Laurie Kappe has over 25 years of professional experience covering grassroots and political organizing, public policy advocacy, research and analysis as well as communications consulting. Laurie formed i.e. communications, LLC in June, 1997. i.e. communications, LLC provides the expertise of Laurie Kappe and her associates in research, policy advocacy, message development, grassroots organizing and media relations. The goal in creating i.e. communications, LLC was to empower individuals, whether in their neighborhoods, workplaces or organizations, with the tools and information to convey their vision or affect change. Through creative communications and strategic media relations, i.e. communications, LLC helps constituencies achieve their objectives. Since forming i.e. communications, LLC, clients have included corporations, foundations, government agencies and non-profit organizations, specifically: United Airlines, Washington Mutual, The California Wellness Foundation, The California Endowment, Sierra Health Foundation, The Foundation Consortium, The California Department of Justice, The Children and Families Commission (Proposition 10), The California Health and Human Services Agency, Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the California Parks and Recreation Society. In addition to designing and directing multi-faceted campaigns, Laurie is also a frequent speaker on strategic communications and serves as a spokesperson on violence prevention. Prior to forming i.e. communications, Laurie was senior associate at Martin & Glantz (1989-1997) where she was responsible for communications programs, public education campaigns, media training, and program evaluations. Laurie's earlier work as a research analyst and corporate finance associate specializing in communications technologies for two investment-banking firms, Hambrecht & Quist and Eberstadt Fleming (1982-1988), helped generate her knowledge of relational databases and on-line services and spurred her interest in innovative and strategic methods to impact public policy. Laurie holds a BA from University of Chicago (1976) and a MS from the University of California, Berkeley (1980). When Laurie is not working passionately to change the world, she can be found at the basketball courts with her sons.

Marcia Estarija’s online media, community outreach, and research background is key to her work at i.e. communications. Prior to joining i.e. communications in May 2005, Marcia worked at craigslist.org as an one-person Community Relations department where she built relationships with the media, local organizations, and users. She promoted the use of technology and the internet to create and strengthen online communities and enjoyed supporting the work of nonprofits. Previously she worked in public accounting at Deloitte & Touche and she has volunteered with Wired Magazine, Junior Achievement, the Women's Building and Compass Community Services. She holds a BA in Business Economics and a minor in Women's Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She fancies playing musical instruments and spends a lot of time at concerts and on the internet.

Elizabeth Gettelman joined i.e. communications in May 2002. She worked previously for San Francisco's Department of Children, Youth and their Families as a policy analyst where she coordinated the first youth-led evaluation of the city of San Francisco's youth programs and fundraised $1.5 million dollars for citywide summer youth employment programs. She has a masters in both Public Policy and Journalism from UC Berkeley and is an editorial fellow at Mother Jones magazine and has articles published in the Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor, Le Monde.fr and the San Francisco Chronicle. She is on the board of directors at The San Francisco Women's Building and is the author of a how-to basketball book for girls. Captain of her Harvard basketball team in college she now prefers the less competitive pursuits of running, yoga and rock climbing.

Julia Hoy has previous research experience from working at the University of California at San Francisco. She holds a B.S. degree in Human Physiology from Boston University, and is currently attending the Masters of Public Health program at San Francisco State University. Her interests are in equitable access to health care, particularly dental care. She volunteers at the Dental Health Foundation, a policy-based nonprofit that focuses on expanding oral health services for Californians. She enjoys cooking, Days of Our Lives, and surfing the internet.

Margaux McFetridge has previously worked as a Legislative Assistant with the National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter. Providing overall support for NASW-CA's Government Relations program, she tracked and analyzed legislation and managed the program's political action alerts and communications. With NASW-CA, Margaux also coordinated the annual Legislative Lobby Days conference, where in 2006 social workers from across the state successfully lobbied against budget cuts to the CalWORKs program and for increased funding for child welfare caseworkers. She received her B.A. in History from Mills College and has also attended San Francisco State University, focusing on environmental and labor history in the Masters in U.S. History Program. She enjoys playing guitar, dancing, and watching her friends' bands.

Stavem has spent more than 15 years working in media, politics and the public policy arena. Most recently, she was Chief of Staff to California First Lady Maria Shriver. Prior to working in Sacramento, Stavem was a political consultant at Staton Hughes, where she directed political campaigns for congressional candidates, local ballot measures and nonprofit organizations. She also managed a gubernatorial briefing project designed to position five California Health Care Foundations as the definitive resource on related issues for former Governor Gray Davis. In doing so, she wrote voluminous health-related briefing books on such issues as Medicaid expansion and how to better address ethnic disparities in health care. A top aide for Sen. Bill Bradley during the 2000 presidential election cycle, Stavem began her public policy career in 1990 as the founding senior associate of the Washington, DC-based Center for Public Integrity, a non-partisan organization that publishes investigative studies of government accountability and ethics-related issues. A former journalist, she worked as the editor of several Washington-based publications before moving in 1996 to San Francisco to assume the role of publisher and executive editor at AlterNet, the news bureau for independently owned media. She holds an M.A. in journalism from the University of Arizona.

Jo Streit uses the power of storytelling and the visual media to renew civic participation and America's political process. Since 1996, Streit has partnered with i.e. communications on numerous campaigns for The California Wellness Foundation, The Foundation Consortium and most recently for the California Secretary of State. Select programs include "The Violence Prevention Initiative: Resources for Youth" a live interactive broadcast with two uplink locations and 20 downlinks throughout the state of California, "From Pilots to Policy" a video detailing successful community programs and the transition to effective public policy, and "Population Health" an educational video defining health in the broadest terms. Streit produced and directed "Flirting with Power," a non-fiction film about American politics released in 2000. She has also been a speaker at universities, high schools, and film festivals about key issues: media and electoral reform and the power of voting and civic participation. She has a B.A. in Journalism from Texas A&M University and an M.A. in Radio/Television/Film from The University of North Texas.

Deepthi Welaratna brings experience from broadcast journalism, market research, and communications to i.e. communications. At i.e., she has worked on strategic communications campaigns for clients including The California Wellness Foundation, United Way of the Bay Area and the California Secretary of State. As a strategic communications consultant for Brilliant Earth, she directs their issue-based marketing strategy for their socially responsible online store. Previously, Deepthi managed national and multi-national studies as a market research manager for Media-Screen, a San Francisco-based market research firm focusing on the digital citizen. She has worked in broadcasting at both KQED and Berkeley Community Media. She holds a BA in English from San Jose State University. She enjoys music and movies.

Patricia Grooms and her husband George Cox founded Netgirl Enterprises Web Design and Hosting over 13 years ago. Their full-service web design company specializes in personal service. Patricia is a licensed California real estate broker and has served on affordable housing committees and several, non-profit boards.

Valencia Perez Echeveste is a public relations agency with an expertise in serving the dynamic US Hispanic consumer market that is dedicated to helping its clients build public sentiment.

Imada Wong is a fully integrated, full-service marketing communications firm that specializes in reaching the growing Asian communities of the United States.