MNM Advertising & Public Relations Appoints Tanya Mannes Castaneda as Vice President, Public Relations

Castaneda was named 2018 CAPIO Communicator of the Year, served as Public Information Officer at the Port of San Diego and holds elite Accreditation in PR credential.

SAN DIEGO (January 14, 2019)  –  Manolatos Nelson Murphy, Inc. has announced the appointment of Tanya Mannes Castaneda as Vice President, Public Relations, as part of the firm’s strategic talent acquisition and commitment to enhance the service it provides to its growing portfolio of local, state and national clients.

​MNM Advertising & Public Relations was launched in 2016 by the principals of two San Diego firms with the vision of merging their respective public relations, public affairs, marketing and advertising capabilities. MNM is headed by Tony Manolatos, former principal of Apex Strategies, and Bob Nelson and Kelly Murphy Lamkin, former principals of BNA Communications.

MNM has been recognized as one of the leading public affairs firms in San Diego, with a distinguished portfolio of clients. It has been honored with top national awards for public relations and advertising programs and tactics from the Public Relations Society of America, International Association of Business Communicators and American Association of Political Consultants, including one for crisis communications and another for public affairs in 2018.

The addition of Castaneda’s position brings the number of full-time employees to nine, along with a diverse pool of contractors.

“Tanya builds on a strength of ours — public affairs PR. Few local firms compete with us in that space and Tanya makes us stronger. With her PR and newspaper experience, Tanya immediately makes us a better firm,” said Manolatos, who worked with Castaneda a decade ago when the two were reporters at the San Diego Union-Tribune. “We are excited about the opportunities this will create for her, for us, and, most importantly, for our clients.”

“The team at MNM is made up of dedicated career professionals who take pride in providing best-in-class services to our government, business, nonprofit, trade association and campaign clients,” said Murphy Lamkin. “We are very pleased Tanya will be joining us. She will help MNM further grow our capacity and strategic expertise and better serve our clients.”

​“We are laser-focused on meeting our clients’ needs and helping them solve problems and that’s why we only hire the best of the best,” Nelson said. “Tanya is recognized throughout San Diego and well beyond as a leader in her field, and we know that she will provide the level of strategic guidance and implementation that the government, business and nonprofit community has come to expect from MNM.”

Castaneda is a nationally recognized leader in public relations who was named California’s 2018 Communicator of the Year by CAPIO (California Association of Public Information Officials). She holds the Accreditation in Public Relations credential, recognized as the worldwide standard for progressive practices, leadership and ethics in the competitive public relations field.

Castaneda joins MNM after serving more than six years as the Public Information Officer for the Port of San Diego, where she represented the agency as chief spokesperson and managed its strategic communications program, including the award-winning public outreach campaign for the Port Master Plan Update. She formerly was a reporter for The San Diego Union-Tribune, among other publications.

“My greatest joy lies in serving others by using my gifts as a professional communicator. I feel that it’s my personal mission to build trust in the governments, nonprofits, businesses and other essential institutions that make a difference in our lives, every day,” Castaneda said. “The high caliber of the work and results achieved at MNM Advertising & Public Relations gives me confidence this is a great match, and I look forward to leveraging my experience to assist our clients in achieving their goals.”

To schedule an interview with Castaneda, please contact Chris Clark at [email protected] or 760.807.3316. Click here to read Castaneda’s bio.
Media contact: Chris Clark
[email protected] | 760.807.3316
 
About
MNM Advertising & Public Relations bridges the gap between clients and the people whose influence matter most. Because of our network and our public affairs experience, most of our clients intersect with government, the news media and the public. We are a full-service agency that provides strategic planning, media relations, crisis communications, community outreach and online, print and broadcast advertising. MNM is WBE and CPUC certified. In 2018, MNM received two top awards from PRSA San Diego – one for crisis communications and another for public affairs. Current clients include the San Diego Unified School District, Port of San Diego, California American Water, Seaport San Diego, Gafcon, the New Lilac Hills Ranch, San Diego County Apartment Association, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and many others.
Learn more at mnmadpr.com. ​