Communicate: NYC

Diane Schwartz is the Chief Executive Officer of Ragan Communications, the leading training and networking community for communicators worldwide. As the first female CEO in the company's nearly 60-year history, Diane has led the organization to unparalleled growth for five consecutive years. <br><br> She and her Ragan team are at the forefront of helping leaders drive reputation, engage employees and forge enduring brands. <br<br> In her 30-year career in media and communications, Diane has launched more than 100 conferences, training and certificate programs, awards competitions and subscription products. A former journalist, Diane is a frequent guest lecturer at universities nationwide and serves as a board member for the Institute for Public Relations.

Alexandra is the Global Head of Internal Communications at Bloomberg, where she leads the creation, coordination, and delivery of communications for more than 26,000 employees across 152 offices worldwide. She partners with senior leaders to design and execute strategic plans that showcase the company’s technology and innovation, highlight Bloomberg’s distinctive corporate and philanthropic culture, and foster open, transparent communication across teams. <br><br> Alexandra sets the communication strategy for flagship campaigns and programs that unite employees around shared values and goals, while also driving the ongoing evolution of internal channels to meet employee needs. She oversees Bloomberg’s internal news platform, digital signage, messaging platform, employee-focused Instagram channel, and department-wide events, ensuring communications are dynamic, engaging, and aligned with the company’s global vision.

An accidental internal communications professional, Debbie stumbled upon this niche function at Weber Shandwick as part of a client project in 2011. It was love at first “sight” and she has since held internal comms roles at The Walt Disney Company, KPMG, KAYAK & OpenTable, Hasbro and now at Dow Jones, which owns The Wall Street Journal. Her career has also taken her to many cities globally, from Toronto and Hong Kong, to Shanghai and now New York City. And yes, her love for internal comms is still strong! At Dow Jones, Debbie is fortunate to be a part of an incredibly high-performing global Corporate Communications team where she leads internal comms. <br><br> Her picture of success? When all of her 5,000+ colleagues around the world think: <br><br> I feel proud to work here. <br> I trust my leaders and am confident in them. <br> I understand how my work connects to the company strategy. <br> I feel heard. <br> I understand why changes are happening and what it means to me. <br><br> Outside of work, Debbie loves being a mom to her two kids and rescue dog, Moxie, away from the city lights in Connecticut.

Leah is the Director of Internal Communications at Shutterfly, where she leads a team responsible for equipping employees with critical information about the business, helping them engage in Shutterfly’s culture and empowering them to do their best work. Leah is a strategic communicator and dot connector who oversees Shutterfly’s channels, content strategy, and executive communications, among other things. <br><br> Before Shutterfly, Leah spent five years at PwC in a range of internal communications roles, including editor-in-chief of PwC’s email newsletter and intranet news platform. Before that, she served as Director, Strategic Philanthropy at Time Warner Cable where she oversaw the day-to-day management of Connect a Million Minds, the company’s multi-year philanthropic commitment to inspire young people to pursue careers in STEM.

Janay Andrade is VP of Total Rewards at Houston Methodist, where she leads enterprise-wide benefits, compensation, and employee engagement strategies for one of the nation’s top-ranked healthcare systems. She has been at the forefront of transforming the employee experience, including spearheading the redesign of Houston Methodist’s intranet into a culture-first communications hub that connects and empowers a largely deskless workforce. With over 20 years of HR leadership, Janay brings deep expertise in aligning digital tools, wellness initiatives, and communication strategies with organizational culture to drive lasting impact in complex environments.

Sandy Figueroa leads internal communications at Quest Diagnostics where she oversees the strategic execution of internal campaigns, employee engagement and multi-channel storytelling to reach over 50,000 employees. Sandy partners across the organization to lead high-impact communications that demonstrate progress against goals and connect employees to the company’s purpose and values. <br><br> Prior to Quest, Sandy spent eight years in multiple roles within Gap Inc. leading both internal and external communications in corporate functions as well as the Old Navy and Gap brands where she focused on reputation management, media relations, employee communications, events and executive comms. Before joining Gap Inc., she spent five years in corporate communications at Electronic Arts where she launched the company’s first employee advocacy program. <br><br> Sandy lives in New Jersey with her family, and is happy to talk all things baseball, golden retrievers, wine country, or cookie recipes.

Jillian Harclerode is the Internal Communications Sr. Specialist at Denver Water, where she advances enterprise-wide efforts to elevate employee engagement through digital strategy and storytelling. As webmaster of Denver Water’s intranet, Inflow, she oversees content delivery to more than 1,200 employees across Colorado and leads Author’s Corner, a contributor engagement program designed to empower subject matter experts as strategic communicators. Jillian also played a key role in transitioning Denver Water’s daily newsletter to Interact’s email editor and lead Inflow’s mobile app rollout, aimed at connecting field employees with timely updates and resources. <br><br> She brings a fresh, future-focused perspective shaped by over six years in communications and current graduate studies in Corporate Communication at the University of Colorado Boulder. She was part of the team behind a PRSA Bronze Anvil-winning water conservation parody video and previously served in the Peace Corps in the Comoros islands, where she gained firsthand insight into the complexities of water access and infrastructure.

Justin Joffe is the senior director of learning and development at Ragan Communications, where he oversees the production of Ragan Training courses and content, along with the implementation of learning pathways across Ragan products and services. <br><br> Previously, Joffe served as editorial director and editor-in-chief, leading Ragan's editorial strategy across brands and products. In addition to his editorial duties, Joffe also advises the programming team on best-in-class conferences, webinars, and workshops during a time of unprecedented change in how communicators and marketers learn and meet. <br><br> Joffe remains a freelance journalist and communications writer specializing in travel, arts and culture, media and technology, and ad tech beats. Before joining the Ragan team, Joffe worked for Muck Rack, PR News, and The Observer. His writing has also appeared in several publications including Vulture, Newsweek, Vice, Relix, Flaunt, and many more.

An entrepreneurial leader, creative storyteller and tech enthusiast, Vanessa oversees global internal communications for Mark Anthony Group. She combines agency and in-house leadership experience across CPG, retail, government, and financial services to bridge digital enablement, employee engagement and communications impact at scale. <br><br> What began as a passion for bringing people together grew into a purpose: shaping organizations where employees feel connected to the work they do and the culture they’re part of. Always leading with a people-first approach, her playbook is simple: great communication starts from the inside out. <br><br> Outside the office, Vanessa is happiest surrounded by her family, exploring new places, and indulging in a good story over shared food and a glass of bubbles.

With a marketing and communications background, Kelsey approaches internal storytelling at Mark Anthony Group with a maker’s mindset and a restless creative spirit. Her work is about finding the right balance between creativity and simplicity, so messages connect without ever feeling forced. For Kelsey, stories are the bridge connecting culture, leadership, and people, inviting employees to see themselves as part of something bigger. <br><br> Partnering closely with senior leaders and cross-functional teams, Kelsey operates a fully in-house creative studio—driving concept, production, and final delivery. She brings imaginative ideas to life through engaging content and multi-channel campaigns, blending brand voice and visual language with a modern sensibility. It's distinct, human, and always intentional. <br><br> Away from work, Kelsey’s exploring new music, making her way down snow-covered peaks, or experimenting in the kitchen—ways to keep her sense of play alive and her perspective wide open.