Candice Frederick is a savvy publicist and journalist with a seven-year publishing background who is now putting her skills to work at DJC Communications’ publishing division. As a writer for Essence Magazine and public relations associate for the Penguin Group, Candice honed her skills both as a writer and public relations professional. At Penguin, she secured local and national media placement for the New York Times celebrity bestsellers, The Conversation by Hill Harper and The Blueprint by Kirk Franklin. She also spearheaded a multimedia press tour for Rev Run & Justine Simmons’ Take Back Your Family.
A native of Boston, Candice is a graduate of St. John’s University who has a Bachelor of Science in Journalism. Her blog, Reel Talk, focuses on film. Candice is a recipient of the 2008 National Association of Black Journalists Award for “Turn Up The Heat” (Do Right Men) and the 2009 New York Association of Black Journalists award for “30 Dates in 30 Days.”
Debra Caruso, president and owner, has more than 30 years experience in the media field and has developed numerous working relationships with a wide range of contacts in the press corps throughout the U.S. She has directed campaigns for corporate entities, large non-profit organizations, unions, trade organizations and leading universities.
Ms. Caruso is a member of the Board of Directors of the New York Press Club and represents the organization as its public relations consultant. A graduate of Fordham University with a degree in journalism, she was previously vice president at Sheehan Communications, Inc.
A known expert on the media, she has been quoted in The New York Times, Marketwatch, ABC News Radio, WNYC, E-Commerce Times, Portfolio.com, MacNewsWorld, Arizona Republic, Forbes.com, AOL WalletPop, Christian Science Monitor and the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel among others.
Married with two children, Ms. Caruso is author of the blog, TV Takes All, is featured in Who’s Who of American Women and serves on the Board of Directors of the Fordham College Alumni Association and Jazz 2 Cure, which raises funds for music therapy for cancer patients. She is a fundraising committee member for St. John’s Bread & Life.
Featured in the Huffington Post, Debra has also authored articles on public relations in such publications as BullDog Reporter, Ragan.com, O’Dwyer’s PR Magazine and CommPro.biz on such topics as advice for the presidential candidates. Her writing on media has been featured in the DailyNational.com.
Charleen Famiglietti is an accomplished editor and journalist who recently made the transition into the world of public relations, specializing in high visibility media placement for major clients including MetLife.
As an editor for AOL’s Patch.com, a daily hyper-local Huff Media Group website, Charleen gained notable experience as a writer, multi-media producer and social media expert.
A born and bred Long Islander, Charleen received a Bachelor of Arts in English with a concentration in creative writing from Binghamton University.
Charleen is also the recipient of a Newsday Journalism Award (2006), the Andrew Bergman Fiction Award (2009) and the Portia Dunham Award in Fiction (2010).
Mike Marrone is Executive Vice President for Systems and IT and directs all the firm’s database, technical and distribution operations.
An engineer for a multi-national defense contractor who directs systems operations for major government and military projects, Mike is a graduate of the New York Institute of Technology.
