Sara M. Katz is the founder and president of Katz & Associates, a full-service communication firm. Sara founded Katz & Associates in 1986 after tenures with former California Governor Pete Wilson and San Diego Mayor Susan Golding. With her team of communication professionals, Sara manages community relations, public involvement and public affairs strategies for her clients.

During her 25 years of public affairs experience, Sara has developed a recognized specialty in developing communication programs for local, state and federal public agencies. Her experience includes public outreach and involvement programs for major public works projects, social awareness programs and controversial public policy issues. Sara's wealth of experience ranges from issues management, coalition building and facilitation to strategic planning, media strategy and crisis management.

Under Sara's supervision, the firm has grown to more than 45 employees while maintaining a solid track record of personalized service, the hallmark of her boutique-size firm.

Patricia Tennyson is the executive vice president/director of client relations for Katz & Associates. Patricia oversees community and government relations, communication, and public affairs strategies. She also facilitates community advisory panels, environmental scoping meetings, public meetings and strategic planning workshops.

Patricia has provided strategic counsel, facilitated public working committees and workshops and designed presentations for policy-makers and the community on a variety of technical issues. Such issues include water and wastewater, airport planning and education, boating and environmental issues. She has completed facilitation training coursework at Interaction Associates and coursework in resolving public policy conflicts at CDR Associates. Patricia has assisted a variety of public agencies to develop and implement public outreach and involvement strategies, as well as moderated NEPA and CEQA scoping meetings and public hearings.

Prior to joining Katz & Associates, Patricia was the public affairs director of the San Diego County Water Authority, where she developed and implemented innovative public outreach programs and strategies for community education and involvement for major regional projects.

Lewis Michaelson is a facilitator, mediator, and environmental dispute resolution specialist with over 23 years of experience in designing and facilitating consensus-building programs for environmental, planning and impact analysis projects.

Using a collaborative problem solving approach, Lewis has facilitated community outreach and consensus for projects and issues involving a wide range of subjects, including light rail transit, wastewater and stormwater projects, airport facilities, regional water supply facilities, urban trails, hazardous waste cleanup, watershed planning, military base closures and expansions, waterfront development and land use management plans.

In addition to his project and case work, Lewis is the past president of the International Association for Public Participation. As a board member of IAP2, he was instrumental in spearheading the development of the Core Values for the Practice of Public Participation and the IAP2 Code of Ethics. He was also one of the three original developers of the Foundations of Public Participation training courses instituted by IAP2. Lewis is also a 20 year member of the Association for Conflict Resolution.

Joseph Charest is a communication professional with more than 30 years of experience in corporate and agency public relations, advertising and marketing. He specializes in developing multidisciplinary communication programs designed to raise awareness of issues and frame public debates. Joe's experience includes work in the transportation, health care, non profit and environmental fields. His skills have been recognized with two national Silver Anvil awards, the PR profession's highest honor.

In addition to strategic planning, Joe is skilled at message development, spokesperson training and media relations. His excellent writing skills are put to use in creating op-ed articles, position papers and informational materials. Joe also brings experience in community relations, having worked on major, controversial infrastructure programs.

Prior to joining Katz & Associates, he served as president of The Gable Group, one of San Diego's largest public relations firms, for more than a dozen years and as president and senior vice president in two other communication firms. He also was a corporate vice president and assistant general manager in the Los Angeles office of Burson-Marsteller, the world's largest firm at the time.

Lori Prosio is a vice president for Katz & Associates and leads all efforts for the firm's Sacramento office, including management of a full-time staff of 13. She has more than 15 years of experience directing and implementing advertising, social marketing, community outreach, public awareness and public involvement programs at the local, regional and state levels. Experienced in research, media relations, community outreach, social marketing and public awareness strategies, Lori has experience overseeing multi-million dollar communication campaigns designed to educate and inform Californians about important issues such as teen pregnancy prevention, prenatal care, low-cost healthcare, consumer protection, driver and pedestrian safety, recycling, water quality and conservation, habitat restoration, air quality and new media usage.

Lori is a certified International Association of Public Participation practitioner and is a member of the Sacramento Public Relations Association and the International Association of Business Communicators. Lori is a regular contributing columnist to the Sacramento Business Journal. She has a B.A in communication studies, and an M.B.A in Business.

Robin Rockey serves as a senior director for Katz & Associates, working on-site as the Southern Nevada Water Authority Capital Improvements Program project information manager.

Robin has worked for Katz & Associates for more than 21 years. Since 1997, Robin has provided community outreach, construction relations and project information management for the Southern Nevada Water Authority's $2.9 billion Capital Improvements Program serving the greater Las Vegas Valley. Projects include numerous pumping stations, large-diameter pipelines, a water treatment facility, two new water intakes and a raw water pumping system, each requiring a unique community and media relations strategy and approach. Prior to her assignment in Southern Nevada, Robin served more than eight years as on-site public information manager for the City of San Diego Metropolitan Wastewater Department. In this role, she handled community relations, public information and media relations for the multi-billion dollar upgrade and expansion of the region's sewerage system.

Allison Turner is a director and regional manager for Katz & Associates. She specializes in developing and implementing public involvement and information programs, environmental public affairs, environmental planning and process support, and risk communication. Allison currently manages stakeholder outreach strategy development and planning efforts in support of the U.S. Navy's Tactical Training Theater Assessment and Planning program. In this role, she develops stakeholder outreach strategies and public involvement plans for Navy and Marine Corps ranges to ensure the continued sustainability of operation and training activities.

Allison has extensive experience in developing strategic outreach plans and designing public and stakeholder involvement programs for environmental review processes. She has managed and implemented all aspects of the public participation process for 17 NEPA projects for the Navy and Marine Corps across the continental United States and in Alaska, Hawaii and Guam.

Allison joined Katz & Associates with rigorous training in environmental science, economics, law, public policy and project management, as well as nine years of management and customer relations experience in the private sector. Experience and training in several disciplines allow Allison to understand the complexities of environmental issues and "speak the language" of all involved stakeholders.