Kimball Hughes Public Relations

Meet Our Team of Media and Communications Experts

Our History

Kimball Hughes Public Relations

We built our reputation by combining strong industry expertise with sophisticated, thoughtful communication strategies.

Beginnings

Gary Kimball founded the agency in 1995 as Kimball Communications. After years working as a journalist and in corporate communications in the financial services industry, Gary quickly built a specialty practice focused on communication excellence in insurance, banking, healthcare, consumer products, hospitality and technology.

Evolving

In 2012, Rod Hughes joined the agency and spearheaded the agency’s growth — broadening our scope with a team dedicated to the real estate, legal, trade association and other B2B specialties. In 2016, Rod became a partner in the agency, and we changed our name to Kimball Hughes Public Relations the following year.

Insider Experience

Our Team

With diverse backgrounds as journalists and communication professionals, our team members share critical industry knowledge, insider experience and a singular focus on meeting client needs.

Photo of Gary Kimball — Gary Kimball

Founder

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Gary Kimball

Gary has nearly 40 years of experience in communications, starting as a journalist and moving on to university and then financial services public relations where he led an award-winning crisis communications effort. Since founding Kimball Hughes PR in 1995, he’s managed wide-ranging crises from financial difficulties, data breaches and corporate misconduct to natural disasters, sexual abuse, and public health threats. He has been in the forefront of insurance communications in the U.S., UK and Bermuda markets for 25 years while building a leading healthcare practice at the agency.

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Photo of Rod Hughes — Rod Hughes

President & Principal

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Rod Hughes

Rod began his career in the 1990s as a local newspaper reporter and moved on to editorial roles with several insurance and legal trade publications before entering public relations. He joined Kimball Hughes PR in 2012 and became a partner in 2016. Rod has led thousands of communications campaigns in the insurance, law, technology, hospitality, real estate, healthcare, professional association management and other industries, while also becoming a leading voice in crisis communications and reputation management.

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Photo of Eileen Coyne — Eileen Coyne

Vice President

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Eileen Coyne

A former business journalist and corporate communications professional, Eileen brought valuable experience and skills to Kimball Hughes PR where she has steered B2B and B2C public relations campaigns and garnered impressive results for clients in the insurance industry and beyond. Early in her career, she covered financial services and insurance for a variety of business publications and later led public relations campaigns for a Fortune 500 insurer and a variety of others top companies that raised brand awareness, built thought leadership and changed public policy.

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Photo of Elizabeth Rubino — Elizabeth Rubino

Media Relations Coordinator

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Elizabeth Rubino

Liz came to Kimball Hughes PR 13 years ago from the healthcare and medical management industries and now handles a dual role for the agency. She oversees client reporting and media monitoring for all agency accounts, while also coordinating account management, accounts receivable, finance and overseeing all human resources functions for the agency.

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Photo of James McKinsey — James McKinsey

Public Relations Manager

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James McKinsey

James joined Kimball Hughes PR in 2021 with experience in crisis communications, financial services, offshore wind, infrastructure, non-profit, tourism, hospitality and municipality client work. He has successfully guided organizations of all sizes, from small non-profits to global corporate entities, through stakeholder engagement, brand reconstruction, and legislative affairs efforts. James’ work at Kimball Hughes PR includes managing communications in insurance, technology, trade associations and other B2C organizations. He is a graduate of the University of Hartford and earned a master’s in public relations from Boston University.

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Cassidy Taylor

Public Relations Manager

Photo of Hariharan Rajagopalan — Hariharan Rajagopalan

Public Relations Manager

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Hariharan Rajagopalan

Hari first joined Kimball Hughes PR as an intern in 2018 before returning as a full-time member of the agency team the following year. In his current role as Public Relations Manager, Hari specializes in media relations and content development strategy for a range of clients in the insurance, hospitality, healthcare and franchise industries. Additionally, Hari oversees the agency’s social media work. In 2022, Hari earned his Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Certificate for Communicators from Ragan Communications. He graduated from Boston College with a bachelor’s degree in communications.

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Photo of Mattison Brooks — Mattison Brooks

Public Relations Manager

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Mattison Brooks

Mattison joined Kimball Hughes PR in December 2022 after more than a decade of work in journalism, government affairs and nonprofit communications, including laudable stints at CNN and the Canadian Broadcast Corporation. As a communications professional, he has worked with major global brands, veterans’ nonprofits, members of Congress and The White House. Prior to joining the agency, Mattison served as an in-house communications specialist for the Wounded Warrior Project. His experience includes a track record of excellence in strategic and crisis communications, curating audience growth, increasing brand engagement and reputation management. Mattison is a graduate from Liberty University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism and a master’s degree in strategic communications.

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Photo of Kate Glaviano — Kate Glaviano

Public Relations Associate

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Kate Glaviano

Prior to joining Kimball Hughes PR in 2021, Kate worked with a Chicago-based public relations agency focused on consumer brands. In that role, Kate developed content and conducted media relations for the food & beverage, hospitality, B2B, financial services and nonprofit sectors. In her role with Kimball Hughes PR, Kate focuses on media relations, content development and client support across all of the agency’s clients and industries. A resident of Chicago, Kate graduated from DePaul University with a bachelor’s degree in public relations & advertising.

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Photo of Sam Kimball — Sam Kimball

Consultant

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Sam Kimball

Sam has more than a decade of experience in B2B and nonprofit content development and social media management. She strategizes and manages thought-provoking content for our agency’s clients, including articles, white papers, blog posts, case studies and social content. She also leads social media strategy development and content. Before joining our team in 2011, Sam was a freelance writer and worked on communications projects with nonprofits and community groups. She earned her degree in education studies from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts and is pursuing a master’s degree.

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Photo of Chris Winans — Chris Winans

Consultant

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Chris Winans

Chris Winans works with Kimball Hughes Public Relations as a consultant focusing on financial communications strategy and crisis communications management. He has more than 30 years of experience as a journalist, a Wall Street financial analyst, a corporate and crisis communications advisor, and a C-suite thought-leadership strategist. He has advised financial services companies – including global life and non-life insurers, banks, asset managers and management consultants, among others – in both in-house and agency roles.

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Photo of John Forberger — John Forberger

Consultant

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John Forberger

John Forberger is a Miami-based consultant with Kimball Hughes Public Relations focusing on communications strategy for technology, ecommerce and creative businesses. Having worked both in-house and on the agency side for 14 years, John has advised global companies – brand and retail vendors/partners – on how to get in front of the right audiences with the right messages.

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Photo of Kyle Hardner — Kyle Hardner

Writer/Editor

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Kyle Hardner

Kyle Hardner works with Kimball Hughes Public Relations as a freelance writer and editor. A professional writer since age 13, Kyle spent 15 years managing multiple content channels (executive communications; external and internal blogs; M&A communications; websites and microsites; consumer, clinical and technical magazines) for Lehigh Valley Health Network, a $2 billion health system in Pennsylvania. In addition to health care writing experience, Kyle has guided B2B digital content strategies for numerous companies. He’s freelanced for the Philadelphia Daily News and Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger. His expertise includes health care, insurance, tech and logistics. Kyle holds a B.A. in communication from La Salle University in Philadelphia. Learn more on his website (http://hardnercommunications.com/)

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Photo of Jennifer Shick — Jennifer Shick

Graphic Designer

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Jennifer Shick

Jen began her graphic design career as an intern with Kimball Hughes Public Relations in 2002 while attending Moravian College. After graduation she spent three years with a marketing and advertising agency before deciding to embrace her entrepreneurial spirit and start her own design business. She now works with Kimball Hughes Public Relations on a contract basis addressing our clients’ design needs from conceptualization through completion. Jen recently moved back to her hometown in Bucks County, Pennsylvania with her husband and two children.

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Photo of Constance Walker — Constance Walker

Consultant

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Constance Walker

Constance has more than 30 years of experience in the communications field. She has been responsible for creating and executing award-winning media and public relations campaigns; employee and customer communication plans; and marketing communications, advertising and content strategies for Fortune 500 and global companies. As an accomplished corporate communications professional, Constance has worked in the energy, healthcare, banking, attraction industries facilitating multi-channel B2B and B2C communications. She started her professional career as a newspaper journalist.

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Photo of Carly Sutherland — Carly Sutherland

Consultant

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Carly Sutherland

Carly Sutherland is a senior brand and communications consultant with a focus on go-to-market strategies. Drawing from her agency experience working on Fortune 50 and 100 consumer brands for the last 15 years, she is now consulting B2B companies and start-ups looking to stand out in competitive marketplaces. Carly’s experience spans retail, insurance, financial, pharma, CPG, automotive, alcohol & beverage, QSR, nonprofit and government.

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Photo of Mark Bishop — Mark Bishop

Consultant

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Mark Bishop

Mark has spent the vast majority of his career in media relations working for some of the biggest names in the insurance industry. Independent research confirmed that the in-house teams led by Mark were consistently considered the most responsive and trusted by key journalists. Whether it is strategic or tactical, his experience includes financial reporting, issue management, PR campaign delivery and more across national, regional, trade and social media.

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Culture & Careers

Want to join our team?

We’ve built a culture based on trust and mutual respect. A culture of highly motivated professionals. A culture where we work as a team toward a common goal of getting the very best results for clients.

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