ABOUT
Olga Katsnelson, Founder
Olga Katsnelson founded Postcard Communications in 2005 with the goal of creating a public relations company where clients, colleagues, and journalists could engage in an intelligent, productive, respectful, and hopefully humorous dialogue about the food and beverage industries.
A strong believer in a personal and customized approach to each campaign, she keeps the client roster small, ensuring plenty of direct client and media contact and careful attention to detail. Postcard’s current clients may be leaders in their industries, or emerging talents that show an abundance of promise, and what they share in common is tremendous skill, creativity, and heart. Past clients include AvroKO, Chris Cosentino, Bruce Hill, Prospect, and St. George Spirits.
Before moving to San Francisco, Olga served as account director at Bullfrog & Baum, and is grateful for the mentorship she received from its founder, Jennifer Baum. She began her PR career at KB Network News. During her time in New York, she worked with esteemed chefs like David Burke, Todd English, Bobby Flay, Patricia Yeo, Roger Vergé and Geoffrey Zakarian, as well as an array of bars, hotels and food products that include Bemelmans Bar at the Carlyle Hotel and Il Laboratorio del Gelato.
Prior to entering public relations, Olga did bilingual refugee resettlement work, assisting recent émigrés from the Former Soviet Union, and working with the same agency that resettled her own family when they immigrated to the US in the 1970’s. She studied at Smith College and Georgetown University where she majored in Art History and competed on the sailing team. She stays connected to her love of art by serving on the board of Berkeley’s Badè Museum. Born in what is now St. Petersburg, Olga has been lucky to occasionally serve as a Russian translator for nuclear engineers and Olympic gymnasts.
Tara Blazona
Tara Blazona’s broad range of expertise includes experience in public relations, marketing and brand development. Tara has worked with a variety of clients including restaurants, wineries, books/authors and consumer products. Tara previously worked at Rivera Public Relations in San Francisco, specializing in the restaurant and hospitality industries. Here, she launched new Bay Area restaurants, managed media relations and coordinated industry events. She was responsible for positioning her clients at the forefront of culinary trends and industry movements.
Tara moved from Atlanta to San Francisco in 2007 to become an Account Executive at Thinc. In this role, Tara was part of a team that developed comprehensive marketing plans for retailers including Walmart, Office Max, Office Depot, Staples and Target. Her public relations career began in Atlanta at William Mills Agency, where she managed banking and mortgage technology clients. Tara is a graduate from University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication with a degree in Public Relations.
Maggie Engebretson
Maggie, who hails from Honolulu, brings an eclectic blend of creativity and solid organization to her work in public relations. She spent five years working in marketing, design and strategic account management for Naegeli Reporting, a Portland trial technology firm. She then moved to LoopNet, a San Francisco-based national real estate listing service. An avid home baker, she left the dot-com world in 2009 for the kitchen at San Francisco’s Batter Bakery. At Batter, in addition to spending her days baking, she assisted with marketing and public relations.
Maggie has also been a frequent volunteer with the SF Center for the Book, a non-profit book arts organization, helping to plan and organize fundraisers and special events. Within the San Francisco food world, Maggie has worked for the Deli Board and Vinyl Wine Bar, deepening her appreciation for the creativity and entrepreneurial vision in the city’s unique culinary culture.
Maggie attended Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon, graduating in 2004 with degrees in Communications and Studio Art.
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