Topsail Strategies, LLC

Maria Reitan deploys more than 25 years of strategic internal and external communications experience across public relations, advertising, and social for her clients. Her award-winning work has driven results for family-owned businesses like Schuler Shoes and Honeybear Brands, nonprofits such as The Mayo Clinic, Children’s Cancer Research Fund, Ampact, and Conservation Corps of Minnesota and Iowa, to national household brands including Cargill, Hasbro, Trane, Pella, and Tempur-Pedic to name a few.

Maria founded her strategic communications consultancy Topsail Strategies in 2015 after spending more than a decade on the senior leadership team at Carmichael Lynch advertising and PR agency and as president of boutique agency Lola Red in Minneapolis.

Maria’s client campaigns have been awarded the industry’s highest recognition including the Silver Anvil, Bronze Anvil, PR Platinum, PR Week, Golden SABRE and Minneapolis PRSA.

Prior to her career in integrated strategic communications, Maria spent fifteen years in television news as an Emmy Award-winning news director, producer and reporter in Minneapolis, Chicago, Miami, Louisville and both Carolinas. Her intimate knowledge of journalists and the inner workings of newsrooms have been invaluable to clients, especially those in need of media coaching and crisis and issues management counsel.

Maria has a B.A. in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.