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Our Team

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Stephanie Devitt, M.P.P.

Founder + Principal Consultant

Stephanie Devitt is a skilled veteran of public affairs strategy, working in both political appointee and consulting roles. Since 2012, she has led SDK Communications + Consulting, providing strategic counsel and directing projects of consequence for state and local government agencies, nonprofits, foundations, healthcare providers and public health agencies.   

 

Stephanie began her career leading regional community relations for U.S. Senator Tom Daschle, a role that provided a first-hand look at how government programs of all types impact people’s lives on a daily basis. She spent 8 years consulting with regional and national public affairs and public engagement firms before founding SDK.  

 

Stephanie holds a Master of Public Policy in Nonprofit Management, Communications and Engagement and a B.S. in Sociology with a focus on social research methods, both from the University of Minnesota.   Stephanie’s research on the role of communications and advocacy networks in nations’ adoption of climate change policy was at the forefront of network mapping and science communications analysis.  She is a frequent speaker on stakeholder engagement, communications and community engagement for complex policy, and the changing media environment’s impact on public trust.  

 

In her free time, Stephanie enjoys spending time with family, gardening, and plotting travel and home remodel adventures.  

Alishia Wright

Consultant

Alishia Wright has spent the last fifteen years in the nonprofit sector. The first half of her career was in direct service roles, building relationships and assisting beneficiaries navigate complex government and nonprofit systems . During this time, she also began exploring how to set up organizational structures, such as board policies, data management practices, and facility policies, to ensure organizations are set up for success and can thrive. 

 

For the past seven years, Alishia leveraged her experience in direct service to build relationships and support for programs through development and communication roles. Her experience includes developing relationship management systems, identifying and tracking metrics for success, creating department policies based on best practices, and running giving program logistics. She often analyzed data regarding giving programs to improve program outcomes. She also transformed traditionally in-person engagement opportunities to a more engaging digital format in the wake of COVID-19. Most recently, Alishia's work has focused on cultivating relationships with community supporters and creating new giving programs based on a variety of engagement methods. 

 

In December 2024, Alishia graduated with a Masters of Public Policy from the University of Minnesota's Humphrey School for Public Affairs, where she specialized in Advanced Policy Analysis and Racial and Gender Equity in Policy. Alishia's project experience has touched on a variety of topics including creation of a database to monitor psychotropic medication prescription policies for foster youth across the United States, a framework for how humanitarian aid organizations can better infuse their program cycle with gender-transformative programming, and creating an evaluation plan for a local municipality's pedestrian and bike trail system.  

Lynn Zimmerman

Consultant

Lynn Zimmerman is a communications strategist who specializes in complex change projects, including providing added capacity to support AMCL’s Enterprise Asset Management system for the Met Council. Among her past projects, Lynn helped lead technology roll out of Papa John’s new delivery management system. This process connected with thousands of locations across the country to provide their pizza delivery drivers / deskless staff with mobile management system that allows customers to track when their pizza will be delivered.  Prior to SDK and almost a decade of consulting projects, Lynn led internal communications for Marriot Hotels and other corporate roles.  

Mercedes Hamilton

Junior Associate

Mercedes joined SDK in 2023, and supports the team by providing research, writing and drafting help to advance client projects. Mercedes also supports the team with data entry and overall management of files and client project organization. Outside of work, Mercedes enjoys studying politics and health policy as she prepares to enter law school.  

Matthew Rezac

Graphic Design / Art Direction

Matthew is an adjunct professor at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and a practicing graphic designer.  Select clients include Blu Dot, Chronicle Books, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minnesota Fringe Festival, Northern Lights, and Weisman Art Museum. Matthew was part of the team that created and led Northern Spark, as well. His work has received numerous honors and awards including both the AIGA 50 Books/50 Covers and AIGA 365 Awards and has been published in HOW, Idea, Print, and STEP magazines.

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Mallory Jacquette

Executive Assistant

Mallory joined SDK in 2021, and helps the team keep organized by managing schedules, data entry, and other support. Outside of work, she enjoys caring for her two young daughters.  

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