SurfMedia Communications Announces Three New Team Members

SANTA BARBARASurfMedia Communications is pleased to welcome Andy Silverman as a new Account Executive.

Silverman has spent the last four and a half years in marketing roles at Montecito Bank & Trust, most recently serving as Marketing Supervisor. He focused primarily on public relations, advertising, social media and client insight, and helped established marketing strategy over the past few years. He also played a significant role during the bank’s recent brand refresh initiative that launched in April 2016.

Silverman graduated from UC Santa Barbara in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in Communication and a minor in Sports Management.

Outside of work, he enjoys taking in the sights and sounds of Santa Barbara with his wife Lindsay and their friends. Some of his favorite places to spend an afternoon include the beach, the Santa Barbara Mission, local hiking trails, and Dodger Stadium.

SurfMedia Communications is also pleased to welcome Maile Schoonover as a new Digital Marketing Associate. Schoonover brings to SurfMedia Communications a background in digital marketing for nonprofits. Most recently, she was the Content Creator for Davey’s Voice, a local nonprofit aimed at supporting projects and programs that promote animal welfare. Through her transition from internship to full-time position at Davey’s Voice, Schoonover oversaw social media campaigns, email marketing, design, and website maintenance, increasing support for the organization and its ability to provide education and advocacy opportunities.

Schoonover graduated from UCSB in 2016, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in English with a focus in Environmental Literature. An avid supporter of animal welfare and environmental causes, Schoonover volunteers with local nonprofits such as the Channel Islands Marine and Wildlife Institute and Little Orphan Hammies. In her free time, she enjoys exploring and camping in the Santa Barbara backcountry with her dog Chin-Chin, a Davey’s Voice rescue from the Yulin Dog Meat Festival in China.

Caitlin Trude joins SurfMedia Communications as a new Public Relations Associate.

Trude brings a unique array of journalism and communications experience to SurfMedia. For the last two years, she was a reporter for Acorn Newspapers, an East Ventura County-based community news outlet. In that role, she covered breaking news, city council, education, crime and human interest stories. In April 2016, she earned first place recognition for Sports Feature Writing in the California Newspaper Publishers Association’s Better Newspapers Contest. Prior to Acorn Newspapers, Trude contributed articles to the Santa Barbara Independent.

She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Azusa Pacific University in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in English and a journalism minor. Trude served as Editor-in-Chief of APU’s student-run magazine, Collide, and was responsible for assigning and editing all content and working with her team of editors and graphic artists to produce each issue.

At APU, Trude also had the opportunities to intern for Conan O’Brien’s talk show, study abroad at the University of Oxford and participate on a summer service trip to Thailand as a volunteer English instructor.

SurfMedia Communications provides marketing and public relations services for nonprofits and companies with a commitment to society. For more information, visit www.surfmedia.com or call (805) 687-3322.