Christine Stineman

Christine Stineman has fifteen years experience working on grassroots mobilization, public affairs and public relations strategy and execution. She is a founder of Tribe Effect LLC, a public affairs, public relations, social media and online strategy consulting firm maximizing social media tools, building online movements and social networks for issue advocacy, marketing brands and products, membership growth and overall online brand development. Christine serves and as the Social Media Director and Social Network Manager for the Pickens Plan and is responsible for developing the organization plan, building and managing a national grassroots team to promote American energy independence in all 50 states and U.S. Territories via the Pickens Plan social network and social media presence. Christine also managed a traditional public affairs team that was responsible for organizing on-the-ground activities on behalf of the Pickens Plan in key targeted states.

Before her work with Tribe Effect, Christine co-founded a successful public relations and public affairs agency where she served as Chief Operating Officer managing a 14-member team and directed a number of accounts including the Bill Gates Foundation initiative, ‘Strong American Schools', the American Medical Association ‘Voice for the Uninsured' multi-state campaign, Walmart public relations, and a number of other campaigns in the automotive, pharmaceutical, energy, technology and telecommunications industries. The firm served as agency of record for Walmart and Ford Motor Companies in the Midwest.

Christine also led the Iowa effort for The ONE Campaign's ‘ONE Vote '08' effort. Iowa was one of only a handful of early states where ONE Vote '08 developed a full scale campaign. Christine hired and managed a campaign staff of 10 and developed and implemented the Iowa caucus strategy. The ONE Vote '08 campaign received The Center for Global Development and Foreign Policy magazine “2008 Commitment to Development Ideas in Action Award”. Christine has managed public affairs campaigns in 25 states from coast to coast and U.S. Territories and has led a number of regional and national campaigns. For the 7 years prior Christine owned and operated a grassroots issue advocacy consultancy where she implemented field programs for fortune 500 companies, national public affairs firms and public relations firms, and large trade associations in several states. She also managed regional and national public affairs field teams for several issue advocacy campaigns.

Christine is a member of the Des Moines AM Rotary where she serves on the Public Relations Committee, Greater Des Moines Partnership, West Des Moines Chamber of Commerce, and Young Variety Club. She also volunteers her time to Autism Speaks, the Hy-Vee Triathlon Charity Event, as a Rescue Angel for the autism organization Generation Rescue and volunteers at her church and children's schools. She resides with her husband and two children in West Des Moines, Iowa.

Dani Lanz

Dani Lanz has 15 years experience in the industry with extensive background in marketing, public relations, non-profit development and public affairs organization. Dani is also fluent in German and Spanish which she utilized with her involvement in several Southern and Western states including Arizona, California, New Mexico, Hawaii, Utah and Nevada as well as in Costa Rica and the U.S. Territories - Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa and Puerto Rico. Dani serves as Director of Online Communities for Tribe Effect and on behalf of the Pickens Plan she directs implementation of a plan that covers both online and offline activities such as earned media, maintaining a current blog, state and district volunteer leadership recruitment and management, elected official communications within the online community in more than 70 Congressional Districts in 6 states and U.S. Territories.

Prior to joining Tribe Effect Dani owned a consulting firm providing services in marketing, public affairs, public relations and non-profit development and organization to a number of notable organizations including the Costa Rican Ministry of Health Department, Helping Hands, Huerfanos de Escazu and Recuperemos La Paz. Dani developed and helped implement successful initiatives for clients including: a public relations campaign to influence government changes to strengthen laws, support police and develop anti-crime programs; development of a public awareness and community relations campaign to raise awareness and funds; developed and coordinated comprehensive charitable events including earned media and fundraising events; crafted and implemented a streamlined medical aid assessment, distribution and follow-up plan.

Before venturing out on her own, Dani held the post of Marketing Director for Younger Marketing in Arizona where she developed and led client accounts and oversight of a team of Account Executives. Prior to that, she was Account Executive for Lavidge Heigel Advertising & Public Relations in Arizona as well as Account Executive for Peck Sims Mueller Inc in Hawaii. In her roles with these agencies Dani created and launched several successful marketing and public relations campaigns from top to bottom. The campaigns included market and consumer research, data interpretation and analysis and implementation of direct mail, marketing, earned media, public relations plans within set client timelines and budgets.

Dani has returned to the United States from Costa Rica and volunteers in a number of organizations. Among them she enjoys participation with her daughter in National Charity League/Phoenix Chapter. St. Mary's Food Bank is their class charity. She has also been an active volunteer for Christ Church Lutheran's community outreach ministry, Brighton Gardens Senior Living and United Methodist Outreach Ministry. Dani currently resides in Phoenix, Arizona with her two children.

Strategic Partner

Heather Lauer

Heather Lauer has an extensive background in issue advocacy and grassroots organization. Since July 2008, she has been responsible for overseeing the online strategy of the Pickens Plan, a campaign to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil through the use of alternative energy. The Pickens Plan has been widely recognized for its groundbreaking use of social media tools to organize and activate 1.5 million supporters.

Previously, Heather was a Partner at DCI Group LLC, a strategic public affairs and global issues management firm based in Washington, DC. During her 12 years with DCI, Heather worked on a variety of domestic and international issue campaigns for trade associations and Fortune 50 companies in the areas of telecommunications, energy, technology, health care, and homeland security. While at DCI, she was also the Publisher of TCSDaily.com, an online journal of public policy news, commentary and analysis focused on free-market issues in the United States and Europe.

Heather has worked on several political campaigns at the national and state levels. In 2004, she directed the political floor operation at the Republican National Convention. She also managed voter contact programs for New York Governor George Pataki's successful re-election campaign in 2002. Her first campaign experience was working in the War Room of Bob Dole's presidential campaign in 1996. Heather holds a Bachelor of Science degree in International Business Administration from Georgetown University. In June 2005, Heather Lauer launched the blog, BaconUnwrapped.com, a website dedicated to “The Best Meat Ever” – bacon. In May 2009, she published a book called Bacon: A Love Story (HarperCollins, May 2009).