Cookerly Public Relations Welcomes Two New Senior Account Executives to Team

Seasoned PR professionals join Atlanta-based communications firm

(ATLANTA – May 25, 2011) Cookerly Public Relations, a leading Atlanta-based public relations and marketing communications agency, welcomes two new Senior Account Executives, Kate Grusich and Emily Rios, to its growing team.

Both will provide media relations, community outreach and writing support for a range of clients, including SunTrust, the Georgia Emergency Management Agency’s Ready Georgia, and Merrill Lynch.

“This is a particularly active time for our agency and we are thrilled to have Kate and Emily on board,” said Carol Cookerly, president of Cookerly Public Relations. “They both impressed us with their creativity, writing skills and broad knowledge of traditional and multimedia marketing techniques. Their expertise will complement an already outstanding public relations team.”

Prior to joining Cookerly, Kate spent more than four years as a Communications and Media Relations Specialist for a global association management firm headquartered in Atlanta. There, she secured media coverage, created social media campaigns and helped craft message points on behalf of a range of corporate and non-profit clients. She honed her media and writing skills during nearly seven years in the daily newspaper industry, working as a print reporter in the busy Chicago and South Florida markets. A Chicago native, she graduated from University of Wisconsin-Madison with a bachelor's degree in Journalism and concentrations in Spanish and Latin American and Iberian Studies.

Emily brings more than eight years of public relations experience to her new position. She previously managed media relations for The Salvation Army of Coastal Alabama and worked at Marist School in Atlanta, where she was responsible for media outreach, writing articles and content for the website and helping oversee production of the school’s magazine. In her most recent position with Emory University, Emily was responsible for media relations, community education programs and outreach, event planning and creating content and managing the website for her division. A native of coastal Alabama, she received her bachelor’s degree in communication arts from Spring Hill College, where she wrote for the campus newspaper The Springhillian, served on the student programming board and worked in the Offices of Admissions and Communications.

About Cookerly Public Relations
Cookerly Public Relations, based in the Buckhead section of Atlanta, is a multi-disciplinary firm with expertise in the development and execution of communications programs including media relations, crisis communications and issue management, investor relations, special events planning and execution, business-to-business marketing/ communications and consumer product marketing. The agency's experienced staff develops communications strategies to strengthen client brand images and accelerate long-term growth.