Rita
Mhley founded MD&A in 1979 and over the years has captured
several awards for communications programs, including a 2004 Magellan
Award for Pro Bono Communications Services. Effectively targeting messages to reach specific audiences is
her special forte. She has worked
successfully with international clientele (including China’s
Broad Air Conditioning and America/Japan’s IODP-MI), prestige
local clients (The White House, The Kennedy Center, Holladay
Corporation, and Woodmont Country Club), and national associations
(American Society of Civil Engineers, American Gas Association and
Water Systems Council).
Prior to founding MD&A, she served as
information officer with the USDA Forest Service along the east coast,
Maine to Kentucky, promoting the value of forestry research to national
audiences. Through her efforts, the USFS gained exposure in numerous
media outlets, including NBC’s TODAY show, CBS News, The New York
Times, and wire services. She moderated a weekly radio program,
“People, Cities & Trees,” on WNYC in New York City, and
produced a monthly segment of “Over the Garden Fence”
through WRC-TV, Washington, that aired nationally.
She is the editor of numerous periodicals and
author of several books, including a Maine forest resource guide, the
75-year history of Woodmont Country Club, and The Water Systems
Handbook, a textbook on water wells (Spring 2006). She currently chairs
the Independent Public Relations Alliance, a section of the Public
Relations Society of America’s National Capital Chapter (www.ipralliance.com) and previously co-chaired that group’s launch of
a community service project. She holds a BA in English from Rosemont
(PA) College and an MA in Communications from the Annenberg School for
Communications at the University of Pennsylvania.
Donna Kolis, Senior Art Director
Donna
Kolis,
who has been praised as
“consistently creative!”, is at the top of her profession,
having earned numerous awards for her art direction and design work.
Prior to joining MD&A in 1991, she was Senior Art Director at Rives
Smith Baldwin Carlberg + Y&R and Art Director at Metzdorf
Advertising in Houston, Texas. While there, her clients included:
Allegro Ballet, Bluebell Ice Cream, Conoco Chemicals, Dr. Pepper
Company, First City National Bank, Four Seasons Hotels, Gulf Oil
Corporation, Hermann Hospital, Houston Natural Gas, The Houston
Symphony, Westin Oaks Hotel, and Willowbrook Mall. More recently, her
proficiencies with pen and ink and watercolors have been superseded by
her exciting computer graphics that take shape in compelling campaigns
whose components include corporate identifiers, brochures, books,
magazines, tabloid newspapers, newsletters, annual reports,
invitations, posters, ads, packaging designs, and more.
Her awards include: Gold/Silver/Bronze Medals: Art
Directors Club of Houston / Houston Grand Prix; Awards of Excellence:
Art Directors Club of New York / Communications Arts Magazine / Clio
Judith T. Cullen, Electronic Publisher / Associate
Graphic Designer
Judith
Cullen, who holds a BA in English from San Jose (Calif.) State
University, has worked on staff at MD&A since 1985. Experienced and
confident with numerous office applications with a primary focus on
desktop publishing, she is well versed in various computer technologies
and publishing software applications. She designs newsletters,
handbooks, and collateral materials for conferences, meetings, and
other activities, and has a ready supply of fresh graphics at her
fingertips. She also serves as MD&A administrator.
Additionally, she managed the pre-press
responsibilities for several books published by NAEYC (National
Association for the Education of Young Children) and Binney &
Smith.
Prior to her association with MD&A, she worked
for IBM where she first gained her computer training, experience and
enthusiasm for mastering numerous computer applications.
She has been extensively involved with her local
church where she has been a member for 30 years, serving as a Parish
Council officer for more than 15 years, and recently assumed
responsibility for posting parish information to the church’s
website. She regularly volunteers for the local schools, and served
with the PTA on both the school and county level.
Anita Susi, Senior Writer
Anita
Susi has extensive experience as a journalist. She holds a BA
in English from Rutgers University in New Jersey, where she worked for
weeklies such as the Franklin News-Record and the Somerset
Messenger-Gazette, and dailies including the Woodbridge News-Tribune
and the Newark Star-Ledger, the state’s largest newspaper. At the
Star-Ledger she covered local news and environmental issues in the
Middlesex County bureau. She also worked as a copy editor at the
News-Tribune, and as news editor of the Franklin News-Record, winning a
NJ Press Association editorial writing award. After moving to Maryland
with her family, she worked for the Montgomery Journal, developing and
writing a weekly Rockville section. At the Maryland Center for Assault
Prevention, she presented safety workshops in local schools.
Anita joined MD&A in 2000, writing articles
for the American Gas Cooling Center magazines, Cool Times and
EnergySolutions, as well as for Gas Technology and Energy Decisions
magazines. She has researched and completed numerous case studies for
the Energy Solutions Center web site. Other credits include the
Wellcare® Pocket Guide and the Water Systems Handbook for the Water
Systems Council.
Anita writes poetry, gardens, and occasionally
leads Sunday services at her church.
