Patrick Thronson served as communications director for the Salt Lake City Mayor’s Office from 2006 to 2008. He acted as the chief spokesperson for the administrative branch of Salt Lake City government, collaborated closely with department heads and other staff throughout the City, managed the Mayor’s Office website and oversaw the content and design of the Salt Lake City home page, was responsible for all press releases and public communication by the Mayor's Office, and served as the Mayor's speechwriter. During Thronson’s tenure as communications director, the Salt Lake City website placed fourth (2006) and tied for third place (2007) in the Digital Cities Survey national ranking of municipal use of technology to connect with constituents. Since 2008, Thronson has operated an independent strategic communications consultancy, focusing on website design, internet marketing, public and government relations, and the nonprofit world.

A native of Salt Lake City, Thronson graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University. He worked as the development coordinator for a nonprofit educational organization in Boston, and served as a constituent liaison and as administrative assistant to the mayor before being appointed communications director. Thronson is a member of the Public Relations Society of America and a founding member of the advisory board for the Utah Chapter of Easter Seals Disability Services. He also serves on the Madeleine Choir School board of directors, the Madeleine Choir School capital campaign committee, and the board of directors of the Utah Cultural Alliance. Thronson is currently a law student at the University of Michigan. 

 

Patrick Commiskey has worked with new and established organizations in Ann Arbor, Washington, D.C., and Salt Lake City to achieve ambitious marketing, sales, and public image goals. Commiskey's work includes interactive development and public relations for Sam Granato for U.S. Senate, Flow Yoga SLC, Utah Chamber Artists, People's Market, the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah, Plan-B Theatre and Utah Moms for Clean Air. Over the past four years, he has worked on campaigns for Tracy Aviary, Graywhale Entertainment, Slow The Flow and Myriad Genetics. He has been featured as In Utah This Week's January 2009 Scene in SLC, on KSL, Fox13 and ABC4 as a spokesperson, and in every major Salt Lake City print publication in various capacities. In summer 2008, he helped start UtahFM.org, an online community radio station. 

Commiskey grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and graduated with honors from Indiana University in Political Science and Journalism, with a minor in Economics. He took additional credits at Georgetown University and New School University in New York City. He interned twice for Rep. John D. Dingell (D-MI), at Ann Arbor Art Center and Community Television Network of Ann Arbor, Voice of America and the Broadcasting Board of Governors. As a child, he attended computer, band and hockey camps, leading to confusion. He is the current board treasurer of Plan-B Theatre Company, on the membership and fundraising committees of Utah Cultural Alliance, the executive council of Utah Museum of Fine Arts' Young Benefactors and the advisory council of Utah Symphony | Utah Opera's Vivace program. He plays ice hockey and euphonium (a tenor tuba of sorts), enjoys tango lessons, and launches new websites for fun. He's been backpacking in Peru, Ecuador, India and the Yucatan Peninsula. He is currently a student at the University of Michigan.

 

Crystal Young-Otterstrom is a partner in the cause marketing firm Foursight Partners, the administrative director for Utah Cultural Alliance, and a consultant for Utah Symphony | Utah Opera. Otterstrom is an all-around marketer with experience in branding, copywriting, event planning, affinity groups, market research & focus groups, PR, social media, graphic design, direct marketing and guerrilla/nontraditional marketing. Clients include the Utah Chamber Artists, Salt Lake County Zoo, Arts, and Parks, Sarasota Symphony, Greenville Symphony, the Glen Miller Orchestra, Fifth Press, the Utah Democratic Party, and countless political campaigns among other clients. Otterstrom is now the official event planner for the Utah Democratic Party. Prior to having a daughter in 2010, Otterstrom spent six years as Audience Development & Print Media Manager at Utah Symphony | Utah Opera. She headed print advertising, outdoor campaigns, guerrilla/non-traditional advertising, student marketing, young professional marketing, social media, community outreach, and cross promotions. While there, Otterstrom founded Vivace (usuo.org/vivace), the largest group of its kind west of the Mississippi, which reaches out to 20-40 year-old Utah residents to share their interest in classical music and become regular patrons of Utah Symphony | Utah Opera performances. Otterstrom founded Utah Symphony | Utah Opera's Cadenza program for the 55+ in the 2010-2011 season. It is now in its second season. She is the co-founder and Marketing Director of The Salty Cricket Composers Collective (saltycricket.org), a new music performing ensemble that only performs the works of composers currently living in Utah.

Otterstrom is a composer and coloratura soprano. Her music has been performed in New York, Utah, Texas, Oklahoma, and California. She received her BA in Music Theory from BYU in 2002 (with minors in marketing, economics, and humanities), and her MA in Musicology/Composition from Queens College (City University of New York) in 2004. Otterstrom serves on the Studio D advisory council, is the vice chair of LDS Democrats, the OPERA America Young Friends of Opera steering committee, the Board of the North American Association of Young Professionals, the board of Alliance for a Better Utah, and is the co-chair of the Human Rights Campaign's Utah Steering Committee. She also volunteers with the Coalition of Religious Councils at Crossroads Urban Center, an organization dedicated to eradicating poverty in Utah. Otterstrom also frequently serves as a docent to 5th grade classes for the Utah Symphony. She is a former board member of the Young Benefactors at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, the Utah Democratic Progressive Caucus, the Utah Cultural Alliance (where she served as its vice-chair and membership/events chair), and the Downtown Alliance's marketing committee.

Staff & Consultants

Kyle LaMalfa is a market analysis consultant for Foursight Partners. LaMalfa has been analyzing data & consulting professionally since 1996. His professional experience includes time as a hydropower analyst for the United States Department of Energy, a software quality engineer for a large financial software company, a data warehouse architect in the destination tourism industry, and recently as director of consulting for a market research technology company. Along with undergraduate degrees in Mathematics and Economics, LaMalfa holds a Master of Statistics degree in Sociology. Throughout his career, LaMalfa has worked with managers and executives to answer business questions using statistical data and research. Problem solving specialties include: customer & employee engagement, emotional marketing research, marketing simulation, data mining & predictive modeling, and turning research data into strategic action.

Partial List of Clients Served:
B2B - BAE Systems, ARINC, Otis Spunkmeyer, GlaxoSmithKline, NextGen Healthcare, Ultradent, Futurestep, Covad Communications, TerradataB2C - DeVry University, RS
Medical, Emeritus, Oncure, Cumberland Farms / Gulf Oil, Broadview Security, Clearwire Communications, Nicor National
Finance - Zions Bank, California Bank & Trust, Amegy Bank, Vectra Bank of Colorado, Frost Bank, America First Credit Union, AMPLIFY Credit
Union, Texans Credit Union, Freedom Financial, Heartland Partners, Sun Loan, Mountain West Bank, Seacoast National, Mountain America Credit
Union, Chesapeake Bank
National Benchmarking Studies - Banking / Financial, Investors, Employees