Executive Team
KAREN ZUCKERMAN, President, Chief Creative Officer
As Executive Creative Director and President, Karen Zuckerman leads both the creative and the corporate vision of HZDG, the agency she launched from her basement in the late 1980s. More than 20 years later, she stays true to her mantra to “just make it cool” and has grown HZDG into a fully integrated, highly energized creative agency of more than 100 employees, with offices in DC and New York.
Karen’s non-traditional approach and guidance haven’t gone unnoticed—she is one of Graphic Design magazine’s “25 People to Watch” and was recently nominated for a Cooper-Hewitt award. HZDG is one of Bethesda magazine’s “Coolest Companies,” and it attracts the brightest and most talented professionals. It’s no wonder that it was named the #1 Graphic Design and Interactive Firm by Washington Business Journal.
Karen is a Philadelphia native and a graduate of Penn State with a B.A. in Graphic Design.
GLENN WATTS, COO
An HZDG employee can be certain of a few things—working with talented individuals, producing great work, and seeing Glenn Watts multiple times a day. Why so much, Glenn? Well, he’s a man who wears many hats. (Both literally and figuratively speaking.) He’s always on the run. And all over the office. When he’s not overseeing our technological infrastructure and capabilities, he’s overseeing our web hosting infrastructure and capabilities. And when he’s not doing that, he’s helping to implement company policies and workflows as well as lending a hand in interactive growth. All in all, Glenn is an ordinary man with an extraordinary role. One he masters effortlessly.
Glenn is a native of Rockville and a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, where he studied Engineering and Public Policy. He’s been with HZDG for 14 years.
STACEY DEORZIO FERZACCA, SVP, Client Relations
As VP of Client Services, Stacey oversees our account management team of 20-plus print and interactive executives. Her responsibilities include developing and maintaining positive client relationships, guiding the account service team, and helping them grow their clients’ business through strategic oversight and day-to-day supervision. Having spent the majority of her 20-year career managing accounts in various capacities, Stacey brings experience and leadership to the HZDG account team.
Stacey grew up in Pittsburgh and Maryland and holds a B.S. in Journalism (Advertising Concentration) from the University of Maryland. She loves food and shopping (not necessarily in that order).
JP VASQUEZ, Director of Project Management
As the Director of Project Management, JP Vasquez manages most of the interactive projects that are produced by HZDG. He brings years of experience to the team from his involvement in development, creative and project management areas of the business. His firm beliefs in teamwork and creative approaches to solving problems, as well as discovering new techniques for efficiency, have led to many award-winning projects. He graduated with a Marketing and Business degree from Nova Southeastern University, which has helped him maintain a creative focus while keeping the business core values of his clients intact.
KEVIN KUBASIK, Director of Development
As "Resident Nerd," Kevin is the go-to resource for innovative and creative technology solutions. An entrepreneur at heart, you can find Kevin working late nights in an effort to perfect the latest of HZDG's offerings. A purist who can be found quoting "The Zen of Python" to anyone who will listen, he keeps our software fresh and cool!
A Computer Science major who has been an active member of the open source community from a young age, Kevin has worked with almost every major development platform in some capacity or another and is always looking for the next one!
KATIE HOOPER, Account Service Director
Katie brings to HZDG a diverse marketing background including retail, fashion, beauty, food services and high-tech. She is highly skilled in fostering long-term relationships between client and agency through identifying and igniting a common vision for brand strategy, creative development and implementation.
Prior to joining HZDG, Katie worked both on the agency and client side, and most recently served as Vice President, Account Services at a Philadelphia-based agency where her client list included King of Prussia Mall, Destination Maternity, and Rita’s Franchise Corp. She also spearheaded new business efforts aimed at growing the retail portfolio.
Katie also served as the Director of Marketing at Ralph Lauren on the Rugby brand, where she led the entire integrated marketing program from initial concept through national rollout and launch of e-commerce. Her current accounts include Brooks Brothers, Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts and Cuisine Solutions.
DEENA COLEMAN, Account Service Director
Deena has 20+ years agency and client service experience in brand development and strategic planning. She’s worked in both consumer and business-to-business marketing. Her experience includes building marketing plans and advertising campaigns for a number of national and international brands such as McDonald’s Corporation, XM Satellite Radio, and Amtrak to name a few. With XM Satellite Radio, Deena was an instrumental part of the team responsible for the brand development and advertising launch campaign that was awarded a Gold Effie in 2002. Most recently, Deena led the strategy, marketing plan development, and execution for E-ZPass and the Intercounty Connector highway—Maryland’s first all-electronic toll highway.
Deena earned a B.S. from the State University of New York at New Paltz and also studied at the AAAA Institute of Advanced Advertising Studies.
CHAD STOCKTON, Creative Director
Chad provides creative and strategic copy direction and manages the in-house writing team. With a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, and over 15 years of experience, he believes the secret to a successful brand is the ability to tell a great story.
He has worked in all facets of marketing—from branding, loyalty and relationship marketing to direct response, catalogs and promotions—and understands that every touchpoint is an opportunity to engage and win over customers.
Chad is passionate about what language can do and has put his talents to work for HZDG since 2006. His easygoing nature and continuous motivation are a driving force in the creative department, producing award-winning work and big ideas for such clients as Volkswagen of America, Rosetta Stone, Brooks Brothers, Waldorf Astoria, the Washington Redskins and the Philadelphia Eagles.
ZACH WALES, Director of SEO and Digital
The Internet is a poetic battleground. Words and meaning compete for ephemeral, personal moments that could make or break everything in a single click. At least, that's how Zach sees it. With the SEO & Digital team, he seeks to optimize HZDG's digital services by establishing a data-driven culture, due diligence and strategic process in graphic design and information architecture. His team helps HZDG identify key performance indicators, provide actionable insights with testing and validation, and ultimately maximize client ROI, lead generation and sales conversion.
Over the last 14 years, Zach has honed a diverse skill set in search engine marketing, digital analytics, email marketing, web development, writing and graphic design. Zach holds a Master of Public Administration from Columbia University, and has worked with clients ranging from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, to the World Food Program USA.
JERRY ZUCKERMAN, CEO/CFO
A savvy leader, Jerry Zuckerman has helped guide the growth of HZDG. Whether he’s stationed in his office or hanging around different departments, Jerry is an expert at balancing the needs of employees and clients to ensure overall profitability. His skills have helped HZDG secure a spot as DC’s number one integrated agency by the Washington Business Journal for more than four years running.
Around HZDG, Jerry is composed and soft-spoken. But this doesn’t mean his presence isn’t strong. When he has something to say, everyone listens—not only because he’s as respected as E. F. Hutton, but because he also signs the paychecks. More than a numbers cruncher, Jerry is a motivator and manager of many on a daily basis and his early years as a controller at Euro Motorcars helped pave the road to his, and HZDG’s success.
Jerry is a Pittsburgh native and a graduate of Penn State with a B.S. in Business.
TAMARA DOWD, SVP, Creative Director
Spend five minutes with Tamara and you’ll quickly learn that she lives for what she does. Spend ten minutes with her and you might end up becoming a designer or copywriter yourself. It’s her passion, dedication and ability to think creativity that inspires those around her—and the creative staff she oversees. The alignment of messaging to strategy and how it’s presented is both the focus of and what she enjoys most about her work.
Tamara has a B.S. degree in Design from State University College at Buffalo. She’s also attended the AIGA Business Perspectives for Creative Leaders Seminar at Harvard Business School. Her work experience ranges from design studios and advertising agencies to designing for museums and corporations. Brands she’s worked on have included Eveready, Fisher-Price, Citibank, AMS, and Smithsonian Education.
CRAIG BYERS, VP, Creative Director
Craig Byers, Vice President, Creative Director HZ-NYC, is a global branding professional possessing over 25 years of brand identity creation and activation expertise across a very diverse client list.
Previous to joining HZDG, Byers was a creative director for the New York office of Landor Associates. Key client engagements included consumer and corporate projects: Barclays, Bradesco, Verizon, Dell, Hertz, Moen, Barilla, PepsiCO, Diageo, PLCB, Sephora, Human Genome Sciences, and the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.
Before joining Landor, Craig was an associate with the acclaimed architecture firm Rockwell Group, where he led the brand team and collaborated with architects, interior designers, fixture designers and product designers. His experience also includes Target Corporation, where he focused on promotional branding programs, in-store marketing, packaging programs and publications.
Craig’s work has received regional, national, and international recognition and has been published in I.D. Magazine’s Design Review, BusinessWeek, Metropolis, How, Print, Communication Arts’ Photo Annual, Critique, and Graphis Poster and Logo Annuals.
Craig studied architecture and landscape design, and graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a BA in graphic design.
SHARRI LUEFSCHUETZ, Director of Production
Sharri oversees HZDG’s Production department, which is responsible for ensuring that every photo is flawless, every printed page is perfect and every web page is designed without a blemish. She works closely with account managers and designers to produce award-winning work. Sharri also plays a key role in managing HZDG’s work flow, assuring both quality results and that deadlines are met.
Sharri has been with HZDG for 14 years and has 20 years of design and production experience. Before joining HZDG, Sharri worked for various publishing firms, including five years of intensive magazine and newsletter design experience with Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine. Sharri grew up in New York and holds a B.A. in Mass Communication from Tulane University in New Orleans.
JUSTINE SONG HENNING, Account Service Director
Justine has 15 years of agency and marketing experience and has been with HZDG for more than four years. Her prior work experience includes seven years at an award-winning Washington, DC, agency where she oversaw the account services department and spearheaded efforts for such clients as Charles E. Smith Residential, Archstone-Smith, Kettler and The JBG Companies. She also had a three-year stint at a renowned advertising agency in Boston where she worked on AICPA and Partners HealthCare.
Her current key accounts include the Washington Redskins, Washington Capitals, FactSet, Archstone, Hines, Bozzuto and The JBG Companies.
DHARMA PACHNER, Director of Interactive Design
Dharma lives and breathes interaction design and examines the user experience in every object he encounters (Why shouldn't you be able to swipe your credit card either direction at the gas pump?) He explores our industry relentlessly, and obsesses about better ways to build stunning, smart and more effective interactive experiences.
Dharma stumbled into graphic design fifteen years ago, and has not looked back since. Although a designer at heart, Dharma engages in all facets of interaction design from concepting and strategy to experimenting with the latest trends and technologies in front-end development. He has designed and executed highly visible work for several leading organizations including The World Bank, U.S. Department of State and the National Guard.
KARI MITCHELL, Director of Digital Marketing
A transplant from the Pacific Northwest, Kari has not only bridged the continent, she also brings more than fifteen years of marketing experience, with a special focus on helping brands transition from traditional marketing into the digital space. At HZ, she leads her team to create and implement ideas that are as practical as they are buzzworthy—utilizing digital, experiential, and social marketing channels to engage the ever-growing digital citizenship.
Kari has worked with some of the world’s top consumer brands, including Microsoft’s Bing, MSN, and Xbox, as well as Nike and Gap. From in-store events to online experiences, she has connected brands to their core audiences with measurable results. Her unique, cross-departmental background has also led to many highly successful and award-winning campaigns that have delivered brand growth and recognition. Having moved to DC from Seattle in search of the sun, she is proud to survive the hottest summer in decades.
LAURA CISSEL, Account Director
Laura has over 12 years of experience rooted in account management, customer relationship marketing, interactive strategy, and website development. Her clients have covered a broad range of industries including, non-profit, political advocacy, restaurants, and airlines.
Prior to joining HZDG, Laura was an account supervisor overseeing and managing both the traditional and online marketing efforts for Spirit Airlines, as well as spearheading the overall site redesign and rebuild for a fast-growing regional restaurant chain, The Greene Turtle. Laura also served as the director of interactive strategy at DDC Advocacy, a full-service issue-advocacy firm, helping to grow the interactive team to be able to support major online issue-based initiatives.
Prior to her one and only foray into the political space, Laura held the role of product director of mobile and web solutions at Fishbowl Marketing where she was responsible for implementing and managing new-customer acquisition strategies, defining turnkey mobile marketing products and managing all mobile marketing campaigns. In addition, she was responsible for the planning and execution of email marketing programs for top-tier national restaurant brands such as Dairy Queen, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Buca di Beppo, to name a few.
Laura grew up in the Carolinas and holds a B.A. in psychology from James Madison University.
