Frank O’Brien, President
Frank O’Brien is the president and founder of O’Brien Garrett. He is widely acknowledged as one of the leading strategists in the progressive community and has pioneered a strength-on-strength style of consulting in which O’Brien Garrett’s top-notch talent collaborates with the strong internal teams of the firm’s clients.
Frank and the O’Brien Garrett team serve as trusted advisors to some of America’s leading non-profits including the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, Doctors Without Borders, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Oxfam America, the NAACP, and the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Frank’s work with O’Brien Garrett’s clients focuses on message development, case for engagement, and the execution of the strongest possible creative work. His advice to our clients and their management teams frequently extends far beyond direct response concerns into broader organizational positioning and presentation issues. When he’s not shaping messages for progressive groups, Frank keeps himself in shape as an avid runner and cyclist – not to mention his newly-acquired drawing skills.
Yvonne Garrett, CEO
Yvonne works with the leadership of O’Brien Garrett’s clients to ensure that their organizational positioning and strategy are reflected in their fundraising program. Yvonne is also one of the most experienced and respected researchers in the nonprofit community and leads O’Brien Garrett’s donor research division, conducting thousands of interviews with grassroots donors each year.
An expert in innovation and strategic program design, Yvonne began her career in fundraising working on Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign and later was Vice-President of the Share Group, where she helped organizations like Greenpeace expand face-to-face fundraising in the U.S. market, guided the Human Rights Campaign in launching its first email advocacy efforts and broke records for Democratic telemarketing. Today she helps O’Brien Garrett clients like Planned Parenthood, NRDC and Doctors Without Borders/MSF continue to innovate and grow in an increasingly complex and competitive market. Yvonne calls both DC and New Orleans home, and when not with donors or clients can be found at Jazz Fest or walking her Great Dane through Louis Armstrong Park.
Charvonne Hill, Director of People and Culture
When Charvonne joined O’Brien Garrett in December 2006 she already had more than 14 years of diverse human resource and management experience. Her expertise in defining and implementing training, recruiting strategies, employee engagement, compliance, workers compensation, benefits and more keep O’Brien Garrett moving and our teams in both the DC and New Orleans office smiling. Charvonne – or Chevy– likes to travel and work out, and hates wearing heels.
Mary O’Neill, Chief Operating Officer
Mary O’Neill joined O’Brien Garrett in 2018 after two decades of working to build strong and effective organizations focused on social change. She developed an expertise in operations and project management while serving in leadership positions at a variety of associations, foundations and advocacy groups. Mary earned a master’s degree in public and international affairs and a certificate in nonprofit management from the University of Pittsburgh, and a bachelor’s degree in international studies and Spanish from Bradley University. Originally from Chicago, she now lives in Washington and spends her sadly limited free time coaching her kids sports teams, cheering for the Nats, traveling the globe, and dreaming about future adventures.
Sylvia Taylor, VP of Client Services
Sylvia joined O’Brien Garrett in early 2022. She brought with her a unique mix of skills in marketing, direct marketing, direct mail production, client relations, and team building. Today she oversees our team of Account Directors who are the day-to-day leaders working directly with our clients. Sylvia previously served as the President of the Baltimore Chapter of the American Marketing Association and as a board member for DMAW (the Direct Marketing Association of Washington). Sylvia holds a bachelor’s degree in English from McDaniel College, and a master’s degree in marketing from Johns Hopkins University. In her spare time, you will find her outdoors – running, hiking, horseback riding and raising and training her beloved American Eskimo dogs.
Teresa Weaver, VP of Client Strategy
Teresa has been at O’Brien Garrett for 18 years. Her expertise in data and analytics has helped clients like Planned Parenthood and NRDC achieve incredible levels of success in direct marketing. Today she helps lead the client side of O’Brien Garrett’s analytics team, driving both regular and special problem solving analysis for our clients. Prior to joining O’Brien Garrett, Teresa worked at both Production Solutions and Stephen Winchell Associates, where she learned the art of direct mail. When she’s not pouring over numbers, Teresa enjoys spending time with her family and their Pug dog under the watchful eye of their two cats.