Meet the Bospartans
Leadership
Chris has logged 30+ years of success in leading PR for several hundred of the best known consumer and technology brands in the world. She spent the first third of her career working with packaged goods giants like Procter & Gamble, Oscar Mayer, Kraft, Johnson & Johnson, Mattel and Levi Strauss, in senior management positions at Edelman and Burson-Marsteller, before starting her own firm in the mid-90s. Her personal trademark has been to bring global brand sophistication and ultimate consumer pull-through to B2B and B2C clients alike. Chris has special branding expertise – creating memorable campaigns ranging from Cisco’s “The Human Network” to Dolby’s “The Sound of History.” She personally leads strategy, branding, core messaging and regular quality review sessions for every Bospar client. Her clients have received more than 300 awards and special industry acknowledgements for outstanding marketing and PR. Chris has won multiple Silver Anvils – “the Oscar of PR” – and has served as a judge for Silver Anvils and other agency awards. She served on the Executive Committee of the Counselors Academy of the Public Relations Society of America where she spearheaded the organization’s first re-branding initiative. She holds a BA from The University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Chris’ favorite mantra: “Only when you learn how to see the invisible, can you do the impossible.”
Curtis Sparrer is a principal and co-founder of Bospar PR.
His client work spans B2B, B2C, and every permutation in between. He has delivered stellar results for such clients as PayPal, Unisys, Tetris, and the alien hunters of the SETI Institute.
Business Insider twice listed Curtis in its 50 Best Public Relations People In The Tech Industry. The Los Angeles Times called him a “crisis management expert.” The PR industry trade publication PRovoke named him to its Innovator 25-Americas list, which included an elite group of innovators from Ben & Jerry’s, Flexport, Goldman Sachs, Morning Consult, Peloton, Prudential Financial, and The Wendy’s Group. The San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) named Curtis its PR Professional of the Year. The PR World Awards named him the Public Relations Executive of the Year, the Public Relations Innovator of the Year, and the Public Relations Professional of the Year. The Bulldog Reporter named him the , Media Relations Professional of the Year, and the PR Professional Who Makes a Difference.
PRWeek profiled more than a dozen programs led by Curtis as examples of innovative and effective techniques with outstanding results. These examples included convincing Google to change its daily Doodle into the building blocks of Tetris; working with Star Trek legend George Takei; and telling Neil Patrick Harris why it’s not acceptable to say “San Fran.”
Curtis keeps abreast of the dynamic media landscape with columns in Adweek, Entrepreneur, and the Forbes Communications Council. He has placed articles about the importance of PR and marketing for brands that wanted to elevate their profiles in ClickZ, MediaPost, O’Dwyer’s, and PRWeek.
Before moving into PR, Curtis was executive producer for KRON-TV, the nation’s largest independent television station. His work there earned him an Emmy.
Curtis employs his unparalleled TV training skills to prepare each of Bospar’s client spokespersons to shine during their many moments in the spotlight. Having appeared on TV and online to talk about why public relations and branding matters in our everyday lives, Curtis knows exactly what his clients are experiencing. He has written in Forbes about how these experiences have sharpened his media training.
In his efforts to make an even broader contribution to PR and society, Curtis is the president of the San Francisco Press Club and is on the board of PRSA Silicon Valley. He is a lifetime member of the National Lesbian Gay Journalists Association and StartOut, a LGBTQ entrepreneurial organization. He is married to Brice Stanek, an interior designer in San Francisco.
Ask Curtis for his favorite mantra, and he will respond: “The difference between involvement and commitment is like ham and eggs. The chicken was involved. The pig was committed.”
Tom Carpenter has more than 20 years of business, marketing and technology PR experience, having led programs for high profile global technology-enabled companies including NXP Semiconductors, MDLIVE, Univa, Teleperformance, Apigee, InsightsOne, TeamViewer, Kaazing, Five9, Qumu, Rimage, Coupa, ON24, Cardlytics, ARC Document Solutions, Riverwood Solutions, Goo Technologies and more – many of which have been covered in PRWeek as examples of “the best of PR.” Tom has also designed and led individual campaigns for Monitis, Mozilla and Rovio with measurable business results. Prior to coming on board as a Principal at Bospar, Tom served as Vice President of the Technology Practice at Grayling where he specialized in public relations, client counsel, company messaging and product positioning, content development for business and consumer brands, campaign management, analyst relations, spokesperson training and corporate counsel and has led several companies through the acquisition process. Special areas of interest include topics ranging from The Internet of Things and Big Data to Consumer Products, and Tom’s work has appeared in a broad range of Consumer and B2B media from The Tonight Show to publications like Bloomberg Businessweek and Fast Company. Tom has also worked with executives at the international law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP, as well as led business development and regional oversight for educational and medical programs at Kaplan Test Prep & Admissions. Tom’s favorite mantra: “If we want better results, we have to make better choices.”
Tricia Heinrich has held leadership positions in both agency and corporate environments, having served as an SVP at Weber Shandwick Worldwide, where her clients included Microsoft and HP, and in senior communications roles at Texas Instruments, Genesys and ON24. A B2B content management specialist, her work includes executive bylined articles in the Huffington Post and The Economist and an award-winning “For Dummies” series of guidebooks. Some of Tricia’s most memorable campaigns have involved celebrity spokespeople, including Bill Rancic, current reality TV star and the first “The Apprentice” winner; MC Hammer, rap star and social media pioneer; and San Francisco Giants pitcher Brian “Fear the Beard” Wilson. Her work has resulted in significant coverage in top-tier media, including the Wall Street Journal, CNN, the BBC, Fast Company, Wired and USA Today. Also an experienced analyst relations specialist, Tricia has helped guide outreach efforts that have led to numerous research reports, endorsements and awards, including a Forrester Research WAVE report win. She holds a BA in journalism and an MBA in marketing. Tricia’s favorite mantra: “Strive for perfection. Settle for excellence.”
VP
Senior Directors
The Bospar Team
Rebecca Agurto
Assistant Account Executive
Greg Allen
Account Supervisor
Ami Atha-Thakkar
Account Manager
Gagan Aujla
Account Supervisor
Caitlin Bilotta
Assistant Account Executive
Patience Baldacci
Account Executive
Juana Blackwell
Account Executive
Alyssa Bosemer
Senior Account Executive, Social Media
Sam Brancato
Account Manager
Deanna Davis
Account Supervisor, Content
Amy Dhillon
Accounting Manager
Ashley Diano
Senior Account Executive
Tomio Geron
Content Director
Grace Gervais
Account Manager
Alyssa Hopkins
Senior Account Executive
Tate Jones
Account Executive
Caroline Kamerschen
Account Manager
Sabrina Kouchar
Account Executive, Social Media
Tsai-Ni Ku
Senior Account Executive
Todd Lane
Director of Content
Sklyer Levy
Account Executive, Social Media
Courtney Merolle
Account Director
Meseret "Mercy" Mehzun
Assistant Account Executive
Melanie Moore
Senior Account Executive
Stacia O'Leary
Assistant Account Executive
Brandy Patton-Miller
Account Manager
Nina Poulaki
Account Supervisor
Chinar Pusalkar
Account Executive
Emma Rafanello
Account Supervisor, Social Media
Lauren Ren
Senior Account Executive
Smriti Shakargaye
Account Supervisor
Jessica Shein
Account Director
Allison Stowell
Assistant Account Executive
Joe Valensky
Account Supervisor
Sarah Woelfel
Account Manager, Social Media
Nick Yacenko
Account Supervisor
Mila Zehntbauer
Account Executive