Industry Veterans Open New D.C. Shop

Pratt Street Communications LLC, a new Washington, D.C.-based marketing communications consultancy that offers counsel to clients in the for-profit and non-profit sectors, opened its doors this week.

The agency will provide communications consulting services in the areas of research, stakeholder relations, media training, communications program development and crisis communications.

Dave Groobert & Julie Garel

The agency was co-founded by industry veterans Dave Groobert and Julie Garel. Groobert was previously a senior associate of marketing communications and public affairs agency Environics Communications. Prior to that he was a senior vice president in the Washington, D.C. office of global PR giant Hill & Knowlton, where he led that agency’s consumer and technology marketing practices. He was also public relations director at global telecommunications company COMSAT Corporation, and served as director of public relations at advertising agency Doner Advertising.

Garel joins Pratt Street from non-profit policy engagement program the Convergence Center for Policy Resolution, where she served as director of its Nutrition and Wellness project. Prior to that she was brand planning director at full-service shop BCF Agency. She was also a senior vice president and account director at Doner Advertising, where she handled strategic planning for clients. Garel began her career at international advertising agency J. Walter Thompson, where she was a senior vice president and account director.

The new agency is named after the street where Groobert and Garel previously worked together during their time at Doner.