Alaina Gjertsen joined Saxum in 2007 and serves as a consultant, assisting with development and implementation of communication plans for clients.
Before joining Saxum, she managed international issue campaigns for the Specialty Graphic Imaging Association, where she wrote and produced a national communication training video and acted as liaison with government agencies in Washington, D.C.
Gjertsen is a graduate of Georgetown University, where she earned a Master of Arts in communication, culture and technology. She is also an alumna of Vanguard University of Southern California where she graduated cum laude with dual bachelor’s degrees in international business and political communication.
She currently lives in Enid with her husband, Matt.
As a consultant to the Saxum team, Evelyn (Evie) Klopp Holzer assists with the planning and implementation of client events, media strategies and internal and external communications.
Prior to joining Saxum in 2006, Holzer was a public communications specialist for Pasco County in New Port Richey, Florida. On sunny days, she worked in the tourism office, promoting destinations in the area. On windy and rainy days–during hurricanes–she acted as a public information officer for the county’s emergency operations center.
Holzer graduated from The University of Oklahoma college of journalism in 2003. She is a former editor-in-chief of Sooner yearbook, and her book was nationally recognized for writing, photography and design. She also spent a semester writing for Southern Living magazine in Birmingham, Alabama.
Based in Austin, Texas, Christina Felton serves as a consultant for Saxum, assisting with client service, media relations and strategic communications initiatives for Saxum.
After spending three years in Saxum’s Oklahoma City office as a vice president, Felton moved to Austin in September 2008.
Prior to joining Saxum, Felton was with Neiman Marcus in Dallas, Texas, where she worked as public relations manager. Before moving to Dallas, Felton worked in New York, where she held a variety of positions in the public relations and marketing fields. Felton worked as promotions manager for GQ Magazine, where she helped to create strategic alliances between advertisers and execute special events. Felton has also worked for Barneys New York and CosmoGirl! magazine. She received her bachelor’s degree in English from Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York.
Toni Mitchell serves as office manager and executive assistant at Saxum. She manages the firm’s day-to-day office operations, which include organizing office tasks and keeping the schedule of Renzi Stone, the firm’s president and CEO. She also coordinates special events, organizes databases and assists in maintaining the company culture.
Mitchell comes to Saxum from the Office of Gov. Brad Henry, where she served as director of appointments to boards and commissions. In that role, she assisted the governor with recruiting, vetting and selecting members for various agencies, boards and commissions. She also assisted leadership at Devonshire Institute, LLC and OK United Methodist Volunteers in Mission, overseeing staff, organizing meetings and managing office operations.
She is an active volunteer for Church of the Servant and lives in Oklahoma City with her husband, David, and their two sons, Hunter and Jake.
Triana leads Saxum’s Intelligence Department as a media relations specialist, conducting research, writing and gathering information of interest to Saxum’s clients. Triana also supports Saxum accounts with campaign development and daily operations.
Prior to joining Saxum, Triana interned with Conde Nast publications in New York and later as a freelancer for W magazine. Triana served as an intern for Saxum before joining full time in February 2008.
Triana graduated from The University of Oklahoma in 2007 with a bachelor’s in journalism and mass communication with an emphasis in public relations and a bachelor’s of business administration in finance.
He lives with his wife, Bethany, in Oklahoma City.
Lisa Janssen is integral in the day-to-day writing, editing and communication efforts on her accounts as media relations supervisor. She brings a multimedia and journalism background to Saxum, after graduating summa cum laude with a 4.0 GPA from the University of Oklahoma with a Bachelor of Arts in journalism and a minor in Spanish.
During her educational career, Janssen served as a Gaylord Ambassador for the Gaylord College of Journalism and gained experience in seven different areas of media, including newspaper, magazine, radio, television, online journalism, editing and public relations. She worked for The Oklahoma Daily, The Excellence and Ethics in Journalism Foundation, The Oklahoman/OPUBCO, the Public Information Office of OKC, the Oklahoma Gazette, the Office of the Mayor of Oklahoma City, World Literature Today and KGOU Radio. While working with the Public Information Office, she translated materials into the Spanish language and hosted City News on City Channel 20.
Janssen has received awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and the Oklahoma Broadcast Education Association, and was named Outstanding Journalism Senior from her 2008 graduating class and Top Scholar in the Kappa Tau Alpha Journalism Honor Society. She is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists, the Oklahoma Arabian Horse Club and MENSA
Her work has been published in The Oklahoman, the Oklahoma Gazette, Distinctly Oklahoma, The Norman Transcript, The Oklahoma Daily, the Journal Record, OKC Friday, Thoroughbred Style, The National Show Horse Registry and the Oklahoma Arabian Horse Club newsletter. Janssen has also received regional and national titles for showing Arabian horses.
She currently lives in Oklahoma City.
Rachel Leonard serves as an account executive at Saxum and brings a strong passion for health care and social media to the team.
Leonard’s previous experience includes serving as an account executive at Beckerman Public Relations in New Jersey, where she used social media communications tools to effectively reach target audiences and garner media coverage. Leonard also planned a panel discussion that focused on the underinsured in Washington, D.C. during the height of the nation’s health care reform debate. As an account coordinator for Stern + Associates, she conducted media relations for architecture and design and health care accounts.
During her time as a student at the University of Oklahoma, Leonard served as a public relations consultant for Health for Friends, a health center located in Norman, Okla. During her time at HFF, she organized a Safe Halloween Event to raise awareness of the organization and produced a promotional video for future fund-raising. As a public relations intern for OU Medical Center, she organized media interviews, wrote and distributed press releases and fact sheets, conducted an environmental analysis of area health care facilities and assisted in event organization.
She graduated with academic distinction from the University of Oklahoma with a bachelor’s degree in journalism with an emphasis in public relations and currently lives in Norman.
Houda Elyazgi serves as a senior account executive, managing several accounts, conducting research, writing and developing campaign strategies and planning special events for clients. Elyazgi also oversees Saxum’s Step Up program.
In the summer of 2006, Elyazgi interned for U.S. Rep. Tom Cole in Washington, D.C. In December 2007, she interned for Saxum before joining the team full time.
Elyazgi graduated with distinctions from The University of Oklahoma with a bachelor’s in journalism and mass communications with an emphasis in public relations and a minor in Arabic.
During her time in school, Elyazgi served as a Gaylord Ambassador for the Gaylord College of Journalism. She also served on the university’s Honor Council, where she heard cases in academic court. In 2006, Elyazgi was the first recipient of the Mary Ellen Hipp Doyle Scholarship. That same year, Elyazgi was granted the Award of Excellence in the field of Public Relations.
Elyazgi is a graduate of N.E.W. Leadership, an award-winning program that educates and encourages women to actively participate in politics and public service. Elyazgi brings a strong passion for nonprofits to the Saxum team. She currently serves on the Oklahoma City Chamber’s Greater Grads committee and is a member of the board of directors of United Way of Norman.
She lives in Norman.
Kim Moyer brings extensive media relations and legislative liaison skills to the Saxum team as an account supervisor. She is responsible for executing strategic public relations and marketing campaigns for Saxum clients.
Prior to joining Saxum, Moyer served as director of communication and government affairs at the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department, where she acted as the agency liaison between Oklahoma legislators, executive-level government officials and the department. She also authored legislation, developed policy for the agency’s employees and served as spokesperson in media interviews.
Moyer’s media experience includes serving as the metro editor at The Oklahoman, supervising and overseeing the content of the Metro section of the newspaper. She also served as assignment editor and special projects coordinator at KWTV-News 9/Griffin Communications, where she produced special reports for events including the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building and the May 3, 1999 tornado outbreak, and as the managing editor at KFOR-NewsChannel 4, where she directed coverage for all the station’s major newscasts.
She has a bachelor of arts in communication and journalism from Western State College in Colorado. Moyer has received numerous awards for her reporting from the Oklahoma chapters of the Associated Press and Society of Professional Journalists, as well as from the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters.
Moyer lives in Edmond with her husband and four children and is an active volunteer with the Bill Teegins Memorial Golf Championship and the Oklahoma City Arts Council’s Opening Night event.
As an account supervisor in Saxum’s Tulsa office, Christina “Chris” Oden will be responsible for managing communications and public relations services for multiple client accounts.
Oden comes to Saxum with more than 10 years experience in public relations, marketing, advertising and community relations. Before joining Saxum, she served as executive director of the Tulsa Metro Chamber’s Tulsa’s Young Professionals group, a leading YP organization of more than 6,500 members working to attract and retain young professionals in Tulsa. Oden also served in marketing positions for the St. John Health System, Wyandotte Advertising and Kuhn & Witternborn Advertising in Kansas City, Missouri.
She has served as advisory board member for Oklahoma State University’s School of Journalism and Broadcasting and on the board for the Association for Women in Communications and is a graduate of Leadership Tulsa. She was recognized as a “Top 40 under 40” in Oklahoma Magazine and as an “Achiever under 40″ by the Journal Record.
She has a bachelor of arts in advertising from OSU and resides in Tulsa with her husband, Grant, and daughter, Ella.
