About Us

Kelly is well-equipped to design and implement media campaigns that align with business objectives given her previous experience at Bank of America and Guggenheim Securities. She began her career at a hedge fund, developing a love for numbers as they told a company’s true story. Kelly is passionate about blockchain evolution and believes that transparency is the key to widespread adoption.

Kelly is the Co-Founder, CEO & President of River North Communications. With over two decades of experience as a corporate communications professional with hands-on experience in financial and professional services, she is well-equipped to lead the full team, while designing and implementing media campaigns that align with and meet business objectives. During her tenure with Bank of America and Guggenheim Securities, along with elite media and marketing agencies, she utilized her deep understanding of the industries she covered to craft integrated visibility and reputation management programs that accelerate momentum with audiences that matter.

Kelly, who has an opinion and events byline with one of our media partners, Grit Daily, manages her team across a multitude of industries, which include legal, legaltech, private equity & fund management, real estate, education finance and more. Kelly personally oversees all Web3, blockchain and cryptocurrency programs and has been deeply engaged in this dynamic sector since 2017. She is a true believer in decentralization and use cases that reach the masses to promote financial security along with positive and lasting change. Clients that work with River North have grown exponentially deploying “Prestige Content” that the agency strives to secure, leading to brand awareness.

When she is not planning or researching the next Web event or pitching her clients to top-notch reporters, you will find Kelly either working out, on the beach or at a vineyard in the North Fork of Long Island or dreaming about her next trip to her favorite city in the world, Paris. She also has a creative side and uses that to develop her own artwork, in collaboration with her oldest daughter. Kelly lives with her husband Mark and their two girls, Margot and Hattie in the only town in America with two hyphens: Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ.

Mark has particularly deep experience in corporate operations, maximizing revenues through strategic marketing and sales techniques and advising hands on day to day operations systems, as well as cost containment. He is known as a company “operator” who is able to achieve tangible and measurable results that positions companies for outsized growth. One such company experienced 9,800% growth after his involvement.

Mark has worked with large and small companies to help them achieve their goals. His experience includes work with white shoe, bulge bracket and boutique firms to help them manage their operations and those of their portfolio companies and clients. In addition, he has done this on an independent consulting basis over the years and directs that offering through RN-North Sea Labs.

Mark received a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and was the recipient of the Philo Bennett academic prize. He attended the University of Pennsylvania Law School with a combined concentration at the Wharton School of Economics where he specialized in finance, venture capital, management and Entrepreneurship. He was a Senior Editor of the University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Economic Law. Mark has also been published in national publications throughout his career. He lives with his wife Kelly on the “East End” in Cutchogue, NY with their children Margot and Hattie, as well as their beloved dog “Dutch.”

Joe has also achieved widespread recognition for his work consulting with organizations both large and small in positioning them to achieve their marketing and sales goals. It is not uncommon for some of our past customer to say “our sales increased 5x because of the work that he has done with the team.”

Joe has been working with our team in a variety of capacities over the past 20 years. His work has included being named a Platinum Status Partner with CRM companies and a top website and email template provider to their marketplaces. Joe has been involved in a number of notable projects in the technology development space, helping these projects gain traction and growth through their sales and marketing efforts.

Joe has run podcasts and developed podcast strategies for clients. In addition, he has deep marketing conversion knowledge and leads with a metric driven approach. His focus is on the marketing processes and systems that drive results for sales teams and the overall organization. He is able to understand a variety of verticals, gain competitive marketing insights and apply his knowledge to gain results for clients.

Joe describes himself as a “lifelong learner” and “tinkerer” who can arrive at the “figure it out factor.” Joe holds a BSBA from the University of Delaware, where he received a BS in Business Administration with a double major in Finance and Marketing. Joe holds a variety of board positions at charitable and commercial organizations. He lives in Delaware with his wife and two adoring daughters.

Mario holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Management from Pennsylvania State’s Smeal College of Business. He homed in on organizational leadership during studies, which has helped him in his professional life.

Mario, a longtime multi-sport athlete, takes pride in all he does. He learned some of his most valuable lessons as the captain of his lacrosse, football and wrestling teams. He believes perseverance and consistency are the skills most needed to succeed.

During his personal time, you can find Mario cheering on the New York Jets even if they make it hard to show up year after year. He is convinced they will be a “Cinderella” team one day. He also enjoys live music and concerts, especially during the warmer months. He resides in North Jersey, close to where he grew up. As a New Jersey native, he is no stranger to spending his summers down on Long Beach Island.

On top of the core account activities she provides, Bernadine is also skilled in graphic design, branding, videography and photography.

Prior to joining the River North Communications team, Bernadine worked across a diversity of industry sectors including professional services, technology, education and research. An early adopter in the remote work revolution, she also operated her own business providing virtual assistant services to clients around the globe. This experience exposed her to various industries, work environments and cultures.

During her free time, Bernadine has volunteered as a documenter, child facilitator and researcher at World Vision Philippines since her teenage years. This NGO provides educational, medical and economic support to disadvantaged children in impoverished areas.

Bernadine earned her degree in psychology and also completed foundational business and management coursework during her university years.

In her current role, she works as a member of the client team that supports various strategic public relations programs with industries that include, blockchain and cryptocurrency, private equity, legaltech and education financing. Given her background in economics, she is able to provide statistical information for reporting purposes and contributes to content development and idea generation, showcasing rapid results.

Prior to joining River North, Marta was a full-time project manager. She holds both a Master’s degree and Bachelor of Science degree from Lviv Polytechnic University. Marta also studied at Kingston University in England.

Passionate about her homeland in Lviv, Ukraine, Marta has volunteered as both a team member and leader for AIESEC, an organization that was established in 1948 after World War II, where seven youths across seven countries had a dream of building cross-cultural understanding across nations. She also spent time with the organization as an international volunteer in Hungary. Marta, a dedicated student of art and digital photography, regularly creates “one moment” photos and intuitive art.

As a co-owner of a photo and video studio, Mikael consistently strives to refine his craft and deliver outstanding results.

However, Mikael’s enthusiasm and talent don’t stop at photography – as he’s expanded his horizons to the marketing, communications and public relations space. With his creative prowess, unwavering dedication and can-do attitude, Mikael now applies his love for innovative storytelling to help brands connect with their audiences. Notably, Mikael also draws from his educational background in psychology to ground his work in a deeper understanding of human behavior and emotions.

Whether he’s behind the lens or helping our team compelling brand narratives, Mikael’s creativity and talent shine through in everything he does. Mikael is excited to support our clients by bringing their stories to life across various mediums, using his creativity and expertise to make a lasting impact.

He began his career in graphic and Web design while at university, by helping his professor create logos. From there, he accelerated his skills and began working with HTML/CSS with basic JavaScript and registered on a freelance platform to continue sharpening his skills. He began by making simple WordPress website solutions while also helping with OpenCart websites, all while completing his education. Following graduation, Yurii spent a year implementing designs at a small local website development firm located in Lviv, Ukraine. While in that role, he mastered WordPress and started working with Joomla, while continue to master his work as a WordPress website creator and designer before joining an entity of the River North team in 2020.

Yurii holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Computer Science and has also completed Graphic/Motion design courses. He takes several courses a year to stay on top of the latest trends in design. He has created several websites, video content and eye-catching presentations. When he is not working, Yurii enjoys giving walking tours of Lviv, Ukraine, one of the most historic cities in all of Eastern Europe.

When brands bring new products and service lines to market, Joe helps them stand out among the competition with custom-built strategies in content marketing, branding, social media and media relations. ​​
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As a professed news junkie, Joe is passionate about continually monitoring the media cycle and discovering meaningful opportunities for clients. The goal is to craft messaging that resonates with audiences and sparks His recent media placements for clients include Harvard Business Review, VentureBeat, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Fast Company, Forbes, South China Morning Post and TechCrunch. ​​

When Joe is not at work, he can be found in New York City and around his hometown of South Orange, NJ tasting a new wine and finding the latest brunch spot.