Jay Elliott

In the more than 20 years Jay has been working in PR and marketing, she has supported a broad range of technology, consumer, healthcare and travel accounts and programs.  Some of the more creative highlights include launching two new cruise lines and introducing their first ships; helping Sonic the Hedgehog overshadow Ground Hog Day in Punxsutawney PA (with the help of its Macy’s Thanksgiving Day balloon); and media training all the Mrs. America contestants as healthcare client spokespeople. She’s even written a promotional poem that delivered a fun and emotional punch for a new product launch.  It’s been an exciting career full of diverse clients and interesting projects, and Jay’s combined project management, strategic planning, message development, spokesperson training, and special event marketing skills have been put to good use in shaping their success.

Working with both corporate clients and PR firms, Jay has participated in the management of new and annual product launches, project-managed partner programs, created external presentations, and managed executive presentations for internal and external conferences. In addition, she has taken on interim assignments for in-house PR executives on leave and has established many long-term working relationships, providing ongoing support for internal PR and marketing teams. In her capacity as principal of WErPR, Jay has the pleasure of collaborating with a team of seasoned communications professionals, each of whom brings complementary skills to WErPR’s core offerings.

Prior to starting WErPR in 2000, Jay worked for Manning, Selvage & Lee/Los Angeles, a top-ten worldwide public relations agency. While at MS&L, she managed the Crystal Cruises account, handling an inaugural year shipboard crisis, and also worked on other top client accounts, including Four Seasons Hotels, IDG Resort Development, Sega, M&M Mars, and NCR, Corp.  She also worked for Macy’s, managing special events for their 26-store retail division in Northern California, as well as Hyatt Hotels.

When it’s time to take a break, Jay enjoys venturing out to try the latest restaurant with friends, working to get her golf handicap out of the double-digits, and traveling to faraway destinations -- which usually involves a camel or elephant ride.  She also is responsible for establishing Gialina, a neighborhood artisan pizzeria, which has been consistently named to the Top 100 San Francisco restaurant list since it opened in 2007.

Rebecca Weill

Rebecca has spent two decades developing and executing successful public relations and marketing communications programs and campaigns for some of the biggest consumer and lifestyle brands in the world. Utilizing a unique blend of creativity, strategic thinking and a passion for connecting consumers and brands, Rebecca has imagined and built nationally recognized programs and secured thousands of media placements to build awareness and drive sales.

Prior to becoming a consultant, Rebecca headed up public relations for William-Sonoma, Old Navy and Gap.   At the helm of William-Sonoma, she created the media relations strategy to secure traditional press coverage as well as social media and blogger results and oversaw direct consumer engagement programs, including in-store events featuring celebrity chefs, pop-up experiences and mobile tours. 

While working for Gap, Inc. brands, she oversaw all PR and buzz marketing initiatives, implementing strategic programs that secured media coverage and buzz.  Rebecca also developed some of Gap’s most memorable PR campaigns, including Gap Casting Call and Gap at Work. 

In the early part of her career, Rebecca was with Manning, Selvage and Lee in Los Angeles, where she was the Account Supervisor for Nike and introduced new lines of fitness footwear and apparel.

When she’s not creating breakthrough PR campaigns, Rebecca is probably trying the hottest new restaurant in San Francisco or hosting a dinner party, then working off the meal by running the hills of the City, and tells us that Twin Peaks is beautiful at dawn.  She also spends much time in the yoga studio, giving her the tenacity and composure for a career in PR!

Lorraine Hamby

Lorraine is a public relations professional with a proven track record of delivering creative, news-driven programs. Over the course of her 20+ year career, she has led PR programs at several Fortune 500 corporations, and has also successfully supported a variety of smaller businesses-- from agencies to start-ups and mid-sized organizations. Her work has included major corporate announcements, product launches and consumer outreach. She has delivered integrated communications programs that incorporate PR, analyst relations, employee communications and social media—always focused on supporting clients’ overall business objectives.

Lorraine has broad and deep high-tech experience. She has worked directly for major brands such as Symantec, Hewlett-Packard and Intuit, and has managed communications outreach for consumer devices through educational software and enterprise technologies. She has a knack for translating tech innovations into clear and compelling layman’s terms. She also has experience reaching mainstream consumer audiences and her creative campaigns have incorporated seasonal trends, celebrity angles, broadcast outreach and mommy bloggers.

Lorraine has also been on the other side of the interview, having begun her career as a journalist. She has retained her news discipline and journalist perspective, bringing strong skills to positioning and messaging work.

Lorraine has a passion for creative expression—from music, to storytelling and the visual arts.  She recently dusted off her old violin and is also attempting to acquire some singing skills. She supports WineCaster, a podcast which shares stories from the wine industry, and has written stories of her own in the form of children’s books. She also dabbles in painting, sketch and collage, and has shared some of her artwork via The Sketchbook Project.