SPRING GREEN COMMUNICATIONS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Communications Consultant
Job Titles:
- Communications Consultant
Job Titles:
- Vice President
- Professor at the University of North Georgia
- Vice President / Atlanta, Georgia
Vice President Katherine Brennecke is an accomplished public relations specialist, communications trainer, media manager and television producer. Katherine has more than 20 years of experience with a proven record of growing brands and engaging target audiences through content development for traditional and social media.
In her work with Spring Green Communications, Katherine focuses on helping clients create reports that tell a story and deliver on investor and stakeholder expectations. Her 8+ years of experience creating sustainability reports make her a valuable resource for clients seeking to raise their ESG standing.
She also develops customized training for clients looking for impactful interpersonal communication, creating curricula and facilitating high-energy, relevant, skills training including: core communication competencies, how to create an effective presentation, written communications, how to facilitate effective meetings and personal branding.
Katherine grew her passion for communications and content development working for the CNN news group and Turner Broadcasting. During her 15 years at CNN Headline News (HLN), Katherine served in a variety of positions including Editorial Manager and Executive Editor, managing a team of 35+ employees. She set network guidance, coordinated story treatment and promotion, established network editorial policy and managed a large staff of writers and copy editors.
Katherine later moved to Turner Broadcasting's TruTV, where she was responsible for big-picture coverage and daily editorial direction for live gavel-to-gavel coverage of the nation's highest-profile trials. She supervised newsgathering and collaboration efforts with all CNN networks and affiliate stations. Outside of the courtroom, Katherine exponentially grew the network's social media presence and increased user engagement.
Katherine is a professor at the University of North Georgia where she teaches Public Speaking and Journalism. As a thought leader, she has contributed articles to various news outlets, including Working Mother.
Katherine lives in Atlanta.
Job Titles:
- Communications Consultant
Job Titles:
- Founder
- Founder & Strategic Advisor / Vienna, Austria
Melissa Mathews is the founder of Spring Green Communications.
Melissa has worked in journalism and communications for more than two decades, including as an international news producer and editor, and as a NASA public affairs officer and spokesperson. At Spring Green, she led an in-demand team advising leaders in business, government and the nonprofit sector on communications strategy.
Melissa founded one of the industry's first fully remote, globally distributed agencies. She has been an advocate for work flexibility that enables more parents, diplomatic and military spouses and caregivers to participate fully in professional life. Her leadership on this issue led to her being named as one of Ragan's Top Women in Communications in 2022.
A collaborative leader, Melissa builds strong relationships with her team and often serves in a confidante role with clients. As a lifelong learner, she's currently working toward graduate credentials through Harvard Extension School. Melissa is married to a U.S. diplomat and has three kids, a Jordanian street cat and a Louisiana-born mutt. She has lived in the U.K., Japan, Guatemala, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Austria.
As of January 2025, Melissa stepped back from leadership and ownership of Spring Green and is continuing to support clients. Connect with her today.
Job Titles:
- Senior Director of Client Accounts / Kansas City, Missouri
Senior Director of Client Accounts Nellie Betzen nearly 20 years of experience in strategic communications, brand management and marketing. She has developed and executed communications campaigns for every audience, including board members, executives, employees, customers and consumers.
Before joining Spring Green Communications in 2019, Nellie spent nearly a decade working in the energy industry in Houston, TX. Nellie's expertise ranges from public relations to executive communications to advertising. She has delivered award-winning internal communications programs related to spin-offs, company culture and branding initiatives. She's also managed consumer brands and developed data-driven marketing campaigns to boost revenue, increase social media followers and enhance brand awareness. From her work on B2B communications, she understands the customer's important role in a company's success and has successfully designed several communications platforms to reach and influence this stakeholder group.
At Spring Green, Nellie primarily focuses on the Phillips 66 and Argus Companies accounts, providing content development, executive communication, culture messaging, marketing strategy and annual publication support. She is passionate about speechwriting and developing compelling messaging for internal and external events.
Nellie studied at Kansas State University, receiving a bachelor's degree in Journalism and Public Relations, a minor in Leadership Studies and an MBA. She resides in the Kansas City area with her husband, three young kids and two dogs. She enjoys keeping up with her favorite sports teams and spending time with friends and family.
Job Titles:
- Communications Consultant
Job Titles:
- President
- President / Portland, Oregon
Tia is the president of Spring Green Communications. In addition to her stewardship of Spring Green and our remote team, Tia leads our higher ed and cosmetics regulation practices.
Tia has over 20 years of experience advising a range of clients on communications strategy. Her expertise lies in strategic communications planning and project management, thought leadership and platform planning, internal communications and media relations.
Tia launched her public relations career working for a political and public affairs shop consulting for state and federal political campaigns and trade associations in Oregon. Her next position was as a White House appointee at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., where she directed all internal communications for agency employees at each of the ten NASA field centers. Tia was responsible for developing consistent messaging across the agency, managing incoming media requests for the assistant administrator, and special projects such as the Return to Flight Space Shuttle Launch, the 35th Anniversary of Apollo 11 and the premiere of the IMAX film Magnificent Desolation.
Eager to return to the Pacific Northwest, Tia then joined the global public relations firm WE Communications. Tia led a Microsoft analyst relations team and served as a strategic relationship manager. She was responsible for building relations with leading industry analyst firms and helped facilitate product development consulting activities with Microsoft's engineering, architecture, and marketing teams to enable competitive market positioning and delivery through the sales and partner channel.
Among her volunteer projects, Tia serves on the board of directors of Spring Green's pro-bono communications client Ameena Project. The organization runs a preschool and early elementary school in a vulnerable community within Thika, Kenya, which she visited in 2016. She is also an advisory board member of the Linfield University College of Arts & Sciences (her alma mater) and serves as foundation board member of her daughter's high school, La Salle Catholic College Prep.
As a thought leader, Tia has spoken at Ragan's Internal Communications Conference, University of Washington CoMotion "Fundamentals for Startups" speaker series, Society of Women Engineers ‘WE Local' conferences, Women Who Code's national CONNECT Conference, and PRSA Counselors Academy Conferences. Her writing has appeared in Ragan Communications, PRSA's ‘PRSay' blog, SWE Magazine and Scary Mommy.
Tia lives in Vancouver, Washington with her husband Andrew, their children Lily and Dylan, and a needy English Springer Spaniel named Penny.