Leadership with experience, expertise and passion
Ralph Crosby
Chairman
Ralph founded Crosby Marketing Communications in 1973, following a 15-year stint as a journalist and a foray into the business world. That combination of journalistic expertise and hands-on business experience developed a unique approach to marketing communications that laid the foundation for Crosby Marketing to become one of the region’s most successful agencies. Today, Ralph provides high-level counsel to key clients and oversees the company’s strategic initiatives.
A graduate of the University of Maryland College of Journalism, Ralph began his professional life as a newspaperman on the Baltimore News American, later becoming a Washington correspondent for Chilton Publications, and culminating his journalistic career as an editor with the Kiplinger organization.
Active as an alumnus, Ralph serves on the University of Maryland’s Board of Trustees. He also serves as a member of the College of Journalism’s Board of Visitors and is alumni chairperson of the College’s building campaign. In addition, he has endowed an annual College of Journalism scholarship.
Ralph has been active civically in his hometown of Annapolis, having been president of various organizations, such as the Chamber of Commerce, Touchdown Club, and Annapolis Business Coalition, and he served on the board of Annapolis Banking and Trust Company for 26 years. He was honored in 2005 by election to the Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Chamber’s Business Hall of Fame.
Ralph has put his experience as a marketer into a book, “It’s The Customer, Stupid! Lessons Learned in a Lifetime of Marketing.” He produces a blog, www.its-the-customer-stupid.com.
He also has published numerous articles in national magazines, and he authored an earlier book on corporate communications titled “Person-to-Person Management.”
Raymond Crosby
President & Chief Executive Officer
As the leader of Crosby’s team of 50 professionals, Raymond sets the strategic direction for one of the Mid-Atlantic region’s most successful integrated marketing firms. His creative thinking and plainspoken approach have helped an array of regional and national organizations measurably improve their image, reputation and sales.
In the past decade, Crosby has enjoyed consistent growth in size and industry stature. It opened a Washington, D.C., office in 2004 to complement its headquarters in Annapolis, Md. Raymond’s emphasis on building a strong culture of collaboration, client focus and creative excellence has resulted in client tenure and staff tenure that far exceeds industry averages.
Raymond’s first job delivering for The Annapolis Capital newspaper was the harbinger of a career in media. He is a graduate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with a BA degree in Radio, Television and Film. At Carolina, Raymond was a four-year letterman in lacrosse and played on two NCAA National Championship teams.
In his spare time, he volunteers for a variety of community causes. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Annapolis & Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce and the Council of Governors for the Mid-Atlantic region of the American Association of Advertising Agencies.
Joel Machak
Executive Creative Director
Joel joined Crosby in 2005 after 20+ years with some of the country’s most successful advertising agencies. He brings creative energy and big brand thinking to lead the team. His focus is on driving our creative product to new heights. Beyond a fresh perspective, Joel brings a creative philosophy that puts client success and seamless brand integration first.
Before joining Crosby, Joel worked on many national brands, creating campaigns across every medium. Early in his career, he co-created the Crash Test Dummy campaign, one of America’s most successful PSA programs ever. He’s also done great work for clients such as McDonald’s, Kellogg’s, Hallmark Cards and Whirlpool, winning many of the industry’s highest awards along the way.
Joel’s first job was a valet car parker at The Harmer House supper club in Acmetonia, Pa., a stone’s throw from Lock #2 on the Allegheny River.
Outside the office, Joel explores his interests in science, astrophysics, and great writing. Currently, his favorite writers are Cormac McCarthy and Czeslaw Milosz.
Tammy Campbell-Ebaugh
EVP, Chief Strategy Officer
Tammy’s 20+ years of brand development experience help our clients set focused and relevant communications strategies. She works closely with our clients to uncover consumer insights and develop authentic brand positions that resonate in the marketplace. Tammy’s areas of category expertise range from consumer products and services to cause marketing and business-to-business.
Her brand-building talents were honed during her eight-year tenure as vice president of marketing for Hair Cuttery. Tammy joined the company in its early developmental stages and helped the brand grow into a household name. She was the lead strategist and integrator of all things marketing, managing an $8 million budget, several advertising and PR agencies and an in-house marketing team of 20. Her efforts helped the company grow from 200 to 800 locations and into a $400 million brand.
Tammy’s first job was special projects assistant (a.k.a. gofer girl) at the Osmond Studio during the run of the “Donny & Marie Show.” Outside of the office, you can find her shopping at Whole Foods for her next adventure in gourmet cooking or trying to master the tree pose in Yoga class. She’s the proud mom of a recent University of Maryland graduate—go TERPS!
Michael Cosgrove, Ph.D.
EVP, Government Practice Leader
Dr. Cosgrove is a psychologist with more than 30 years of experience in implementing research-based marketing and communications programs for a wide variety of government agencies and corporations. In the past 25+ years, he has led the research and strategic planning process on numerous social marketing campaigns for federal agencies, including the Department of Labor, the U.S. Border Patrol and the National Health Services Corps. Mike has also managed national efforts and social marketing campaigns for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Medicare (Competitive Pricing Demonstrations), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the Department of Education, National Institutes of Health and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Currently, he manages the national campaign promoting online retirement applications for the Social Security Administration.
Dr. Cosgrove received his undergraduate degree in psychology from Georgetown University and an M.A. and Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Virginia. He is, or has been, a member of the American Psychological Association, the American Public Health Association, the National Association of Government Communicators, the American Marketing Association (Academy of Health Services Marketing) and the Society for Competitive Intelligence.
Denise Aube, APR
VP, Healthcare Practice Leader
Denise brings a wealth of brand-building experience, strategic thinking and a contagious drive to help clients succeed. She leads Crosby teams in the creation of research-based, customer-focused marketing communications programs for consumer services, associations, nonprofits and more.
Healthcare comes second nature to Denise, having counseled clients such as PinnacleCare, Ameritox, Adventist HealthCare, Kaiser Permanente, the National Committee for Quality Assurance, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Health America. She cut her teeth at New York agencies Scali, McCabe, Sloves and Della Femina, Travisano and Partners working on brands such as Volvo North America, Ralston Purina, Sheraton International, and Chemical Bank.
Born and raised on the southern coast of Maine, Denise’s first job was making toast for hungry tourists. Every August you can find her back in Maine, sitting on the beach at Fortune’s Rocks reading the latest mystery novel or daydreaming about eating lobster later that night.
Elise Kolaja
Creative Director
Elise loves to put the power of ideas, words and emotions to work for Crosby’s clients, just as much as the excitement of pulling together a team for great creative work.
She has created many award-winning campaigns across all media for clients, from national trade associations and franchise organizations to healthcare companies and financial corporations.
Elise began her career in advertising more than 20 years ago at a radio station in upstate New York, and worked as a copywriter at major agencies in Pittsburgh, Washington and Baltimore before coming to Crosby. Probably the strangest moment in her career was finding herself five months pregnant and sitting in a training camp, recording Carl “the Truth” Williams who was soon to face Mike Tyson in an upcoming heavyweight title match. The Truth lasted 91 seconds. The radio spot got a bronze One Show pencil.
Outside the office, you can generally find Elise in her home on the Eastern Shore working on something yummy in the kitchen.
Ron Ordansa
Creative Director
What do you call a guy who’s had a 20-year love affair with typography and votes white space as the most powerful color in advertising? Well, we call him Group Creative Director because Ron brings fresh ideas and unending energy to every project that comes his way. Ron has been with Crosby for more than 10 years, starting out as Senior Art Director, producing an amazing array of award-winning work for clients and putting our creative work on the map.
Prior to joining Crosby, Ron worked for a Washington, D.C.-based social marketing firm specializing in public service campaigns for government clients including the Department of Transportation and the United States Department of Agriculture. There he really connected with the humanity that public service advertising can capture.
He’s very active in professional organizations including the American Institute for Graphic Arts (AIGA) and the Advertising Association of Baltimore. He also volunteers for an annual student portfolio review sponsored by AIGA.
Ron has a lovely wife, Janet, and two boys, Alex and Nick. He enjoys museums, comic books, the Italian Baroque period, urban art, disco and kayaking.
Scott Rasmussen
Creative Director
Scott believes the best way to motivate consumers to do something—whether it’s changing an attitude, using a product or service, engaging with a Web site, or joining a cause—is to make them feel something.
A copywriter by trade, Scott loves the challenge of creating advertising and marketing communications that are both strategically laser-focused and emotionally resonant. In his 30-year career he has split his time fairly equally among consumer, business-to-business, and direct response marketing, and has created award-winning campaigns in all media.
Scott’s creative has marketed health plans to families, socially responsible mutual funds to investors, playground equipment to parks and rec departments, Medicare options to seniors, master’s degrees to working adults, wind-generated electricity to homeowners, and more. Much more.
Prior to Crosby, Scott was creative director at Doner in Baltimore and at Temerlin McClain in Dallas. He graduated from Syracuse University, where he learned how to think, how to write, and how to shiver.
When he’s not working, you’ll likely find Scott and his wife listening to music, going to movies, and laughing at the antics of their wacky cats, Sofi and Izzy.
Pam Atkinson
VP, Director of Connection Planning
As media director, Pam leads the strategic planning, negotiating and buying of broadcast, print, outdoor, online and promotional media. With more than 15 years of regional and national experience, Pam has mastered the art of matching marketing strategy with a creative mix of media to maximize results for Crosby clients.
Pam joined Crosby from Eisner Communications where she supervised the fast-paced Maryland Lottery and Mile One Automotive accounts, managing media budgets of more than $10 million. After graduating from the University of Maryland with a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism, Pam began her media career at Henry J. Kaufman & Associates, Washington, D.C. There, she cut her teeth on accounts such as the United States Mint and Pizza Hut.
At age 15, Pam first learned the value of hard work and a cheery disposition while waiting tables at her neighborhood Bob’s Big Boy restaurant.
As the wife of a police officer and the mother of two, Pam volunteers her time to support the local Fraternal Order of Police and serves on the Kindness Committee of her son’s elementary school.
Fred Jorgensen
VP, Director of Digital Strategy & Analytics
Using interactive media to solve complex marketing challenges and drive business growth for clients is Fred’s primary charge at Crosby. Developing integrated online strategies, planning their execution and delivering post-campaign insights and analyses is how Fred spends the majority of his waking hours.
Prior to joining Crosby, Fred led the online marketing efforts at Sylvan Learning, launching national web programs to support more than 1,100 franchise and corporate tutoring centers. Fred’s agency experience includes the San Francisco office of Goldberg Moser O’Neill (now Hill Holliday) and Baltimore’s Trahan Burden & Charles. At TBC, he formalized the agency’s interactive complement, spearheading web initiatives for The Wall Street Journal Online, Maryland Tourism and Sprint Nextel. Earlier in his career, Fred served as an Advertising Manager with dot-com-era juggernaut Webvan.com.
Fred’s first job out of college was a fellowship in the Virginia Office of the Governor where he worked on welfare reform issues, assisting in the creation of a system that remains a nationwide model of government support for families.
Despite continued attempts to cultivate exotic interests in homebrewing, world travel and environmental activism, Fred has officially designated the time spent with his family as his most entertaining and rewarding hobby.
Gillian Pommerehn
PR/Reputation Management Director
Whether the goal is to generate media buzz, build brand reputation or respond to a crisis, Gillian leads Crosby teams to craft targeted public relations programs that deliver the desired results for national and regional clients.
Gillian has more than a decade of experience in both corporate settings and with PR firms. Prior to joining Crosby, she was a vice president with Stanton Communications, leading business and consumer PR campaigns. She has worked with a variety of clients, from start-up firms to Fortune 500 organizations in economic development, technology, education and the professional services. Gillian also served as the PR and Investor Relations manager positioning a publicly traded eLearning company as an industry leader with the media, investors, and key trade and financial analysts.
Gillian has her MBA in marketing from University of Baltimore, where she graduated with honors, and is the recipient of the University’s H. Mebane Turner Service Award. She currently serves on the executive board for UB’s Entrepreneurial Opportunity Center.
Fired from her first job scooping ice cream at Baskin Robbins—not for eating the profits, but for a food fight her “friends” started when visiting her at work—Gillian always believed her strong social skills would someday prove valuable.
Gillian enjoys traveling and movies, but her very favorite pastime is spending time with her two daughters and husband at their home in Annapolis.
Amy Hitt
VP, Director of Print & Broadcast Production
With more than 20 years of industry experience, Amy is our production expert. Whether you want to print a 16-page brochure, put your logo on a boomerang, produce a national TV spot or duplicate 10,000 DVDs, Amy gets the job produced on time and within budget. Amy’s talents have been instrumental in the production of hundreds of multimedia, broadcast and audiovisual projects, including more than 20 broadcast PSA campaigns at Crosby.
After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, Amy’s first job was marketing assistant for The Mills Corporation, where she coordinated grand-opening events for mega-malls across the country.
Amy is a board member of the Production Club of Baltimore, a member of the 2007 Flagship Class of Leadership Anne Arundel and active with the Plebe Sponsor program at the U.S. Naval Academy.
When she’s not at a press check or editing suite, you can probably find Amy with her husband and two sons racing a sailboat on the Chesapeake Bay.
Linda Raaf, CPA
Chief Financial Officer/HR Director
A Certified Public Accountant, Linda manages the company’s finances and employee benefits. She also leads the agency’s Administrative Services Group, which provides administrative and technology support services to the Crosby team.
Linda joined the company in 1991 as accounting manager and was promoted to controller in 1996. She earned her degree in accounting at University of Maryland University College, and has been a CPA since 1999.
Bookkeeping for a small family business was Linda’s first job as an adult, and the reason that she pursued an accounting career.
In her spare time, along with traveling the country to go bird watching, she often sees life through the lens of her camera.
