Lane Hires Two, Promotes Four in West Coast Office

PORTLAND, OR--(Marketwired - Sep 24, 2014) - LANE, a national, independent agency specializing in public relations, digital marketing and investor relations, has hired two individuals and promoted four employees in its Portland, Oregon, office. The agency added Sonal Haladay as a senior account executive and Heather McLendon as a digital strategist. Tracy Anderson and Claire Castellanos have been promoted to account director, Rob Bitter has been promoted to senior account executive, and Rachael Ka'apu has been promoted to account executive.

"Our diverse national client base and today's communications landscape require us to recruit and develop individuals who can strategize and execute across a variety of platforms," said Wendy Lane Stevens, president and founder of LANE. "Each of these individuals adds to the overall strength of our team in a way that allows us to make significant contributions toward driving results that build revenue for our clients."

Tracy Anderson, Account Director
Anderson joined LANE in January 2010 and works on a variety of accounts in the consumer and financial sectors, including D.A. Davidson, Regions Financial, WACOM, and Washington Trust Bank. On these accounts, she drives public relations and communications campaigns, including media relations, strategic social media outreach and event coordination. Previously, Tracy spent a year and a half dedicated to Microsoft's Windows Phone where she worked with top-tier consumer publications in the men's and women's lifestyle, parenting and travel space. Anderson graduated from the University of Oregon's School of Journalism and Communication in 2005 with a Bachelor of Arts.

Claire Castellanos, Account Director
Castellanos joined LANE in 2012 as an account executive. As an account director, Castellanos will drive the implementation of strategic communications campaigns through content development, media outreach, event coordination and digital marketing. Prior to joining LANE, Castellanos worked as an account executive at Nereus, Portland-based public relations and marketing communications agency specializing in the technology industry. She graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Science in Public Relations.

Rob Bitter, Senior Account Executive
Bitter joined LANE in March 2011 and has applied his strong finance and sales background to his work at the agency. As a senior account executive, Bitter leads the implementation of strategic communications campaigns through content development, media outreach, event coordination and results reporting for both business and consumer accounts. Prior to joining LANE, he worked as an institutional investment adviser at Phillips and Company Securities in Portland. Bitter attended Connecticut College in New London, Connecticut, and is FINRA Series 7, 65 and 63 certified.

Sonal Haladay, Senior Account Executive
Haladay joined LANE in March 2014 and currently works as a senior account executive on a variety of accounts in the travel, food, tech and consumer-lifestyle industries. Haladay's current and past client portfolio includes Travel Oregon, Moonstruck Chocolate Co., Travel Portland, Umpqua Oats, Balanced Body, VendScreen and Trailblazer Foods. Prior to joining LANE, Haladay worked at Ruder Finn in New York City. She worked with various account teams supporting Fortune 500 clients. Her account work included U.S. and global support of issues-driven initiatives, innovative social media launch campaigns, advocacy relationships, thoughtful consumer support programs and crisis management issues in real-time.

Rachael Ka'apu, Account Executive
Ka'apu joined LANE in August 2012 and currently works as an account executive with a focus on the consumer, food and beverage, and travel industries. She graduated from the University of Oregon's School of Journalism and Communication in 2012 with a Bachelor of Arts. Ka'apu's client portfolio includes DoveLewis Emergency Animal Hospital, The Heathman Restaurant & Bar, Moonstruck Chocolate Co., Pamplin and Trailblazer Foods.

Heather McLendon, Digital Strategist
McLendon joined LANE in 2014 as a digital strategist. She integrates digital marketing and strategy with traditional public relations campaigns for national clients in the food and beverage, consumer goods, technology, and financial services sectors. She has expertise in social media strategy and management, digital marketing, web analytics, online and social advertising, content management systems, and a wide range of industry tools and technologies. Prior to joining LANE, McLendon served as the social media and Web content coordinator for Marylhurst University. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in communication arts from Warner Pacific College in Portland, Ore., and a Master of Arts in cinema, television and society from the University of York in York, England.

About LANE
LANE is a national, independent firm focused on driving business and sales success for clients through strategic communications counsel. With offices in New York and Portland, Oregon, LANE provides integrated public relations, digital marketing and investor relations services for clients in a host of industries, including financial services, consumer, food and beverage, and technology. Founded in 1990, the agency has won several awards, including the 2011 Silver SABRE Award, the 2010 Bronze Bulldog Award for best new product launch and the 2009 PRWeek Young PR Professional of the Year. For more information about LANE, visit www.lanepr.com. Connect with LANE on Twitter at Twitter.com/LANEPR and LinkedIn at LinkedIn.com/company/lane.