Story Partners has hired four people to join the public affairs firm.

Lauren Pratapas is coming on as senior director after working as director of new media for House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). Ashley LaGanga, a former deputy press secretary to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), has been named the firm’s writer/editor. And Lisa Chapman, who was an associate at HDMK, and Elyse Petroni, who was an account executive at GolinHarris, are joining as senior associates.

Story Partners also promoted Andrew Fimka from director to vice president.

For more on Pratapas, including which team she’s rooting for in the NHL playoffs, check out tomorrow’s National Journal magazine for a profile.

–

Story Partners Adds New Talent to Washington DC Office

Public Affairs Practice Expands with Four Additions

Washington, D.C. – Today Story Partners, a leading national public affairs firm, announces the expansion of its D.C. office with the addition of four team members.  Lauren Pratapas joins as a Senior Director; Ashley LaGanga as the firm’s Writer/Editor; and Lisa Chapman and Elyse Petroni as Senior Associates.  In addition, Story Partners’ has promoted Director Andrew Fimka to Vice President.

“Story Partners excels because we couple Washington veterans with the best and brightest young communicators,” said Gloria Story Dittus, Chairman of Story Partners. “Today’s additions from Capitol Hill leadership and experienced public relations firms bear that strategy.”

Lauren Pratapas joins Story Partners from Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy’s office, where she served as Director of New Media.  She developed the “WhipCast App,” oversaw website development, and implemented their social media plan.  Prior to her work on Capitol Hill Lauren was a producer for CNN, working on television, field production, CNN’s Political Ticker blog, as well as the Politics Daily Podcast.

Ashley LaGanga brings her persuasive writing and communications skills to Story Partners.  She formerly served as deputy press secretary to Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and press aide to Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert.  Ashley graduated summa cum laude from Sweet Briar College, and earned her J.D. at George Mason University School of Law.

Lisa Chapman comes to Story Partners as an associate from HDMK, where she worked regularly with national television, print, and radio media.  She has extensive experience with new media including national blogs and social networking communities.  She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Political Science from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

Elyse Petroni joins Story Partners from GolinHarris, where she served as an Account Executive.    There she conducted traditional media relations as well as a variety of new media strategies, including executing blogger relations, creating innovative applications of social media, and serving as community manager and copy writer for clients’ social networks.  Elyse holds a B.S. in Journalism from West Virginia University.

Vice President Andrew Fimka joined Story Partners in 2011 as a Director and was recently promoted following his successful work managing coalitions for Story Partners within the energy and financial services industries. Andrew joined Story Partners following seven years at the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). Fimka holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Hartford and a Master’s Degree in Legislative Affairs from George Washington University.

###

There are so many advantages for your business to make the switch to Timeline. But first and foremost, it gives you room to make your page unique; to make it you.

As you develop your Timeline, keep in mind the added benefits and how you can use them for your company.

Make Your Page Unique

One of Timeline’s biggest attractions is that the user controls the look. Unlike previous Facebook pages where the user hardly had any control over appearance, Timeline allows personal customization.

This is beneficial because it allows you to be creative with your images and content – it draws in the desired demographic simply through its looks.

Make Your Page Interactive

Another big added advantage to Timeline is the increase of company-consumer interaction. The new feature allows for the page to send out a private message to its fans.

Although this is a positive aspect for all Facebook Timeline users, it is especially beneficial to brand pages. By responding to consumers on a personal level, you not only prevent cluttering the page, but also make the consumer feel they’re being catered to.

Make Your Page Relevant

Taking a cue from Pinterest, Timeline has added an option referred to as “pinning.” This enables content, no matter how old, to be brought back to the top of the page, making it one of the first posts the audience views.

Companies must be relevant and present a way to entice the consumer into utilizing their services. Utilizing this “sticky” content feature makes it easier for you to keep the most relevant posts at the top of your consumers’ minds. Through pinning, companies can manipulate what they want the consumer to see – they are in control.

Good luck with your switch and let us know the innovative ways you’re sharing content with the new Timeline!

Last night marked the 29^th time the National Press Foundation has gathered together to award the nation’s top journalists and broadcasters.  This year also marked the second year that Story Partners and NJI have joined forces to run the Twitter dashboard focused on why journalism matters.  Using #JournalismMatters, dinner guests were invited to tweet their answers to the question, “Why does journalism matter?” The Twitter dashboard (www.WhyJournalismMatters.org) was displayed throughout the evening and highlighted journalists’ Tweets.

It’s a heady question, perfect for a room full of reporters.  Responses varied from the witty to the wise.  Some of our favorites included:

• because we need someone to blame;
• because information is power. It can inspire action and change. And it can help people know what to do and how; and
• because journalists still have the power to amplify faint voices of pain, suffering and injustice for the world to hear.

We think the latter response perfectly answers the question.  To borrow the vernacular of Martin Luther King, Jr., “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”  Ironically, that quote first appeared in his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” penned in the margins of his newspaper.

There are likely as many responses to the question, “Why does journalism matter?” as there are people to ask the question.   Story Partners is proud to partner with the National Press Foundation as the conversation continues.

You might see something a little different the next time you log onto your favorite brand’s Facebook page – perhaps even an event that happened prior to Al Gore’s invention of the internet.

In a never-ending quest to confuse users, while simultaneously increasing our reliance on their social media platform, Facebook recently announced they would be rolling out the “Timeline” feature for brand pages. Similar to its current layout, the Timeline for brands will be “consistent” with the current layout, but not identical according to Facebook’s VP, Marketing and Business Partnerships.

Timeline for personal pages received mixed reviews here at Story Partners.  Some of us remain purists and long for the days that required new Facebook users to have an “.edu” e-mail address, and we didn’t have to worry about our parents posting novella length posts on our walls regarding our aging, childhood pets.  Others embraced the change and switched over to Timeline immediately to showcase pictures of them taking in all our quaint little town on the Potomac has to offer.

Regardless of our personal feelings about the Timeline for brands rollout, Story Partners is ready to integrate that approach where it benefits our clients to have an opportunity to construct a full narrative.  For example, a brand’s presence would no longer be limited to the time at which it joined Facebook and the tabs or apps currently on the brand’s page may turn into boxes in Timeline, to showcase current coupons, contests or polls.

Facebook is planning the complete roll-out at a day-long conference targeted at marketers on February 29, 2012.

Stay tuned, you may be hearing from a Story Partners team member soon about moving your brand’s page to the Timeline.

Follow us on Twitter! @StoryPartners

I wish I could say that as a young girl I knew what I wanted to be professionally. I didn’t. In fact, I’ve always admired people who knew their career aspirations at a young age because they could really focus and be the best at it. What got me ahead all my life was doing the best I could at what I did. And as I got older, it became important to also love what I do, because that’s when you get really good at it.

I grew up in a family with parents who showed me that taking care of people is a priority. So I thought I wanted to be in criminal justice or social work but many social workers at the time told me to go into business because you can affect change better if you’re on the management side. So I went to business school. A previous internship at the Massachusetts State House connected me to an internship in the District under former speaker of the House, Tip O’Neill. It was on Capitol Hill where I fell in love with public affairs. This was in the early ‘80s when it was a tough time politically. President Jimmy Carter lost the election and a lot of Democrats lost their seats in the House. But I saw how every debate on Capitol Hill was one that impacts people’s lives greatly. And I saw how important it was to use communications to shape a message, issue and policy.

During that internship, I worked really hard to do a good job because I had a deep concern and respect for the institution of the Congress and I wanted to do right by it. I ended up with a full-time job for seven years.

Since then I’ve worked for a number of clients, including nonprofits, doing public affairs in health care, energy and financial services.

Serving as a partner in a government relations firm that was heavier on the lobbying side solidified my desire for the public relations side.

I found that I am a communications person.

I put myself through some training, got more involved in communications and got a job at a small, woman-owned public affairs firm doing a lot of focus group work, marketing and grass-roots work.

I eventually transitioned to another firm but the difference was that it was a start-up. I enjoy that entrepreneurial environment where you could be creative and make impactful decisions for the company. I helped grow the firm from seven people to 60 until it was sold.

When I learned about Story Partners, I loved the marriage between its experienced senior people and really bright junior people who understand digital and social media.

As president, I want this company to be a growing public affairs firm that is respected and recognized for its work in digital and social media.

I may not have known that I would arrive at this point in my career but everyone finds their way as they go along. It’s never too late to find your path.

—Interview with Vanessa Small

November 14, 2011

Washington, D.C. – Story Partners, one of the nation’s most dynamic and rapidly growing public affairs firms, is pleased to announce that respected communications strategist Debra Cabral has joined Story Partners as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in their Washington, D.C. office. In this senior leadership role, Cabral will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the firm’s client services, business development and operations functions.

“Debra Cabral has shown time and time again that she sets the gold standard for public affairs professionals in Washington,” said Gloria Story Dittus, Story Partners Chairman. “I am so pleased that Debra and I will once again be working together, this time building a 21st century public affairs firm that is developing the next generation of strategies and tactics to deliver measurable results for our clients. Together we built Dittus Communications into one of the country’s most respected public affairs firms and I know that we can recreate that same magic.”

A highly esteemed communications counselor and executive, Cabral brings more than 25 years of experience to Story Partners in a variety of sectors including nonprofits, health care, finance, technology and corporate communications.  Prior to joining Story Partners, Cabral served as Executive Vice President of Porter Novelli Public Services where among marketing, business development and client responsibility roles, she also managed the DC office’s digital/social media team.

“At its inception, Story Partners set out not to be the biggest public affairs firm, but simply the best,” said Cabral. “I am beyond excited to be leading the Story Partners team toward achieving that goal and using my experience to continue to build on our core business model: couple seasoned professionals with the best and brightest young communicators around and focus on results.”

Prior to joining Porter Novelli, she served as Executive Vice President for Dittus Communications where her responsibilities included overall client management and company operations.  She has also held leadership roles at The Capitol Group, The Jefferson Group, HealthNet Federal Services and the National Association of Chain Drug Stores. Additionally, Cabral spent seven years serving in the leadership office of the former House Speaker Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill, Jr.

Cabral earned an MBA from The George Washington University and B.A. from The University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

“Story Partners makes a commitment to each and every client to amplify their story no matter how challenging or cluttered the communications environment,” said Amos Snead, Story Partners Principal. “Having Debra on board will give Story Partners an unrivaled edge in providing our clients with the strategic guidance they need to ensure that their communications campaigns are compelling in design and successfully executed.”

About Story Partners

Story Partners is an experienced team of public affairs professionals who have a long history of influencing outcomes – whether clients are trying to impact a public debate, define and dominate a market or successfully position an executive team. With offices in Washington, New Orleans and Birmingham, and a national network of proven political and communications operatives, Story Partners is well positioned to meet client needs at the federal, state and local level.

For more information about Story Partners and its services, please visit www.StoryPartnersDC.com or contact Amos Snead at (202) 706-7800 or Amos.Snead@StoryPartnersDC.com.

###

September 3, 2011
By: Christopher Hopkins

Andrew Fimka, 31, describes himself as a “political hack who wants to be a policy nerd.” He makes a living framing the issues, but he is also attentive to data and documentation. “It’s almost too easy to push out an issue these days,” he says. Since the advent of the Internet, “some folks maybe take things a little irresponsibly by pushing out things that aren’t cited, that aren’t based on quality. In the end, that’s a detriment to the public debate.”

Last month, Fimka was named a director at Story Partners, a communications firm founded by Gloria Dittus, doyenne of the public-relations world. He arrives from the National Federation of Independent Business, where he made up for a modest budget by appealing directly to voters. “The [federation] has never been the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where you’ve got millions of dollars to spend in paid media. We’ve always found that if you really want to move issues, you’ve got to move lawmakers, and the only way to move lawmakers is to move their constituents.”

Like other sectors of the Washington professional class, public relations has been transformed by the Web. By melding traditional tactics with new media, image-makers can now “drill down” on a specific audience. “A lot of folks buy a lot of banner ads and say they’ve had 1 million impressions, but is it really resonating with the folks that matter?” Fimka asks. “Especially here in the Beltway, people have only so much bandwidth. They can only pay attention to so many things.”

Fimka grew up in Enfield, Conn., which he describes as a blue-collar, “old manufacturing town.” His mother and father—who emigrated from Columbia and Poland, respectively—met in English class in New York City. “I bust my dad’s chops because I tell him that must have been one hell of a pickup line.”

When Fimka’s father was laid off from his job on his 50th birthday, he resolved to start his own business. “My father is the American story personified,” Fimka says. “I think that’s a huge reason why I’ve been at NFIB. I definitely believe in free enterprise as both an economic system and a way of life.”

By his own admission, Fimka is “a company-town kind of guy.” After receiving a bachelor’s degree from the University of Hartford and a master’s degree in legislative affairs from George Washington University, he joined a roster of “seasoned and salty politicos” at the National Republican Congressional Committee, under former Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia.

In 2008, Fimka took a leave of absence from NFIB to oversee small and midsize business coalitions for Sen. John McCain’s GOP presidential campaign. “I was at headquarters the day Lehman Brothers went down. That was a game changer—the economy has never been the same since.”

C.S.H.

Fox News

“Andrew brings to Story Partners deep grassroots and advocacy experience, particularly as applied in today’s digital public affairs world. Andrew has been at the forefront of many successful campaigns and we are pleased to bring his expertise to our client base,” said Gloria Story Dittus, Founder and Chairman of Story Partners.

Most recently, Fimka served as Director of Political and Legislative Advocacy for the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).  In that role he led NFIB’s issue advocacy and political communications campaigns that successfully targeted grassroots activists, as well as policy stakeholders.  Prior to joining NFIB, Fimka worked in a variety of campaign roles for Congressional and presidential candidates.

“I am excited to add my experience in grassroots advocacy to Story Partners. Today’s effective public affairs campaigns must blend outreach to lawmakers in D.C., with their constituents back home. It takes a campaign mentality to build the type of grassroots support that is critical to moving issues forward, both on the ground and in the digital space,” said Fimka.

Heather Coddington brings a background in local and state government, corporate, and non-profit communications. With her background in website design and development, Coddington understands how digital communications play a vital role in advocacy efforts. Heather’s strength lies in the ability to build and execute online advocacy campaigns that are vital in today’s digital environment from concept to “click through.”

“Heather’s technology background and creative savvy are excellent additions to our expanding advocacy practice that specializes in advertising, online engagement and digital strategies,” said Amos Snead, Principal of Story Partners.

Summarizing her new role, Coddington said, “I’m excited to bring my skill set to Story Partners and work alongside a great team on interesting issues and clients.  It’s both challenging and rewarding to see a client’s vision come to life.”

Williams’ experience in the technology policy arena comes from her work with the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) and has enabled her to hit the ground running with existing technology clients. A native of Georgia, Tamara attended Howard University in Washington, D.C.

Dittus summed up the new additions as a tremendous gain for Story Partners’ growing client list, “We are excited to be able to choose the best and the brightest in their fields to join our team and continue to grow Story Partners at a rapid rate while providing our clients with unsurpassed service and results.  Expanding our expertise in digital public affairs combined with our strengths in traditional media create a winning combination for every client in today’s world.”

For more information about Story Partners, visit www.StoryPartnersDC.com or call (202-706-7800) or info@StoryPartnersDC.com.

POLITICO: Story Partners Adds Three

The Hill: Andrew Fimka has joined Story Partners

Potomac Flacks: Story Partners Adds New Talent to Washington DC Office