Sal Russo Sal Russo is the founder of Russo Marsh. Mr. Russo has spent over 30 years in the field of political consulting and public affairs. A seasoned consultant and nationally known strategist, Mr. Russo’s expertise extends to every aspect of the profession. Mr. Russo began his political career as a special assistant to Governor Ronald Reagan after serving as a volunteer in his 1966 gubernatorial campaign. After three years in the Governor’s Office, he served as an administrative assistant to a member of the California Legislature. In 1975, he served as editor of the Agricultural Labor Relations Reporter. Mr. Russo founded his own political consulting firm in 1976. Russo Marsh has been at the forefront of some of the most prominent national, state and local campaigns, including the election of Governor George Deukmejian (1982), Senator Alfonse D’Amato, New York (1992), and Governor George Pataki, New York (1994). In 1982, after successfully running Governor George Deukmejian’s campaign, Mr. Russo took a two-year leave of absence to become Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor. Under Mr. Russo’s direction, Russo Marsh has successfully managed numerous statewide initiative campaigns and provided strategic communication services to a wide variety of national and international clients. Mr. Russo has been called on several times to provide consulting in other national elections, including the election of Violetta Chamorro in Nicaragua, and in 1991, Mr. Russo conducted the media campaign for the successful referendum on Ukranian independence. Mr. Russo is a recognized expert in state and national politics, and his analyses are widely reported by the state and national media. Mr. Russo holds a B.A. in Government from California State University, Sacramento, and a J.D. from McGeorge School of Law. For many years, he served on the Board of Directors of the International Association of Political Consultants.   Ron Rogers Mr. Rogers has thirty years of government, political and public affairs experience at the local, state and national levels. He served as Chief Deputy State Treasurer from 1995 to 1998. Mr. Rogers oversaw the management of the California State Treasurer’s office for then Treasurer Matt Fong. This included investing a $32 billion portfolio, serving as a Trustee for the CALPers and CALStrs pension funds totaling $160 billion in assets, issuing $10-$20 billion in bonds each year. Prior to becoming Chief Deputy State Treasurer Mr. Rogers served as General Manager of Russo Marsh & Associates. There he managed Matt Fong’s successful election as State Treasurer. He was Chief of Staff to California Senate Republican Leader Ken Maddy for five years. Mr. Rogers directed the efforts of Senate Republicans in three election cycles. He also served as the staff liaison to the White House and Governor’s office for the State Senate Republicans and on the Senate Fellow Selection Panel and the Emergency Management Team for the State Capitol. Mr. Rogers began his career as the assistant to the Chairman of the Orange County Republican Party. He served as chief of staff to the Chairman of the Orange County Board of Supervisors for five years and to a member of the State Assembly for six years. He served on Governor Deukmejian’s State and Local Government Task Force, as Chairman of the Orange County Jail Site Selection Committee and the Tax Allocation and Special Districts Task Force. Mr. Rogers has managed dozens of local, legislative and statewide campaigns for candidates and corporate clients. Mr. Rogers has extensive experience in independent expenditure campaigns and is a recognized expert in organization management. He served as Statewide Director of Republican volunteer efforts in California in 1984, 1986 and 1992.   Teri Smith O’Rourke Teri Smith O’Rourke has spent almost 30 years working in public affairs, coalition building and public information campaign management. She brings a well-rounded field of experience with her to RM+R. Ms. O’Rourke started her career working as a constituent advocate in a State Assembly District office. After that experience she held positions within the State Capitol including; Constituent Liaison for Assemblyman Bill Thomas, Assistant Director of Public Affairs for Governor George Deukmejian, and Deputy Appointments Secretary under Governor Deukmejian. She joined Russo, Watts and Associates as an Account Executive in 1984 and began working on the safety belt law issue and eventually left the firm to run Buckle Up California full-time. The coalition was the driving force behind one of the nation’s first primary safety belt enforcement laws and Ms. O’Rourke supervised the collaborating bilingual statewide advertising and public information campaign. After working herself out of a job with the passage of the primary safety belt law in 1992, she joined The Century Council and launched “Drive Sober Sacramento”, a national demonstration project targeting young males who drink and drive. After conducting a national opinion survey and statistical research review, O’Rourke’s team initiated an innovative marketing strategy, juxtaposing television, radio and print advertising with an aggressive grassroots community awareness campaign.   Joe Wierzbicki Joe Wierzbicki brings a wealth of experience in public relations, public affairs and marketing to Russo Marsh + Rogers, Inc. Mr. Wierzbicki places a special focus on the initial strategic planning of campaigns for RM+R’s clients. He recognizes that the game plan laid out in the early stages of a public relations campaign is crucial to the long-term success. Creativity and innovative thinking are hallmarks of Mr. Wierzbicki’s approach to seizing opportunities and making the most of them. Businesses sometimes experience rough patches that they need help with, and Mr. Wierzbicki’s extensive experience and illustrious background enables him to assist corporations and organizations with damage-control efforts. While serving at Fleishman Hilliard as a public relations counselor, he also helped plot image-rebuilding efforts for companies and other entities that were recipients of negative media coverage and public scrutiny. Mr. Wierzbicki spent several years helping advance the interests of corporate clients, non-profit organizations as well as political candidates and committees. He embraced use of the Internet several years ago as an excellent means to communicate to targeted audiences as well as to build effective grassroots coalitions. Mr. Wierzbicki has also worked on retail accounts with a special emphasis on corporate image branding and customer loyalty programs at RH Macy & Company’s Bullock’s unit as well as other retailers.   Douglas Lorenz Douglas Lorenz founded the computer-consulting firm, Lorenz Technologies, in 1990. With offices in San Francisco and Sunnyvale, he provided network solutions and computer systems to companies throughout the Bay Area. As the Internet began to grow as a business and communications tool, he returned to college to update his focus. Mr. Lorenz became active in politics, and used his computer skills to encourage greater online communication among political efforts. He has been very active in developing volunteer political organizations, having created the first online presence for the California College Republicans during his college years. He continued his activities with volunteer political organizations through the Republican Liberty Caucus, most recently serving as National Chairman. Adding to his technology background, Mr. Lorenz completed his B.A. degree from California State University Sacramento in Public Relations, with a minor in Economics.