Creative Partners


Julie O’Grady has held numerous senior marketing communications positions at high tech companies and agencies throughout Silicon Valley and San Francisco. She possesses more than fifteen years of marketing experience in public relations, trade show and special event management, and advertising management.

Her experience spans a number of high technology sectors including the Internet, enterprise software, and mobile/wireless industries with companies in both Silicon Valley and the East Coast. Julie has implemented successful marketing programs at several start ups that were the recipients of industry awards and nominations including: Fortune Cool Company, PC Magazine Annual Finalist, IDG Executive Forum DemoGod Awards, and Technologic Partners Investor’s Choice Award. Clients appreciate her strategic guidance and passion for product promotion.



Kathy King began here career in NY, after graduating in the early 80’s from one of the most prestigious commercial art schools in the world, The Art Center Design College.

Since then, Kathy has been producing ads, brochures, logos, billboards, corporate identification packages, web sites, banners and direct mail. She has worked for major advertising agencies, like Young & Rubicam, Backer & Spievogel and JWT Tech, as well as small local shops and client direct. Her accounts include national and local companies from high-tech to healthcare to financial to consumer goods. Campbell’s Soup, Chevron, CIGNA Health Plans, Gulf Oil Corp, Fluor Daniel, Hewlett-Packard, Hyundai, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Lipton, Manufacturers Hanover Trust, McDonnell Douglas, Fujitsu, Merrill Lynch, NCR, Neet, Oil of Olay, Postum, Suave, Tang, USA Today and the U.S. Postal Service.

In 1992, Kathy moved to Santa Cruz and started her own business. Her client list has included Adaptec, Atmel, Artison, Avant!, Certain Software, Epicentric, Genetech, Icarian, IDG, Kineto, Kensington, Meetings@Sun, Network Appliance, Shoreline Communications, Thunderbird Real Estate,Tranquille Spa, Velodyne Acoustics,Ventro, Viasoft and Wyse IDeas.



Susan Payne has more than 15 years of experience in marketing and communications, covering an array of industry sectors including cable, direct marketing, and information technology. Since 1999, Susan has focused her efforts on delivering strategic, results-oriented marketing and communications content to information technology clients. She has produced and edited articles, case studies, press releases, sales collateral, trade award entries, and Web content for companies such as AltaVista, Kadiri, Network Associates, and SilverStream Software. As a writer, Susan is both creative and analytical in her approach, drawing from a diverse background that includes public relations, marketing management, and media planning and research analysis. Susan’s work has helped her clients achieve recognition in several award categories including CMP Media’s RealWare Awards and HR Executive's Top Human Resource Product of the Year. She holds a bachelor’s degree in advertising and a MBA in marketing.



Patti’s extensive background includes 25 years of strategic media planning and buying at several major advertising agencies. She has planned and executed media campaigns for marquee clients such as Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Freightliner Corporation, NEC Electronics as well as consumer clients such as Blue Diamond Almonds.

Patti develops creative media strategies for advertising and print/electronic direct mail programs for her clients. Patti brings a deep perspective of understanding the target audience and a creative mind to reach them in unique ways. With her longstanding relationship with media, she can negotiate like mad and get the most for her client’s dollars while maintaining the respect of the media. She also has a knack for coming up with some distinctive ad sizes that stand out in any media it runs.

Throughout her expansive career, she has spoken on several panels on syndicated media research, and with industry groups to inform publishers about the planning/buying process, and taught several media training programs for junior media planners and account executives.

Patti is a graduate of Stanford University with a BA in Communications.



Jennifer McClenon has brought her brand of wit and wordsmithing from the halls of J. Walter Thompson, New York to several West Coast clients. She has written for Levi Strauss, Windham Hill Records, Genentech, Amgen, and Mercury Interactive. Jennifer has put her creative spin to work in dozens of sectors, including real estate, financial services, telecommunications, semi- conductors, hotels, wineries, and even fly rod makers. Jennifer’s unique perspective shines in her writing, which is both tinged with humor and dead-on target. While Jennifer is experienced in writing ads, promotional pieces, web content, and sales collateral, she has also chronicled the trials of step-parenting teens. Jennifer holds a degree in Communications from Purdue University.