The Point People:
Meet Our Team
Positioned at the leading-edge of integrated public relations, our agency’s can-do attitude and curiosity redefines what is possible for our clients’ growth.
COO and Executive Vice President
Simply put, Lauren runs All Points PR like a fine-tuned machine. Her savvy business sense combined with stellar organization and planning keep All Points PR’s accounts on track. From conceptualizing and systematizing internal processes to accounting, HR, hiring, technology and training, Lauren does it all with grace, understanding and attention to detail. She is the visionary behind the company’s sustained growth, creating pathways for new agency services and departments, while also building out strategic recruitment plans to fill newly formed positions with top talent.
Plus, Lauren has been the driving force behind some of All Points PR’s most substantive work, including launching the Positive Impact program that includes quarterly volunteering and service events for agency team members to contribute to the Chicagoland community together.
A graduate of Indiana University, Lauren holds a bachelor’s degree in education as well as a post-graduate Master’s degree in communication sciences and disorders from Northwestern University. Lauren has since begun an additional Master’s degree and earned a leadership certification through Northwestern University.
Lauren honed her skill set as an educator in the Chicago Public Schools system as well as at one of the city’s most prominent private schools. She demonstrates her dedication to giving back as a philanthropist by volunteering at her children’s school and with the Alzheimer’s Association. She also organizes multiple book clubs, including one for the All Points Public Relations team members.
Lauren is married to Jamie and together they have two children, several pet fish, chickens and three dogs — Cubby, Ivy and Wrigley. As a family, they enjoy outdoor activities, attending the theater and cheering on the Cubbies. Lauren is an avid fan of technology, the news, running and gardening.
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President
Among company heads in the entrepreneurial and franchise-focused PR realm, Jamie Izaks possesses a combination of credentials rarely found in others. His professional experience spans nearly 25 years, including executive level management at the leading national public relations agency serving the franchise industry prior to launching All Points PR. Previously, Jamie was the public relations manager for Chicago-based Hyatt Hotels Corporation, working at the company’s global headquarters. Earlier in his career, he earned his stripes in the news industry as an anchor, reporter and producer at various NBC, ABC, FOX and FOX SportsNet network affiliates throughout the United States.
Jamie’s professional background paved the way for the unique space that All Points Public Relations fills in the franchising industry and beyond. As a leading integrated public relations agency, his vision has been to leverage PR as the foundation for an integrated mix, blending it with social media, content marketing, digital marketing, graphic design, paid strategies and sales representation. Taken together, the integrated approach creates a powerful, strategic approach for clients that fuels the agency’s THINK BIG, ACT BIG, PRESENT BIG mantra.
A seasoned publicist, writer, presenter and public speaker, having made speeches to rooms filled with hundreds of entrepreneurs as well as in small panel and roundtable settings, Jamie’s work has resulted in driving client objectives beyond expectation. This high level of achievement has earned Jamie respect among industry peers and afforded him the opportunity to successfully pursue new business development, International Franchise Association Board placement and involvement in various industry committees.
Dating back to his days as a teenager, working in media has always been a professional pursuit. Jamie parlayed that passion into a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Journalism from the esteemed Ernie Pyle School of Journalism at Indiana University. He went on to work as a journalist in several U.S. markets, including Chicago, as a television anchor, reporter and producer. Eager to learn more about the forces driving industry in America, Jamie pursued post-graduate studies and earned his MBA from the Lake Forest Graduate School of Management.
Together with his wife Lauren, Jamie launched All Points Public Relations in August 2011 to realize their shared entrepreneurial dreams and to advance the dreams of other entrepreneurially spirited individuals and companies.
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Spencer Abbott
Senior Director
There are countless reasons why I chose to work at the agency. I love the variety of brands we get to work with. Everything from fast-casual restaurants to automotive repair, I get to design for a wide range of concepts. I also enjoy the fast-paced energy in the office. There's never a dull moment at All Points, plus I am the Inbox 0 King! Having a clean and organized inbox frees up so much time and energy for me to think more creatively and focus on my main priorities for the day. A tidy inbox also helps ensure that client needs are met and no plates are dropped.
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Cia Abulencia
Public Relations Associate
The most adventurous thing I've done was hike up Mount Arakura to view Mt. Fuji. All of the signs were in Japanese so I had no idea where I was but I knew I wanted to reach the top of the mountain for the view. The elevation was 1189 meters and I had nothing with me except my backpack with a polaroid camera and half a water bottle. The view was worth it!
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Jonathan Bazar
Creative & Digital Associate Manager
I believe two things that make me unique are my people skills and my emotional intelligence.Being able to understand people's feelings and empathize with them is a quality that not a lot of people have. I believe this is a trait that is applicable to not only our work life but everyday living. It can also strengthen relationships and build longer-lasting bonds.
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Leiah Breitfelder
Creative & Digital Associate
I'm not afraid to stand out in a crowd! I wear every color of the rainbow and take pride in both my style in fashion and the design world.
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Charlie Brown
Public Relations Associate
When I am learning, there is never a moment where I stop wanting to learn more. I find excitement in digging deeper and teaching myself every useless, random detail of any subject. The best part about curiosity is that there is never a shortage of topics to dive into. Oh, also, the fact that my name is Charlie Brown.
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Emily Cashen
Public Relations Senior Manager
I think I have a unique perspective and understanding of people, whether that be teammates, clients or consumers, in general, because of my background in psychology. I have always enjoyed learning about the different ways that we interact with others and the world around us. It helps me to recognize the best way to work with others, which is a skill we use a lot in PR. I'm really proud of my ability to stay calm under pressure. It definitely comes in handy in PR when it comes to evaluating crisis situations and meeting tight deadlines. I hope to continue to always be a rock for my teammates in their times of need!
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Lauren Crisci
Lead Qualifier Associate
With a passion for blending creativity and analytical thinking, I thrive in roles where I can put my writing skills to great use. I love listening, building strong relationships, and crafting solutions that drive results.
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Maddie Darling
Public Relations Senior Manager
I believe that my greatest strengths are my independence, passion and commitment to always doing great work. I am a firm believer in being able to be on your own and get things done, and I am not one to settle for "good enough." I think that if you really set your mind to it and work very hard, you can achieve anything,and excel even your own expectations. I am very close with my family and also a "Pure Michigan" kind of girl, so the most adventurous thing I've done was moving away from my entire family in Detroit to pursue my dreams of working and living in Chicago.
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Freddy Drzewiecki
Creative & Digital Associate Manager
I chose PR because of the human aspect of the industry. I wanted to work in an area that deals with real people and caters to an audience. Public relations is about more than numbers and metrics; there is a whole human aspect to the things that we get to do and create.
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Ava Dunlop
Public Relations Associate
The most adventurous thing I have done is travel to Spain with my Strategic Communications Master's program and collaborate with Spanish PR students. As a group, we were given the opportunity to build connections with agencies in Madrid and Seville as well as individuals working in global communications.
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Axel Estrada
Creative & Digital Associate
I like the idea of helping other businesses thrive and learning as many art mediums as I can.
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Holly Friedel
Public Relations Associate
What makes me unique is my adaptability to people, environments and energy. I find it to be a great life skill to ensure comfortability with the people I work and connect with. Also, being adaptable has created more opportunities and connections because I do not close doors to unfamiliar territories.
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Bailey Golden
Vice President of Sales & Strategy
I originally went to school to be a meteorologist, but I quickly realized how much more I enjoyed my journalism courses. PR allows me to blend my interest in news and storytelling with business. I'm good at reading people and anticipating their needs. Regarding client relations, I really try to put myself in their "shoes" and try to always anticipate their next question so I'm prepared.
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Ryan Gorton
Public Relations Associate
One of my greatest strengths is that I am a great listener! As the oldest sibling in my family, I believe I had to gain this trait when comes to listening to arguments between my brother and sister. I also love long conversations with my friends.
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Patrick Haeffele
Content Marketing Senior Associate
My greatest strength is my ability to relate to people on a personal level. I have a variety of hobbies/interests, and I can talk all about anything–from Chicago sports to the latest Bravo reality show drama and more. I’ve always been intrigued by the psychology behind what makes someone engage with one marketing piece versus another. I also love adapting the client's voice to my writing and communicating the message that they want to promote.
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Peyton Harvey
Public Relations Senior Associate
My greatest strength is my positive attitude. I make it a goal each day to be a light in someone's life, even if that means simply putting a smile on their face. I also pride myself on my ability to connect with anyone I meet. I'm a firm believer that everyone has a story to tell, and I enjoy helping others share their stories through this career. I also love that I have the freedom to be creative and punny! Most of all, I enjoy the opportunity it provides to meet people and build long-lasting relationships.
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Benny Hieb
Creative & Digital Senior Associate
I have a knack for creative outlets and have picked up guitar, photography, design, sculpting, painting, and illustration, along with the skills I use every day with All Points! My biggest strength is my ability to try new perspectives for thinking and designing.
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Emily Hild
Public Relations Senior Associate
What makes me unique is my dedication to learning and growing as an individual and professional. I'm also a highly creative and driven individual with strong communication skills. Some other fun facts about me include my love for fitness, my dog, and reality tv.
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Alex Hopkins
Director
At its core, PR is a people industry. Learning how to connect, communicate and work with different people was always something I enjoyed, and PR allowed me to do that each day! I started at All Points as a PR associate and worked my way up to an account lead, senior account lead and eventually director. In this new role as Director of Operations, I can leverage my experience and knowledge of the PR side of our work to help drive the agency's growth in a new way.
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Cubby Izaks
Point Puppy
Living with the Izaks, I’ve grown up eating, sleeping, playing and barking fur-ranchising. With a talent for sniffing out a great pitch and posing for the All Points Public Relations social media pup-arazzi, I work like a dog every day. My biggest strength is helping the team keep a pawsitive attitude.
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Ivy Izaks
Point Puppy
With a mentor like Cubby, I’ve always put the right paw forward in my public relations career, living up to my pet-tential from Day 1. I have a fur-rociously persistent approach to pitching and great instincts that always lead me to bark up the right trees. I’ve also dabbled in the creative, digital and content departments, drafting fetching copy and graphics.
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Wrigley Izaks
Point Puppy
From generating paw-sitive media coverage to chasing leads, Wrigley is already living up to his name and hitting it out of the park. With an extensive background in puppy relations, Wrigley approaches every project with paws-itivity and is a natural born leader. Whether he's sniffing out new pitching angles or barking at reporters, his persistence never stops retrieving results.
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Donna Kang
Public Relations Associate
Compassion and public relations go hand-in-hand because of their shared goal of building and maintaining positive relationships, fostering empathy, and demonstrating a genuine commitment to the well-being of individuals, communities and the environment. The drive to do something meaningful for someone other than yourself is how I choose to go into PR.
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Danielle Kaply
Creative & Digital Senior Associate
My greatest strength is empathy. I apply it across my work, creating content, and interacting with others, in order to form lasting personal connections.
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Maggie Katsoudas
Content Marketing Associate
I love telling stories and at the heart of public relations is storytelling. I find it really interesting to dive deep into a company and understand every element that makes it unique, then translate its mission.
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Bridget Killian
Content Marketing Associate
The most adventurous thing I've done is taking a safari trip in Uganda, Africa. Waking up before sunrise to go out onto the savannah and experience wildlife in their natural habitat was nothing short of amazing. And, I got to see my favorite animals – lions – up close!
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Alli Kimmons
Content Marketing Senior Associate
I've always been an English and Reading person rather than Math and Science, so I knew that I wanted to do something that involved writing. I knew that working in PR would give me the chance to become more articulate in the way I communicate, and it also lets me be a bit creative and teaches me to think outside the box. I'm really self-reflective and I do my best not to sweat the small stuff.
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Kaitlyn Koester
Content Marketing Associate
What makes me unique is the perspective I bring to communication because of my relationship with my non-verbal twin sister, who has autism. Over time, I have developed a deep understanding of non-verbal communication, honing my ability to interpret gestures, expressions and sounds. This skill shapes the way I engage and connect with others, allowing me to communicate effectively beyond words.
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Hailey Martin
Public Relations Associate
I chose to go into PR because I am an obsessive fangirl at heart. Growing up loving One Direction and Taylor Swift - I was taught at an early age the power of connection through digital media, and I've always loved the sense of community it creates.
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Abby McLean
Public Relations Associate
One of my greatest strengths is that I am a very driven individual, I wanted to utilize my communications skills to help companies amplify their voices and connect with current and potential customers.
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Conor Mills
Public Relations Senior Associate
I've always liked to write - but never wanted to be in front of a camera. I always viewed PR as a great medium for storytelling.
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Rachel Nehring
Director
I love being in the know and keeping up with the news cycle. With PR, I'm able to play a part in creating news for our clients. I’m also a Bravo superfan. Ask me anything about the Real Housewives franchise, I'm your girl!
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Allie Nowak
Public Relations Senior Associate
When I was 18 I ran a marathon with 4 of my closest friends! I ran cross country and track throughout high school, and find running to be a great outlet for me physically and mentally. Currently, I'm training for the Chicago half marathon and hope to continue finding fun races to do throughout the country.
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Grace Nelson
Creative & Digital Associate Manager
I was drawn to PR because of the fast-paced environment that keeps you on your toes. There's always something new to learn and endless opportunities to be creative and build relationships. One of my greatest strengths is that I'm quick to understand new concepts and skills. I love being taught new ideas that I can absorb and apply to my work moving forward.
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Rachel Padgett
Public Relations Senior Associate
My motivation to always try new things is what makes me unique. Throughout my life, I've always tried to push myself out of my comfort zone and explore things that I normally wouldn't gravitate towards. One saying that has always stuck with me is "you never know unless you try." Recently, I've tried some new foods that I would have never eaten in the past and took up a dance class. While these are things outside of a professional setting, I believe this mindset translates to PR. PR allows you to push the boundaries and never settle, which is why I always aimed to wind up within the industry.
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Erin Pattie
Creative & Digital Senior Associate
I genuinely love creating things. It really is exciting for me to make something from scratch, whether it's design or writing a variety of content I can learn from. That love makes it continue to be fun to do my job, even if I'm feeling stuck on something. I chose PR, specifically All Points, because I wanted to work on a lot of different kinds of projects and mediums, not just the same thing every day. I value the variety of content I can learn about and produce in PR that I wouldn't be able to in other industries.
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Bridget Peterson
Public Relations Associate
Something that makes me unique is that I am one of seven children. Growing up with six brothers and sisters challenged me in many aspects of my life. It taught me at a young age to stand up for myself, learn from my older siblings' mistakes, and know that I always have someone to go to in a time of need. I would not be the outgoing and determined person I am today without my brothers and sisters because it is through them that I have learned about so many unique aspects of myself. I am an extreme extrovert and I find myself having no problem starting a conversation with someone I do not know. As a strong communicator, I form meaningful relationships with people quickly and know how to get people to open up to me easily. I am excited to use this strength every day while working at All Points.
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Kaitlyn Penkala
Lead Qualifier Associate
My greatest strength is being adaptable. I tend to not stay in one crowd, meaning I have many different interests or could become interested in new things right away so I tend to make new friends easily and adapt to many different environments.
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Mel Preskin
Office Manager
What makes me unique is my positive attitude and confidence, which I displayed when I moved to Ireland to work as an Au Pair. My greatest strength lies in my ability to make people smile.
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Ben Rodrigues
Creative & Digital Associate Manager
One of the most unique things about me is my drive to try new things and never settle. Whether I'm working on a big design project or creating my grandma's 80th birthday cake, I put 110% into everything I do. When working on designs, I look at the viewer's relationship and how I can make their interaction with my work as enjoyable as possible. While making designs look good is requirement, I feel that focusing on the human aspect is more important.
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Alex Sanchez
Director
I've always been fascinated with the media and have a passion for helping people's voices be heard. Being a people person is my biggest strength! I love making new connections and building genuine relationships with everyone I meet. My culture and my ability to see from different perspectives is a huge benefit to me.
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Tess Styler
Associate Office Manager
My greatest strength is my openness and genuine appreciation for the people around me. I truly value my relationships—both personal and professional—as the most important part of my life. As the youngest of four siblings and one of 25 cousins, all based in the Chicagoland area, I’ve grown up surrounded by a strong sense of family and connection. Those experiences shaped who I am today, and I wouldn’t trade them for the world. I love meeting new people and discovering the ways we might be connected, even in the most unexpected ways.
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Brooke Sutcliffe
Public Relations Associate Manager
I chose to go into PR because of the relevance of relationship building within the profession. Relationships are the anchor to success and creating bonds with others is unique and honorable. Being able to be who you are within your professional career is something that I value, and PR is a career that enables me to do so. I wouldn't want to be doing anything else. I have an empathetic sense that allows me to constantly put myself in other people's shoes to resonate with what they're going through. I always want to be a person I would want to go to if I was ever struggling, and I try harder each day to be able to be a solid rock for anyone who is going through any hardship.
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Caroline Trujillo
Lead Qualifier Associate
Building and maintaining relationships has always come naturally to me, whether it's with friends, family, or colleagues. I’m excited to bring that passion to my work, where I help companies connect meaningfully with their audiences. I believe trust is the foundation of any successful relationship, especially when it comes to choosing a product or service. My goal is to make sure everyone I work with knows they’re in good hands, backed by a commitment to transparency, reliability, and genuine care.
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Joey Weisshaar
Senior Director
PR is essential for building meaningful relationships. As a people person, I love being able to blend my passion for creativity and personal skills to help brands tell their stories in an authentic way. Plus, I enjoy working in a fast-paced, collaborative environment that encourages critical thinking. I'm a people person at my core. I'll go pretty far to make a client stand out. One time I made a replica of Wrigley Field using hot dogs and condiments for a Chicago restaurant's blogger event!
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Elizabeth Wood
Public Relations Associate
I'm a people person through and through! Open-minded and curious, I love meeting new people and learning from their unique perspectives. This passion for connection makes me a collaborative and reliable team member. I chose a career in PR because it lets me do what I love most—building meaningful relationships and sharing impactful stories. I’m especially passionate about helping brands find their voice and connecting their story with the right audience.
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Megan Zacharias
Public Relations Associate
The most adventurous thing I've done was moving to London for a summer. I worked at a talent agency and had the opportunity to travel throughout England and the UK. I met so many amazing people through the experience and I love having friends all over the world!
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