Jeff Boal, Founder & President
Jeff established PlowShare Group in 1994 to exclusively develop, design and distribute marketing and communications campaigns for social causes. The first client to realize the potential of a partnership with PlowShare was the American Red Cross, which in 1994 left the Ad Council to join Jeff and explore a new vision of what was possible for their PSA campaign. The American Red Cross has been a PlowShare client ever since.

 

Jeff has a wealth of advertising and public service advertising experience garnered from 21 years in the industry. He is intimately knowledgeable about social issue communications, PSA media marketing and media distribution opportunities, and has spent virtually his entire career working with the federal government and nonprofit organizations on their marketing programs. Jeff established PlowShare's Creative Services Department, Media Distribution Services Department and Media Outreach Department, and was a leader in establishing the company's reliance on technology as a critical element in the PSA distribution and media monitoring process. The result of this focus is FertileData and SILO, two pioneering software applications that have transitioned the media monitoring process from analog to digital; these applications have made client PSA choices smarter and more efficient.

 

John LaRock, Head of Creative Development
John joined PlowShare as a Partner and Creative Director in 1995. He began his career in advertising as a mail boy. He became a copywriter at DKG Advertising and then advanced to Senior Writer at Wells Rich & Greene. He then became Associate Creative Director at Young & Rubicam, a Group Creative Director at BBDO and Co-Creative Director at Avrett, Free & Ginsberg and later at Ammirati & Puris/Lintas. John has won just about every major award there is to win in advertising, including the Cannes Gold Lion. He graduated from the School of Visual Arts and taught there for six years.

 

Tom Derreaux, VP Campaign Management
Tom joined PlowShare in 2002 and is now Vice President of Campaign Management and Media Monitoring. He oversees the smooth performance of our FertileData system. Tom works closely with our media monitoring firms (AC Nielsen and TNS Media Intelligence Services) on the weekly downloading and inputting of media results. He also manages the distribution process from start to finish, including outlet selection, packaging, production and distribution. Tom's "other hat" is supervising our five regional media telemarketing experts to ensure that they are knowledgeable about each client's cause and can speak to the importance of their PSA. A graduate of SUNY Purchase with a BA in Psychology, prior to joining us Tom worked as a community outreach leader both in NYC and CT and spent two years working for a research company where he handled accounts such as Doubleday Select and Yahoo! Tom is fluent in French.

 

Wendy Moniz, VP Account Management
Wendy has more than 20 years of experience in the advertising and communications industry, with the last 10 years specializing in social issues marketing. Since joining PlowShare in 2007, Wendy has managed public service campaigns for many of our Washington-based clients, providing personal contact and a local voice.

 

Wendy has provided strategic direction and helped brand the new Science, Engineering and Technology Program for the National 4-H Council. She has also spearheaded the US Environmental Protection Agency's Radon Awareness Campaign, an effort that targets young mothers, homebuyers and realtors about the dangers of Radon and the need to test one's home. Her other clients include US Department of Health and Human Services/Office on Women's Health, US Centers for Disease Control/Office on Smoking and Health, US Fish and Wildlife, Alliance to Save Energy, American Public Transportation Association, IRS and Council on Standards for International Educational Travel.

 

Prior to joining PlowShare, Wendy spent nearly eight years at the Ad Council as VP, Campaign Director, where she managed public service advertising campaigns in the Washington, DC office. She began her career at The One Club for Art & Copy, New York, where she managed the ad industry's premier creative award show. She also worked at Hill, Holliday and Arnold Communications, and directed and produced all educational seminars and events for the advertising and marketing community while at the Advertising Club of Boston. Wendy received a BA in International Relations from Schiller International University, London, UK.

 

Maria Soto, VP of Media Outreach
Maria oversees outreach to the media and the pro bono placement of PlowShare's PSA campaigns. She has established strong relationships with media outlets, leading to tens of millions of dollars in donated time and space. Maria frequently takes clients on in-person media calls and has been asked to train client personnel on the intricacies of "making it happen" with the media. Prior to joining PlowShare she worked at Foote, Cone and Belding and MTV Networks where some of her clients included Tropicana, Jamaican Tourist Board, AT&T, Rayovac Batteries, Citibank and Nabisco.
Maria is well known at the media trade associations and in particular the National Association of Broadcasters and the Magazine Publishers of America. Her time is divided between PlowShare's Stamford, CT offices and developing "PlowShare West," located in Phoenix, AZ.

 

Catherine Jones, Financial Manager/Account Executive
Catherine oversees the day-to-day accounting functions of the agency. While residing in Los Angeles for seven years, she worked for Paramount Pictures and Universal Studios as an Art Department Coordinator and Production Accountant. Relocating back to the "right coast," she spent six years as the Manager of Post Production Accounting for Hallmark Entertainment in New York City, and then dabbled in advertising and nonprofit work in New York and Virginia. She has found PlowShare's interests in synch with her own participation in environmental and nonprofit causes, which she has supported throughout her career.

 

Annmarie O'Malley, Office Manager
Annmarie joined the PlowShare Group in January of 2008. She attended the University College Galway and graduated with a BA in Public Relations. Aside from ensuring that PlowShare's offices are running smoothly, Annmarie oversees media tracking. Her previous experience includes work in both the medical and marketing fields, and she has a true passion for helping others and making a difference. Annmarie has made it clear that there is such a thing as a four-leaf clover but "only" in Ireland. Her favorite cereal is - "Cap'n Crunch," not "Lucky Charms."

 

Lisa Silva, Art Director
Lisa joined PlowShare in 2007. A graduate of Pratt Institute, she is a multifaceted, award-winning designer who serves as an integral member of PlowShare's Creative Department. Her responsibilities include creating collateral work, print advertising and branding initiatives.

 

Since joining PlowShare, Lisa has designed packaging and other collateral work for American Red Cross, CARE, March of Dimes, Nature Conservancy, US Environment Protection Agency, World Wildlife Fund, National Women's Health Resource Center, Wounded Warrior Project and Norwalk Community College. Lisa is fluent in Portuguese.

 

Katie Hanscom, Media Outreach & Campaign Manager
Katie attended the University of South Carolina, receiving a Bachelor's Degree in Public Relations and Business. While at USC she participated in several internship programs in both the political and nonprofit sectors. When she returned to Connecticut she spent almost two years with MediaSpace Solutions, learning more about the advertising industry. Katie is involved with several organizations, including 212 Interactive and Advertising Women of New York (AWNY). The Internet Oldtimers Foundation even accepted her into their Andy Bourland Mentorship Program where she works closely with C-level executives in the marketing and advertising field.

 

Eric Frost, Senior Campaign Manager
Eric brings a wealth of account management experience, having worked for top-tier advertising agencies in the Washington, DC region. Most recently, Eric served as an account executive for branding firm Stokefire Consulting Group and advertising agency Merrick Towle Communications. Throughout his 10-year-plus career, he has worked with both national and regional clients including US Airways, Marriott International, Federal Aviation Administration, Global One MCI-WorldCom and Beazer Homes. Eric received his BA in Liberal Arts and Sciences from Virginia Tech with concentrations in Psychology, Sociology and Communications.

 

Karl Maruyama, Art Director/Senior Designer
Karl is PlowShare's lead designer on collateral work, print advertising and logo identity programs. Before his affiliation with PlowShare, Karl was Vice President of Corporate Practice at Tom Fowler, Inc., an award-winning design firm. During his 19-year tenure there, he garnered numerous awards and inclusions into domestic and international juried design shows. He has designed communications for a number of Fortune 500 firms including American Express, Chase Manhattan Bank, Honeywell International, HSBC, Kodak, Pfizer, UBS Warburg, Verizon and Xerox.

 

Jeff Brown, Production Manager
Jeff brings 35 years of radio and TV production experience to PlowShare. Since 1999, he has supervised production of TV and radio campaigns for a variety of clients such as the GSA's Federal Citizen Information Center, Environmental Protection Agency, American College of Gastroenterology, Nature Conservancy and Wounded Warrior Project.

 

Larry Robins, Senior Art Director, Co-Creative Director
Larry is the consummate art director in that his background includes a multitude of creative and artistic endeavors. Since joining PlowShare Group six years ago, Larry has served as art director on campaigns for the US EPA, Save the Children and World Wildlife Fund, among others. Larry has also been a successful commercial photographer (1970-1986) with his photos published in Life, Zoom, American Photographer, Redbook and numerous other magazines. He is also a noted TV commercial director and cameraman (since 1986) with many commercial and artistic credits.

 

Joe Piazza, Art Director
Joe brings a unique set of skills to PlowShare with over 20 years of experience as a designer, printer, prepress and IT specialist. He also provides print production consulting and training, color management solutions, IT services and creative support to improve and enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of our clients' visual communications. Joe received a BFA from Syracuse University where he studied advertising design, photography and fine art.

 

Carole van Almelo, New Media Designer & Producer
A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, Carole started her career in magazine production on Madison Avenue. Shortly after, she moved to Los Angeles and became interested in something called the "Internet." Soon enough, she started producing websites, animated ads and online applications. Turns out that this "Internet" thing was not a passing fancy, and many years later Carole is still helping to bring an online voice to dozens of our clients. Her favorite site is the one she did at www.plowsharegroup.com.