Team
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Renzi Stone
President & CEO
Bio
Renzi Stone is president and CEO of Saxum Public Relations, one of the region’s largest independent public relations firms. As a visionary entrepreneur with strong public relations and public affairs expertise, Stone has grown his business from a one-person start-up in 2003 to a team of 21 full-time professionals. Saxum serves a diverse local, regional and national client base, touching nearly every sector of the economy. With an emphasis on excellence, Stone is focused on partnering with clients to provide strategic public relations services that achieve the client’s goals and objectives through creative, innovative communications.
Stone is a leader in Oklahoma and is recognized nationally for his political intelligence and public relations insight. He has been published in several books and his opinion editorials have run in The New York Times, Indianapolis Star and The Oklahoman. He guest hosts a popular local political talk show, is an active member of the social media community and is frequently asked to speak to organizations on a variety of issues, including leadership, youth development, entrepreneurialism and Oklahoma. He has been honored multiple times by various local and national organizations and publications as a top businessman and public relations professional under the age of 40. He was selected as one of seven finalists at the University of Oklahoma for the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford.
Stone serves on the board of visitors for the University of Oklahoma Gaylord College of Mass Communications, the executive committee of Allied Arts the board of trustees for the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence, the board of directors for the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce and Ally’s House and on the advisory board for the Meinders School of Business at Oklahoma City University. In addition, Stone is a member of the executive committee of IPREX, one of the world’s largest international public relations networks.
Stone is also passionate about public service and is a Leadership Oklahoma graduate (Class XVIII). He has served in various volunteer capacities in local, state and presidential political campaigns. He is an alumnus of the Joint Civilian Orientation Conference (JCOC – Class 77) hosted by the Secretary of Defense. A former member of the school’s basketball team and three-year starter, Stone earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in history from the University of Oklahoma. He and his family live in Oklahoma City.
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Debbie Schramm
Senior Vice President & General Manager
Bio
Based in Oklahoma City, Debbie Schramm comes to Saxum from Tronox (formerly Kerr-McGee Chemical), where she served as director of investor relations and communications. As a key member of the global chemical company’s management team, she was responsible for developing and executing strategies, goals and objectives for global internal and external communications, community relations, crisis communications and corporate branding.
She previously served as vice president of corporate communications for Kerr-McGee Corporation, managing the company’s global communications programs. She oversaw Kerr-McGee’s multi-million dollar national image campaign and various national and international public relations consultants. Schramm also directed all internal and external communications for a major shareholder proxy issue, a large merger and multiple acquisitions and divestitures.
As chief of staff for former Oklahoma City Mayor Ron Norick, Schramm oversaw and coordinated the ceremonies for the first anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, hosting more than 300 media representatives from around the world. Her experience also includes serving as vice president of communications for the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, where she led the organization’s communications efforts, working closely with area business leaders to implement programs that focused on the growth and enhancement of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area.
Schramm is a graduate of Oklahoma State University and is passionate about helping Oklahoma continue to grow and prosper. She is a volunteer for the United Way, March of Dimes and Allied Arts. Schramm lives in Edmond with her husband, Dave. Their son, Chase, is a student at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
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Carol Troy
Senior Vice President, Public Relations
Bio
Carol Troy comes to Saxum from Chesapeake Energy Corporation, where she served as director of corporate communications. While at Chesapeake, Troy developed the plan for the new corporate communications department and developed an enhanced media presence for the corporation. She previously served as president and CEO of the Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits. During that time, a new strategic planning process was initiated and implemented. Marketing and fundraising efforts were refocused, which produced a 150% increase in revenue for the organization.
As vice president of community relations for KOCO-TV, the ABC affiliate in Oklahoma City, she managed the department and initiated revenue-producing projects to meet strategic plans. She also oversaw production of and co-anchored a weekly hour-long news program, along with political debates, documentaries and the annual 5 Who Care Awards. She later joined parent company, Gannett Broadcasting Company, headquartered in Washington, D.C., as a community relations vice president.
Troy is a graduate of The University of Oklahoma. She currently serves on the Allied Arts Foundation executive committee and board of directors, the Oklahoma City Public Schools Foundation board of directors, and the University of Oklahoma Health Center Foundation board of trustees. She and husband, Mac, live in Oklahoma City.
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Jeff Smith
Senior Vice President
Bio
As senior vice president, Jeff Smith is responsible for creative services integration, national account development and branding initiatives at Saxum.
Smith has more than 25 years of experience in strategic marketing and communications, working with companies and organizations to help them achieve growth through promotional marketing concepts and communications strategies.
Prior to his role with Saxum, Smith served as an executive partner with Giant Partners, where he worked with CEOs, senior executives and leadership teams by focusing on all aspects of the company’s strategy for growing revenues and profits.
Smith also served as president of Third Degree Advertising and Communications in Oklahoma City. At Third Degree, he was responsible for helping oversee day-to-day agency operations, manage account acquisitions and provide strategic planning to select agency clients.
Before joining Third Degree, Smith was founder and principal of Sentio Marketing, a business-to-business marketing advisory group that works with national and international clients. His previous experience also includes serving as president and chief executive officer of Fellers & Company, a regional marketing and advertising firm based in Austin, Texas, with offices in Houston, Dallas, Lubbock, Amarillo and Oklahoma City.
Smith has worked with regional and national clients representing manufacturing, energy, telecom, health care and financial industry sectors. He has extensive experience in advising companies regarding sales and marketing initiatives and integrated marketing communications strategies.
He continues to serve in leadership positions for many organizations, including as a member of the board of directors for Giant Experiences, a 501(c)3 nonprofit that mobilizes business leaders to use their influence to impact the world for good.
A native of Duncan, Okla., Smith is an alumnus of the University of Oklahoma and lives in Edmond with his wife and daughter.
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Sara L. Walker
Vice President
Bio
Sara Lashley Walker is responsible for overseeing Saxum’s operations, human resources and account efforts. Her duties also include finding ways to improve efficiencies and bring additional value to clients.
Walker joined Saxum in March 2004 from the Journal Record Publishing Company, where she was an account executive specializing in the Tinker Take Off publication. She is a graduate of The University of Oklahoma, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration/marketing.
Walker volunteers on the planning committee for the Oklahoma Chapter of the March of Dimes Sports Headliner Banquet and also serves as Saxum’s ‘Quarterback’ for the Oklahoma Prosperity Project. She is a graduate of Leadership Oklahoma City’s LOYAL (Linking OKC’s Young Adult Leaders) Class II and was named to OKC Business’ 40 Under Forty in 2007. Walker is an active member in the Edmond Women’s Club and is a graduate of Leadership Edmond class XXIII.
She and her husband, Ryan, live in Edmond.
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Christopher Payne, APR
Vice President & General Manager
Bio
Based in Tulsa, Christopher Payne, APR, serves as vice president and general manager of the Saxum Tulsa office. He is responsible for overseeing operations of the office, serving as senior counsel, providing strategic guidance and creating overall communication strategies for clients.
Payne previously served as senior manager of corporate communications for Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc. He worked at the company for nearly 17 years, having started as a manager of corporate communications for the Thrifty Car Rental brand. Prior to joining Thrifty, Payne spent four years working for public relations and political consulting agencies in the Dallas area. With Jeanne Johnson & Company, a political fundraiser in Texas, Payne helped lure World Cup Soccer to the U.S. for the first time when Dallas was announced as the venue for the 1994 games.
Payne is a past board president of Susan G. Komen for the Cure (the Tulsa affiliate), and serves as the accreditation chairman for the Tulsa Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America. He was named Professional of the Year by the Tulsa Chapter of PRSA in 2002 and has served as the organization’s president and in other leadership positions since 1993.
He has a master’s degree in journalism and mass communications from the University of Oklahoma, and a bachelor’s degree in biology from Emporia State University. He lives in Tulsa with his wife, Susan. They have three daughters and two young grandchildren.
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Lindsay Laird
Account Supervisor
Bio
Lindsay Laird joined Saxum in August 2006 and currently serves as an account supervisor. Her areas of expertise include research, media relations, social media, community relations and event planning. Laird also oversees Saxum’s internship program.
Laird’s previous experience includes working in provider relations at Electronic Data Systems, where she was responsible for writing a policy manual and member handbook for a new state program. She also worked in the corporate communications department at INTEGRIS Health, the state’s largest Oklahoma-owned health system. Laird also spent four years at Crosstrainers Fitness working as a customer service representative.
She is a graduate of Leadership Oklahoma City’s Linking OKC’s Young Adult Leaders (LOYAL) Class IV and serves on the Greater Grads committee, which aims to build Oklahoma City’s talent base by connecting Oklahoma graduates with employers in the Oklahoma City area. Laird is also the immediate past chair of the PRSA New Young Professionals Committee and is an avid volunteer for the Central Oklahoma Humane Society.
Laird graduated magna cum laude from the University of Central Oklahoma with a bachelor’s degree in journalism/public relations. She currently lives in Yukon with her husband and two dogs.
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Chad Backus
Account Supervisor
Bio
Chad Backus comes to Saxum with more than 10 years of agency, corporate and nonprofit experience. Prior to joining Saxum, Backus was an account supervisor at Michael A. Burns & Associates in Dallas, where he planned and managed strategic and integrated media relations campaigns for a stable of national and international consumer and business-to-business clients in the health care, biotech, energy and hospitality industries.
He previously served as the communications director for Mental Health America of Greater Dallas, where he developed and managed marketing and media campaigns to support the agency’s advocacy and fundraising goals.
As a communications specialist with AARP’s southwest regional office in Dallas, Backus led media relations and grassroots campaigns in Louisiana and Texas. His experience also includes working at MarCom Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations in Oklahoma City, where he organized and led public relations efforts for national and local health care clients and advocacy groups.
He is a graduate of Oklahoma State University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and broadcasting with an emphasis in public relations. He lives in Oklahoma City with his wife, Amy, and his son, Brooks.
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Chad Previch
Account Supervisor
Bio
Chad Previch joined Saxum in October 2007 and now works as an account supervisor, responsible for managing national and statewide client accounts.
In 2008-09, Previch co-chaired the public relations committee for Crystal Darkness Oklahoma, a statewide anti-methamphetamine campaign. He wrote press releases and promotional material and helped secure media coverage for the documentary, which aired on more than 20 television stations in Oklahoma and northern Texas. The campaign won the Award of Merit in Public Service Campaigns from PRSA’s OKC Chapter and the Lowe Runkle Distinguished Service Award from the Oklahoma City Advertising Club.
Previch came from The Oklahoman, the state’s largest newspaper, where he last reported on the state desk. At The Oklahoman, Previch was part of an investigative reporting team that won first place from the Society of Professional Journalists Oklahoma Pro Chapter. Previch also won the SPJ’s Reporting on Open Government award. He was frequently interviewed live by the local CBS affiliate and appeared on the CNN network.
Previch graduated with a journalism degree from Michigan State University in 2003. While a reporter for The State News, Previch won Michigan Collegiate Journalist of the Year from the Michigan Press Association.
He is on the board of the Vilakazi Foundation, a grassroots charity benefiting South African children, and on the board of the Sooner State Softball Association. He lives in Oklahoma City.
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Christina Oden
Account Supervisor
Bio
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.
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Houda Elyazgi
Senior Account Executive
Bio
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.
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Rachel Leonard
Account Executive
Bio
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.
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Lisa Janssen
Media Relations Supervisor
Bio
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.
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Anthony Triana
Media Relations Specialist
Bio
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.
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Christina Felton
Consultant
Bio
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.
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Evelyn Klopp
Consultant
Bio
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.
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Alaina Gjertsen
Consultant
Bio
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.
