Uncork-it Communications: Marketing and Design

Eileen

marketing master, technology writer, usability specialist

A veteran of technology marketing, Eileen is our chief strategist, marketer, and COO. She’s been involved in all aspects of marketing communications and can select the right tool for the problem with precision and success.

Before founding this firm, she worked with international marketing communications for DuPont’s engineering materials products, including Teflon, Mylar, Kapton, Rynite, desalination, and more. Prior to that, she worked at Air Products & Chemicals in advertising, PR, and financial reporting.

She holds a B.A. degree from Lehigh University in Journalism/Science Writing and Economics. She minored in Russian. She is pursuing an M.A. in Advertising Design from Syracuse University. Her thesis explores the images that sell technology.

Valerie

art director, illustrator, chief mentor

From warm and cozy to wild and crazy, Valerie's designs and illustrations engage and communicate. Her teamwork and mentoring talents are legendary.

Valerie has 20+ years of experience in planning, managing, and designing creative projects in corporate design, publishing, and advertising. She has worked with BASF, Wells Fargo Alarm Service, Save the Children, the Audubon Society, the ENDependence Center of Northern Virginia, The American Podiatric Medical Association, and more. She's also a veteran of Needham Harper and Ketchum Advertising.

Valerie is the face of Uncork-it in the Washington, D.C. region and serves as an adjunct graphic design professor at Montgomery College. She holds a BFA in painting and printmaking from the Pratt Institute and a Master's in Advertising from Syracuse University.

Patrick

code and content, tech support, web guru

Patrick moved to Blacksburg from Boston in 2009, attracted by opportunities in our fast-growing communications firm. From PHP coding to ancient Greek, Patrick knows languages. We predict Patrick’s reputation for fast, accurate, and sturdy websites will be rivaled only by his talents in digging to the heart of a story and telling it with ease.

His prior work experience includes tech support and event planning.

Patrick is a Phi Beta Kappa 2009 graduate of The Catholic University of America, in Washington, D.C., earning a degree in Classics, with a minor in philosophy. He also studied at the Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, at Oxford, England.

Jaime

designer, marketer, chief persuader

Jaime joined us in 2010, eager to apply his varied talents and experience to our fast-paced marketing and advertising projects. Whether designing our office space, a marketing plan, or an infographic, Jaime creates compelling imagery and environments that speak to the issue with pizazz. He quickly sees the big picture and has become one of our chief problem solvers. Did we mention that he is also a great copy writer?

Before joining Uncork-it, Jaime worked as an architectural designer in Ecuador. He is bilingual in Spanish and English and is a 2008 graduate of the University of Virginia, with a degree in architecture.

Kara

writer, information architect, devil’s advocate

Kara is one of those rare hybrids who is equally comfortable discussing philosophy, engineering or ancient languages. If there is an unusual angle or perspective to an issue we're working on, Kara is sure to find it -- giving our strategies that extra power.

Kara has worked for us as a contractor in the past and we're delighted to have her on board as a full team member. She has a degree in economics from Virginia Tech, with a minor in professional writing and philosophy. A classical harpist, she also has a background in electrical engineering and has co-authored two conference papers on e-textiles research.

Erin

media planner, writer, project genie

Erin joined us last winter, bringing a dozen years of agency and corporate communications experience. Erin makes things happen. Plus, her strategies and plans are on target and on budget. Erin considers all aspects of any situation and has a knack for finding that special gem that makes any strategy sizzle.

Before joining Uncork-it, Erin was a senior communications specialist with Health Net in Rancho Cordova, Ca. She has also served as a project coordinator with Claritas in Ithaca, N.Y., as a marketing associate with Emerson Power Transmission, and as a senior media planner with Latorra, Paul & McCann Advertising of Syracuse, N.Y. She earned a BA in Communications from the University of Kentucky in 2000 and is a graduate of the Media Buying Academy.