About SharpOrange

With decades of experience and years of collaboration, Adam and the team at SharpOrange bring unique perspectives, skills, and strengths that deliver results. They all have a history of delivering strategic programs that solve business problems. The agency effectively serves as an extension of a client’s marketing or go-to-market team.

Bios

Adam Zand - Principal

Short bio
Adam Zand is the principal of SharpOrange, a PR and strategic marketing agency that helps clients ask and answer two questions: Who are you trying to reach?; and What do you want them to do? 

He is also the co-founder and past president of Library Land Project, a nonprofit that explores, documents and promotes public libraries. Zand has traveled extensively to visit public libraries, giving talks and webinars, and publishing articles and 1000s of photos. He continues to consult within, and advocate for, the library ecosystem. He is also a trustee of the Thayer Memorial Library in Lancaster, Mass. He “never walks alone” as the social media manager for LFC Boston, an Official Liverpool FC Supporters Club.

He has two master's degrees from Northeastern University, but the MBA is the one he talks about and relies on. Adam has loved the color orange since his undergrad days/daze at Syracuse University.

Email: adam @ sharporange.com

LinkedIn: /AdamZand

Twitter: @NoOneYouKnow & @LFCBoston

TL;DR bio
After “passing the bar” as a bartender at the late, great Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Boston, Adam parlayed his Master’s in Sport Management to a six-year long stint as the director of development and media relations at Northeastern University’s Center for the Study of Sport in Society. In 2000, he completed his MBA from D'Amore-McKim School of Business at NU.

After graduation, the exciting world of big agency tech public relations came calling - big place: Schwartz Communications. Then, during his six-year gig as account director at Topaz Partners, Adam dove head-first into account management, new business development, and the emerging world of social media.

In 2017 while launching PR and strategic marketing agency, SharpOrange, with former business partner Greg Peverill-Conti, the medium became the message in an unexpected way. Public libraries provided variety as a welcoming and supportive co-working space. What began as a brainstorming session in a study room at the Newton Free Library set the pair on a mission to explore, document, and promote the essential role of public libraries in our communities. They found energy and excitement in the transformative power of the access to resources that public libraries put at their citizens’ fingertips. More than 400 library visits later, the self-proclaimed traveling “Library Lads” embarked on a journey that led to the formation of a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Under the auspices of the Library Land Project, Adam traveled as far as Lisbon, Portugal to Vancouver, Washington to Savannah, Georgia and hundreds of stops in between (including Braddock, Pennsylvania for the original Carnegie-funded library to a recent stop in Sleepy Hollow, NY, and the grave site of Andrew Carnegie). 

In March 2023, Adam stepped down as president and board member of the Library Land Project to focus on his role as principal of SharpOrange. His guidance typically starts by asking clients two questions: who are you trying to reach?; and what do you want them to do? Adam works collaboratively with businesses to use insights culled from a spirit of curiosity and creativity to drive strategic communication campaigns that deliver measurable results.

Library activities have moved a little closer to home. Adam is a trustee of the Thayer Memorial Library in Lancaster, Mass., serving on the Building Committee that is engaged in a two-year feasibility study.

When not cheerleading for SharpOrange clients and public libraries, Adam “never walks alone” as the social media manager for LFC Boston, an Official Liverpool FC Supporters Club. This local connection to his sporting passion has more than 750 members and "countless" social media followers/friends. A send-off note that while all of the above is somewhat impressive, Adam’s greatest point of pride remains bringing up his son, Sawyer Zand, as a full-fledged Kopite, writer, deckhand, and good guy.

Greg Peverill-Conti - Executive Director, Library Land Project (and Co-Founder of SharpOrange)

During his five plus years as co-founder and principal at SharpOrange, Greg brought endless amounts of curiosity, creativity, enthusiasm, and good judgment to our client work. He provided proven strategic services, strong media relationships, excellent writing and communication skills, and sound counsel.

Following his time at SharpOrange (concluding in March 2023), he remains executive director of the Library Land Project, a nonprofit co-founded with Adam. Its educational mission is to explore, document, and promote the essential role libraries play in our communities.

Your Team

SharpOrange also has the bench strength to service and scale up to any campaign with a skilled network of digital marketers, writers, web developers, account staff, media specialists, and researchers.
In the coming weeks, we will share bios for highlighted members of the growing “bushel” of SharpOrange(s).

First up …

David Parmet

David Parmet has been working in PR since the dot com days of the late 1990s. He continues to work with technology-focused companies, helping them tell their stories and gain traction in their markets.

David specializes in B2B technologies like AI/ML, cloud computing, blockchain and crypto, and cybersecurity. He’s worked with global technology brands like IBM and Amazon, as well as startups and post-seed stage, venture-backed companies.

His efforts have secured coverage in publications like Engadget, Gizmodo, Forbes, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company and others. Even before they were on the radar screen at most PR agencies, David was securing coverage in technology blogs like Scobleizer and TechCrunch.

David graduated from Binghamton University with a B.A. in Political Science.

LinkedIn: /davidparmet

Let’s meet …

Jen Lee Reeves

“My success comes from years of working as a journalist and digital strategist. But what makes me different than most digital experts is I have experience launching my own nonprofit, Design With Us, and collaborating with major brands to make a big impact in the world. My career has flourished in part because of the passion and energy I give to my family and communities.

I am a former journalism professor who became the organizational social media trainer at AARP. I have trained and guided strategy from the C-Suite to the state volunteer. My work evolved into developing and training digital strategies for organizations of all sizes - from large nonprofits to universities to for-profit businesses.”

LinkedIn: /jenreeves

Partnerships

During COVID, we initiated a new effort that has served the agency very well.

Adam was on a networking call with a long-time friend (and agency owner), and we talked about a new model for delivering services and support to their clients. The agency was CHEN PR and we did the following: CHEN needed support on early morning news tracking, share of voice analysis, media list development, targeted pitching, and briefing sheets. Taking on these daily tasks allowed CHEN to focus their teams on higher-level strategy and execution. We loved it because it was an opportunity to help the agency and their clients. All good things come to an end … CHEN no longer exists (retirement of principals), but it led to similar relationships.

In early 2022, we became “team members” of an agency based in Atlanta: Carabiner. We’ve driven full PR and content programs for their clients including ARway, Nextech AR Solutions, Sixieme Son, and others through discreet campaigns (i.e. supporting a media relations campaign with a team member on leave). For those dedicated retainer clients, we expanded services and delivered lots of great content: e-mail campaigns, e-book writing/publishing, website copy (including this entire site relaunch for Montra), as well as some new business pitch support. This has been a solid partnership.

We will continue with this model. If you represent an agency or a small PR/marketing firm, please reach out. We play well with others … and look forward to making a difference for clients together.

Let’s meet, chat, and see what a collaboration could look like.

Let us know what services you’re looking for.