Michelle is the founder and CEO of Novitas Communications, an award-winning, full-service public relations firm based in downtown Denver. She founded Novitas during the Great Recession of 2008 and quickly became best known for her work in issue management, corporate communication and crisis communication in highly regulated sectors, including education, oil and gas, real estate, technology, healthcare and financial services.
Michelle has over 25 years of experience in strategic communications and reputation management, executive positioning, community engagement, issue management, corporate communication, and crisis communication. She advises a wide range of clients, from Fortune 100 companies to start-ups and nonprofits, on responding proactively and reactively to emerging communications issues. She has helped implement organization-wide communications strategies to uphold a reputation when the stakes were highest, and secured media coverage for her clients in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Reuters, USA Today, Washington Post, CNBC, CNN, MSNBC, FOX News, among many other national and local media outlets.
Under Michelle’s leadership, Novitas has won numerous awards, including the PR News Agency Elite Top-100 Award, the PRSA Silver Anvil Award of Excellence, the Gold Bulldog Award for Best Public Affairs Campaign, the Ragan Award for Best Public Affairs Campaign and the PRSA Colorado Chapter Gold Pick Award. Today, Novitas is ranked by O’Dwyer’s Public Relations News as the fastest-growing public relations firm in Colorado, offering innovative and strategic communications services to a wide range of national and international clients.
Michelle earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business from Illinois Wesleyan University.
Fun Fact: A thirteenth-generation American, Michelle’s family built the oldest wood-frame home in the United States, “The Balch House,” in Beverly, Massachusetts. It’s now a historic museum!
For over 20 years, Chip was a lobbyist and spokesperson for Colorado’s county commissioners, at one time or another covering virtually every topic of county interest. Ultimately, Chip served eight years as the executive director of Colorado Counties, Inc., the statewide association of county commissioners, elevating the visibility and influence of Colorado’s counties in regional organizations, national organizations and policy debates.
Chip has professionally immersed himself in Colorado policy for most of his career. As a young lawyer for the Colorado General Assembly, he focused primarily on tax, finance, election, and education law, including implementation of the TABOR and Great Outdoors Colorado constitutional amendments.
Chip also served as the county administrator for Ouray County in 1998 and 1999, and as executive director of the county insurance pools until 2022.
He received both his Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctorate from Pepperdine University and practiced civil litigation in Southern California before moving to Colorado in 1992.
Fun Fact: After graduating college, Chip appeared on All-Star Blitz, a California game show, and won two grand prizes in the show’s word puzzle! He spent the money to split a Piper Arrow, a two-seat aircraft, with his dad.
She’s managed communications and government affairs for oil and gas, acted as campaign spokeswoman for two successful 2016 statewide ballot initiatives, and developed digital strategy empowering audiences to plan for the end of life.
Jessie earned her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Furman University and her Master of Arts in Global Health and International Security from the University of Denver. She’s a Denver native and competitive equestrian.
Fun Fact: Jessie is a proud and unapologetic horse girl. Today, she owns four horses: Finale, Parker, Fitz and Ace!
Devan holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Denver and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Wyoming. Devan Crean has over a decade of experience in marketing and communications, working with private businesses, public organizations, and nonprofits. She has also worked on federal and local campaigns. Devan is an accomplished writer and graphic designer and enjoys using her creativity to help organizations tell their stories. Devan holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Denver and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Wyoming. She also has certificates in Graphic Design from the California Institute of the Arts and Marketing from the IE Business School. She is a Colorado native and in her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her dog, Marley, watching Netflix documentaries, or reading a good book – preferably historical fiction or true crime.
Fun Fact: Devan’s brain is filled with useless facts, so she’s a good time at trivia night. She once won a trivia contest because she was the only one who knew where the Sea of Tranquility is located (it’s the moon).
Fun Fact: Sarah loves to ride horses.
John was elected for a first term as Arapahoe County Commissioner in 1996. In 1999, he was re-elected to a four-year term and served as chairman in 2000. He then served as chairman of the Arapahoe County Public Airport Authority (Centennial Airport), and as president of the Arapahoe County Water and Wastewater Authority. Director of Public Policy at the South Metro Denver Chamber from Jan 2003-April 2004. Later on, he served as the President and CEO and member of the Board of Directors of the South Metro Denver Chamber from April 2004 to March 2014.
As a life-long resident and native of Colorado, he managed state legislative races while attending law school. He enlisted in the Colorado Army National Guard in 1991 and graduated from Officer Candidate School in 1993. In 1995 he became a Company Commander of the 147th Combat Support Hospital, then later served as a Captain at the National Guard State Headquarters. He was honorably discharged in 2003 and received the Meritorious Service Medal twice.
Fun Fact: John has run every day, for the past 2500 days, outdoors and in shorts. That’s almost seven straight years! In snow, sleet or rain, you’ll find John outdoors, enjoying Colorado’s trails.
Since 2017, Virginia has been working in close collaboration with CDOT on the Central 70 Project serving as the media specialist producing, writing, and overseeing TV, radio, print, and social media campaigns. She writes scripts, leverages media interviews, hosts media open houses for Latino representatives and more. In this role, she is also responsible for press release transcreations and distributions among the Hispanic media outlets.
Her bilingual experience as a spokesperson, transcreator/translator of campaign communication ensures best practices in conveying messages to the Hispanic community that are culturally and linguistically sensitive. Virginia provides added value for Novitas Communications clients working the Hispanic communities.
Jared’s nonprofit board service includes Open Media Foundation, Colorado Film & Video Association and AdClub.
Find out how we can help your organization achieve its goals. Call us at 202.380.7114. To inquire about opportunities with our team, please email an introduction and CV to info@novitascommunications.com
Address
1732 Wazee Street, Suite 201
Denver, CO 80202