BOONTON, N.J. (May 16, 2016) – Green Room Communications, a specialty agency focused on healthcare public relations, creative design and media strategy, is proud to announce that its founders and Managing Partners, Karen Qualter Carolonza and Deborah Nettune Sittig, have received New Jersey SmartCEO’s 2016 Brava Award, an annual recognition for top women business leaders who demonstrate exemplary leadership as evidenced by company growth, community impact and mentoring.
“It is an honor to be recognized as a female leader in the New Jersey business community,” said Carolonza. “This award builds on another recent milestone in Green Room’s history – our certification by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) in March 2016. We are committed to fostering a community of women who deliver results that demonstrate value to our clients and bring ahead-of-the-curve thinking to anticipate and address challenges as well as identify opportunities.”
New Jersey Brava Award winners are selected annually by an independent committee of local business leaders from the following three categories: CEOs, Executive Directors of nonprofits, and C-suite executives. Carolonza and Sittig were recognized for their irrepressible entrepreneurial spirit, passion for giving back to the community, local philanthropy, mentorship of up-and-coming leaders and company growth. Along with the other recipients, Carolonza and Sittig will be featured in the July/August issue of SmartCEO magazine and honored at an awards gala on June 23 in Old Bridge, NJ.
“We’re honored to be in the company of other talented New Jersey women who have been recognized for their business leadership and for paving the way for others,” said Sittig. “Companies today need innovative business models and a diverse talent base to respond to the financial and technological changes in today’s economy. At Green Room Communications, we are fortunate to be surrounded by women who strive to make an entrepreneurial and philanthropic impact every day.”
With a diverse client base in the pharmaceutical, medical device and biotechnology industries, Green Room builds and supports career growth opportunities for women in communications in STEM disciplines – science, technology, engineering and math. Its unique, non-hierarchical skill-based agency model ensures support for changing client needs and provides a competitive business edge. The company fosters career opportunities for women through a strong communications internship program.
About Karen Qualter Carolonza
A Short Hills, NJ, native, Karen Qualter Carolonza is a proven strategic public relations and communications professional with global experience in the healthcare, chemical and television news industries. Before founding Green Room in 2008, Karen was the global director of worldwide public relations at BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), a leading global medical technology company, and was responsible for the creation of the first-ever global public relations department for the company. Karen has served in communications roles at corporations and agencies, including the Pharmacia Corporation, DuPont Pharmaceuticals, Exxon Chemical Company, and Ruder Finn Public Relations. Karen spent the first part of her career as an NBC affiliate television news reporter in the Midwest and East Coast. Currently, Karen serves committees of the Lakeland Hills YMCA. She also serves on the board of Soft Bones: The U.S. Hypophosphatasia Foundation as well as the local chapter of the Progeria Foundation. She is a member of the ExLPharma Steering Committee and has chaired its annual PR & Communications Summit for a decade. She was named one of the Top 25 Leading Women Entrepreneurs of New Jersey (LWE) in 2014. Karen is the mother of three children and currently resides in Mountain Lakes, NJ.
About Deborah Nettune Sittig
Deborah Nettune Sittig, who grew up in Bernardsville, NJ, began her career as a broadcast journalist, spending more than a decade as a television reporter and news anchor in major markets across the country as well as working in television production. She produced newscasts and acted as a videographer, field producer, editor, writer and associate producer for ABC and FOX News affiliates in Long Island, NY; Burlington, VT; and Chattanooga, TN. She also served as a general assignment reporter and associate producer at KDFW, the FOX affiliate in Dallas, TX. Her PR experience started at DWJ Television where she served as media director and headed up a team of eight Media Placement Specialists. In 2003, Deborah opened Original Media Concepts, a PR firm specializing in media strategies and placement. Deborah is also the founder and current president of the Board of Directors, Soft Bones: The U.S. Hypophosphatasia Foundation, a non-profit organization to raise awareness for the rare bone disease. Deborah was selected as the Boy Scouts “Woman of the Year” in 2014 and was named one of the Top 25 Leading Women Entrepreneurs of New Jersey (LWE) in 2014.
About Green Room Communications
Green Room brings a new approach to classic communications needs. From corporate positioning and PR strategy to media and digital relations to integrated creative design, its unique, skill-based model aims to meet the needs of a new communications landscape requiring communicators to remain strategic and relevant in an evolving marketplace. Green Room customizes fluid, nimble teams with specific skill sets to address individual projects. This flexibility allows for scaling up or down using a global network of public relations experts to ensure support for changing client needs. The company’s unique ability to harness this intellectual capital and infuse it with energy and passion provide a competitive edge. Green Room was named a WBENC-Certified Women’s Business Enterprise in March 2016 by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).
Media Contact:
Candace Disler
Green Room Communications
Phone: 973-263-8585 x228
Cell: 973-650-7975
candace@greenroompr.com
My career as a healer was short lived. I switched from pre-med to journalism in college and enjoyed a successful career in television news for more than 10 years, where my interest in healthcare sparked a lifelong passion.
