ROB BALL
Rob Ball is an experienced public relations practitioner who has worked as a senior journalist and a senior policy and strategy adviser to a State Premier. He counsels clients in the private and public sectors, health, the environment, professions, sport and local government and has strong credentials in strategy development and the management of complex public issues.

Rob has on three occasions won Australia’s top national public relations awards with projects for the South Australian Government Project Delivery Task Force (Glenelg-West Beach Project), the Port Adelaide Football Club’s AFL bid and a successful government relations campaign for the City of Unley.

As a journalist at the Adelaide Advertiser, Rob reported industrial affairs, police and politics. He also was a member of The Advertiser’s investigative team and was for two years its Melbourne Bureau Chief. His awards in journalism include a 1980 Media Peace Prize Gold Citation from the United Nations Association of Australia for coverage of land rights for Pitjantjatjara Aborigines.

He established Ball Public Relations in 1998.
rball@ballpr.com.au

SASCHA MELDRUM
Sascha Meldrum is a media and political adviser who has served at the highest levels of both Federal and State governments.

Sascha advises clients in the private and public sectors particularly in the areas of defence, project development and corporate strategy. She has strong credentials in government relations advice and the management of complex public issues.

Sascha was principal media adviser to Federal Defence Minister Robert Hill, two State Premiers and State Ministers. While with the Commonwealth, Sascha prepared strategies to manage complex public issues, particularly in areas of national security and defence, travelling widely to Iraq, Afghanistan and the United States and throughout South East Asia. She advised on the National Property Disposals Program for Defence, defence infrastructure projects and facility upgrades by the Commonwealth Strategic Infrastructure Group.

Sascha has a valuable network of professional and personal contacts and understands government and the dynamics of how industry, lobby groups and the media work within the process and influence policy decisions.

Sascha is a qualified journalist and, before working in government for 10 years, was a public relations executive at Lion Nathan - one of Australia’s largest brewing companies.

She Joined Ball Public Relations in 2006.
smeldrum@ballpr.com.au

KYM TILBROOK
Kym Tilbrook is a highly experienced former journalist and newspaper executive.He is a skilled and creative media strategist and writer who assists and advises a range of clients across all sectors.

Senior posts that Kym held at the Adelaide Advertiser include business editor, executive chief of staff, chief of staff, editorial manager of The Advertiser and The Sunday Mail, features editor, Day Editor, political and State Parliamentary gallery reporter for 18 years, environment and tourism writer.

He was for six years a member of the South Australian Government National Parks Reserve Planning Management Advisory Committee. He also served on the Board of Greening Australia and was a vice chairman of the South Australian Life Be In It organisation.

Kym was in 1999 honoured with the annual Harry Dowling Award for outstanding achievement by an individual in the field of regional tourism in South Australia.

He is the author of the best-selling walking guide to South Australia, WalkSA, published by Adelaide Enterprises. First published in late-August 2006, the book was within six weeks in its third printing.

Kym joined Ball Public Relations in 2006.
ktilbrook@ballpr.com.au

ANNA JACKSON
Anna Jackson is an experienced media and government relations adviser who has served in several senior public affairs roles.

She advises a range of private and public sector organisations and is experienced in public-profile transformation and profile building, as well as incident and crisis planning and issues management.

Anna’s work for Healthy Rivers Australia and Haigh’s Chocolates to position and promote the Chocolate Murray Cod environmental initiative won a 2009 Public Relations Institute of Australia State Award for Excellence and a high commendation at the national awards.

Before joining Ball Public Relations, Anna was the executive manager of public relations with the Australian Government’s National Capital Authority. In Canberra, she also managed communications strategy for the Prime Minister’s Corporate Social Responsibility Program, working with national chambers of commerce, industry associations and business leaders.

Anna has provided media and public relations training to public affairs professionals and senior executives across a range of Australian Government departments and was a senior media adviser to two South Australian Premiers and several Government Ministers.

As a journalist at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, she was a senior producer and presenter over a range of programs.

Anna is a Bachelor of Arts (Journalism) from the University of South Australia.

Anna joined Ball Public Relations in 2007.
ajackson@ballpr.com.au

WENDY PFITZENMEIER
Wendy Pfitzenmeier is a skilled and experienced media communicator and adviser.

She has particular experience at senior levels in the public sector and local government.

Wendy joined Ball Public Relations from the Adelaide City Council where she managed its strategic communication unit and was principal media adviser to the Lord Mayor.

While at the Council, Wendy advised and managed a range of communication and media activities, promoting major Council initiatives and programs, providing counsel to senior staff and elected members, conducting media briefings and managing complex issues and crises.

Before joining Adelaide City Council, Wendy was communication officer for the City of Tea Tree Gully, a journalist in the South Australian Department of Education and Children’s Services and a journalist at Messenger Newspapers.

She also has lectured in journalism in Hong Kong and Singapore for the University of South Australia and is a former sessional staff member and tutor at the university.

Wendy is a Bachelor of Arts (Journalism) from the University of South Australia and also studied on scholarship at the San Diego State University in the US.

Wendy joined Ball Public Relations in 2009.
wpfitzenmeier@ballpr.com.au

JULIETTE ALLEN
Juliette Allen has strong credentials in strategy formulation and project coordination.

Juliette advises clients in a range of areas from the environment to manufacturing, issues management, local government, education, industrial relations and legal affairs.

She was a key member of the Ball Public Relations team that in 2003 won a commendation in the annual Public Relations Institute of Australia national Golden Target Awards with an assignment for Adelaide Brighton Cement Limited during a strike, a lockout and the negotiation of an enterprise agreement.

In 2000, Juliette was recognised with a high commendation in the Public Relations Institute of Australia State excellence awards for her marketing communication work in the expansion of Tatachilla Lutheran College in Adelaide’s South. Her strategy and resultant campaign helped treble enrolment expectations.

Another of Juliette’s assignments, a communication strategy for a South Australian Government Internet awareness program – Networks for You to help make the Internet accessible and relevant to regional South Australians – won Bronze in the external communication category of the Australian Institute of Professional Communicators 2001 National Serif awards.

Juliette is a Bachelor of Arts (Psychology and German) from the University of Adelaide and holds a Graduate Diploma in Communications (Public Relations) from the University of South Australia.

She joined Ball Public Relations at its inception in 1998.
jallen@ballpr.com.au

CASSANDRA DUNLOP
Cassandra Dunlop is a skilled public relations consultant and former journalist.

Cassandra joined Ball Public Relations from the United Kingdom where she was a public relations consultant at de Winter PR & Marketing.

While at de Winter, Cassandra managed a portfolio of private and public sector clients and was responsible for successful national media campaigns.

She advises on public and media issues, identifies publicity opportunities, develops and executes effective communication strategies and compiles, edits and co-ordinates a wide range of publications and communication materials for both internal and external communications.

A former senior journalist at North Wales Newspapers, Cassandra is Bachelor of Arts (Journalism) and holds a qualification from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ).

Cassandra joined Ball Public Relations in 2009
cdunlop@ballpr.com.au

SUE HARGREAVES
Business Manager Sue Hargreaves is a manager with administration experience at an executive level in public and private hospitals, government and educational institutions.

She joined Ball Public Relations in 2001.
shargreaves@ballpr.com.au

ELIZA BALL
Event manager and consultant support coordinator Eliza Ball provides a range of support services to clients.

Eliza spent several years in Sydney and in Adelaide as an event coordinator and manager.

She joined Ball Public Relations in 2008.
eball@ballpr.com.au