BACKGROUND

Get to Know Holly

I moved to Portland, Oregon from Oklahoma (Boomer Sooner!) in 2011 for an internship-turned first job in PR and marketing with Waggener Edstrom (WE Communications) working on behalf of the Microsoft account. As a new resident to the city, I fell in love with the food culture and after a few years at WE married my PR skills with my love of the food space and joined a boutique marketing agency supporting food commodity boards. I gained a ton of experience and had a lot of fun helping organize and execute culinary events and press tours and managing our clients’ social accounts. Some of my favorite accomplishments were working to spotlight mushroom farming with Saveur and getting to work and travel with top chefs during test-kitchen visit at major publications (Cooking Light, Meredith and Food Network) and being a part of Feast Portland with USA Pears and other clients.

After having my daughter in 2017, I loved being a mom, but also craved a different type of mental stimulation and joined Puffworks, a snack startup based in Oregon that makes organic nut butter puffs, as it’s first employee.

Fast forward to today (and 2 more kids later!) and the company is almost a $3m company. While my role has shifted over the years in order to better accommodate being a mom of three, I still oversee branding and package logistics and help maintain our social and email channels and assist in short-term project(s) when needed - including new product launches!

“Working with Holly is an absolute pleasure. Her creativity knows no bounds, consistently injecting fresh and innovative ideas into our marketing projects. Her ability to blend creativity, organization and passion makes her an invaluable asset to any project.”

Sandy, Puffworks

In 2024, I had the privilege of meeting Melissa, a local franchise owner (and mom!) and partnered with her to help grow Sit Still Kids salon in Happy Valley, a modern hair salon for kids. I manage her salon’s social and email marketing initiatives, including email, SMS and events, working closely with their corporate umbrella to ensure brand consistency across their other U.S. locations. I have enjoyed getting to dive into the world of franchises and help drive growth within the community. I also love that I can involve my kids into the mix - and they love it! In 2025 I met Melinda Kassab, co-owner of Joe Kassab Jewelers while helping plan a local Mom Prom event, and have now been managing her store's social presence and refreshing their email and digital communications.

I recently had the opportunity to help my cousin, Lindsay, my dad and a new mom-friend build out websites (Lindsay Lawler , Bill Roe Scholarship and College Aligned), respectively and help a local sock brand, Sock It To Me, to establish their presence selling on Amazon.

In addition to volunteering at my kid's schools, I am also on a local committee - Clackamas County Kids - that organizes a Summer Camp Expo in Happy Valley. I love getting to know the community and offer my skills to help fill in gaps!