About

Shannon Berg, APR

shannon@bergassociatesnw.com
503-347-8822
LinkedIn

Shannon Berg, APR, is the Founder & CEO of Berg & Associates. Shannon has more than 20 years of PR consulting experience and specializes in crisis communications and issues management. Shannon has expertise in litigation PR, labor communications, reputation management, incident response and a broad range of regulatory, employment and industry-related issues. She is an experienced workshop facilitator and has built a suite of trainings to help businesses evolve and elevate their communications skills and crisis preparedness. In addition to advising clients, Shannon enjoys speaking to communicators and industry groups on the role of communications in effective crisis response.

Prior to founding Berg & Associates, Shannon was an owner and managing partner of a regional public affairs firm, where she led issues advocacy campaigns, conducted media and presentation trainings and provided crisis communications, issues management and litigation PR consulting services.

Originally from Detroit, Michigan, Shannon served as the director of communications for the City of Detroit and press secretary to Detroit’s mayor. In that post she played an integral role in the city’s response to the 3-day Northeast blackout of 2013. From there, her crisis communications experience expanded to include class action and high-profile litigation, data breaches, employment and labor disputes, regulatory threats and complex issues management.

Shannon graduated from Wayne State University in Detroit with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in public relations. She earned her APR accreditation and is a Leadership Detroit and Leadership Portland alumni. Shannon is FEMA certified in early terrorism warning and response and earned a PRSA masters course certification in crisis communications.

She lives in Southwest Portland with her husband Erik and their children, Charlie, age 9, Frances, age 7, and Ingrid, age 5. When she’s not working or parenting, she’s hitting the trails with Hilda, her standard poodle, training for a trail race.

Sonrisa Bordieri

sonrisa@bergassociatesnw.com

How Sonrisa helps you:
Sonrisa ensures your public relations campaigns are executed seamlessly, always meeting deadlines and exceeding expectations. With a strategic mindset and proactive approach, she anticipates client needs, ensuring no opportunity is missed. Whether it’s developing a compelling media pitch, organizing interviews, or crafting high-quality content, Sonrisa consistently delivers with attention to detail and creative problem-solving. With strong relationships across media outlets, Sonrisa positions your brand for maximum visibility and success while positioning your brand as a trusted resource for the community. Her organized and thoughtful approach keeps projects on track and ensures your brand is always well-represented.

Sonrisa’s role at B&A:
As a PR Program Manager, Sonrisa manages PR plans from conception to completion. She excels in crafting high-quality content, including press releases, media statements and subject matter expert content. Sonrisa also leads media monitoring and reporting efforts, ensuring every aspect of a campaign is thoroughly tracked and communicated to clients.

How Sonrisa got here:
Sonrisa brings a diverse range of experience, having interned as a social media manager for a podcast and a global nonprofit.

She was B&A’s first intern for six months before accepting a full-time role as a PR Associate in 2022.

Sonrisa earned her bachelor’s degree in public relations from the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communication.

What Sonrisa loves:

• Based in sunny San Diego, Sonrisa spends her weekends at the beach with her puppy, Rocky
• As a self-proclaimed foodie and certified Yelper, she enjoys cooking new recipes and exploring new restaurants
• She loves to travel and is always looking forward to her next travel adventure.

Makaela Bordieri

How Makaela helps you:
Makaela ensures flawless execution of your public relations plan and delivers an exceptional client experience. She builds strong relationships with the news media on your behalf, sharing and placing compelling stories in strategic outlets that build your reputation with the people who matter most to your organization.

Makaela’s role at B&A:
As a PR Associate, Makaela Bordieri works closely with newsrooms across the country, building trusted, mutually beneficial relationships on your behalf. She conducts research, excels in organizing and maintaining structured systems for media monitoring and reporting. Makaela’s adaptability allows her to contribute seamlessly across various PR tasks and clients, including pitching, media relations, and content creation. She also supports B&A’s marketing efforts, including social media content and award submissions.

How Makaela got here:
Prior to her full-time role, Makaela completed an internship at B&A and was hired as part of the team in November 2023.

She has led social media and digital marketing programs for companies big and small, including a notable PNW restaurant, a national student housing developer and a global nonprofit.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in advertising from the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communication.

What Makaela loves:

• Exploring flavors, from cooking new dishes to dining at different restaurants. Makaela loves all things food.
• Florida based, Makaela loves to stay active by hitting the pickleball court or going on a long sunset walk.
• Traveling to cheer on her fiancé at baseball games (Go Blue Jays!)

Megan Deisler

megan@bergassociatesnw.com
LinkedIn

How Megan helps you:
Megan helps you build a winning PR program that fosters trust with your customers, employees, talent pools, investors, partners and advances your business goals.

Megan does so by helping you surface and share the incredible stories happening every day at your organization. She helps you leverage these moments to capture your audience’s attention, connect with them on a deeper level and get them to act.

Megan’s role at B&A:
As Vice President of Public Relations, Megan leads B&A’s talented and results-driven PR team. She maximizes the team’s creativity and flawless execution to build award-winning PR programs. With Megan at the helm, B&A’s PR team delivers tangible results and a return on your investment.

How Megan got here:
Megan spent eight years as a senior member of Legacy Health’s Public & Community Relations team prior to joining B&A in 2019. She advised the chief executive officer, senior leadership and clinical teams on effective corporate, crisis and internal communication strategies.

Megan earned her stripes right out of college, serving as the Deputy Press Secretary to a United States Senator on Capitol Hill.

She also previously worked with B&A founder, president and CEO, Shannon Berg, at a Pacific Northwest public affairs firm.

Megan is a native Oregonian who grew up in Portland. She earned her bachelor’s degree in public relations from the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communication.

What Megan loves:

• Nature walks, bird watching, bike riding and swimming in Sunriver with her husband and two boys.
• Being a Raleigh Hills Little League mom.
• Cheering on the Oregon Ducks and Seattle Mariners.
• Cooking Smitten Kitchen, Ina Garten and New York Times recipes.
• Exploring Oregon and all its diverse and beautiful treasures.

Haley Dowell

haley@bergassociatesnw.com
LinkedIn

How Haley helps you:
Haley has built a reputation in the PR industry for her relentless pursuit of excellence. Whether she’s developing a communications plan or managing day-to-day tactics, she always asks herself, “What could we do to make this even better?” She aims to exceed client expectations with best-in-class execution.

Haley’s role at B&A:
Haley is B&A’s master PR program manager. She nails deadlines–and budgets. With Haley on your team, nothing will slip through the cracks.

How Haley got here:
Haley spent three years at a global tech PR firm before joining B&A in 2020. There, she led and supported PR programs for B2B clients in the telecom, enterprise and industrial industries.

She also previously worked with B&A founder, president and CEO, Shannon Berg, at a Pacific Northwest public affairs firm.

Haley earned a dual bachelor’s degree in public relations and media studies from the University of Oregon.

What Haley loves:
She has danced since she was six years old and has performed with many dance teams and companies in Oregon.

• Reality TV. Her favorites: The Challenge, TLC classics, dating shows and anything on Bravo.

Megan Forell

How Megan helps you:
With a knack for keeping things in order and ensuring no detail is overlooked, Megan is the go-to helper and a natural communicator with a passion for public relations. She knows how to build strong relationships and manage brand relationships.

Megan’s role at B&A:
In her role, Megan takes charge of key public relations activities, including media monitoring, pitching and overseeing the distribution of press releases. Alongside these PR duties, Megan also manages a variety of administrative tasks to keep the team’s operations running smoothly and efficiently.

How Megan got here:
Bachelor of Arts degree in communications from Portland State University.

What Megan loves:

• A proud Oregonian, Megan thrives in the great outdoors. Her favorite moments are Sunday adventures on the slopes, where she happily (and unsuccessfully) tries to out-ski at least one of her three kids down the hill.
• A travel fanatic, Megan is always up for an adventure. Taylor Swift in Amsterdam? Flying out tomorrow.
• Donating her time to local charities. CHAP, Ronald McDonald House and Meals on Wheels are a few of her faves.

Jessica Moss

jessica@bergassociatesnw.com
LinkedIn

Jessica draws on two decades of experience as a professional communicator to serve as a powerhouse researcher and content creator for Berg & Associates’ clients. Jessica specializes in making difficult storytelling assignments easy. Have a complex issue? Jessica can turn it into an easy-to-digest set of facts. Want to share your message but don’t know where to start? She will dig in to find the information, people and angle that will make your story resonate with your audiences. Jessica also partners with CEO Shannon Berg to conduct media and presentation trainings.

Starting her career as a television journalist in Florida, Oregon and Washington State, Jessica learned early on how to distill large amounts of information into an accessible story with speed and accuracy. Just prior to her work in public relations, she was the executive producer, anchor and reporter for a weekly magazine-style news program that covered public policy issues for TVW – Washington State’s version of C-SPAN. She gained deep experience on a range of complex legislative and regulatory issues from social services and transportation to education and health care. While at TVW, she produced and hosted documentaries on health care reform implementation and the embattled state ferry system.

Before joining Berg & Associates, Jessica earned her stripes in public relations at a regional Pacific Northwest agency, where she helped build and execute small and large-scale integrated communications and public affairs campaigns on behalf of high-profile clients in a wide range of industries.

Jessica grew up in Florida and graduated summa cum laude from Southern Methodist University’s communication honors program in Dallas, Texas. Today, she is a near graduate of early parenthood with her daughter Margot in kindergarten, and son Cooper following suit soon. Outside the office, Jessica and her husband spend an inordinate amount of time talking about, sourcing and cooking food, and enjoying the amenities of their little pocket of Northeast Portland.

Diana Nistler

Brian S. Terrett

brian@bergassociatesnw.com
LinkedIn

Brian S. Terrett, MBA, APR, Fellow PRSA, is a public relations leader with over 40 years of experience across multiple professional sectors. Brian previously served as the Director of Strategic Communications for Legacy Health. In that role he led the teams responsible for internal and external communications for one of largest healthcare systems in Portland, Oregon, and Southwest Washington.

During his tenure, he oversaw communications for a significant number of growth milestones, including the opening of Randall Children’s Hospital, the alignments of Legacy Silverton Medical Center and PacificSource Health Plans, and the expansion of Legacy Medical Group and Legacy Labs. Brian also provided crisis communications leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prior to his work at Legacy Health, Brian served as the Director of Public Affairs and Communication for PeaceHealth Oregon Region in Eugene, Oregon. His most significant accomplishment in that role was the five-year effort to gain local and state approval of the new 1.7 million square foot hospital, Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend, as well as the construction of the new facility. Prior to PeaceHealth, he was the Community Relations Manager for U.S. West/Qwest for the western central region of Oregon.
Prior to that role, Brian worked for the City of Eugene in several roles including the city’s communication director and the public information director for the city’s Public Safety Division. Brian came to Oregon after serving as the Communications Director for the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office in Golden, Colorado.

Brian has a master’s degree in Business Administration from Bushnell University, as well as a Bachelor of Art’s degree in Journalism from Metropolitan State University of Denver. He has earned his Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) credential from the Universal Accreditation Board and has been admitted to the Public Relations Society of America’s College of Fellows (Fellow PRSA). Brian and his wife successfully raised two sons, and now enjoy two grandsons. In his off time, Brian enjoys sailing, flyfishing, camping, and hiking, which includes completing the 500-mile pilgrimage from the Pyrenes of France across northern to Spain to Santiago de Compostela.