Karen Sinclair
President

Born and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina, Karen founded the agency that now bears her name in 1988. In addition to guiding the creative process, Karen works closely with the agency’s account managers to provide clients with strategic planning to meet both short- and long-term marketing goals.

She has spoken on the value of branding and marketing strategy to groups such as the American Council of Engineering Companies of North Carolina, Commercial Real Estate Women and The Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce.

In 2004, Karen received the 2004 Pinnacle Entrepreneurial Award for Small Business from the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce. She also led the firm to a Pinnacle Award for Steady Growth and Profitability in 2005.

Karen currently serves on the board of the Raleigh Professional Women’s Forum, the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce Board of Advisors and the Alumnae Board of Directors for Peace College. She has previously served on the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce, and the Board of the Directors of the American Lung Association of North Carolina, Research Triangle Region.

Karen has a bachelor’s of arts degree in economics and political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Karen, her husband and son live in Raleigh.

Emily Almasy
Manager of Account Services

Emily joined Sinclair & Co. in 1998. She oversees the management of all accounts and works closely with clients in determining strategic direction and developing and implementing effective marketing communications plans. Emily’s expertise in advertising planning, direct marketing strategy, sales promotion, and market research helps clients build and strengthen their brands. She also has experience in promotional research, contest development and sports marketing.

Away from the agency, Emily has served as an adjunct professor at Meredith College, teaching senior-level advertising and sales promotion. She is the mother of twin girls and is an active member and past president of the Triangle Mothers of Twins and Triplets club.

Emily received her master’s degree in business administration from Meredith College in 1999. She also has a bachelor’s of science degree in media advertising from Appalachian State University.

Shelley Bainter
Interactive Services Manager and Account Manager
Shelley manages the many interactive services Sinclair & Co. offers its clients, including Web strategy and site development, analytics and search engine optimization.

Shelley’s interactive expertise and skills were honed at Red Hat Inc., where she worked almost five years, first as software development project manager and later as product marketing manager. During her time at Red Hat, she transformed software into specific and targeted product offerings and oversaw their launch in the marketplace, supported by online marketing strategies.

A native of Illinois, Shelley holds a bachelor’s of science degree from Western Illinois University.

Ileana Rodriguez
Office Manager and Account Coordinator

If you have called Sinclair & Co., chances are that you’ve talked to Ileana. Ileana is our office manager who is currently coordinating the logistics of our upcoming office move.

When she’s not moving boxes and talking to the telephone company, Ileana spends her time working with our account managers to keep our clients' projects on time and on budget.

Ileana has several hobbies including sewing, gardening and laughing at her two cats. Ileana recently bought her first home in Raleigh.

Erin Smith
Account Manager

 

 

 

 

 

 

Karen Stinneford
Senior Account Executive and Public Relations Manager

With nearly 20 years of professional communications experience, Karen has worked on “both sides” of the news media, first as an award-winning newspaper reporter and later handling media relations for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Healthcare.

While at UNC, she successfully pitched stories to the New York Times, USA Today, The Today Show, Good Morning America, People magazine and the Chronicle of Higher Education. Karen understands well how media works and how best to get positive coverage for your organization.

Karen also has extensive experience in external corporate communications, including advertising, direct mail and publications. While at Progress Energy, a Fortune 250 company, Karen oversaw communications that reached 2.9 million customers throughout the Southeast. She also supported the company’s discretionary consumer products division, which experienced 20-percent sales growth during her tenure, attributed in large part to effective radio and newspaper ads and direct mail campaigns she developed and executed.

Karen earned bachelor’s of arts degrees in English and journalism and, much later, her master’s degree in business administration from UNC. Karen lives in Cary with her husband and daughter, and two cats, Biscuit and Grayve.