Meet Stateside

Cristina Pinzon

Cristina Pinzon is the president and founder of Stateside Affairs. She brings more than 15 years of media and government experience, having worked for several high-profile organizations including the State of New Jersey, NBC, News 12 and United Way.

Cristina has championed a diverse array of issues using creative marketing solutions, strategic thinking, and effective problem-solving skills. Based on her prior experience as a journalist and a government official, Cristina is uniquely positioned in both public-private sectors, bringing added value to her work. In addition to her professional career, Cristina has held various senior positions for political campaigns across the State of New Jersey, several of which won by historical margins.

Most recently, Cristina’s firm has been recognized for its work with the Phil Murphy for Governor campaign, the State Democratic Committee, the City of Elizabeth, the State of New York, and the Orange Housing Authority. Cristina used her strong ties to the Latino community to help propel Murphy into the governorship. During Murphy’s successful campaign for governor, Cristina managed and oversaw Spanish language media strategy, including the campaign’s media buy for digital, radio, TV and print platforms. As a result, a historic number of Latinos turned out to vote.

Cristina is a former commissioner and chairperson for the Elizabeth Housing Authority, where she worked to ensure low-and middle-income families have quality and safe affordable housing. She is also a former board member and advocacy chair for the Young Women's Christian Association of Union County (YWCA-UC), an internationally known non-profit domestic violence agency which provides emergency shelter to women and children who are victims of abuse.

In 2017, Cristina was recognized by Univision 41 and named Insider NJ’s Top 100 Millennials. She is also an alumna of Emerge New Jersey, a premiere political training organization for Democratic women in the state. Currently, Cristina serves as an executive board member and public relations secretary for the Latinas United for Political Empowerment (LUPE-PAC), a non-partisan political action committee whose mission is to increase the number of Latinas in elected and appointed office.

In 2018, Cristina was recognized by Make the Road New Jersey’s as a Comunidad, Dignidad & Poder leader in immigration advocacy. She also recently received an award by the Boy Scouts of America at their 2019 Tribute to Women’s Award.

In 2019, Cristina was honored to join the executive board of the Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. The chamber is the voice of the more than 120,000 Latino businesses that contribute more than $20 billion to the New Jersey economy. It is also ranked as the number one chamber in State of New Jersey by NJBiz.

Cristina holds a bachelor’s degree with honors in broadcast journalism with a concentration in political science from Montclair State University. She is certified from Rutgers State University in Public Housing Section 8 Management and Assessment, Tenant Based Assistance, Financial Issues and Procedures, and Ethics.

Sean Coll

Dr. Sean Coll brings his business acumen, and exemplary work ethics to his role as Chief Operating Officer. As COO, Sean’s goal is to ensure that Stateside Affairs continues to function efficiently to drive extensive and sustainable growth, setting goals for performance and expansion, and establishing policies that promote Stateside Affairs’ overall mission. He is responsible for designing and implementing business strategies, plans, and procedures. He takes a leading role in expansion activities such investments, acquisitions, and corporate alliances and evaluates the success of those initiatives by analyzing and interpreting data and metrics. As second-in-command at Stateside Affairs, Sean encourages staff members toward maximum performance and dedication. As an officer of the firm, Sean plans, develops, and implements Stateside Affairs’ fiscal performance. He evaluates the impact of long-range planning and introduces new programs and strategies. He is responsible for preparing monthly budgets as well as providing an accurate analysis of those costs. Dr. Coll is a double Rutgers graduate, holding a bachelor’s degree in exercise science with minor in history and a doctorate in physical therapy.  

Laura Gaviria

Laura Gaviria brings her expertise in social and digital media, web design, and event planning to her position as general manager of the firm. She oversees the company's marketing and communications, in addition to her work managing political and advocacy campaigns directed by Stateside Affairs. Laura has successfully managed events and press conferences for a diverse group of clients that include the Elizabeth Coalition to House the Homeless, the Newark Housing Authority Scholarship Foundation, Latina Civic PAC, Emerge New Jersey, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA AFL-CIO), among many others. 

In 2022, Laura and her team earned the Gold Stevie® Award in the Social Media Team of the Year category. Stateside Affairs was the only U.S. company to be named a Finalist in the Social Media Team of the Year category, ultimately winning the Gold Stevie® award. Laura also is bilingual and offers translation and spokesperson services in English and Spanish to our wide variety of clients.

She holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from Kean University and graduated with cum laude honors. In her spare time, she has volunteered with United Way of Greater Union County, Make the Road New Jersey and the Elizabeth Coalition to House the Homeless. She has also tutored kids of various ages in subjects such as Math, English, and Spanish.

Outside of the office, you can find Laura spending time outdoors hiking with her family. She also loves exploring the latest podcasts that cover lifestyle, self-care, and culture!

LisaMarie Gaeta

LisaMarie is our Social Media and Public Relations Manager at Stateside Affairs. With a decade of marketing experience, she is passionate about social media marketing and has a strong background in managing social media across numerous industries. She strives to provide a quality experience over just quantity; her clients haven't only gained more followers, but have even been afforded direct ROI. LisaMarie also plays a role as one of Stateside Affairs’ producers for its clients’ livestream and pre-recorded programs that include COVID-19 updates. She is also responsible for coordinating the guests and the branding of each program.

In 2022, LisaMarie and her team earned the Gold Stevie® Award in the Social Media Team of the Year category in the international, 19th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business. Stateside Affairs was the only U.S. company to be named a Finalist in the Social Media Team of the Year category, ultimately winning the Gold Stevie® award. LisaMarie was also awarded the Bronze Stevie® Award in the Female Employee of the Year - Business category. She was the sole Finalist and award winner representing a New Jersey company in this category.

LisaMarie graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in Advertising and Public Relations from Rochester Institute of Technology and studied abroad in an Italian immersion program in Italy. She also minored in Italian language and web design and development. Some things she enjoys are arts and crafts, kayaking, and spending time with family and friends.

Manuela Gaviria

Manuela recently graduated from Kean University with Magna Cum Laude Honors, as well as EOF Honors. She obtained a bachelor’s degree in Business Management with a minor in marketing. She is bringing the knowledge she gained from her marketing classes to her position as a Digital Communications Associate at Stateside Affairs. She handles our clients' communication needs across a wide spectrum of social media and email marketing platforms. She is bilingual in English and Spanish and uses that to help our clients reach a wider demographic whether in writing or translating for clients or guests at events.

Casey Abline

Casey is our Public Relations and Digital Media Coordinator at Stateside Affairs. Her broad range of content creation abilities and specialized copywriting and media monitoring skills enable her to handle a wide range of her clients' marketing and communication needs. Casey has been instrumental at Stateside Affairs, helping her clients establish a digital media strategy to maximize their exposure. Casey graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Kean University where her coursework focused on Internet Marketing, Advertising Communications, and Consumer Behavior. She has achieved success in the public relations and communications field thanks to her studies. Outside of the office, you can find Casey reading or spending time with her dachshund Dennis.

Sofia Williams

Sofia is joining us for an internship as she completes her BA in communications & culture and minor in marketing at Fordham University. She has experience as a social media ambassador and leverages her 160,000 TikTok followers and 8,000 Instagram followers to promote major beauty and lifestyle brands.

Sofia is interested to gain more experience with public relations in government and political sectors. She looks forward to working with social justice causes, informing audiences and inspiring them to learn more about the world.

Kelly Perez

Kelly has joined Stateside Affairs as an intern this summer. She is currently double majoring in Public Health and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at The College of New Jersey.

Kelly is an active social justice advocate on her campus. As a Bonner Scholar and AmeriCorps member, she supports the Hispanic community at the Family Resource Center (El Centro) in Trenton by assisting them in obtaining their high school equivalency diploma. She aspires to work on policy and media initiatives to improve health outcomes and access to education for Latinos. Kelly is excited to employ her knowledge and skills in her dedicated efforts to work on projects she is passionate about at Stateside Affairs.