Limelight

Launched three years ago by Jennifer Chidester and Brendi Rawlin, Limelight Public Relations is a boutique communications firm with offices in San Diego, Orange County and San Francisco. Limelight has represented W Hotel, Maloof Money Cup, Big Bear Mountain Resorts, Arterra at Del Mar Marriott, National Foundation for Autism Research, San Diego Festival of Beer, San Diego Auto Museum/Ferrari Owners Club, Tatiana Boutique, eS Game of SKATE and San Diego Film Festival and dozens of indie film premieres, among others. Limelight services include media relations, branding, positioning, media training, special events, crisis communications, advertising and marketing. For more information, visit www.thelimelightpr.com or call 877-472-5577.Meet the Limelight TeamJennifer Chidester, Partner Recently named one of San Diego’s 40 Under 40 and San Diego Magazine's Women Who Move the City, Jennifer Chidester is a multifaceted PR practitioner with a wealth of diverse agency and in-house experience. From managing multi-million-dollar accounts for global corporations, to launching start-up companies and nonprofit organizations, Jennifer’s forte is developing and implementing high-impact strategic communication campaigns in the consumer and entertainment industries.A media relations specialist, her clients have been featured in People Magazine, “Entertainment Tonight”, “Access Hollywood”, Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone, In Style, Cosmo, Variety, Newsweek, CNN, and USA Today, among many others. Jennifer and her team at Limelight have earned more than 20 national, regional and industry awards for the clients they service.Prior to launching Limelight, Jennifer served as director at Gable-Cook- Schmid Public Relations, earning more than 1/3 of the client roster when she kick-started the agency’s lifestyle division and contributed to the agency’s 40 percent growth in profit. Previously, she held account manager and account executive positions at both The Gable Group and Mindstorm Communications; as well as in-house marketing communications for Beastie Boys’ Grand Royal/Capital Records.Experience includes work with Cirque du Soleil; Sony Electronics; W Hotel; Big Bear Mountain Resorts; Pfizer; Rice Restaurant; Beach Bar; Decanter Wine Lounge; Galileo 101 Restaurant; San Diego Airport; Edwards /IMAX Cinemas; more than 300 indie and studio film projects; Jennifer DeLonge; and many more. She’s managed event publicity for such notables as Joaquin Phoenix, James Woods, Colin Hanks, Jennifer Tilly, Kevin Connolly and others.Jennifer earned her Master’s Degree in Mass Communication and Media Studies from SDSU. She graduated Cum Laude from California State University, Fullerton, with a bachelor's degree in Communications, emphasis in Public Relations and a minor in Sociology. Jennifer is the recipient of five academic scholarships in the field of communications, including the Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Grant toward Ph.D. studies in communication.Brendi Rawlin, Partner Brendi’s experience includes the development and management of local and national strategic communications and media relations campaigns for clients in a wide range of industries, specializing in consumer marketing,technology, nonprofit and entertainment. Brendi has developed a reputation among her clients as a strategic and creative thinker, expert writer and crisis counselor.Before launching Limelight, Brendi was an account manager at Porter Novelli, one of the largest public relations firms in the world, where she directed award-winning programs for clients such as Dave & Buster’s, International Game Technology, WomensWallStreet.com, DriveCam, the San Diego Children’s Museum, Hubbs-Seaworld Research Institute and South Bay Expressway. Prior to that, she worked on a variety of consumer accounts during her tenure at The Gable Group, including Taylor Made-Adidas Golf, Nike Golf and Proflowers.com.Brendi works best under pressure and has managed national media response for breaking news stories – including San Diego businessman David Perez's chartered flight of 200 New Orleans evacuees after Hurricane Katrina, and WomensWallStreet.com writer Annie Jacobsen's "Terror in the Skies" series of articles, which caused such a media frenzy in the summer of 2003 that a congressional investigation was launched.Brendi has developed media training programs for clients in preparation for hard-hitting interviews on World News Tonight, Dateline, 60 Minutes and 20/20. She regularly collaborates with local and national media outlets, securing print and television coverage for her clients in Family Circle, USA Today, Rolling Stone and Good Morning America, to name a few.A graduate of the prestigious Grady College of Journalism at the University of Georgia, Brendi's entertainment experience also includes conducting San Diego celebrity media tours for clients’ celebrity spokespeople, which have included Lance Armstrong and Ty Pennington. In her spare time, Brendi is a member of the San Diego Press Club and serves on the public relations and development committee of the Salvation Army's divisional headquarters. She maintains her journalism roots by freelancing for a variety of web sites and magazines, including Biz San Diego. She is also a professional oboist who plays regularly with the La Jolla Symphony.Maya Del Guidice, Account Manager Maya joins Limelight fresh from the agency grind, having been integral to strategic programs for clients such as the $4.5 million San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, UltraStar Cinemas, W San Diego, C.W. Clark Development, Lankford & Associates, the National Foundation for Autism Research, and promotion of the San Diego Film Festival.Prior to enjoying the San Diego sunshine, she spent five years as media director of a Seattle-based ad agency, specializing in advertising and outreach campaigns for education, government and nonprofit organizations. She has designed, produced and managed local and national campaigns and been instrumental in the development of cause-related marketing partnerships. Her work has garnered numerous Telly Awards, Summit Creative Awards and two International Broadcasting Awards, among others.Her advertising and media buying background gives her a full understanding of media industry, allowing her to effectively leverage editorial coverage and negotiate reduced advertising rates to enhance her clients' outreach.Previously, Maya was a member of the writing and production team for a Washington, DC political consulting firm; managed media for an environmental engineering firm; and successfully planned gala events for the Seattle International Film Festival. An award-winning poet, she has also written technical briefs, advertising campaigns, sales brochures, and marketing plans for both nonprofit and consumer clients. She graduated Cum Laude from American University with a B.F.A. in visual media and creative arts.Thea Bakkar, Senior Account Executive Thea is a senior account executive at Limelight Public Relations specializing in lifestyle accounts in the film, design, hotel and dining industries. Thea's forte is media relations with experience ranging from multimillion-dollar public affairs campaigns and representing major brands like W Hotel, eS Game of Skate, and Big Bear Mountain Resorts to start-up businesses and nonprofit organizations. Her clients have recently been seen in InStyle Magazine, Us Weekly and USA Today, among others. Thea is currently finishing up her master’s in Public Relations and Corporate Communications at NYU.....