MEET THE TORCHLIGHT TEAM
What makes TorchLight one of the Washington, D.C. region’s leading marketing and communications recruiting firms? Our people.
- TorchLight Hire
- TorchLight Marketing
- Both
Heidi Parsont
CEO and Founder
Heidi started her own firm in order to focus on that which she loves most: matching top talent with the right employer to create a rewarding, long-term relationship. In fact, she built her reputation on it. Prior to founding TorchLight, Heidi worked at Melcrum, an internal communications consulting firm. There, she built a client base that included more than 300 of the Fortune 1000 companies, significantly increasing the company’s market penetration for a newly-developed research platform.
As director/vice president of McKinley Marketing Partners, Heidi worked with senior marketing, communications and PR professionals to fill more than 150 positions. Prior to McKinley, Heidi led the sales and client relations team at National Journal Group, an Atlantic Media Company.
Heidi holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from Colgate University and a Master of Business Administration from Georgetown University. Actively involved in the local community, she currently serves on the board of United Community, a leading human services nonprofit agency in Northern Virginia. Heidi’s love of travel has led to her living in 3 continents besides the US -South America, Europe and Asia!
Heidi@TorchLightHire.com
Beth Wallace
Founder and President
A fearless leader who keeps the trains running, Beth is relied on for her vast knowledge of all things marketing and paid media which has made her invaluable to her clients. She believes that all things should be measurable, and clients appreciate this kind of commitment to transparency and effort to quantify progress.
She began her career in traditional media and then moved over to AOL to run their digital marketing group. Later she did some non-profit work and as programmatic was growing, she realized that’s where she wanted to be… but not as an employee of a big company. She felt she had something unique to offer – exceptional, flexible, personal service with no red tape or ego. Just quality work. Beth founded BigLens (now TorchLight Marketing) in 2011 with a focus on programmatic, and quickly expanded into paid social, paid search, and direct buys – evolving it into the successful business it is today, TorchLight Marketing.
Some might be surprised to learn that Beth is happiest deep in the African bush surrounded by big sky, big elephants, and big cats!
Kathryn Bailey
Recruiter
Armed with a master’s degree in counseling, Kathryn Bailey has always loved listening to people—learning their challenges, their goals and what makes them tick. So it should come as no surprise that today, she uses these very skills as a counselor to job candidates, helping them live their best professional lives possible. This TorchLight recruiter wakes up every morning eager to make connections between the DC region’s leading companies and the very best marketing talent.
After obtaining her degree from Providence College and working in sales for Xerox, Kathryn turned her focus to human resources, holding positions in the digital media and publishing industry with recognized brands such as Bloomberg BNA and Atlantic Media.
Kathryn uniquely understands the many demands facing in-house recruiters today and aims to be a trusted partner to help them succeed in finding and hiring the region’s most experienced marketing professionals.
If she wasn’t working in recruiting, Kathryn would be a professional organizer, a skill she finds “fun” and “relaxing.” For now, though, she spends her days chasing after her two young boys, organizing the many resumes that come her way—and helping DC’s top companies hire the best talent.
Jen Davis
Senior Digital Marketing Director
Known for her campaign strategy expertise and flawless execution, Jen is committed to providing comprehensive plans tailored to meet her clients’ goals. With 20+ years of experience, Jen is a seasoned digital marketing professional specializing in paid social platforms and direct publisher buys. Her impressive skills led to her recognition as a LinkedIn Certified Marketing Insider.
Jen was the first hire at Big Lens (now TorchLight Marketing) and she has been an integral part of the team since its founding in 2012. Jen began her career at an advertising agency and has worked with clients such as Intelsat, Alarm.com, Custom Ink and LiveRamp among others.
Jen’s dedication to quality extends beyond her work life as she is also an animal lover who has adopted three pets and fostered newborn kittens and their mothers. When not working, she loves staying active by biking, going to the gym, and enjoying the beach.
Shana Fitch
Senior Digital Marketing Director
For Shana, marketing strategy and approach always starts with the end goals in mind. She collaborates to identify key KPIs and works backwards to then understand core audience segments to develop a complete media strategy. She believes that persona development is essential for optimal paid media performance.
A veteran in digital media with over 20 years of experience, she’s spent the last seven years with TorchLight Marketing. She cut her teeth in digital advertising at iconic America Online and is well versed in paid social, paid search (Google Search Certified), and media planning and buying for both digital and OOH efforts. Shana has worked with a variety of B2B and B2C clients.
Shana is a USA Triathlon certified coach and founded a triathlon club for kids, Palmetto TRIbe, the first in South Carolina. She and her team of coaches are invested in getting kids fit, healthy and fostering a lifelong love of sport.
Diana Gardner
Account Director
With more than two decades of strategic marketing and communications experience, Diana Gardner is deeply passionate about creating an inclusive and intentional experience in the recruiting process.
Having served on both the agency and client side of the house, Diana has successfully led award-winning omnichannel campaigns for start-up brands and household names across the B2C, B2B, B2G and nonprofit sectors.
Before joining TorchLight, Diana was VP of Client Development for a communications and fundraising agency, where she oversaw client leadership and development for enterprise accounts.
Diana holds a BA in Advertising and Public Relations from the University of Central Florida and a MS from Florida State University. A Yacht Rock enthusiast and self-described gym rat, Diana lives for college football, Caymus Cabernet, and all things vinyl. She lives in Alexandria, Virginia with her husband of 25 years, teenage daughter, and two goofy golden retrievers.
Gabrielle Gramont
Marketing Manager
Gaby brings an innovative and fresh approach to TorchLight’s digital outreach with a focus on social media, SEO, content creation and marketing automation.
Bilingual in English and Spanish (and conversational in Italian!), Gaby is a dual Peruvian/American citizen and has travelled extensively in Chile, Peru, Italy, and the United States. As an undergrad, she was involved in a student organization that raises awareness and funds to support crucial needs in Latin America. She also worked at a non-profit in Lima focused on food security and sustainable agriculture.
Gaby is a graduate of the University of Virginia with a degree in Media Studies and Psychology.
She is very passionate about conservation causes, enjoys working out, and is always up for trying new recipes or cooking Peruvian food.
Caitlin Grogan
Campaign Manager
A graduate of Bucknell, Caitlin began as an intern with TorchLight Marketing. In August of 2022 she was brought on as a full-time employee and has helped to support clients such as Grafik, 3E, and Intelsat, mainly in paid social and programmatic work.
Clients rely on Caitlin to stay on top of the details for their paid media programs – to make sure nothing slips through the cracks. She prides herself on this attention to detail, her organizational skills, and her ability to anticipate their needs before they do.
In her free time Caitlin loves to clean and organize! She is notorious for moving everything around when she cleans so that everyone is always asking her “Where did you put my (fill in the blank) now?!”
Danielle Harvey
Talent Acquisition Specialist
Danielle comes to TorchLight with experience in the Human Resources field with a focus on talent development and talent acquisition. Danielle prides herself on her ability to build lasting relationships with candidates and really enjoys taking the time to get to know them.
Her passion for working with others is a big part of why she likes her job – it allows her to meet new people and forge new relationships daily! A native of East Tennessee, she grew up in and currently resides in its “sweetest” city: Sweetwater. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree from East Tennessee State University (Go Bucs!) and shortly after that, graduated from Tusculum University with a master’s degree in Talent Development.
Danielle is passionate about climate change and protecting endangered species. She’s such an animal lover that she currently has three cats and two dogs and would have more if she had the space!
Yeabsera Jirata
Business Development Specialist
Yeabsera comes to TorchLight with business development and marketing experience in multiple industries. Yeabsera’s creative mind and outgoing personality help him develop and foster new client relationships that deliver results.
Yeabsera was born and raised in Ethiopia and moved to Maryland with his family in 2005. He has lived in the area ever since and is a huge Manchester United fan. Yeabsera is also involved in the community through his love of Futbol (soccer) – he founded and runs his own soccer academy for area youth players!
Julie Lowe
Chief Culture Officer
Julie has a knack for building strong internal cultures as well as candidate and client partnerships. Not only can she design and deliver an impeccable employee experience – she’s made it a daily practice. Julie began her 20-year career working in the hospitality industry. It was there that Julie found her passion for working with people to build their careers and grow the organization. This passion led her to work with a wide range of employers in a variety of industries from food service to government contractors, military branches, and many others.
Julie holds a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations/Journalism, with a minor in Psychology, from California State University, Long Beach. She is passionate about LGBTQ+ rights as well as the rights of individuals with disabilities and shares her time and talent to support these issues. She enjoys remote work living where she can spend time with her family by the pool at her new home in St. Louis.
Jack McLaughlin
Digital Campaign Manager
Jack brings a wide range of digital marketing experience including digital campaign strategy and execution, media planning and buying, as well as analysis and optimization. He consistently drives top results for clients using his deep expertise in search engine marketing (SEM), paid social media, connected TV (CTV) and other digital channels.
Outside of work, Jack enjoys being outdoors, especially biking, surfing, and walking around Baltimore. His passions include photography and design, live comedy, watching sports, and cooking. He resides in Patterson Park with his cat named Charlie and likes to give back to the community by supporting local charities, including Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelters (BARCS) and the Baltimore Community Clean Up program.
Susan Mullin
Vice President, Operations
Susan is not only a maven of math and savvy with technology – she’s also a master of all things operational. As Vice President of Operations, Sue deftly oversees finance, human resources, analytics and systems for TorchLight Hire and TorchLight Marketing.
Susan started her career in the actuarial practice of Willis Towers Watson – Boston, designing and valuing retirement plan alternatives for large companies and non-profits. At the Arlington office of Towers Watson, she focused on benefit pension plan administration before heading to Atlantic Media Company, where she served as director of compensation and benefits. Susan holds a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics from Colgate University.
With a son to keep up with, “spare time” is a luxury in Susan’s world. However, that doesn’t stop her from dreaming of foreign travel — a passion that was ignited in college when she taught English abroad for two years in Japan and in the former Czechoslovakia.
Stephanie Ranno
Senior Vice President, Growth
As Vice President of Growth, Stephanie is dedicated to supporting marketing leaders and their work – either with team building, contract resources, or marketing services
Prior to joining TorchLight, Stephanie served as Managing Director of SHIFT Recruiting and Strategic Account Manager of Profiles. Stephanie holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and a minor in theatre production and performance from Lynchburg College.
Stephanie cares deeply about access to meaningful work for all who seek it. With three children, two of whom are neurodivergent, she wants a work world ready for them and their beautiful gifts and unique challenges.
A prolific spirit at heart, one of her creative outputs is her daily LinkedIn post where she shares insights from her many years in the staffing industry. Stephanie is also an accomplished community actor and familiar face to Baltimore residents, having appeared in around 70 musical and dramatic theatre performances over the years!
Julie Rutherford
Senior Marketing Director
Julie is always up for a challenge, whether launching innovative new marketing programs or moving overseas for a new job in 4 weeks! Julie has extensive experience in all facets of marketing on the consumer and B2B sides.
She worked for the interactive divisions of several large publishers including the Paris-based International Herald Tribune, Washington Post Digital, and News Corp. As TorchLight’s Senior Marketing Director, Julie can authentically connect with our clients and candidates using a variety of channels.
Julie has a B.A. in English Literature and French and an M.A. in English, all from the University of Virginia. In the evenings you can find Julie doing something she is passionate about – teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) and helping people achieve their goals. She lives in Charlottesville, VA with her husband, two boys and two poorly-behaved Frenchies.
Kim Trucano
Senior Manager, HR & Benefits
Kim strives to make the human resources experience a positive one for each job candidate and employee as she manages benefit and payroll activities for TorchLight Hire.
Kim started off in a different recruiting world, working in admissions for Georgetown University’s Master of Science in Foreign Service program before serving as the Admissions Director for American University’s School of International Service. While heading up the admissions department at Envision, a company that sponsors youth leadership development programs, Kim made the move to the human resources team, which launched a new career path. From there, she became the Benefits Manager at Atlantic Media, confirming how much she enjoyed working in the field of benefits.
Born and raised outside of Rochester, New York, where the winters are long and bitter, Kim thoroughly appreciates the brief, mild winters in the DC area. She also values living in a metropolitan area that has plenty of green space.
Kim holds a Bachelor of Arts in French literature and East Asian studies from Colgate University. In her free time, you can find Kim in the kitchen baking, spending time with her family, or trying to get her strong-willed French Bulldogs to walk around the block.
Amy Tsuchitani
Senior Account Director
Amy is able to connect with clients and candidates through their shared professional experiences. An accomplished marketer with 17 years of experience, Amy’s insider perspective on the marketing industry lends a unique, supporting element to the recruiting process.
Amy started her career as a marketing coordinator for two of the biggest names in the sports marketing business: IMG (International Management Group) and Octagon Athlete Representation. Later Amy became a regional marketing manager with Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA), where she managed the regional events and partnerships program.
Following MBUSA, Amy joined The Atlantic Media Company as a senior marketing manager. There she had the opportunity to work on custom event and marketing programs for premier clients like Pfizer, Booz Allen Hamilton and more.
Amy holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from James Madison University. She cares deeply about her community and is involved in pet adoption, food insecurity, and health and wellness.