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.

In 2012, Cristina worked as the campaign manager and political consultant for the re-election of Elizabeth Mayor Chris Bollwage and the City Council, helping them win by a 3:1 margin. During that same election cycle, she served as the Latino outreach director in Union County for the NJ Democratic State Committee.

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.  

Fran Sullivan

Fran Sullivan serves as a senior account executive for Stateside Affairs. Fran is responsible for overseeing and managing all facets of the company’s marketing campaigns. As a seasoned writer and editor, she is known for writing top-notch press releases, marketing plans and statements that are often picked up by NJBiz, The Star-Ledger, ROI-NJ, Insider NJ, News 12, Asbury Park Press, WNBC, CBS, Fox News, as well as many others.

An experienced publicist and journalist, Fran has worked as a magazine and news editor and reporter, as well as a publicist. She knows how to tell her clients’ stories in ways to garner maximum media attention. As the first editor of TAPinto Elizabeth, she covered all the events from government news to community happenings for the state’s fourth largest, developing a respected reputation with the city’s leaders. She has served as a publicist for the College of Saint Elizabeth where she successfully the college’s programs and events. For 13 years, she served as a publicist with Elizabethtown Gas where she won the national American Gas Association award for communication excellence. As a managing editor, she managed Marine Engineering Log, an international trade publication.

Fran holds a Master of Arts in journalism from New York University and a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature. She also has a mini MBA in Digital Marketing from Rutgers University and a degree in English Literature, Minor in Theatre and Economics from Kean College.

Fran believes strongly in giving back to the community and was honored in 2018 as Volunteer of the Year by Josephine’s Place in Elizabeth, where for several years she has been teaching Spanish-speaking women how to write and speak in English.

Laura Gaviria

Laura Gaviria brings her expertise in social and digital media and web design to her position as digital marketing manager. She handles all our clients marketing and communications across the wide spectrum of social media platforms. In addition, Laura has played an instrumental role in event planning and execution. She has successfully managed events and press conferences for a varied group of clients that includes the Elizabeth Coalition to House the Homeless, Newark Housing Authority Scholarship Foundation, Emerge NJ, and many others.

She is a graduate of Kean University from which she earned a bachelor's degree in psychology cum laude. Laura is bilingual and is currently learning American Sign Language as well. In her spare time, she volunteers with United Way of Greater Union County, Make the Road New Jersey and the Elizabeth Coalition to House the Homeless. She also tutors kids of various ages in subjects such as Math, English, and Spanish.

Chris DeCotiis

LisaMarie Gaeta

Lisa 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. Lisa 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.

Lisa 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.

Skylyr VanDerveer

Skylyr is joining us for an internship as she completes her BA in communications at Nova Southeastern University. She has experience with design, photography, and videography, and is interested to learn more about social media marketing, branding, website development, livestreaming, and working with clients. One of the videos she created as part of her coursework is a documentary of the struggles her family and others are still facing as a result of Hurricane Sandy, called Far From Over: Hurricane Sandy.