TODD AYDELOTTE
FOUNDER AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
A veteran of the public relations industry, Mr. Aydelotte founded Ricochet Public Relations in 2000, after eight years at Rubenstein Associates, the New York public relations firm owned by Howard Rubenstein. Today, as the CEO of Ricochet, he manages the company's three divisions and personally trains every new professional in the company. Mr. Aydelotte is an expert on media communications in crisis environments.
In 2007, PR Week named Mr. Aydelotte as one of five finalists for its prestigious PR Professional of the Year award, recognizing his pioneering role in the development of Ricochet's Ricochet Professional Studies Program™, the only program of its kind in the public relations industry.
A native of Rochester, New York, Mr. Aydelotte earned a BA from Dickinson College and an MA in Journalism from the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. He is an amateur musician and lives on the Upper East Side with his wife and son.
MICHAEL MATKIN
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
Mr. Matkin became COO in April 2007 and EVP in December 2008. He directs all of the company's day-to-day operations, oversees the directors in all practice areas and manages campaigns for key accounts.
Prior to joining Ricochet in 2003, Mr. Matkin taught literature and writing at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. He worked for many years as a freelance journalist, with bylines appearing in publications ranging from the New York Post to Gear magazine to Playboy.com. Mr. Matkin covered the rise and fall of some of the Internet's most fascinating companies, including UrbanFetch.com and MyLackey.com.
Mr. Matkin holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Indiana University at Bloomington and an MA in Professional Writing. Originally from Vancouver, Canada, Mr. Matkin now lives in Brooklyn, New York with his wife. In his spare time, he and his wife surf the beaches around New York and travel to surf whenever possible.
GARRY CLARK
MANAGING DIRECTOR
Mr. Clark manages the company's healthcare division. With degrees in genetics and history from the University of Melbourne, Mr. Clark brings a strong scientific background to the healthcare campaigns he executes and oversees. In addition to media and corporate relations, Garry specializes in direct-to-physician and surgeon communications, and is an expert on healthcare crisis/issues management.
Originally from Manchester, England and having grown up in Melbourne, Australia, Mr. Clark lives on the Lower East Side of Manhattan with his wife. He plays football (soccer to us) on a local championship team and enjoys the New York rock and metal music scene.
JOHN ABRASHKIN
MANAGING DIRECTOR
Mr. Abrashkin was named Managing Director of our industry group in 2007. He currently manages PR campaigns for a number of industrial companies in renewable energy, manufacturing, chemicals, aerospace and recycling. Mr. Abrashkin specializes in communicating technical developments to both national and local stakeholders.
Prior to joining Ricochet, Mr. Abrashkin worked in a Columbia University laboratory studying the function of tumor suppressor genes. He holds a BA in Biological Sciences from Columbia University in New York.
Originally from Northampton, Massachusetts, he now lives in Brooklyn and enjoys cooking and biking in his free time.
MELISSA BARATTA
MANAGING DIRECTOR
Ms. Baratta is responsible for overseeing all of Ricochet's technology clients and spearheads campaigns for the company's premier healthcare accounts. With a strong background in stakeholder communications and issues management, she manages campaigns for pharmaceutical medical imaging and healthcare management companies and has expertise developing PR programs for a variety of technology industries including enterprise and Internet-based software, data center infrastructure, semiconductors and consumer electronics.
Ms. Baratta holds a BA in Public Communication and Journalism from Ramapo College and a MA in Communication, Culture and Technology from Georgetown University. Originally from Vermont, Ms. Baratta now resides in New Jersey where she enjoys boating and bicycling in her spare time.
VALERIE CARTER
VICE PRESIDENT, PUBLIC AFFAIRS
A 20 year veteran, Ms. Carter leads Ricochet's Public Affairs practice in Washington D.C., and has broad government relations experience across each of Ricochet's practice areas. She was a vital member of Merck & Co.'s government relations and public affairs teams for 14 years. Here, in various capacities, Ms. Carter helped orchestrate comprehensive community and government affairs campaigns around healthcare, pharmaceutical and manufacturing issues. In 2005, she joined the Project Management Institute, the global advocacy organization for the project management profession, where she led their global government affairs efforts, developing and managing campaigns that touched key stakeholders in U.S. government, industry and technology.
At Ricochet, Ms. Carter helps healthcare, industry and technology clients establish a strong presence in the Beltway and thought leadership on vital public issues. Ms. Carter provides a wealth of government and public affairs services to our clientele, spanning grassroots, coalition building, third party advocacy and congressional outreach.