Dittoe PR builds it business around having a great team to service our clients. Learn more about all the people that make Dittoe PR a great PR firm.
Chris Dittoe (@Dittoe), President and Co-founder
As President of a rapidly growing PR firm, Chris wears a number of hats including business development, finance, human resources and office jokester. His laid back no-nonsense style and unabated humor is a nice compliment to the fast pace of our agency.
Prior to cofounding Dittoe PR, Chris spent time as a quarterback for the Detroit Lions and two seasons in Europe. Chris attended Indiana University on a football scholarship and earned a Bachelor’s degree in marketing and developed a passion for entrepreneurship.
In 2009, Dittoe PR celebrated its 10 year anniversary, further solidifying it as one of Indy’s best.
Outside of work, Chris contributes heavily to his community including satisfying his love for football by coaching 5th and 6th grade CYO football at Immaculate Heart of Mary. He’s proud to say that this year, his team won the CYO Championship. Chris also enjoys spending time with his three kids, Maddie, Mia and Drew.
Liza Dittoe (@LizaDittoe), Founding Principal
Liza has been immersed in the media world her entire professional career. After graduating from Indiana University’s School of Journalism with a degree in broadcasting, she began work in New York City with Prime Time Live, giving her the opportunity to work side-by-side with Sam Donaldson and Diane Sawyer.
Feeling the pull to put others in front of the camera, Liza began working in public relations. Her PR work began in Chicago with a mid-sized agency. After two years, she returned to Indiana to open a remote division of the company, quickly surpassing sales of Silicon Valley and New York City locations. In 1999, Liza left the company to start her own agency, Dittoe PR. What started as a small business operating out of their basement quickly grew into a booming company with a diverse variety of clients.
For anyone that knows Liza, you know she’s doing exactly what she was meant to do. Her passion for this business, love of her clients and knowledge of the media is unmatched and it inspires her team to bring their best every single day.
Lauren Sanders (@LaurenSanders2), Vice President of Account Services and Partner
It didn’t take long for Lauren to carve out a well-respected place in the Dittoe PR family. She is, without a doubt, a strong leader and valuable part of our team. With 10 years of public relations experience, Lauren can expertly craft pitches that reporters can’t ignore, allowing her clients to stand out from the masses and gain visibility in the eyes of consumers. She specializes at finding new unique angles to consistently get a client’s story told.
Lauren is so masterful, in fact, that she’s been known to turn seemingly insignificant comments from clients into front page news in publications such as the Chicago Tribune and The Wall Street Journal. For example, a client’s small side project once resulted in an entire column in The Wall Street Journal – a remarkable and impressive length of coverage devoted to a small company. Her tireless efforts have landed coverage in numerous national media outlets from The New York Times, USA Today and The Today Show to well-read blogs like Mashable and TechCrunch. A talented writer with the ability to craft concise, compelling story pitches for even the most complicated products or services, Lauren earned a degree from the nationally acclaimed Indiana University School of Journalism.
Megan Lawler (@MeganLawler), Vice President and Partner
If sarcasm and quick-witted responses could cut, Megan would be Edward Scissorhands. Megan joined our team immediately upon graduating from Indiana University. With her personal motto, “Don’t take life too seriously,” it’s fair to say Megan finds the fun in her profession. Not only is she outgoing and witty, but Megan is always up for a challenge. She knows the importance of personalization and patience in media relations, and has established valuable relationships with countless reporters throughout her five and a half years at Dittoe PR. With each piece of coverage a client receives—whether large or small—Megan’s genuine excitement can be felt by everyone around her. She finds such satisfaction in seeing her hard work and effort result in a great story for her client.
Megan works hard and fast for clients. One of the highlights of her career came after working with a company for only two months. She secured a story for them with the Associated Press, which was then picked up by some of the nation’s most prestigious media outlets, including USA Today, MSNBC, Forbes, New York Times, Fox News and the Today Show, to name a few. Other media highlights for Megan include New York Times, BusinessWeek, Wired, Mashable, Fast Company, CrunchGear, Los Angeles Times, SmartMoney and Southern Living.
Christy Oberley Chen (@coberley), Director of Business Development
Between instructing spinning classes, painting and enjoying all things outdoors, where does Christy find time to practice PR? We’re not sure – but she does it well! For five years, this Indiana University grad has thrived off the thrill of securing big stories for her clients and developing new business opportunities for Dittoe PR.
Instead of following the beaten path, you can expect Christy to be creative, clever, and original. She is an expert at communicating the right story, to the right reporter, at the right time. No matter the research or manpower necessary to achieve this, Christy operates under the assumption that hard work will undoubtedly pay off. Christy’s passion for Dittoe PR is extremely evident, as is her love for her team members. Going above and beyond what is asked of her encourages those around her to do the same!
Ashley Eggert (@aeggert2), Senior Account Manager
If you need help seeing the glass “half full,” take some pointers from Ashley. She’s not known for being shook-up by a little rejection the first time around! Ashley brings a fresh perspective to the Dittoe PR team. Her mentality is inspiring: if you don’t receive a desired response from the media, there’s
always something else you can do to get their attention. Instead of feeling defeated, Ashley has learned how to effectively change her strategy to land her clients some pretty amazing coverage. She believes a positive attitude is a must for this field, and we just love her untiring motivation.
Ashley, a recent graduate of Indiana University, loves the fact she must earn the coverage her clients receive. She understands and values the importance of public relations and the impact it can have on a company or organization. Ashley’s an easy-going, hard-working, upbeat professional who’s crazy about her job. What more could you ask for?
Eric Kokonas (@EricKokonas), Senior Account Manager
A grade school teacher once told Eric’s parents that he “tends to socialize in class.” Today, Eric professionally socializes. (How you like me now?!)
When Eric isn’t writing his website bio, he can be found thinking outside the box—or mulling over the countless other worn out clichés used to describe one’s perceived creativity. He also enjoys sarcasm.
With degrees in English Literature and Public Relations & Advertising from Butler University, Eric’s background gives him a sophisticated understanding of how to develop successful public relations strategies; but his real passion comes from applying that knowledge to tell his clients’ stories.
Eric considers it a personal point of pride that he pitches stories—not clients. His clients just happen to be the main characters of stories. This philosophy has enabled him to secure client stories in top media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, CNN, Forbes, USA Today, MSNBC, BusinessWeek, Mashable, Fast Company, Entrepreneur, WIRED, Advertising Age, and more.
Greta Hass (@GretaHass), Account Executive
You can’t spell GREAT without G-R-E-T-A! Greta Hass is a born and raised Hoosier who can’t live without sports, dogs and technology. She’s utilized her skills to become an outstanding PR pro who has an obsession with seeing her clients’ names in the headlines.
After graduating from Indiana University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and sports marketing & management with a focus on public relations, Greta immediately joined the Dittoe PR team and began securing local and national coverage for clients in various industries, including tech, education, consumer products and entertainment. With a passion for writing, media and social networks, Greta is able to strategically leverage client news across a multitude of medians.
Greta is a firm believer in “everything happens for a reason,” and she uses that as motivation to turn every opportunity into something positive for her clients. Her clients have been seen in top outlets, such as Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Mashable and CNN Money. When she’s not working diligently at Dittoe PR, she’s staying active outdoors, crafting her next project or enjoying time with friends and family.
Michelle Bower (@MicBower), Account Executive
If Dittoe PR were a high school, Michelle Bower would be voted homecoming queen, rank captain of the cheerleading squad and chair the school cupcake sale, all while wearing a pink cardigan and a pearl necklace.
But don’t let her “Elle Woods” exterior fool you. Having grown up with three brothers, Michelle has a strong competitive side and strives to impress her clients with coverage in the top media outlets like The LA Times, The Huffington Post, WIRED and more. In fact, within just weeks of joining the Dittoe PR team, Michelle amazed one client by securing interest from 12 of the top mainstream consumer magazines mere days after they were first introduced.
Her secret? She lives by the words, “keep calm and carry on.”
With her professional experience in both small and large firms, Michelle strengthened her traditional and social PR skills and has gained local and national coverage for clients in a multitude of industries – including education, consumer products, social media analytics and tech startups.
Michelle is an Indiana University graduate who double majored in Journalism and Communication & Culture, with a focus in Public Relations & Advertising. Outside of work, you can find her spending time with family and friends or striving to cook, organize and create crafts like Martha Stewart.
Nikki Stroud (@NikkiStroud), Account Executive
For nearly three years, Nikki was on the other side of the public relations world, working in television news. She began her career at News25 in Evansville as a morning reporter/associate producer. Missing bigger-city life, Nikki later joined Fox59 as a morning show producer/writer. Telling a story and keeping up to date on the latest news has always been a major passion for Nikki. Joining Dittoe Public Relations was an opportunity to use her acquired skill-set to play a pivotal role in what gets covered, even away from the newsroom. Excited to make the transition into the public relations realm, Nikki is hitting the ground running, ready to excel in this new challenge.
The first day she worked on a new account, Nikki was able to get her client coverage. Aware that it isn’t usually that easy, Nikki is excited to work hard for her clients every day. Her media background has provided her an insider’s perspective on how to get solid coverage for her clients on a regular basis.
Nikki earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Ball State University (chirp, chirp) with a Telecommunications major and Communication Studies minor. When not at work, this Indianapolis native can be found running around the city, cooking pasta, enjoying a glass of Riesling, watching the Colts, the Pittsburgh Penguins or the NEWS of course!
Jason Thomas (@scoopThomas), Account Executive
You know that saying, “There’s no substitute for experience”?
Well, meet Jason Thomas; an ex-journalist turned PR pro who brings 15 years of newspaper reporting experience to Dittoe PR.
Having spent more than eight years at The Indianapolis Star, Indiana’s largest newspaper, Jason has firsthand knowledge of what it takes to capture the media’s attention and earn great coverage.
With experience covering a wide range of topics, including all levels of government, growth and development and business issues, education, the Super Bowl host committee and the NCAA Final Four, Jason now applies his journalistic skills to spreading the word for Dittoe PR clients.
Jason is a graduate of Ball State University and is proud to represent the Mid American Conference – along with colleague Nikki Stroud – amid a majority of Big 10 bigwigs that dominates Dittoe.
Elizabeth Conner (@econn2011), Junior Account Executive
Coffee addict, lover of all things Harry Potter, professional food moocher and media nut, Elizabeth brings heaps of energy and creativity to the table! She’s has been obsessed with all things media for as long as she can remember—just ask anyone she grew up with. Whether devouring her favorite magazines cover to cover or following any and all trending topics online, she’s always been on top of a good story as it happened.
In fact, creating stories is what she truly what she loves the most about this crazy profession! Bringing a story to life on a page, listening to others’ accounts and searching for new and creative angles to always make a story heard is what she lives for in the PR world.
Upon graduating from DePauw University with an English Writing degree in 2011, she hit the ground running as a Dittoe PR intern—within a few months, she knew that the fast-paced world of PR was for her. Born and raised in the ‘burbs of Chicago, she’s a city girl with that contagious Midwestern positivity! Having been fortunate enough to travel several countries in college, she is obsessed with exploring new cities, meeting intriguing people and learning something new every day.
