Our Culture

Amalia continues to disrupt the agency model by building an innovative company culture committed to equity and work-life balance. Throughout every project, she stretches our clients’ minds while meeting their goals with excellence, through a multicultural perspective.

Her 20+ years of experience in communications and public relations, coupled with her bold mind and vision yield powerful strategies inclusive of every audience. Her work has positioned TVA as the go-to agency for multicultural communications in the Northwest, impacting the lives of hundreds of thousands of people through the trust of our clients in major market segments including health, transportation, retail, consumer, education, and the arts. Amalia’s leadership amplifies the voices of the unheard and underserved and builds authentic bridges between our clients, the media, and community.

Amalia is a sought after thought leader who has served on the Board of Directors for Latino Community Fund of Washington State, the Process Improvement Committee of the Washington State Office of Minority and Women Business Enterprises, the Advisory Committee for One Center City, and was the Chapter President of FemCity Seattle. Amalia received her Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from the University of Washington.

Fun Fact:

Competitive ice skater when she was a kid.

María Fernanda, known as Mafe, leads a versatile multilingual team that creates culturally relevant strategies and campaigns to transform behaviors. With more than a decade of experience, she serves as a strategy curation expert to ensure the highest quality of work is delivered for every client on every project.

During the last 5 years she has increased TVA’s portfolio to include 40+ clients and tripled the size of the team, to offer our clients 360-degree support spanning research, strategy, and implementation. She has fostered a solution-oriented, problem-solving mindset throughout the company.

A strong interpersonal and bilingual communicator, Mafe establishes meaningful client relationships nurtured by her proactivity and outcomes that exceed expectations. She has worked with world renowned brands such as Nestle, Payless ShoeSource, and City of Seattle, to name just a few, and holds a BS in Public Relations from Universidad Autónoma de Centroamérica, Costa Rica.

Fun Fact:

Is able to speak like Donald Duck.

Amir brings more than 15 years of experience leading marketing and business development strategies on a regional and national level for giants such as Expedia Group, Verizon, Sprint (now T-Mobile), and guides our business development and marketing team.

He shares our core values of inclusivity and goes beyond networking to foster authentic relationships. His boundless energy is contagious and appreciated by the team, our clients, and collaborating colleagues. He approaches each project and partnership with passion and authenticity, always delivering creative and inclusive solutions. He has helped TVA earn contract awards from the $100,000 to $2 million level in the public and private sector and gives equal respect to every project, regardless of size.

His previous experience includes brand engagement, sponsorships, product launches, and multicultural and lifestyle marketing strategies and campaigns. Amir holds a BA in Business Administration Marketing from the Western Washington University.

Fun fact:

He has recorded and released music through his own independent record label.

Originally from Costa Rica, Caruzo is a bilingual Maltese mix who has been raised in Seattle and considers himself a true local who enjoys the outdoor world the Pacific Northwest has to offer. A big fan of naps and tummy rubs, our Chief Happiness Officer makes any TVA guest feel welcome, especially if you happen to bring him some baby carrots (his favorite treat).

Ciara transforms every idea into a powerful visual experience. Her ability to bring brand and campaign stories to life through meticulously designed assets is flawless. Ciara supports TVA clients such as King County, Lydig Construction, WithinReach, Seattle Public Utilities, and many more.

Ciara has a superb, innate ability to create eye-catching visual assets that surpass our client’s expectations and resonate with each priority audience. Our clients appreciate her seamless capacity to incorporate their feedback into beautifully designed concepts.

She is well versed in Adobe Creative Suite and holds a BA in Web Page, Digital/Multimedia and Information Resources Design from Washington State University.

Fun fact:

Her last name ‘Honig’ means ‘honey’ in German!

If your goal is both to inform and engage the public about capital projects, you’ll want Diana on your team! She has been leading such efforts for clients including King County Metro, Seattle Department of Transportation, Sound Transit, and the US Forest Service since 2015, helping to impact the lives of tens of thousands of people across Washington State and beyond.

At TVA, she provides comprehensive and integrated strategies to achieve our client’s complex and diverse outreach and engagement goals. Her vast understanding and experience in urban and community matters helps build the important bridges needed to create trusted relationships among different community members and stakeholders.

Diana is an outstanding project manager and team player, who fosters strong collaboration on every project. She serves on WTS Puget Sound Board and holds a Master’s in Urban Design and Planning from the University of Washington.

Fun fact:

She has climbed 7 pyramids.

Hailey provides effective internal and external support in project planning and execution. She has strong organizational and analytical skills, and her customer service skills exceed our clients’ expectations (every time). Her experience includes projects with clients such as Seattle Public Utilities and King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks, and Puget Sound Partnership.

Her support includes connecting our clients with multicultural communities through equitable and amplifying engagement processes, serving first and foremost underserved community members. Her insightful reports and recommendations are always committed to providing data-driven results that can inform and help shape policy decisions in local communities.

Hailey holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the Evans School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Washington.

Fun fact:

She was a mascot in high school.

Janine has been building and maintaining strategic relationships with local, national, and international media for more than 15 years. She creates and executes successful communications strategies to ensure company goals and objectives are achieved for a diverse lineup of TVA’s public and private clients such as Lydig Construction, Neighborcare Health, Seattle Department of Transportation and more.

Her high-level leadership skills translate our client’s business objectives into human, dynamic and easy-to-connect with stories, creating trusted partnerships with strategic community members, media, and stakeholders. Her press releases and pitches have garnered coverage in top mainstream media outlets such as the New York Times, Forbes, and Fast Company as well as Seattle’s innovative multicultural outlets such as Converge Media and Runta News.

Her previous experience includes both in-brand and agency role perspectives spanning health and wellness, travel and tourism, outdoor recreation, tech, apparel, lifestyle, and home industries. She is an active contributor to Forbes Communications Council, holds a BA in Marketing Communications and Sociology from Ohio Wesleyan University and a Certificate in Advanced Social Media from the University of San Francisco.

Fun Fact:

Starts every day with a run on a river trail alongside her dog Ripley.

Justin empowers the public to participate in discourse on the most important projects in our region by providing compelling, accessible websites that both speak and listen. With a background in community engagement serving clients such as WSDOT, the City of Seattle, and Sound Transit, his approach starts with accessibility. Building inclusive, accessible websites invites the project team to consider audiences in more detail.

With more than two hundred websites built throughout the past decade, Justin brings a wealth of web development prowess to the TVA team. His software expertise includes languages from C#, HTML5, CSS3, JQuery/JS, source control, Apache and Windows servers, and multiple CMS platforms including WordPress and JAMstack/headless CMS approaches.

His sharpest recommendations continuously encourage clients to serve their audiences better by considering the devices and senses people employ when using a website, as well as their familiarity with the subject matter. The outcome? Highly compelling and accessible websites built for diverse audiences that deliver our client’s goals with excellence.

Fun fact:

He’s a backyard permaculture paradise developer, too!

Kathleen is a versatile designer. She works in print, digital and advertising and her creations are often recognized by clients as vibrant, clean, and funky. Kathleen is currently supporting clients such as Intercity Transit, Seattle City Light and Neighborcare Health, among others.

Her ability to understand project requirements and read between the lines transforms ambiguous ideas into clear and colorful creations. She has a problem-solving mindset, is a collaborative team player and welcomes critiques to her work.

Kathleen’s previous experience includes graphic design roles for Rupert Inc and CWU Publicity Center. She is well versed in Adobe Creative Suite, and Figma. She holds a BAF from the Central Washington University.

Kelsey is a vital member of our business development team. She contributes to new business strategy, proposal design, and supports the planning process for meetings with clients, strategic partners, and stakeholders.

Kelsey’s meticulous process for proposal and presentation development ensures that all project and team-related content is both accurate and up to date. She is a talented graphic designer with background in marketing, enabling her to deliver insightful recommendations on visual storytelling of the TVA approach.

Her previous experience includes marketing and graphic design roles for Deacon Construction, Kidder Mathews, Kois Center, and Third and Wall Art Group. She holds associate degrees in both Graphic Design and Fine Arts and Photography from Shoreline Community College.

Fun fact:

She is a twin.

Lisa is a multiple award-winning creative director, with more than 20 years of experience leading creative strategies and campaigns for clients such as the City of Seattle, Community Health Plan of Washington, and WTS. Her bilingual commercials for CHPW earned an Emmy, while her West Seattle Bridge video work earned a Marcom Gold, to name just a few.

Her comprehensive branding for Seattle’s SR 520 and SR99 Tunnel Grand Opening Events including website, digital, marketing and promotions, displays and wayfinding’s generated massive awareness and engagement.

Lisa helps our clients successfully engage with their audiences through a 360-degree approach from in-depth research to flawless creative asset execution. Her method includes working hand-in-hand with clients to decode their goals, ensuring appropriate strategies are developed to generate impactful outcomes. Lisa holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communications from the University of South Florida.

Fun Fact:

She twirled short flags in high school.  

Lucas is a detail-oriented coordinator. He supports and coordinates outreach and deliverables for capital projects such as the Aurora Avenue project, Rainier Bus Lanes and Madison BRT for TVA’s client, the Seattle Department of Transportation.

Lucas is passionate about articulating meaningful dialogues with all populations and is diligent about identifying unique needs to serve different communities. His ideal of bringing his best to the world attracted him to TVA, where he brings a collaborative mind and storytelling skills.

His previous experience includes roles as a reporter at The Ledger at UW Tacoma and as a marketing specialist at Luky Devil Farms. Lucas holds a bachelor’s degree in Communications, Media Production Management and Marketing from the University of Washington.

Makenzie plays a central role in achieving key research objectives for TVA clients. Her comprehensive role includes designing and managing strategy, methodology development, and the transformation of data into relevant, actionable findings.

At TVA she is successfully leading research for the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, the Washington State Office of the Attorney General, and the Whatcom County Council Office, among others, where her ability to lead cross-functional teams through the research process is accompanied by excellent time and budget management, and sharp recommendations on research cycle improvements to increase efficiency.

Makenzie’s work stands out for its multicultural approach to research design, respect for all individuals participating in the research process, and absolute observance of data confidentiality. Her research background includes in-depth scientific-academic studies at the University of Oregon, where she earned a BS in Human Physiology.

Fun fact:

She has eaten an avocado every day for the last 10 years.

Marcela has been shaping the public conversation about Equity and Social Justice in the Northwest for the last 20 years. As a grassroots leader, she is renowned and respected throughout Washington State, and works with public and private institutions, non-profits, community-based organizations, and multicultural communities.

Her native ancestral practice of restorative circles leads TVA´s clients through transformative processes to foster a positive and holistic environment for everyone. Whether in a workplace or community, her process helps encourage trust, nurture relationships, and create a safe space for change.

As an expert in diversity, equity and inclusion practices and strategies, and conflict mediation, her goal is to advocate for others and to leverage diversity to promote a growth mindset. She has led projects for King County, Whatcom County and City of Seattle, among others, where her expertise in conflict mediation has helped to heal discord, address institutional biases, and resolve differences.

Fun Fact:

Dancer since the age of three.

Norea is a flawless writer, editor, and content marketer. She brings more than 20 years of experience to TVA, where she leads campaign communications strategies informed by research for a variety of public and private sector clients such as The Washington State Housing Finance Commission and Satterberg Foundation.

She spent the bulk of her career in the nonprofit sector creating fundraising communications and then leading marketing for the Northwest region of a national fundraising consulting firm. She provides insights from her work with pioneers in the field of racial equity, helping thought leaders to write, develop, and promote original works that assist individuals and organizations with transformative change toward racial consciousness and anti-racism.

Her insightful mind and vast experience transform every campaign into captivating narratives that evoke deep and positive emotions in the desired audiences. Norea’s eloquent recommendations are always spot-on and have resonated with regional, national, and international audiences throughout the years.

Fun fact:

Holds a BA in ethnomusicology from UW.

Ryann helps manage the planning, implementation, and monitoring of advertising campaigns for our clients, as well as the development and execution of internal brand marketing and digital strategies. She supports a wide range of TVA clients such as Lydig Construction, WSDOT, Neighborcare, Washington State Housing Finance Commission and more.

The combination of her digital marketing experience coupled with her work in multicultural community outreach, helps TVA build authentic campaigns for our clients that resonate with the desired audiences.

Ryann also helps generate easily digestible campaign reporting dashboards that synthesize metrics for our clients and help us continue to optimize in real-time. As a native of the digital age, she keeps us all current on the latest social media trends and emerging platforms, ensuring our clients get access to the latest digital innovations for their campaigns.

Ryann holds a BA in Strategic Communications and Public Relations from Washington State University.

Fun fact:

Born in NY, never been there after that one time.

Sheena provides comprehensive administrative support to our entire team. Her efforts range from the development and maintenance of a master team schedule of all strategic meetings and commitments, to placing orders for office supplies, and directing both internal and external administrative communications.

She is highly detail-oriented and brings a proactive and solution-oriented approach to all her projects, resulting in outstanding support to the internal team and our partners. Sheena also leads our internal engagement activities and collaborates with our marketing team to manage our social media content calendar.

Fun fact:

Was a professional dancer for the pop superstar Timmy Pavino.

Syd is a resourceful coordinator. Her ability to go the extra mile for our clients combined with her leadership in outreach initiatives set her apart. She is currently supporting clients such as Seattle Department of Neighborhoods and Seattle Department of Transportation, among others.

Her previous experience includes work with the State of California, community outreach for California’s 49^th congressional district, and communication-based internship roles.  She is skilled in STATA, Cision, and Google Analytics and holds a BA in political science from the University of California, San Diego.

Fun fact:

Named after a movie character (The American President, 1995).

Taira is a communications specialist with more than 8 years of experience in project and program management to achieve strategic goals for a range of private and public sector organizations, with a focus on equitable and inclusive practices. Her previous experience includes successful pitch decks for clients such as Porsche Japan, RAINS, and Hard Rock Hotels EU, and strategic communications and relationships for the Municipal Research and Services Center, where her communications reached 600+ Washington State public agencies such as City of Spokane and Sound Transit.

Taira’s capacities for working effectively with people from diverse professional, cultural, and personal backgrounds create opportunities for two-way dialogue between TVA’s clients and their desired audiences.

Taira’s personal signature is an inclusive problem-solving mindset, active listening, and boundless empathy. She participated in the Seattle Works Agents of Change program, has spent time as a volunteer with Seattle Public Libraries, and holds a Master of Creative Writing from Bowling Green State University as well as a certificate in Marketing Management from the UW Foster School of Business Continuing Education program.

Fun fact:

Taira takes time to write letters and postcards to friends regularly.

Tara has 20+ years of experience in business, government, and nonprofit management and communications, and leads with a fierce commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Tara’s experience includes strategy, executive coaching, team facilitation and training, operations and financial management, community outreach and engagement, program management, policy analysis, and collective impact.

She has often worked at the intersection of business, government, philanthropy, and community, helping translate across fields, forge relationships between partners, and facilitate shared goals and social impact action plans. For TVA, Tara manages strategic business planning, leadership training, and develops internal policies and procedures to optimize the effectiveness and social impact of our services.

As a bold advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion in communities and businesses, Tara’s ultimate goal is to help people discover their full personal and professional potential. She is an outstanding team player, insightful thinker, and great storyteller.

Tara’s experience includes advocating for social impact policies in D.C. revitalizing human services programs at the local, state, and national levels, and leading collective impact initiatives. She holds a Master of Education (EdM) in Human Development & Psychology from Harvard University and a second Master’s degree in Management and Leadership studies through Western Governors University (WGU).

Fun Fact:

Her first job was as a private investigator

Leveraging over 30 years’ experience in human resources and fiscal administration for non-profit and service-orientated organizations, Theresa brings a keen financial acumen and long-view mindset to The Vida Agency’s operations.

Theresa is known for her ability to consult with executive leadership and managers on strategic budgeting decisions, coaching team members through complicated technical, legal, or human implications of fiscal and staffing decisions. With demonstrated excellence in organizations with fewer than 10 employees to those with over 500, her resourceful nature and servant leadership approach have help launch, scale, and sustain a variety of healthcare, wellness, workforce development, and environmental organizations and initiatives.

At TVA, she supports process improvement and bookkeeping, ensuring a simple and streamlined experience for clients.

Fun fact:

Yard lover! She could spend her day watering and contemplating her plants.

Trilce is an award-winning journalist and experienced executive communications advisor with more than a decade work experience in sociopolitical, public, and academic matters. Her experience includes work for renowned independent media outlets, research centers, and Congress and Government members in Costa Rica and Central América.

She has an exceptional ability to decode and distill complex information and transform it into navigable, easy-to-understand communications. Her critical and analytical mindset often lead TVA’s clients to stretch their thinking further helping them to achieve strategic objectives. She has experience in media training, research, content strategy, and internal communications.

Trilce holds a B.S in journalism from Universidad Federada de Costa Rica and is currently investigating how young people’s construction of the concept of politics affects democracy.

Fun fact:

Named after a poem by Cesar Vallejo.

Z is a key member of TVA’s strategy and research team. As an experienced research analyst with in-depth knowledge of qualitative and quantitative methods, he is our gatekeeper to the research process, always examining and validating the accuracy and reliability of the data obtained through the research process to spot gaps and ensure pertinent results.

His strong analytical and proven data interpretation skills have been leveraged by TVA clients such as King County Public Health, Seattle Public Utilities, and Lydig Construction, among others. His data-driven solutions are always presented in a compelling, innovative, and impactful storytelling format to meet the primary and secondary research objectives.

Zhonghao’s work brings to each research project a focus on diversity, inclusion, and audience engagement to enhance our clients’ strategic objectives. His previous experience includes research roles with Amazon and REQ and brand campaign and go-to-market strategies with Unison Agency.

Fun fact:

His family’s genealogy can be traced back to the 1360s.