John Christensen brings more than 20 years of experience as a strategic communications executive to Cornerstone Communications.

John co-founded the firm after nearly 10 years at the Irvine Company, where he managed the company's media relations activities and crisis management, provided strategic communications counsel to senior management and participated in the creation of communication strategies and initiatives that advanced the company's business objectives.

John returned to his Orange County roots and joined the Irvine Company after spending a decade with the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association. Regarded as one of the NBA's top public relations executives, the Blazers were honored as a multiple recipient of the league's award for excellence in public relations during his tenure. He was selected by his peers to serve on the NBA's Public Relations Advisory Board, which established and implemented league-wide communications policies, and was invited by USA Basketball to be part of the public relations team for the original Men's Basketball ``Dream Team`` in 1992.

Kathleen Freed spent more than 20 years working in senior advisory roles in the public and private sectors before co-founding Cornerstone Communications. She has proven success in designing and managing multi-faceted communications campaigns that includes strategic communications, media relations, internal communications, brand management, community relations, event planning and interactive marketing.

As senior vice president of corporate communications at the Irvine Company, she provided strategic counsel on approach, positioning and execution of the company's entitlement, open space and education campaigns. She directed communications efforts on The Irvine Ranch that resulted in securing governmental entitlements for more than a dozen major projects, including 30,000+ housing units, millions of square feet of office and retail development, and a world-class luxury resort on Newport Coast.

Early in her career Kathleen spent 10 years working for Orange County Supervisor Roger Stanton where she served as a policy advisor on transportation, land use planning, housing, water quality, waste management, social service, and environmental issues. She was the primary liaison with key community stakeholders, business and elected officials, and represented the Supervisor on numerous countywide committees and boards.

Before co-founding Cornerstone Communications, Bill Rams provided full-time tactical guidance to top executives at Irvine Company, one of the nation's most prestigious private real estate companies, during an unprecedented time of growth and accomplishment.

Before becoming a public relations professional, Bill was an investigative reporter at the Orange County Register. His reporting led to life sentences for the killers of two doctors, and was evidence in the federal corruption trial of former Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Carona. He worked at the Register from 1995-2004.

ELYSSE JAMES is the writer and editor for BehindtheBadge.com, the award-winning public safety news site produced by Cornerstone Communications. Elysse has more than 12 years of journalism experience, including nine years as a reporter and editor at The Orange County Register. During her tenure there, she covered crime and safety, countywide education, local government, news, features and business. She also served as the city editor in The Orange County Register’s Lake Forest and San Clemente bureaus, and was responsible for publication of six weekly newspapers and managing the bureau staff.

CHELSEA THOMPSON works with clients in the healthcare, retail and real estate industries. By developing and implementing targeted communications strategies, Chelsea’s work has resulted in positive brand awareness and media exposure for her clients in influential local and national outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, KABC-7, KCAL-9/CBS-2, Orange County Register, Orange County Business Journal and the Los Angeles Times. Her skillset includes project management, collateral development, media relations, event coordination and social media management.

ANNIE NOEBEL develops and executes strategic communications campaigns for various Cornerstone clients, including their Northern California portfolio. Her areas of expertise include project management, media relations, community relations, internal communications, content development and event management. She has helped clients earn high profile stories in The Orange County Register, Orange County Business Journal, Bloomberg News, Inc., NPR, The San Francisco Chronicle, BisNow, Globe St., Fast Company, San Jose Mercury News, and Houston Chronicle.

CINDY ARORA is a former staff writer with the Orange County Register, San Gabriel Valley Tribune and Sacramento Magazine. During her journalism career, she has covered city hall, breaking news and community affairs. She has also been a lifestyle and food journalist, writing for Saveur, Tasting Table, Orange Coast Magazine and was the Dining Editor for Fodor’s Travel Guide (Los Angeles). Cindy has also authored a novel, Heartbreak Café, and two short stories, Christmas at Mulberry Inn and Cake Therapy.

Grace is a strategic communications and public relations professional providing a variety of services to clients in the healthcare, education, and real estate industries. Grace is actively engaged in social media management, with a combined social audience of more than 100K users. Grace’s work has resulted in substantial brand awareness and growth across social media platforms, as well as media exposure for clients in local outlets, including the Orange County Register, Orange County Business Journal and Los Angeles Times.

Heidi has been a communications and PR professional in Orange County for more than 20 years and is responsible for developing and executing strategic PR and communications plans for clients across diverse industries. She has worked for some of the most renowned companies and brands in health care, retail, real estate, and hospitality including Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, South Coast Plaza, Fashion Island, Bloomingdale’s, and The St. Regis Resorts. Her experience spans public relations, corporate communications, crisis communications, marketing, event management and social media.

Lisa Liddane provides expertise in strategic public relations, content and website development, crisis communications and social media strategy to clients in the private, public and nonprofit sectors. Before joining Cornerstone Communications, she held communications and marketing leadership positions at Henry T. Segerstrom Management and South Coast Plaza and worked with numerous LVMH, Richemont and Kering luxury brands, Michelin Guide restaurants, and national arts and philanthropic organizations. A former journalist for the Orange County Register, Lisa has more than 20 years of experience covering news, retail, business, design and fashion.

Danielle Lee is a social media and marketing professional who works with a variety of clients in the real estate, education, non-profit, and healthcare industries, with prior experience in consumer goods and e-commerce. Her areas of expertise include content creation, social media management, paid media, graphic design, targeted marketing strategy, and analytics reporting. Danielle’s work has resulted in increased brand awareness and engagement growth across social media platforms, as well as aided public relations efforts to secure media exposure in outlets like the Orange County Register, Los Angeles Times, and ABC7.

Emma Donovan is a multifaceted communications professional who excels across real estate, healthcare, education, and nonprofit sectors. Specializing in podcasts and social media, she enhances brand awareness and fosters growth through strategic content development, internal communications, and media relations. Her strategic approach expands audience reach and is acknowledged in top industry publications like the Orange County Business Journal and The Registry.

Louisa Buckingham is a communications professional with experience across the spectrum of Cornerstone Communications’ clients. She provides copywriting, content creation, project management and strategic planing support for clients from a variety of industries including residential, nonprofit, healthcare and retail. She is an integral member of the team and helps the agency's clients to expand their reach while increasing brand awareness and engagement.

Greg Mellen writes for a wide array of Cornerstone’s publications and clients, including a pair of award-winning publications: Behind the Badge, behindthebadge.com, a public safety news site produced by Cornerstone Communications; and CUSD Insider, cusdinsider.org, a publication of the Capistrano Unified School District. Greg also contributes articles for a number of public safety and fire organizations with whom Cornerstone partners. He also provides content for real estate and medical organizations. Greg has more than 35 years journalism experience in California newspapers, most recently at the Orange County Register. He has also been a freelancer and was faculty at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, while earning a Masters degree in journalism. His newspaper beats have ranged from sports to general assignment, feature, enterprise and investigative. As a freelancer he wrote about everything from pot to puppies. He has won more than 40 national, state and regional awards for his work. He also dabbles in fiction and has had several baseball short stories published.