Contact: Scott Warner
703-744-7824
swarner@qorvis.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

  QORVIS NAMES DON GOLDBERG MANAGING DIRECTOR; ADDS FIVE ADDITIONAL STAFFERS  

Washington , DC- October 7, 2003 – Qorvis Communications LLC, a privately held full service public relations firm, today announced the addition of Don Goldberg to the firm as a managing director.  Goldberg brings more than 20 years of experience in communications, public affairs and crisis management, mostly recently from Navigant Consulting.  The firm also announced the additions of two new directors and three new associates. 

Goldberg's background ranges in many areas of public relations and related arenas, including stints as a professional journalist and senior positions in both the legislative and executive branches of government.  As a special assistant to President Clinton, he was charged with developing strategic responses to investigations and helped pioneer the integration of communications and legal strategy.   

Prior to his two years at the White House, Goldberg spent 10 years on Capitol Hill rising from the investigator to Deputy Chief of Staff of the House Government Operations Committee, the primary investigative committee in Congress.  He has been an advisor to Commerce Secretary Ron Brown, Senators John Glenn and Charles Schumer and nearly a dozen members of the House of Representatives. 

" Don Goldberg has gained significant experience by handling public relations assignments in numerous crisis communications campaigns since the mid-1980's.  That is the high level experience we really value at Qorvis because our clients realize the benefits of working with such professionals," said Michael Petruzzello, managing partner at Qorvis.  "By successfully guiding clients and the government through difficult communications challenges, Don has garnered the respect and admiration of his peers and we plan to tap into his vast knowledge and experience.  Additionally, he has been especially involved in working with major clients who want to have positive visibility in front of the government as a customer." 

Joining Qorvis at the director level are Brian Lustig and Carrie Blewitt.  Lustig, also from Navigant Consulting where he was director of strategic communications, has eight years of public and media relations and public affairs experience.  He managed a team of 20 for a public relations program at the 1996 Democratic National Convention and led a team of 25 for a public relations campaign at the President's Summit for America's Future. 

He has served as director of media relations at the Economic Policy Institute, and he has worked on a wide range of policy issues including international trade, telecom, the manufacturing sector, low wage labor market and social security privatization. 

Blewitt comes to Qorvis after managing consumer education campaigns and executing national media events for AAA, the Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA) and Household Finance Corporation for Dittus Communications in Washington. Her client leadership on RMA and AAA won Dittus six industry awards including the coveted Silver Anvil, a SABRE Award and a Bulldog Award. 

Prior to Dittus, Blewitt was an account supervisor at The Weber Group in Washington, DC, a Weber Shandwick Worldwide company, where she launched Kodak's online strategy and promoted products and services in the Consumer Imaging and the Digital and Applied Imaging units 

Before entering the world of public relations, Blewitt spent more than six years in television newsrooms across the country as a writer, producer and off-air reporter. As a producer for CNN in Washington, she was responsible for writing the news and producing live shots with correspondents at key centers of breaking news including the Pentagon, White House and State Department. 

Qorvis also announced the addition of three associates to the firm who bring a wide array of experience in communications, public affairs and media relations.  The new associates are:  Beth Gautier, Charles Martin and Mollie Turner. 

"Qorvis has become widely known for our growth in both new business and new professionals during a period when many public relations firms have contracted," said Doug Poretz, a founding partner of Qorvis.  "We believe that more important than growth itself has been our ability to steadily build our resources and areas of competency, which is directly responsible for our growing reputation for high quality client service."   

About Qorvis
Qorvis Communications is a client service driven public relations firm.  Formed in August 2000, Qorvis has offices in Washington, DC and McLean, Virginia, and provides its clients with expertise in the areas of investor and financial relations, public affairs, grass roots campaigns, public and media relations, marketing communications, Internet-based campaigns and research and opinion surveys.  The Washington, DC based law firm of Patton Boggs is an investor in and strategic partner to Qorvis.