Who We Are...
We are the A-Team you’ve been looking for –
smart, hard-working, ready.
Judy Katzel, APR
President and Founder
Judy founded KDK Consulting Group in 2011, following a successful stint at Burgess Advertising & Marketing for 17 years, the last 6 as President. Prior to her work in Maine, Judy spent 13 years in the Washington, DC market working on national public health education programs for The National Institutes of Health (high blood pressure education, high cholesterol education), the National Cancer Institute, as well as for other nonprofit organizations including the National Association of Home Builders, the American Institute of Architects, and others.
Judy’s background in advertising, marketing communications strategy and plan development goes back nearly 30 years. She has conducted brand audits, developed brand strategies, launched products, created and implemented fully-integrated advertising and marketing campaigns for Maine-based organizations as well as regional, national and international firms.
In addition to direct consulting, Judy routinely speaks at conferences for businesses and nonprofits on crisis communications topics, such as sexual harassment in the workplace, best practices for social media in fundraising, how to apply to concepts of strategic planning to the development of marketing plans, and more.
Through KDK Consulting Group, Judy has pulled together a team of experienced strategists, copywriters, graphic designers and media/web experts able to tackle implementing complex campaigns with efficiency, effectiveness and the ability to measure results in mind. KDK clients get the best of big agency thinking without the associated costs and lead times for implementation. Each campaign is approached with a roll-up-your-sleeves-and-get-er-done attitude!
Judy earned a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and holds the designation of APR (Accredited Public Relations Professional) from the Public Relations Society of America. A past president of the Maine Public Relations Council, Judy has been awarded the Council’s prestigious Edward L. Bernays Award in recognition of her expertise and experience in public relations. She is currently serving on the international Universal Accreditation Board for Public Relations.
Kendall Kurz
Managing Partner
Kendall’s broad experience and diverse capabilities include marketing strategy, client services, account supervision, project management, planning, budgeting, public relations, new media management, copywriting, retail merchandising & management and more. As her client’s eyes and ears, Kendall helps to ensure that our creative ideas have the power to make it in the real world.
Kendall provides a level of organization and problem-solving that has allowed her to direct multifaceted marketing programs for Portland International Jetport, Efficiency Maine, Southern and Central Maine Community Colleges, Maine Office of Tourism, Maine Summer Camps, Kingsley Pines Camp, Camp Alsing, GHM Insurance Agency, Acadia Insurance, Chalmers Insurance Group, Maine Justice Foundation, Medical Care Development, Hodgdon Yachts, Bangor Museum and Center for History, Downeast Energy, Barber Foods, Colorado Ballet, Hearts on Fire Diamonds, Chinet and many others.
Kendall has been in the Portland-area marketing world since 1999 and she holds a BA in French from University of Vermont. She lives in Portland with her partner Patrick and their dog Tally and cat Dulce.
Ken Hallee
Senior Art Director
Ken has over 15 years experience in creative and art direction, including print, web, transit, exhibit, packaging and digital media design, to studio and location direction for commercial photography and video.
His deft design touch and sure sense of branding have earned him five American Corporate Identity Awards and 11 Broderson Awards from the Portland Ad Club. He specializes in strategic brand development and has helped regional, national and global companies or businesses successfully refresh or launch their brands in the marketplace.
Ken has broad experience in communicating the promise and distinctive stories of clients in education, healthcare, finance, insurance, travel, tourism and industry.
Ken’s work has consistently won recognition in the creative departments of award-winning advertising agencies in Maine. Ken has a BFA from Maine College of Art and lives in Portland with his wife Lisa and daughter Emma.
Dan Routh
Senior Creative Director
Dan has the rare combination of an art director’s eye and a copywriter’s flair for words. Add the strategic intelligence honed by thirty-five years of experience creating and building brands, nationally and in Maine, and you’ve got the quintessential “Ad Man.” As an Art Director on New York's Madison Avenue, Dan learned the power of such global brands as Arm & Hammer, Black Flag, Chef Boyardee and Preparation H—and the care and feeding needed to help them flourish.
In Maine, Dan has been Creative Director at three major agencies, creating award-winning work for dozens of regional and national clients, including Oakhurst Dairy, Milton CAT, Mercy Hospital, Casco Northern Bank, Schneider Trucking, International Paper, Portland International Jetport and Efficiency Maine. He has created memorable and distinctive visual solutions to convey the essence of these brands, from logo design to TV and print ads to websites—and, unlike many artists and designers, often writes the copy to accompany them.
A graduate of Parson's School of Design, Dan is a past President of the Ad Club of Maine, and the 2009 recipient of the Joan Dow Award, recognizing lifetime creative achievement and awarded by the Ad Club of Maine. An avid distance swimmer, Dan has completed multiple Peaks-to-Portland swims. He lives in North Yarmouth with his wife Veronica.
Mark Ferguson
Creative Director/User Experience Strategist
Mark is an experienced writer, creative director and strategist who believes in building user experiences tailored to the unique phases of customers’ interactions with a brand — from prospect to brand enthusiast and beyond.
In his 15+ years as a writer and creative director at L.L.Bean, Mark translated business objectives and branding goals into actionable creative strategies and compelling, award-winning content. Leading and partnering with teams responsible for projects including website redesigns, multichannel product campaigns, multivariate test plans and e-commerce transactional flows, he contributed to the significant, multi-year growth of the company’s web division.
For KDK, he provides strategic recommendations on web engagement, social media, SEO, digital advertising/outreach campaigns via GoogleAds and other online platforms and corresponding analytics. Mark brings a laser focus to fine-tuning the user experience on mobile and web — with the goal of creating happy customers and stronger brands.
John Lamb, APR
Copywriter/PR Specialist
John Lamb brings more than 30 years of communications and public relations experience to KDK Consulting Group. A former broadcast journalist, his background includes stints at L.L. Bean, Maine Medical Center, and KeyBank. After graduating from the University of Southern Maine, John earned his Master's degree at Emerson College in Boston, and also holds an Accreditation in Public Relations (APR).
John brings a strong strategic approach to PR campaigns, crisis communications, special events, product launches, and employee/corporate/community relations. His skills also include media relations, speech writing and crisis communications in the healthcare, nonprofit, and education sectors.
John twice served as president of the Maine Public Relations Council. He received the Edward L. Bernays Award, MPRC highest individual honor, and was twice honored with the President's Award for service to the organization and its president.
Bridget Finnegan
Creative Director/ Illustrator
Bridget comes to KDK from the University of New Hampshire. As Creative Director she managed the creative staff for both the Durham and Manchester campuses. In her 16-year tenure she oversaw complete overhauls of the University’s branding, graphic identity, alumni magazine and website. In addition, her staff has set the bar for excellence in effective use of social media.
Bridget also creates and illustrates lively books for grown-ups of all ages. After creating three illustrated books for children she dipped her pen into the adult mystery genre. Her first novel is due out this fall.
Bridget has a degree in photography from Washington University and an MBA from Plymouth State University. She lives in Durham, NH with her partner, Mike.
Kitty Wilbur
Copywriter/Creative Director
Seasoned copywriter/creative director Kitty Wilbur offers 25+ years of writing experience along with a commitment to creative marketing that combines styles and substance. Having worked on both the inside/corporate and outside/agency sides of the advertising business, she combines solid technical skill and an exceptional work ethic with the creative passion to publish work that is engaging, compelling and memorable.
Kitty’s work has created solid business results (and won awards) for clients in a wide range of industries, including healthcare and social marketing, travel and hospitality, financial, insurance, retail and retirement living,. Past clients have included The Boston Globe/boston.com, Vantage Deluxe World Travel and Saga Holidays, Filene’s Basement, Mercy Hospital, Maine Bank & Trust, Amato’s, and the Portland Public Health Division, City of Portland.
Happy working in all media, from direct mail to broadcast to the web, Kitty is equally comfortable managing the creative process, from concept development to completion. While she prides herself first and foremost on her strong writing abilities, she also brings savvy and experienced strategic thinking to her work, with a particular love of taking on tough marketing challenges.
Dragos Stancu
Web/App Designer & Developer
Dragos is an entrepreneur who loves design, coding, and photography and he believes that building a company should be fun and exciting.
He is always looking for new ways to solve everyday problems and to improve the products and services of his clients.
Dragos has more than 15 years of experience in Web Design and Development. He worked for 12 years as a web developer for Common Census, an online benefits management system provider, where he had the opportunity to work with partners in the insurance business including Transamerica, UNUM, Allstate, and Aflac.
He is passionate about his work and always eager to connect with other entrepreneurs. He enjoys all aspects of his business, particularly working with the client to understand his or her objectives.
As Dragos works with startups as well as other businesses, it is very important to him to provide cost effective solutions while creating a robust and sustainable product.
Dragos has a bachelor’s degree in Electronics with a focus on Artificial Intelligence, from the Polytechnic University of Bucharest, Romania.
Heather Wasklewicz
Social Marketing Director
Heather was one of the first people in Maine to utilize social media for marketing. She has a unique understanding of how organizations can use their voice to create relationships around brands, products and services using social tools such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and more. Her integrated, highly personalized approach caters to hearty and industrious souls accustomed to wearing several hats by offering marketing education and creative social cross-promotional strategies and integrated marketing solutions.
Heather has worked to build brand relationships for numerous clients including an international ice cleat, a child-care program, an island brewing company, a health and wellness program, a crime author, and a sustainable wood practices firm.
Heather grew up on Monhegan Island, attended USM, moved to NYC for four years, then returned to Maine to raise her own family. She now lives on Peaks Island.