Chris Herbert

Public Relations & Communications LeaderCCO Stratos Consulting Group; Co-Founder of Pendulum PR

Chris Herbert has been helping companies and organizations find voices that resonate with the public for 25 years. Her high-energy style and tireless work ethic has drawn the praise of those she works with, and her strategic mind continually draws the attention of regional, national, and international media.
Chris leads Pendulum’s Consumer Brands PR division and has been an integral part of helping many consumer tech brands stand out in a crowded and noisy industry. She has worked with global brands including Scosche, Catalyst, WHOOSH!, ShiftCam, Wildhorn and others penetrate the media market to gain brand recognition and brand loyalty - resulting in increased sales and market share.
She has a passion for PR with a cause and has worked with a variety of philanthropic and non-profit organizations including community and private foundations, Girl Scouts, and rotary clubs to help them gain valuable public attention.

Mike Cronin

Press contributing editor

Mike Cronin is a Peabody, duPont, and Murrow award-winning journalist with experience spanning 24 years. He has worked for Bill Moyers and news organizations such as Austin Business Journal, Associated Press, Minnesota Public Radio, The Arizona Republic, MinnPost, The Salt Lake Tribune, and Texas Watchdog.
Mike’s beats have included startups, finance, growth, and the economy. He also has advised companies on developing content, media, market positioning, messaging, and growth public-relations strategies.
Mike earned a master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University in New York City and a bachelor’s degree in politics from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland.

Julia Petryk

Founder Tech PR school, Co-founder PR ARMY

Julia is a community builder, globetrotter, inspirational networker and educator who drives a professional comms/PR community in Ukraine. She co-founded the Ukrainian PR Army hours after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
She received hundreds of publications in top global media outlets and built friendly relationships with them: Forbes, CNBC, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, The Next Web, The Entrepreneur, Mashable, WIRED, and others.
Julia is recognized among 25 PR innovators EMEA and was awarded Future is Female award by Advertising Week and Warner Brothers Discovery.

Linda Zebian

Director of Communications at Muck Rack

Linda joined Muck Rack as its first-ever Director of Communications in January 2022. As Muck Rack’s communications lead, Linda sets communications strategy for Muck Rack’s enterprise, both internally and externally, including messaging, issues management, media relations and employee communications.
Linda joins Muck Rack from The New York Times Company, where she spent 10 years in various communications positions, developing and executing communications strategies for the business side of the company including Growth, Product and Technology to reinforce The Times’ innovation and financial success, drive subscription growth and improve retention, strengthen brand affinity and attract top talent.
Most recently she served as a freelance Communications Advisor, and before that, as Executive Director, Corporate Communications. She also served as both a Director and Manager of Corporate Communications during her tenure.