We enjoy the folks we spend our days with, whether it’s inside the office or outside after hours. Allow us to introduce ourselves.

As Vice President of Channel Strategy, Sara finds the most efficient ways to make things happen for our clients once the message hits the airwaves. As the person who oversees all of the agency’s media planning and placement, Sara takes pride in finding just the right place for our creative executions to shine. Her strategic media prowess is put to work for Palmetto Health, the South Carolina Education Lottery, the Florida Department of Agriculture, NFIB and Riverbanks Zoo and Garden.

Sara says she gets the best of both the creative and account service worlds in our business. She develops relationships with clients and vendors, comes up with innovative strategies and promotions and participates in research to satisfy her analytical side. While her background is solid in regional and national television planning and placement, she specializes in national interactive and SEM/SEO planning and placement, as well as negotiating added-value promotions.

A native of Indiana, Sara chose to move to a warmer climate to attend the University of South Carolina. And while we like to say that move changed her life, nothing would compare to the fact that she’s now a mother to adorable twin boys. To say she’s good at juggling is an understatement.    

David loves advertising. It just doesn’t get any simpler than that. For more than 30 years he’s trotted the globe creating brands, influencing consumer behavior and making friends along the way. Today he supervises several of the agency’s largest accounts, including the South Carolina Department of Agriculture and Piggly Wiggly.

David brings unparalleled experience in the areas of consumer research and branding. Working with the State Agriculture Commissioner Hugh Weathers, Assistant Commissioner Martin Eubanks and the staff at the SC Department of Agriculture, David was instrumental in creating and launching the Certified SC Grown brand campaign. Getting Certified SC Grown off the ground required a tremendous effort and the unprecedented coordination of all segments of the industry. David’s passion, drive and field marketing expertise were instrumental in creating the necessary buy-in among producers, processors, wholesalers, distributors, retailers, restaurants and consumers. David also supports South Carolina’s agribusiness economy by serving on the board of the Palmetto Agribusiness Council. And, just to prove a point that small farmers can mean big business for the state, he started his own organic blueberry farm in his free time.

Adam has more than 30 years of experience providing public relations and strategic communications counsel with expertise in internal/external communications planning, community relations, media relations, crisis communications, issues management, public affairs and marketing communications. He has worked extensively in healthcare, professional services, non-profit, real estate development and education. Adam is an Accredited Member of the Public Relations Society of America, as well as former president, board member and International Assembly delegate for the Charlotte Chapter of the organization.

He has chaired the boards of numerous community organizations including the Foundation for the Charlotte Jewish Community, Temple Beth El and the Charlotte Civic Orchestra, and served as trustee of many others including the Charlotte Symphony, Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte, Wildacres Leadership Initiative, The Echo Foundation and United Family Services Men for Change campaign committee.

He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is currently working toward a Masters in Communications from Queens University in Charlotte.

Lee loves a challenge and therefore excels in corporate communication, where he makes problems go away for clients on a daily basis. He also serves as senior counselor to many of the agency’s largest accounts, including BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Waste Management and the University of South Carolina.

Since 1975, Lee’s picked up quite a number of accolades, including New Carolinian of the Year, Public Relations Practitioner of the Year for South Carolina, Distinguished Alumnus of the USC College of Mass Communication, Alumni Life Service Award for the USC College of Mass Communication, Life Service Award for Leadership Columbia, the Columbia Chamber of Commerce Ambassador of the Year and the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce Business Leader of the Year.

Lee is an active participant in the business community, having completed a term as the Chairman of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce and as Chairman of the South Carolina Business Alliance for Transportation. He recently served as a member of the University of South Carolina Board of Trustees and as President of the University of South Carolina Alumni Association. He is Past-Chairman of the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce, served as a member of the advisory board for South Carolina Competitive Initiative and as a member of the Vision South Carolina Team that established the State’s long term vision of moving South Carolina’s per capita income to the national average. He has served on the executive committee of EngenuitySC, and the executive committee of the Midlands Business Leadership Group.

And if you couldn’t already tell, Lee is a Gamecock for life.

For someone who’s not from South Carolina, David surely does know everyone in this state. He’s what we call the inside outsider. And not just in South Carolina. No matter where his travels take him, David never meets a stranger. He combines his ability to easily make friends with his aptitude for running a business.

As Chief Operating Officer, David is responsible for the daily management of all operations. He determines the strategic direction for the agency, evaluates new business opportunities and oversees all of our offices. His nose for business comes from his background with both Fannie Mae, where he was the manager of MBS (mortgage-backed securities) trading, and the Federal Savings & Loan Insurance Corp., where he was a financial analyst.

He also uses these strengths in the community where many call him treasurer or chairman or even trustee. He’s on the Advisory Board for the College of Charleston School of Communications as well as on the Advisory Board for the University of South Carolina School of Journalism and Mass Communications. His involvement with the American Advertising Federation has led him to serve as President of AAF of the Midlands, District 3 Governor and most recently as the Chairman of the Council of Governors. He is currently a Board Member for the Ronald McDonald Housing Corp and has been appointed by three governors to serve as a Commissioner for the SC Department of Consumer Affairs where he is the current Chair. He has also served as a Trustee for Claflin University and on the boards of the National Kidney Foundation of SC, the Richland County Public Library, Historic Columbia Foundation, and the United Way of the Midlands.

As if that doesn’t keep him busy enough, this guy also cooks for his friends and family, is a certified barbecue judge all over the Southeast, swims laps every morning and tries his best to keep his guitars in tune.

Amanda works with some of the most recognizable companies in the Carolinas and is a leader in Charlotte’s public relations industry. She provides strategic public relations counsel and media relations to clients in a wide range of industries such as education, engineering, professional services, public works, aviation and nonprofit. Since joining the agency in 2005, her clients have included Pulte Homes, Charlotte Water, Deloitte, Arts & Science Council, 7-Eleven, Inc., Charlotte Chamber, Charlotte Douglas International Airport and S&D Coffee and Tea. Amanda has nearly 15 years of experience of experience working with local, regional, and national press and trade publications. She is also skilled in copywriting, social media strategy, branding, advocacy, public affairs and project management, and leads the agency's public relations and social media team.

Amanda’s career began at Drayton Hall, a National Trust Historic Site in Charleston, SC, where she handled news media relations, planned events and assisted with marketing communications for more than two years.

A College of Charleston graduate, Amanda received her Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) in 2011 and served as president of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Charlotte Chapter in 2014. She has held various leadership roles within the chapter since 2006—including awards chair, new professionals chair, secretary, treasurer and vice president—and was the recipient of its Young Professional Award in 2009. In 2015, she was appointed to the board of directors of The Housing Partnership, a nonprofit organization that provides affordable housing for low-income families in Charlotte-Mecklenburg.

Prussia serves as Chernoff Newman’s Chief Financial Officer. She designed and manages many of the reporting systems currently used in the budgetary management of multiple clients including South Carolina Education Lottery and South Carolina Department of Agriculture. This includes direction and oversight of monthly financial reporting of activities and reconciliation of program expenses.

Prussia has more than 20 years of experience managing and reconciling legislatively mandated budgets, maintenance of accounting records and analysis of financial transactions.

She has a master of science in accounting from Liberty University and is a graduate of the University of South Carolina Moore School of Business with a bachelor of science degree in business administration, focusing on accounting.

Bruce spends his day focused on leading the accounts for several our highest profile clients, including the Florida Department of Agriculture, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), and T.G. Lee Dairy. While his primary emphasis has been on product marketing, he has supervised introductions of brands at all stages of development, including concept generation, research, test marketing and regional/national expansion. Bruce will serve as the primary contact.

In addition to his financial/insurance, healthcare and food & beverage experience, Bruce has also worked in a variety of other industries with clients like Health Central in Orlando, McArthur Dairy, Duda Farm Fresh Foods, USA Mobility, Nextel, Sprint Business Systems, the Pool People and Orkin.

He has more than 30 years’ experience in account management and media planning, and before joining Chernoff Newman, he worked for Liller Neal, Tucker Wayne and J. Walter Thompson. Bruce graduated from Florida State University with a degree in marketing/ communications. After working in Atlanta, he moved back to his home state of Florida and serves as general manager of our Orlando office.

Peter LaMotte is a skilled marketing, public relations and advertising executive with experience in complex communications, reputational issues, marketing and advertising strategies.

Over the last two decades, Peter has built his expertise by working with clients all over the world. Peter brings this diverse background to Chernoff Newman to provide holistic and integrated solutions to needs of their clients.

Prior to joining Chernoff Newman, Peter spent ten years in Washington, DC including leadership of digital strategy for a premier crisis and reputation firm where his client base included Fortune 100 corporations, international associations, individuals and foreign governments. Prior to that he ran an online advertising agency that created rich media content for global brands through a network of creative professionals from around the globe. Peter also served as a marketing and communications consultant. He also has rich technology and marketing experience working for firms in Los Angeles, CA and Memphis, TN.

Peter is often quoted in national media outlets including the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Forbes and industry publications such as Stat News and PR Week. He has taught classes and seminars at Georgetown University, University of Maryland, Vanderbilt University and American University on the topics of reputation management, entrepreneurism, and marketing.  He holds a BA in International Business from Rhodes College and an MBA from Vanderbilt’s Graduate School of Management. Born and raised in Beaufort County, SC, Peter now lives in Charleston, SC with his wife, son and daughter.

As Vice President of Research, Fenton Overdyke uses his 20+ years of experience to lead the agency’s marketing research division. A skilled moderator and analyst, he is involved in all phases of the research process from client consultation and methodology recommendation to analysis and reporting of findings. He’s relied on for his unique ability to turn data into actionable insights.

He’s conducted research in a range of industries, including healthcare, education, agriculture, and food and beverage.

Fenton carves out time for active community service, serving on the Executive Committee of the Board for the Salvation Army of the Midlands as Past Chairman. He holds a B.S. and an M.B.A. from the University of South Carolina.

Through strategic and creative direction, Heather helps create and maintain brands for some of the agency’s most high-profile clients including the CLT Airport, SC Department of Agriculture, US Utilities, BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina and the Florida Department of Agriculture. No matter what client she’s working with, Heather has her finger on the pulse of what’s next in the interactive and social realm – and how these new means of communication layer with more traditional mediums to form an omni-channel approach to marketing. No matter where these messages come to life, she still relishes the moment that an idea moves from concept to reality. In her 20+ year career, Heather’s work has earned countless local, regional and national awards.

Heather leads the creative and account service teams at the agency, focusing on strategically driven work that both achieves results for our clients and delights consumers through creativity. She is a guest speaker at local marketing events and in the college classroom, and has also served as a regional judge in the creative field.

Heather is a member of the 2014 class of Leadership Columbia, the 2015 class of the State Newspaper’s 20 under 40 and currently serves on the board for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Columbia and the WAGE committee for the Women’s Rights and Empowerment Network. She a proud graduate of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, holding a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication.

Tye has helped develop and implement communications strategies for both business-to-business marketing and business-to-consumer advertising campaigns at the national level. His particular experience in healthcare, technology, manufacturing and energy clients like Cierra Photonics, Dayton Power & Light, BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina and Midlands Technical College have provided him the opportunity to create strategies from small startups to huge corporations.

No matter who he’s working with, Tye's approach to branding pairs strategy with creativity for original and highly-focused marketing efforts. He studies people, what motivates them and ultimately how they connect with the brands he serves. Engaging people in two-way conversations with each other and the brands that they love is what it’s all about for him.

Outside of the office, you’ll find Tye chasing his family from school to the soccer field or playing lead guitar for his locally world famous band, Jet Lag Jones.

Rick is the first person to talk politics but the last person to follow policy. That’s because Rick doesn’t follow the rules, he creates them. Especially for the clients he loves so much, including Palmetto Health, Waste Management and Dayton Power & Light.

Rick’s  passion for the next big idea can be found in every part of Rick’s life, from his strategic planning for clients to the women in his family. After serving as an aide for two lieutenant governors, Rick took his act on the road and formed Chernoff/Silver & Associates in 1976. Since then, his ideas have gotten bigger and better in a wide variety of fields – from education, healthcare and economic development to energy, the environment and insurance.

Rick’s reputation precedes him as an expert in research methodology and analysis, opinion polling, issues management and public relations. All of which are put to work for clients like USC, Palmetto Health, Waste Management and the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. And once you’ve been in one of these legendary meetings with Rick, you’ll know just what we mean by waving arms. He just can’t help it.

As the Vice President of Client Engagement at Chernoff Newman, Elizabeth develops and implements communications strategies for marketing and advertising campaigns as well as manages the daily details for some of the agency’s largest accounts. Since she joined the agency in 2007, she has gained experience working with various industries including healthcare, agriculture, education, financial, technology, energy, entertainment and nonprofits. Today, Elizabeth works most closely with the South Carolina Department of Agriculture, SC Student Loan and Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System, while also leading the agency’s account service team. Her past healthcare experience includes projects on behalf of BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, the Free Medical Clinic, Longs Drugs and Prisma Health.

She plays an active role in analyzing secondary market research and studies the emerging forms of media to help identify where they can be used in a broader marketing plan, while making sure that any and all work is strategically completed.

Elizabeth is a member of Leadership Columbia, the American Marketing Association (AMA) and has won several awards for her work in branding and awareness campaigns. Elizabeth earned both her MBA and her BS degrees from the University of South Carolina Darla Moore School of Business.