The Team

Our team is comprised of a diverse group of experts in event management and public relations. From event producers to our research analysts, each member of the team plays a role in helping our partner’s to achieve their goals. Meet a few members of our team.

Vanessa Wakeman

Vanessa Wakeman is the driving force behind The Wakeman Agency. She combines her innate creative flair with the strong business skills she acquired while working in the corporate arena to produce a winning formula for our partners.

Growing up in a family of “un-official” socialites Vanessa had the opportunity to learn firsthand the ins and outs of event planning. With that feather in her cap, she pulled together a business strategy to incorporate these practices with her formal education and former work experience. In 2003, The Wakeman Agency was launched.

Prior to starting The Wakeman Agency, Vanessa was a Senior Associate at Morgan Stanley in their Communications Department. During her 6+ years at the firm, she managed a staff of 34 and was responsible for a $10M+ annual operating budget. Vanessa learned strategic planning and the operational aspects of running a successful business first hand during her employment at the premiere financial firm.
Vanessa’s vision for The Wakeman Agency is to help change the world by providing the exposure to those individuals and organizations that are innovating and creating change for the community-at-large.

Vanessa manages the development and growth of client relations while also being active in every client’s event or campaign.
Vanessa has been featured in The Daily News, ABC Eyewitness News, Westchester Magazine, Selling Power magazine, New York Newsday, ASI magazine and a host of other media outlets. Vanessa is also the event planning columnist for The WAG magazine.

Liane Worthington

Liane joined The Wakeman Agency in 2006. She brought along a diverse background in the Public Relations field. Having graduated from Eastern University in 1999, with a BA in Communications: Public Relations and Advertising, Liane got her start working with the creative and writing team at a small advertising agency that specialized in B2B clients focusing on plastics, metal engineering, security products and aircraft equipment industries. From there, Liane moved on to marketing and PR for tradeshow and in-store events for large pharmaceutical companies, promoting both prescription and over-the counter pharmaceuticals.

After becoming a mom, Liane sought an opportunity to work with clients that were doing their part to impact the community for the better. She began freelance work with local churches, private schools and small local nonprofit organizations, and then moved on to work with authors, regional and national nonprofits, family friendly film, TV and radio.

Liane joined the team at The Wakeman Agency in order to have the chance to work with clients who are raising awareness for special causes and taking action in the community and across the country. Liane and her husband have three terrific kids, all of whom are an inspiration to her.

Kristin Smith

Kristin Smith oversees the daily operations of The Wakeman Agency. As a former elementary school teacher Kristin leverages her eye for detail, strong interpersonal skills and patience to manage two New York offices and a virtual team and client base that spans the globe.

Kristin is primarily responsible for managing and maintaining operational components of the office which includes oversight of all proprietary tools and third party software used to provide services t o our clients, purchasing and maintaining equipment and supplies, new hire and intern orientation and acting as liaison to management and support staff.
Kristin’s main focus is to foster a positive, high performance and collaborative environment.
Kristin is currently pursuing a Masters degree in Education and she currently lives in Scranton, Pennsylvania with her husband and two daughters.

Ana Gabriela Dos Santos, PR Analyst

Ana Gabriela Dos Santos, a native of Caracas, Venezuela, came to the US in 2003. Ana has always had a passion for writing and after high school went to study Social Communications at the Universidad Catolica Andres Bello. There, Ana majored in Public Relations and Merchandising and completed her college experience with a thesis where she developed a Public Relations campaign to improve the image of Federacion de Futbol Venezolano (the soccer association of Venezuela) and its relationship with the media.

Upon graduation her search for employment in Venezuela in the PR field proved unfruitful and she took a leap of faith and decided to continue her education in the US. She selected New York as her US home and pursued a Masters of Arts in Public Relations at Iona College.

Today, Ana works vigilantly researching trends, identifying potential story angles and innovative concepts to get our clients on the map.

Jo Urbanovitch, Writer, Copyeditor, Proofreader

Jo Urbanovitch has more than fourteen years of professional experience with the written word. She began her career as a private tutor in Vancouver, assisting ESL (English as a Second Language) students on the difficult path to adapting their academic studies to a second language. She then spent two years as the copyeditor and arts, culture, and health reporter for CanWest Global’s Brabant Newspaper chain in southern Ontario, where she wrote over 700 articles for their five newspapers and special edition millennium magazines.

In recent years, Jo has been copyediting freelance for a myriad of eMagazines and worldwide publishers/publications, including McGraw-Hill Publishing in California, and has worked with many private industry clients to produce educational manuals and training materials for students and business executives. She has written numerous magazine articles, and produced a variety of brochures, web site content, and media packages for an incredibly diverse range of clientele worldwide.

Jo received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada.

Bonnie Davis

Bonnie Jo Davis has over twenty-five years of administrative, human resources, public relations, marketing and management experience in a variety of fields. Her creative genius has helped to catapult authors, speakers and small businesses from obscurity to esteemed experts in their industry. Bonnie provides a fresh approach to marketing and believes that promotion does not have to be expensive to be effective. Her favorite marketing techniques include article marketing and social networking and she particularly enjoys implementing public relations campaigns.

"Things get hectic on the day of an event, but at the end of the night when the client is smiling the guests are happy and goals have been exceeded, it makes it all worth it."

Cynthia Goodridge, Event Coordinator