Lou Sena, President of SenaReider — Interlex

Lou founded SenaReider in 1980 and has over thirty years of fresh and frozen food experience in the consumer, retail, food service, and industrial categories. His strategic insights have led to the launch of many successful new brands including Birds Eye Fresh, SunRipe, and Popeye Spinach as well as the re-building of brands like Ocean Mist, Del Monte Fresh Produce, Keystone Fruit, and Florida Tomato Committee. Lou attended the University of Miami where he majored in Business Administration.

Randolph Gonzales, Vice President of Strategy

Randolph directs our agency's strategic planning efforts, studying consumer behavior insights and crafting strategies and marketing/communications plans designed to motivate change and achieve measurable results. He is a graduate of Georgetown University and has held positions at national non-profits, led multicultural PR efforts for national brands, and rotated through practically every discipline within the marketing and advertising industry. Randolph is also a leader within our Digital Strategy team and has played a key role in integrating digital PR and social media into all of our efforts. He has spearheaded Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing campaigns for our clients with results far exceeding expectations. Prior to joining Interlex, he led multicultural media relations efforts for the Nielsen Company, VISA USA, and the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts.

Brittani Peña, Director of Research

Brittani is responsible for the development and design of research methods as well as the successful implementation of those methods for a range of clients, including AARP, American Express, the American Heart Association, and the National Education Association. She oversees quantitative and qualitative projects, preparing screening guides, discussion guides, executive summaries, and top-line reports for research projects. She has conducted national studies to measure brand awareness, favorability, knowledge, and behavior patterns as well as to assess perceptions and evaluate overall media campaign effectiveness. Brittani utilizes Simmons Consumer Survey Database, Scarborough, and other proprietary research reports and studies to identify insights that drive marketing strategies for our clients. Working closely with Interlex's in-house media department, Brittani also identifies DMA demographics, media consumption, and target lifestyle characteristics to drive the creation of media plans. She is familiar with a variety of the field's practices and procedures, from computer assisted telephone interviewing and focus groups to the use of advanced analytic tools and research methods like the Metaphor Elicitation Technique. Prior to joining Interlex, she conducted market research for major brands including Walmart and Bank of America. She is a graduate of the University of Houston.

Chris Bodmann, Account Director for SenaReider — Interlex

Chris Bodmann is a marketing strategist who applies his knowledge of business, communications, and advertising principles to develop comprehensive and holistic solutions for all levels of corporate clients. Over the past decade and a half, he has honed his marketing acumen and has worked professionally in nearly every discipline in the industry. Chris has worked for corporations such as Ultramar-Diamond Shamrock and Borders as well as for one of the premier brand consultancies in Chicago, developing brand identities and marketing strategies for international and Fortune 500 pharmaceutical corporations such as CSL Behring, Fenwal Blood Technologies, and Baxter Cellular.

He has developed and executed branding and communications plans for the CDC-funded City of San Antonio initiative to underscore the importance of physical activity and nutrition as well as for many national nonprofits such as AARP, the American Heart Association, Planned Parenthood, and the Center for Science in the Public Interest. He has also provided his marketing expertise to governmental organizations such as the Texas Department of Transportation and the United States Department of Agriculture. He brings a wealth of experience, talent, and passion to the SenaReider — Interlex team. Chris earned his Masters Degree in Communications, studying how individuals use food to express cultural identity. He used this knowledge in practice while working for Whole Foods Market, engaging on a range of communications initiatives that tapped into the spirit of the natural and organic foodie community.

Teno Villarreal, Vice President of Special Projects

Teno Villarreal is an experienced, bilingual professional with the proven ability to build relationships, lead teams, manage projects, and develop innovative marketing strategies for major brands and organizations. At Interlex, Teno manages new and challenging initiatives with an emphasis on issues of critical social importance: issues advocacy and political campaigns, health and nutrition initiatives, government relations and economic development projects. He also leverages his experience and relationships from his years working in Washington D.C., to connect the agency and its clients to influencers and organizations with common interests and values to work towards shared goals. Prior to his current work with Interlex, Teno was appointed by President Obama to serve in the US Department of Labor. Teno staffed the Office for White House Council on Automotive Communities and Workers. There he served as State Coordinator responsible for coordinating numerous auto community and worker states. During his previous years at Interlex, Teno served as Director of Strategic Development and Account Service. He headed up the daily operations of major agency accounts, including the State of Texas Department of State Health Services, Texas Office of the Governor – Tourism Division, Texas Department of Transportation, US Department of Homeland Security, Wyndham Worldwide, and Valero Energy. During his career in marketing, Teno also worked on Bank of America’s national Hispanic marketing campaigns. Teno earned his BA at St. Mary’s University and his MBA at Texas Christian University.

Liz Gonzalez, Associate Media Director

Liz Gonzalez is a native Texan with over ten years experience in media planning and buying. She has managed media responsibilities for some of the largest Hispanic consumer packaged goods accounts including Procter and Gamble and Nestlé. Liz also has extensive experience in the retail and financial categories managing the Hispanic media strategy for Walmart and Visa. With a Master's Degree in Business Administration and her wealth of experience in the media industry, Liz has been an integral member of Association of Women in Radio and Television, Starcom Media Group (SMG) University, Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies, and the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Joseph Tolton, Managing Director — New York City

Joseph is a marketing professional who has developed world-class communications, targeting both the General and Multicultural markets in the disciplines of advertising, event, online, and guerrilla marketing. His formal and on-the-job training at Young & Rubicam was rounded out by his client-side experience at KPMG Peat Marwick and Mercedes Benz USA, where he held the position of Director of Ethnic Marketing & Brand Measurement and was the architect and director of the company's multicultural marketing department. He leads the Interlex New York City office, focusing on branding, multicultural insights, strategic planning, and digital/social media.

Rebecca Urbano, Account Supervisor

Rebecca is an account supervisor at Interlex, overseeing the SafeLink Wireless, Pan American Development Foundation and Care Improvement Plus accounts. In this role she manages client communications and requests while guiding internal teams towards meeting client goals and expectations. She has the ability to manage a wide variety of simultaneous tasks and emphasizes leadership in her work and demeanor. Prior to joining Interlex, she honed her craft at Global Hue in New York and Dieste in Dallas. During those years, she contributed to marketing efforts for Verizon Wireless and Western Union. She is a graduate of Southern Methodist University.

Leah DeLaGarza, Vice President of Integration

Leah draws on over fourteen years of experience in the general market and multicultural media space (Spanish and English-language Hispanic, African-American, Asian, and Native American media). At Interlex, Leah leads the media department—an experienced, fully bilingual group of expert media planners/buyers in broadcast, non-broadcast, and digital media for both the general market and multicultural segments. Prior to joining Interlex, Leah received the HispanicAd.com award for Best Use of TV in a Multi-media campaign. Her career has been focused on holistic media for advertisers in the service/non-profit sector, as well as the fast-paced categories of retail, packaged goods, telecommunications, automotive, and banking. She was also instrumental in Universal Pictures' foray into the Spanish-language advertising arena. She has been a leader in the media industry and served as a panel speaker for American Women in Radio and Television, as well as an instructor for Starcom MediaVest Group's Media University. She has been a member of American Association of Advertising Agencies, Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies, and the SA Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Leah currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Girl Scouts of South Texas.

Jerry Ruiz, Associate Creative Director

Jerry is a copywriter, director and composer based out of our New York City office. He has a longstanding association with Interlex, stretching back to a full-time stint as a copywriter in 2001 and spanning subsequent work as a freelance creative on several campaigns over the past decade. Since joining Interlex on a more permanent basis in 2012, he has worked as the lead copywriter on campaigns for Del Monte Fresh Produce, AARP, and the Texas Department of Transportation. Previous work for Interlex includes copywriting on campaigns for the Austin CVB, the Laredo CVB, and Rio Grande Valley Regional Hospital, among others. His work on the award-winning campaign for the Texas Department of States Health Services included composing music and co-writing lyrics for an original jingle promoting awareness about the DTaP Vaccine. Jerry graduated from Harvard University with a BA in English Literature and Creative Writing in 2000. From 2002 to 2004, he worked as an assistant to the internationally acclaimed film director Baz Luhrmann. After receiving his MFA from the University of California, San Diego in 2007, he returned to New York. From 2008 to 2010, he was a Marketing Manager in the Event Marketing division of Encompass Media Group and later Marketing Hawk, both in NYC. From 2009 to 2011, he was the recipient of a prestigious two-year grant from the National Endowment of the Arts recognizing his directing and writing for theater.

Gilbert Zarate, Senior Graphic Designer

Gilbert Zarate manages the daily operations in our art department. He has nearly 12 years of experience in graphic design. His experience includes advertising as well as newspaper design, and his award-winning work has been featured in Semi-Permanent's 2010 1st Edition Art Book. The development of logo identity and brand systems is one of Gilbert's areas of specialization. Gilbert brings a hip, urban feel to his design, producing cutting-edge creative executions that visually connect with audiences on primal levels.

Christian Lozano, Vice President of Client Relations

Christian leads our PR Department, which includes media relations, partnership development between corporate, non-profit, and governmental, organizations for cause-related campaigns, and promotions and events. Prior to joining our team, she worked at the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) in Washington, DC developing partnerships with major corporate partners and implementing media relations and outreach strategies. Her network of relationships in media, corporate, governmental, and non-profit circles is a major asset to our clients looking to build credibility and trust in their brands, products and services within the Hispanic space. At our agency, Christian has spearheaded PR and partnership development efforts on behalf of American Express, Care Improvement Plus, and Tracfone. She is a graduate of Georgetown University in Washington, DC.