Noreen Heron Zautcke

President

Noreen Heron Zautcke began her career as an usher at the Candlelight Playhouse as a sophomore in high school. She went on to become the theater’s house manager and public relations director after graduating from UIC with a degree in Communications and Theatre. Along with Eileen LaCario (Broadway in Chicago), the duo handled the marketing for Chicago’s long running smash hit, Nunsense, and then went on to represent productions at the Royal-George Theatre, Organic, Halsted Theater Center and more. She left the theater world to become the Director of Public Relations for the Hyatt Regency Chicago, Hyatt’s biggest property and the city’s largest hotel. In this capacity, she planned and executed some of the city’s premier events including the World’s Largest Office Party, the Bud Bowl, and the Pepsi Easter Fairy Tale Adventure that culminated with a parade down Wacker Drive. She also supervised the PR efforts for the hotel when it was the headquarters for the Democratic National Convention in 1996, working with the White House press staff. Further responsibilities included handling crisis communications, securing sponsorships and creating advertising campaigns. After five years in this position, she left to start her own company in 2000, now employing a total of 12 full and part-time employees. Hyatt was one of her company’s first clients, and she happily began working with and representing her theater friends, as well as various hospitality, leisure, corporate and non-profit clients. She has served on numerous boards and planned dozens of charitable fundraisers, receiving many awards (see awards page). Noreen has represented more than 1000 productions in her career. In 2000, she married John Zautcke, an emergency medicine physician at UIC. They have two children, Connor and Ava, who are students at St. Clement School in Chicago.

Katharine Hughes
Senior Account Executive

Kate has worked on publicity campaigns for Hyatt Hotels, the National Tour of The Screwtape Letters, the National Tour of Broadway in Chicago’s Sing-A-Long Wizard of Oz, Smirnoff Vodka, The Harlem Globetrotters, the grand opening of Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place, Marriott Theatre’s 35th Anniversary, Massage Envy, the 40th Anniversary of Geja’s Café, Sesame Street Live!, the Chicagoland Pops Orchestra, Baileys, Bettinardi Golf and the acclaimed production A Steady Rain, which opened on Broadway starring Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig. She has represented hit shows at theaters including The Allstate Arena, The Rosemont Theatre, Marriott Theatre, Drury Lane Theatre Oakbrook Terrace, Porchlight Music Theatre, The Royal George Theatre, The Chicago Theatre, The Coral Springs Center for the Performing Arts, The Lansburgh Theatre, and The Mercury Theater. Today,Placements secured include USA Today, Variety, Christianity Today, People Magazine, Travel + Leisure, Playbill, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Miami Herald, The Courier-Journal, The Chicago Sun-Times, Time Out, Travel + Leisure, Chicago Magazine, Metromix.com, ABC News, NPR and WGN Radio. She has represented A-list celebrities including Dan Aykroyd, The Beach Boys, and Olympic athletes. Kate has worked on promotions with organizations such as American Express, Bally Fitness, the Chicago White Sox, PBS and Motorola in cities including Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C.

Kate graduated from Taylor University where she worked in the University Relations department for four years. She has been married to Virgil Hughes, a Sales Executive at Kingsdown, Inc., since June 2006. An avid runner, she completed the Chicago Marathon in 2005. In her spare time Kate volunteers with her church and animal rescue organizations.

Lianne Wiker
Senior Account Executive

Lianne has represented hit shows at theaters including The Rosemont Theatre, Allstate Arena, Marriott Theatre, Drury Lane Theatre Oakbrook Terrace, Drury Lane Water Tower Place, Theatre at the Center, Apollo Theatre, Mercury Theater, Royal George Theatre and The Lakeshore Theater. Lianne has worked on publicity and marketing campaigns for the National Tour of THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS, UFC, The World Tour of Gymnastics Superstars, the legendary Geja’s Café, the Chicagoland Pops Orchestra, Harlem Globetrotters, Bettinardi Golf, Hyatt Regency O’Hare, Hyatt Regency McCormick Place and Hyatt Regency Chicago.

Lianne has created value-added promotions for clients with organizations including Motorola, Staples, WBBM AM, Chicago Tribune and Ferrara Pan Candy Company. She has secured placements in various Chicagoland publications as well as national placements including HD News, USA TODAY and The NEW YORK TIMES. Lianne has also secured and supervised television and radio features on top Chicago stations.

Lianne is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago. Prior to working at Noreen Heron & Associates, she worked in Special Events at Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization, Illinois Affiliate. She is a former member of the Chicago Luvabulls NBA Dance Team (Chicago Bulls), is an active volunteer for PAWS, and was also a state finalist in the Miss Illinois USA pageant.

Brenna O'Leary
Account Executive

Brenna is a graduate of Syracuse University with a degree in magazine journalism and a minor in creative writing. Her experience with the media began while working at her hometown's newspaper, The Woodstock Independent, in highschool and from there broadened during college to working for publications such as The Post-Standard and What the Health magazine.

She has worked on publicity campaigns for Hawthorne Race Course, Chaise Lounge, Massage Envy, Geja’s Café, Harlem Globetrotters and Hyatt.

She has represented shows at theaters including The Mercury Theatre, The Allstate Arena, Marriott Theatre, Drury Lane Theatre Oakbrook Terrace, Theatre at the Center, Chicago Dramatists and more.

Local placements secured include The Chicago Tribune, CS, and The Sun-Times. Brenna has also secured and supervised television and radio features on top Chicago stations like NBC/WMAQ, ABC/WLS, and WGN Radio. She has also coordinated and secured placements nationally in publications including The New York Times and Travel + Leisure magazine.

Prior to her position at Noreen Heron & Associates, Brenna interned at TimeOut Chicago and has served as a recent freelancer for the magazine. Her interests include traveling, volunteering for PAWS, recreational sports and enjoying the culture of the city of Chicago.

Tom McDermott
Controller

Tom joined Heron PR in 2009 and manages all the company accounting and finance functions. Tom has 25 years of accounting/finance experience including McDonald’s, Flat Top Grill and Rosebud Restaurants.
In addition, he is a CPA and a graduate of the University of Notre Dame. Tom is a Chicago resident where he lives with his wife, Susan, and their two daughters Grace and Claire.

Holly Gustavson
Executive Assistant

Holly Gustavson attended Northern Illinois University for three years and is currently completing her bachelor's degree, majoring in elementary education. She enjoys reading and outdoor activities.

Complex Network Solutions
IT Consultants

CNS is a small startup IT firm serving the greater Chicago area, specializing in network solutions for the government and private sectors. Their knowledgeable team is dedicated to helping its clients achieve their technical goals by utilizing are diverse set of skills and backgrounds ranging from network design, security, and software development. They have served as a consultant to Noreen Heron & Associates for over nine years, building and maintaining the company’s IT infrastructure.

Noreen Heron Zautcke

President

Noreen Heron Zautcke began her career as an usher at the Candlelight Playhouse as a sophomore in high school. She went on to become the theater’s house manager and public relations director after graduating from UIC with a degree in Communications and Theatre. Along with Eileen LaCario (Broadway in Chicago), the duo handled the marketing for Chicago’s long running smash hit, Nunsense, and then went on to represent productions at the Royal-George Theatre, Organic, Halsted Theater Center and more. She left the theater world to become the Director of Public Relations for the Hyatt Regency Chicago, Hyatt’s biggest property and the city’s largest hotel. In this capacity, she planned and executed some of the city’s premier events including the World’s Largest Office Party, the Bud Bowl, and the Pepsi Easter Fairy Tale Adventure that culminated with a parade down Wacker Drive. She also supervised the PR efforts for the hotel when it was the headquarters for the Democratic National Convention in 1996, working with the White House press staff. Further responsibilities included handling crisis communications, securing sponsorships and creating advertising campaigns. After five years in this position, she left to start her own company in 2000, now employing a total of 12 full and part-time employees. Hyatt was one of her company’s first clients, and she happily began working with and representing her theater friends, as well as various hospitality, leisure, corporate and non-profit clients. She has served on numerous boards and planned dozens of charitable fundraisers, receiving many awards (see awards page). Noreen has represented more than 1000 productions in her career. In 2000, she married John Zautcke, an emergency medicine physician at UIC. They have two children, Connor and Ava, who are students at St. Clement School in Chicago.

Katharine Hughes
Senior Account Executive

Kate has worked on publicity campaigns for Hyatt Hotels, the National Tour of The Screwtape Letters, the National Tour of Broadway in Chicago’s Sing-A-Long Wizard of Oz, Smirnoff Vodka, The Harlem Globetrotters, the grand opening of Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place, Marriott Theatre’s 35th Anniversary, Massage Envy, the 40th Anniversary of Geja’s Café, Sesame Street Live!, the Chicagoland Pops Orchestra, Baileys, Bettinardi Golf and the acclaimed production A Steady Rain, which opened on Broadway starring Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig. She has represented hit shows at theaters including The Allstate Arena, The Rosemont Theatre, Marriott Theatre, Drury Lane Theatre Oakbrook Terrace, Porchlight Music Theatre, The Royal George Theatre, The Chicago Theatre, The Coral Springs Center for the Performing Arts, The Lansburgh Theatre, and The Mercury Theater. Today,Placements secured include USA Today, Variety, Christianity Today, People Magazine, Travel + Leisure, Playbill, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Miami Herald, The Courier-Journal, The Chicago Sun-Times, Time Out, Travel + Leisure, Chicago Magazine, Metromix.com, ABC News, NPR and WGN Radio. She has represented A-list celebrities including Dan Aykroyd, The Beach Boys, and Olympic athletes. Kate has worked on promotions with organizations such as American Express, Bally Fitness, the Chicago White Sox, PBS and Motorola in cities including Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C.

Kate graduated from Taylor University where she worked in the University Relations department for four years. She has been married to Virgil Hughes, a Sales Executive at Kingsdown, Inc., since June 2006. An avid runner, she completed the Chicago Marathon in 2005. In her spare time Kate volunteers with her church and animal rescue organizations.

Lianne Wiker
Senior Account Executive

Lianne has represented hit shows at theaters including The Rosemont Theatre, Allstate Arena, Marriott Theatre, Drury Lane Theatre Oakbrook Terrace, Drury Lane Water Tower Place, Theatre at the Center, Apollo Theatre, Mercury Theater, Royal George Theatre and The Lakeshore Theater. Lianne has worked on publicity and marketing campaigns for the National Tour of THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS, UFC, The World Tour of Gymnastics Superstars, the legendary Geja’s Café, the Chicagoland Pops Orchestra, Harlem Globetrotters, Bettinardi Golf, Hyatt Regency O’Hare, Hyatt Regency McCormick Place and Hyatt Regency Chicago.

Lianne has created value-added promotions for clients with organizations including Motorola, Staples, WBBM AM, Chicago Tribune and Ferrara Pan Candy Company. She has secured placements in various Chicagoland publications as well as national placements including HD News, USA TODAY and The NEW YORK TIMES. Lianne has also secured and supervised television and radio features on top Chicago stations.

Lianne is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago. Prior to working at Noreen Heron & Associates, she worked in Special Events at Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization, Illinois Affiliate. She is a former member of the Chicago Luvabulls NBA Dance Team (Chicago Bulls), is an active volunteer for PAWS, and was also a state finalist in the Miss Illinois USA pageant.

Brenna O'Leary
Account Executive

Brenna is a graduate of Syracuse University with a degree in magazine journalism and a minor in creative writing. Her experience with the media began while working at her hometown's newspaper, The Woodstock Independent, in highschool and from there broadened during college to working for publications such as The Post-Standard and What the Health magazine.

She has worked on publicity campaigns for Hawthorne Race Course, Chaise Lounge, Massage Envy, Geja’s Café, Harlem Globetrotters and Hyatt.

She has represented shows at theaters including The Mercury Theatre, The Allstate Arena, Marriott Theatre, Drury Lane Theatre Oakbrook Terrace, Theatre at the Center, Chicago Dramatists and more.

Local placements secured include The Chicago Tribune, CS, and The Sun-Times. Brenna has also secured and supervised television and radio features on top Chicago stations like NBC/WMAQ, ABC/WLS, and WGN Radio. She has also coordinated and secured placements nationally in publications including The New York Times and Travel + Leisure magazine.

Prior to her position at Noreen Heron & Associates, Brenna interned at TimeOut Chicago and has served as a recent freelancer for the magazine. Her interests include traveling, volunteering for PAWS, recreational sports and enjoying the culture of the city of Chicago.

Tom McDermott
Controller

Tom joined Heron PR in 2009 and manages all the company accounting and finance functions. Tom has 25 years of accounting/finance experience including McDonald’s, Flat Top Grill and Rosebud Restaurants.
In addition, he is a CPA and a graduate of the University of Notre Dame. Tom is a Chicago resident where he lives with his wife, Susan, and their two daughters Grace and Claire.

Holly Gustavson
Executive Assistant

Holly Gustavson attended Northern Illinois University for three years and is currently completing her bachelor's degree, majoring in elementary education. She enjoys reading and outdoor activities.

Complex Network Solutions
IT Consultants

CNS is a small startup IT firm serving the greater Chicago area, specializing in network solutions for the government and private sectors. Their knowledgeable team is dedicated to helping its clients achieve their technical goals by utilizing are diverse set of skills and backgrounds ranging from network design, security, and software development. They have served as a consultant to Noreen Heron & Associates for over nine years, building and maintaining the company’s IT infrastructure.