About Us - Beacon Media + Marketing

About Us

It all starts with data, because data drives results! We are a data-driven agency because we know that in the business world, success is measured by the numbers. We pride ourselves in award-winning work that marries the best of data analytics with stunning creative to deliver the right message, at the right time, to the right demographic. Our power lies in the clicks, leads, engagement, and conversions we produce for our clients!

In 2012, Beacon Publishing & Design merged with Amazing Grace Media, and Beacon Media + Marketing was born! Co-Founders Adrienne Wilkerson and Jennifer Christensen each bring over 20 years of experience in the marketing industry and 8 years of experience in digital marketing to the table, serving clients from across Alaska and beyond. Since then, our company has grown and our portfolio has expanded to include clients from coast-to-coast. In 2018, Adrienne launched our second office in Reno, Nevada to serve the emerging market and the booming tech hub there, focusing on the health and wellness, education, and construction industries to name a few. Today, Beacon is regarded as one of the top digital marketing agencies in Alaska. We are nationally-ranked for our experience and creativity in a variety of marketing services, achieving social media results for our clients that are consistently above the national average!

Beacon received awards for Best Logo, Best Marketing Campaign, and Best Website in the latest statewide Prism and Pinnacle Awards for the Alaska Chapter of the American Marketing Association. Adrienne and Jennifer both have received numerous awards for their professionalism and outstanding thought leadership in digital marketing, including Woman of the Year (Adrienne), Marketer of the Year (Jennifer), Top 40 Under Forty (Adrienne), and Marketing Visionary of the Year, an award they took home together! In 2018, they co-authored a book, Digital Marketing Roadmap! Learn more about their stories as well as the rest of our dynamic team in the interactive photos below!

#TeamBeacon

Adrienne Wilkerson
Adrienne Wilkerson
Co-Founder + President
Reno, NV

Adrienne Wilkerson
Co-Founder + President 
Reno, NV

When Adrienne was in her early 20s, she realized she was going to make a much better boss than an employee. She founded Beacon Publishing + Design in 2001, and with a lot of hard work (and a far degree of scrappiness), she turned it into an award-winning digital marketing agency. She oversees the company’s day-to-day operations and is responsible for strategic planning and management.

Adrienne loves a challenge, which means she’s the go-to person for finding solutions. This attitude has earned her numerous awards, including Woman of the Year (National Association of Professional Women), Marketing Visionary of the Year (American Marketing Association of Alaska) and a listing in the Top 40 Under 40 (Alaska Journal of Commerce). She’s also served as a founding board member for a number of non-profit organizations including the Alaska Business Women’s Summit, Alaska Women’s Leadership Forum, the Alaska chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Artists. She also co-founded the Women in Digital Cleveland Chapter when she spent a few years living in Ohio.

She’s also a passionate coach and mentor - not just for members of her own team, but for emerging leaders across multiple industries. She frequently speaks on topics such as personal branding, word-of-mouth marketing, social media marketing, building your professional network and more.

Adrienne grew up in Alaska and moved to Nevada with her family in 2018. When she’s not talking about marketing, she’s busy working on a 40-acre ranch north of Reno with her husband, son and dog, with occasional visits from a herd of wild horses and her neighbor’s free-range cows. They hope to add chickens, goats, elephants and some cows of their own. (We’re kidding about the elephants.)

Jennifer Christensen
Jennifer Christensen
Co-Founder + VP of Marketing
Anchorage, AK

Jennifer Christensen
Co-Founder + VP of Marketing
Anchorage, AK

We call her "Sparkle Queen," but her work is anything but fluff. Over the years, Jennifer has accrued over 20 years of award-winning sales and marketing expertise. As our chief marketing brain, she assists companies in developing, creating, and implementing their online marketing strategies.

In 2012, Jennifer joined forces with Adrienne Wilkerson of Beacon Publishing and Design to form Beacon Media + Marketing. Her comprehensive knowledge includes all aspects of social media, web, email, online advertising, and media buying plans. Jennifer is passionate about exceptional service and staying ahead of the ever-changing trends in Inbound Marketing, and her contagious positive energy permeates through our offices every single day.

Jennifer has a Master's Certificate in Online Marketing and Social Media from the University of San Francisco. She is the first Alaskan to be Inbound Marketing Certified. Alongside Adrienne, she was jointly recognized as the Marketing Visionary of the Year by the American Marketing Association of Alaska, in addition, she was named Marketer of the Year by AMA Alaska. Jennifer is fulfilled by serving her community at large and uplifting women in business. She is the Director of Women Entrepreneurs of Alaska.

Lisa
Lisa Brest
VP of Finances + Google Adwords
Anchorage, AK

Lisa Brest
VP of Finance + Google Ads Manager
Anchorage, AK

With almost 25 years of experience reviewing financials and a B.S. in Mathematics, Lisa has a mind for the numbers! She makes sure we are on track with our finances, monitoring our budget-to-actuals, projecting agency growth, and much, much more. Her digital marketing specialty is Google AdWords.

Lisa started with data input for Google AdWords several years ago. She got hooked when she saw the amazing results. Today, Lisa analyzes the key performance indicators of our client accounts and modifies their AdWords strategies for success. In 2018, Lisa became AdWords certified, making Beacon a Google Partner.

Her financial experience comes from running the family business, Taylored Restoration, a 100+ employee company that handles $15M of work each year. Lisa helped Taylored grow and kept track of the numbers through many years of economic ups and downs. Ready for a new adventure and a fresh challenge, Lisa partnered with Beacon and has proven that great business sense is in her DNA.

Lisa has been married for 25 years and has three kids, a dog, and a cat. She is Alaska born and raised and she loves gardening, despite the challenges of her home state! It is said that boating was in Lisa's marriage vows - she spends a lot of her free time out on the water with her family.

<h5 style="font-weight:700;"> Sarah Testen </h5> <strong>Social Media Marketing Director<br/> Columbia, SC
Sarah Testen
Social Media Marketing Director
Columbia, SC

Sarah Testen
Social Media Marketing Director
Columbia, SC

Sarah’s talents allow us to keep all our creative energy in-house and on target. In her role, Sarah captures a client’s awesomeness for all to see and love. She knows what makes for engaging content, and what is suspect to fall into the dark world of "meh." Her bright personality is guaranteed to melt even the coldest brands. Think you don’t have much to show? Don’t tell her that...

Video is one of – if not the most – digestible forms of digital media, and Sarah’s work is utilized on a wide variety of platforms, from social media to websites. She understands all of the various aspects of the video and photography process and can see the project from start to finish. She is invaluable in brainstorming and storyboarding sessions. She applies her expertise to all video formats but specializes in short-to-medium formats.

Sarah holds an IC3 Certification and loves the ever-evolving world of digital photography and video. She attended the College of Art and Design at Columbus State University.

<h5 style="font-weight:700;">Ken Okonek</h5> <strong>Sales + Marketing Director</strong><br/> Anchorage, AK
Ken Okonek
Sales + Marketing Director
Anchorage, AK

Ken Okonek
Sales + Marketing Director
Anchorage, AK

Ken’s biggest strength is building relationships. He loves to chat and he’s genuinely interested in what our clients have to say! He was recruited to join Beacon Media + Marketing from the fitness industry, where he’s spent the last 16 years. He started as a personal trainer worked his way up to being a regional manager, looking after a team of up to 270 employees (with 16 direct reports).

He joined #TeamBeacon in 2020. He’s been working in the world of sales and marketing since 2010, and he’s excited to provide leadership and direction to our team. In fact, he set a record for bringing an exciting new client on board in his first week! Ken engages with people on a human-to-human level, which means he’s quick to identify exactly what our customers need.

Ken was born and raised in Alaska. When he’s not meeting with clients, he’s a blur of activity. He enjoys structured exercise, hiking, biking, volleyball, and snowboarding. He’s also an entrepreneur in his own right, with a personal training studio in Anchorage and an online exercise program. In his downtime, he enjoys hanging out with his wife and their two fur babies, Rvca and Dekker.

<h5 style="font-weight:700;">Michelle Williams</h5> <strong>Account Manager</strong><br/> Anchorage, AK
Michelle Williams
Account Manager
Anchorage, AK

Michelle Williams
Account Manager
Anchorage, AK

Michelle has a passion for making creativity shine! She keeps us organized and looking sharp with project management genius, and a little creative support on the side.

Michelle recently moved to Alaska from North Carolina with her husband Jon. She started her marketing journey in North Carolina working for a national mental health hospital system as a professional relations liaison over the Southeast U.S. Having received a B.S. in Recreational Therapy, Michelle knew the mental health world well and developed a passion for marketing from her knowledge. She went on to work for a print, design, and promotional product company in her home state, doing sales and social media. After working on the front line in sales, executing marketing plans, Michelle was excited to have found a passion for the action on the planning end, behind-the-scenes! She loved doing social media, which is why she wanted to work at Beacon, to learn more about digital marketing!

Michelle is very active and loves the great outdoors. She is a life-long soccer player and she enjoys watching football with family and friends. One of her favorite outdoor activities is running with her dog Chief, a giant, adorable Goldendoodle.

<h5 style="font-weight:700;">Thad White</h5> <strong>Account Manager </strong><br/> Anchorage, AK
Thad White
Account Manager
Anchorage, AK

Thad White
Account Manager
Anchorage, AK

Thad has been interested in sales and marketing ever since he ran his own radio show as a teenager. He was told he needed to sell sponsorship to keep his program on the air, so he jumped right in. He joined Beacon Media + Marketing from the non-profit world in 2020, and says his biggest strength is his ability to connect with the public, and reflect the beating heart of a community in each campaign.

Thad grew up in Long Beach, California, and moved to Alaska with his wife and two sons about 15 years ago. He has a lot of experience driving sales in the fitness industry, and he’s also finely-tuned his skills in cultivating meaningful relationships and building communities through his church. When he’s not working to help businesses grow, he serves as Lead Pastor at Lift Church AK in Anchorage.

He loves hiking and spending time outdoors with his family, and he’s always looking to try the next great Alaskan experience. Most recently, he went flying with a friend who is a local bush pilot. They landed off-runway, right at the bottom of a glacier, which Thad says was “quite the experience.”

Bethanna
Bethanna Bennett
Website + Graphic Designer
Anchorage, AK

Bethanna Bennett
Graphic + Website Design
Anchorage, AK

Bethanna is our visual guide, providing creative direction to the team on all projects that involve artwork and graphic design! If you are looking to brand your business or design your website, Bethanna is the one who will be walking you through that process. She is especially passionate about supporting locally owned and operated small businesses in Alaska.

Bethanna has been working in the design industry in Alaska for over 20 years. She received a degree in Visual Communications from the Art Institute of Seattle. One of her first jobs was with a screenprinting company in Anchorage, where she worked for 10 years. Bethanna spent 100% of her time on graphic design in that role, and she absolutely loved it. Wanting to do more with her skills in business, Bethanna went out on her own as a freelance designer. Seeing a need in the Anchorage community, she shifted her interest to logo design, branding, and development for small, local businesses. She fell in love. It was this path that led her to the wonderful world of Beacon!

Volunteering is very important to Bethanna. She is involved with the American Red Cross and she helped found the non-profit startup, Straw 4 Dogs, setting it up for a future of success. When she is not working or volunteering, Bethanna uses her artistic talents to paint. She also loves to take advantage of the beautiful outdoors in Alaska, going camping in the summer.

<h5 style="font-weight:700;">Jake Sloan</h5> <strong>Videographer & Photographer </strong><br/> Anchorage, AK
Jake Sloan
Videographer & Photographer
Anchorage, AK

Jake Sloan
Photographer + Videographer
Anchorage, AK

With a background in media that extends from Africa to Hollywood to “old-time” Alaska, Jake can do it all! He has experience in every part of the videography process, from storyboarding to capturing breathtaking footage. Jake has a passion for telling the stories that communicate what our clients are all about and how their product or service can impact the people who need them most.

Jake has been in the professional audio industry for 12 years as a musician, recording engineer, and producer. He has been doing photography and videography for 6 years. Jake has worked alongside many successful photographers and audio producers over the course of his career, including Alaska photographers Steve Gilroy and Bradford Washburn, and Hollywood producer Al Phillips! During his time in Talkeetna, Jake worked as a guide for bear viewing trips and a dispatcher for K2 Aviation. Jake is currently an FAA licensed drone pilot for commercial drone work.

Jake was born in Seattle, Washington but he spent is formative years in Nepal, growing up among the Himalayas. He has toured Europe and Africa with his band, Cadence, as a musician, producer, photographer, and videographer. Jake has been in Alaska for over 20 years. In addition to photography and videography, Jake enjoys building light sabers! He regularly visits children’s hospitals dressed up as Darth Vader. Many of his adventures are recorded on his YouTube channel, Jake Sloan. Jake is married and has three children.

<h5 style="font-weight:700;">Thomas Parker</h5> <strong>Digital Marketing Specialist </strong><br/>Reno, NV
Thomas Parker
Digital Marketing Specialist
Reno, NV

Thomas Parker
Social Media Specialist
Reno, NV

Thomas prides himself on being a non-traditional marketer. He has a degree in biology from the University of Nevada, Reno, and discovered marketing while working in retail at Lululemon. He interned at The Abbi Agency and Dolan Auto Group before joining Beacon Media + Marketing in 2020. His biggest strength is his ability to bring fresh eyes to everyday marketing problems.

A lot of his skills are self-taught, which means he can think outside the box and blend ideas from different backgrounds to create copy that grabs attention for all the right reasons. He’s also great at bridging the gap between traditional and modern marketing philosophies and loves educating clients about new marketing strategies they can implement to generate more qualified leads.

Thomas was born and raised in Sacramento, California, and moved to Reno to join the Nevada Wolf Pack as a linebacker. When he’s not in the office, he enjoys keeping fit, roller-skating and learning to play the ukulele, and eating out (he’s the one to ask for food recommendations in Reno!).

Geroge Brest
George Brest
Google Ads Specialist
Anchorage, AK

George Brest
Google Ads Specialist
Anchorage, AK

George is a wizard when it comes to Google Ads. He has all of the Google Skillshop certifications (which include Search, Display, Shopping, Video and Measurement), and he says one of the things he likes most about it is that there is always more to learn. He joined the team in early 2020.

He traveled after finishing high school, working at the Breeze Inn in Seward, AK, and the Lava Lava Beach Club in Waikoloa, HI, before coming home to Alaska. That’s when he developed an interest in digital marketing - Google is constantly rolling out updates and changes, and keeping on top of the latest strategies makes the job fun. There’s much more to Google Ads than you might think!

George says creativity is his best quality. Outside work, he spends most of his time reading and writing fantasy novels (see? We told you he was a wizard!). His favorite sub-genre is medieval fantasy, so he’s well-versed in worlds of knights and magical twists. He also loves being outside during summer, so if he’s not reading, he’s usually fishing on his dad’s boat in Southeast Alaska.

Sara Murr
Sara Murr
Bookkeeping
Anchorage, AK

Sara Murr
Bookkeeper
Anchorage, AK

Sara has always been good with money. She joined #TeamBeacon on a part-time basis in 2019 and she quickly became indispensable. In fact, while the rest of the team is exercising the right sides of their brains and coming up with creative solutions for our clients, she’s holding down the fort on the left. She’s got a knack for streamlining processes, especially when it comes to onboarding new clients, and she keeps our accounts running smoothly so our clients can get back to business.

She was born and raised in Anchorage, and always knew that’s where she wanted to raise her family, but she’s also seen a lot of the world. Pre-kids, she worked on a farm in New Zealand, stopped by Australia for a few weeks, taught English in Bangladesh and visited Swaziland (one of those tiny countries located entirely inside South Africa) multiple times to help build orphanages.

Sara and her husband have a nine-year-old son and a four-year-old daughter, who keep them busy. They’re currently teaching the kids to snowboard, and they like to make the most of Alaska’s short-but-magnificent summers by going camping and fishing every weekend.

Award-Winning Team

Our work received awards for Best Logo, Best Website, and Best Marketing Campaign in the latest AMA Alaska Chapter Prism Awards!

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