover has attended over 150 concerts and music festivals and connects her love of storytelling to the feeling she gets when she’s surrounded by people listening to live music and experiencing stories in real time.
Hallie leans into her imagination to make emails, social posts and website content come to life. As a senior associate at Barefoot, Hallie lets her imagination loose by crafting catchy content, coordinating events and pitching stories for clients. She channels her passion for writing into elevating the stories our clients want to share and the systems they wish to change. Hallie can always find the silver lining in hard situations – both in and out of our HQ. She strives to create balance in her life, as any Libra would, and brings this balance to the Barefoot team.
When she’s not making the dream work for our clients, she can be found putting hats on her cat Rollo, dancing to live music in Denver or trying new restaurants with her friends.
Carlie McGuire
Carlie McGuire (she/her/hers) is reporting live from Barefoot PR. As a former broadcast journalist, Carlie has dedicated her career to sharing the stories and elevating the voices and perspectives of those who have been excluded.
Before she brought her star power to Barefoot PR, Carlie used her passion for storytelling at the Denver Zoo. She pet rhinos, fed lions and led communications efforts to advocate for her colleagues, the animals in their care, and those in the wild. Though there are fewer lions involved in her role as a Senior PR Associate, Carlie brings the same energy and commitment to her work advocating for Barefoot’s purpose-driven clients.
When Carlie isn’t putting purpose first on behalf of our clients, she can be found leaning into her own Main Character Energy – whether that’s running half marathons, devouring pop culture, or hanging out with her husband, Lucas.
Maura O'Leary
Maura O’Leary (she/her/hers) is always searching for a great story. She believes good listening makes for great communications. As a Senior Specialist, she approaches each messaging project with open ears and a curious mind.
Maura learned to be a listener as a young child, sitting cross-legged on the floor of the living room as her grandfather told fantastical tales—some even true. Her love of storytelling has grown stronger with time. Today, she crafts messaging, content and strategy with the purpose of amplifying the voices of the people and organizations that make communities better.
When she is not telling stories on the job, Maura looks for opportunities to make them with her friends and family. She can often be found skiing, dancing and yoga-ing around Colorado’s Front Range. Maura also enjoys volunteering with Warm Cookies of the Revolution and serving on the Leadership Council for MSU Denver’s Center for Visual Art.
Tara Riseley
Tara Riseley (she/her/hers) is a service-oriented, intentional graphic designer and brand strategist who believes design can be a catalyst for positive change in the world. As a visual storyteller, she helps Barefoot PR’s clients bring their message to life and their audience close to their mission through compelling imagery and branding.
Tara was drawn to design at a young age when she started noticing how the shapes, colors and patterns her great-grandmother and mother wove together in quilts evoked emotion. Later, she studied color theory and learned the science behind the art of pairing colors to generate an emotional response. Today, she starts most projects for Barefoot PR’s clients outdoors with a pen, paper and a great view of the Boulder Canyon where she lives with her family.
When she is not at work, Tara enjoys live music festivals and weekends adventuring with her husband, Will, and three kiddos, Hattie, Louise and Fin. She is also known for serving up delicious dishes that have earned her the title of “casserole queen” and for supporting women-led nonprofits.
Katie Deng
Katie Deng (she/her/hers) loves the process of creating something new. Whether it’s box stitching lanyards, coding websites or sewing hats, Katie finds joy in the ebb and flow of the creative process.
As a student of Neuroscience at the University of Colorado Boulder, Katie became fascinated with the creativity baked into our brain chemistry. She studied the intersection of neuroscience, technology, design and media – finding joy in the process of coding languages and playing with visual aesthetics.
Katie brings this sense of play and passion for process to her role as Barefoot’s web and design associate. She loves using her skills in design and technology to tell visually engaging stories for our clients. When Katie isn’t flowing in the creative process, she’s spending time with loved ones, getting active outside, pondering the meaning of life, and staying young learning the latest slang terms from her brothers.
Annabelle Gallegos
Annabelle (she/her/hers) remembers getting in trouble for turning her house into her art studio as a kid. She’d color on the furniture and bring buckets of sticks and dirt inside to build sculptures. She might not use as much dirt in her art today, but she brings the same creative energy to her role as a visual storyteller for Barefoot PR. As Barefoot’s Graphic Design Associate, Annabelle uses design to serve a meaningful purpose for individuals and organizations that work to create community change. She is passionate about creating visual solutions that support social impact alongside Barefoot’s creative team.
But her creativity extends beyond the universe of graphic design. Outside of work, Annabelle can be found assuming the role of Lady Annabelle, The Royal Peacekeeper as she builds her empire in a game of Settlers of Catan. She enjoys sipping green tea during the day and sampling craft beer at night. She lives in Westminster with her partner Carter in a house with forest green walls.
Emily Keely
Emily Keely (she/her/hers) never considered herself to be an artist. She thought creativity was reserved for painters and illustrators. Just as she had given up this idea of herself, she put pen to paper. Her creativity was unleashed as her imagination ran wild on the page. That’s when Emily realized she was an artist. She was a writer.
She brings this creativity to her role as a PR Associate at Barefoot PR. After studying strategic communications at CU Boulder, Emily began working in PR to help nonprofit organizations tell their stories. She loved that she could use her skills to support organizations that were making a difference.
Born and raised in Colorado, she finds nothing more fulfilling than using her skills to contribute to the community she loves. When she’s not busy being an artist, Emily enjoys capturing life’s moments through photography, spending quality time with friends and family, cheering on Colorado sports teams and attending concerts at Red Rocks.
Mayte Porragas Paseiro
Mayte Porragas Paseiro (she/her/hers) is passionate about exploring the intersection of humanity, art and technology in her work as a Barefoot PR’s Web Design Associate. As a student at CU Boulder, Mayte learned that storytelling is about much more than putting pen to paper. She uses this knowledge to craft community-centered graphic and web design for our purpose-driven clients.
Mayte has been expressing herself through painting, drawing, dancing and arts for as long as she can remember. She found herself drawn to the technology and design of the art she loved. To this day, she's an avid film watcher and music lover – learning about the art of storytelling through sci-fi movies, animation, multilingual music, vampires and werewolves, and alien CGI.
Growing up bilingual, Mayte appreciates the value of diversity and the power of inclusivity. She infuses this passion for learning from and connecting with the community into her work today. When Mayte is out of the office, she enjoys volunteering at Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema and taking pictures of her dog.
Nadia Rendón Talavera
Nadia Rendón Talavera (she/her/hers) got her first thesaurus in seventh grade. Flipping through its pages, she became fascinated with words and their meaning. It was this book that sparked her lifelong fascination with language.
She brought her thesaurus with her as she moved around the world, growing up in Mexico City, El Salvador, Ukraine and the United States. Her love of words grew into a desire to understand how language shapes culture and vice versa; how the power of words can influence narratives.
As Barefoot PR’s Bilingual Strategy Associate, Nadia applies her love of language to break barriers and build bridges for the purpose-driven organizations we partner with. With two communications degrees and experience working in a global capacity, Nadia uses her skills to help organizations better connect with and represent the Latinx community. When she is not flipping through her thesaurus, Nadia can be found working out, wandering around art museums, or shopping for great vintage finds.
Vikki Wong
Vikki Wong (she/her/hers) did some soul-searching before she joined Barefoot PR. As a child, she was a voracious reader, consuming everything from novels and comic books to the home improvement magazines scattered around her childhood home. Her love of storytelling grew as she got older – expanding to include writing, public speaking, and even a state title in speech and debate. After graduating from CU Boulder, she wondered if there was a way to put her strengths and stories to work.
As a PR associate at Barefoot PR, Vikki gets to do just that. She uses her empathy and compassion to create space for our clients to tell their stories. Guided by her curiosity, she creatively finds ways to share these stories with the audiences our clients want to reach.
Vikki has always valued connection and community. She finds the most valuable lessons come in the form of relationships with others. In her free time, she likes to run, snowboard, sing with her acapella group and attempt to cook new dishes with friends.
OurContributors
Megan Miller
Paid Media Contributor
Chris Pair
Public Affairs Contributor
Becky Holden
Video Production Contributor
Amy Davis
Web Development Contributor
Beth Bourgeois
PR Contributor
Maria Miller
PR Contributor
Public Relations Internship
Are you a purpose-driven student or entry-level professional looking to hone your skills and learn from our unique team? We would love to hear from you and learn more about your capabilities.