Sage Communications

Since 2020 the Sage team has primarily been working remotely and have found this to be both productive and successful. As a result, we have decided to close our office in Framingham, MA. Our eclectic remote settings provide plenty of creative inspiration for our work. And the antics of our four-legged coworkers keep us smiling.

©️ Damianos Photography.

Founding Sages

Anne Kottler

President,
Founding Partner

email-icon Contact by email

Anne has more than 30 years of experience in direct marketing, where her responsibilities have included various executive positions such as president, publisher, marketing director and creative consultant. She manages new business development and client relationships for the agency and keeps everything running smoothly.

Rachel Konieczny Kottler

Rachel Konieczny Kottler

Vice President

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Rachel (she/her/hers) is an award-winning direct marketing professional who has spent a decade specializing in direct response fundraising for nonprofits and advocacy organizations. Before joining Sage Communications, Rachel developed and managed the entire digital division at her prior agency. At Sage, she oversees campaigns for key accounts and works on new business development.

Josef Kottler Head Shot

Josef Kottler

Founding Partner

email-icon Contact by email

Josef founded Sage Communications in 1978 to meet the creative needs of the natural foods industry and nonprofits. After 12 years as associate publisher of a leading social change magazine, he reopened the agency in 1998 to produce winning creative for the financial, publishing and nonprofit sectors. Having written hundreds of successful DM campaigns, he’s considered a leading expert on direct response marketing.

Creative Sages

Joe Schovitz

Joe Schovitz

Associate Creative Director

Joe has close to four decades of creative direct-response experience, collaborating with a wide variety of national accounts. Implementing and overseeing projects, he now brings his results-oriented creativity to Sage’s nonprofit sector.

Natalie Welburn

Natalie Welburn

Senior Art Director

Fueled by coffee and sometimes chocolate, Natalie is a virtuoso of visual communications with over 25 years of vast design experience, from identity and branding to collateral and direct response. Having logged 15 years and counting at Sage, she holds the record for seniority. Natalie is passionate about all things creative, from type design to cake design.

Rachel Pearson Lord

Rachel Pearson Lord

Senior Art Director

With 20 years of B2B and B2C marketing design experience, Rachel is both creative and strategic. As a results-driven designer, she has been using her talents to help Sage clients achieve their business goals for over 6 years. Her prior experience includes creating successful print and digital direct response at in-house agencies for BJ’s Wholesale Club, Vistaprint and ARAMARK.

Mark Quattrocchi

Mark Quattrocchi

Senior Art Director

Mark is an accomplished Senior Art Director with almost three decades of experience in corporate branding and marketing communications. He combines extensive client-side expertise with in-depth agency know-how to conceive and execute top-level strategic marketing materials for our corporate clients.

Lisa Kolgraf

Jennifer Baldwin

Senior Graphic Designer
Lisa Kolgraf

Tim Blacklock

Digital Production Manager

With 20 years of print and digital design and production expertise, Tim manages all of Sage’s HTML programming and testing, primarily for email and landing pages. Outside of work, he enjoys time with family, video gaming and karaoke. And, as a distant relative of the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz, he’s a tiny bit famous.

 

Sage logo icon

Derrick Alderman

Production Artist

Derrick cut his teeth working on the presses at Quad Graphics and moved into print production shortly thereafter. He has mastered working with design software and is Sage’s “photoshop whiz.” Derrick has worked with a variety of large and small clients, creating and overseeing diverse projects from large-scale booth signage to direct mail to executive presentations.

Cecile Kaufman

Paolo Chiaravalli

Programming Guru

After 25 years in the U.S. and spelling his first and last name, Paolo often wonders if he should change his name to Paul Clearvalley.

Lisa Kolgraf

Sandy Gonsalves

Senior Copy Director

Sandy has been a lead copywriter at Sage for American Express and major nonprofits for over 5 years. She is a seasoned marketer and writer with a forte in direct response. Her unique combination of creative and strategic skills is the driving force behind many of Sage’s winning campaigns.

Sage logo icon

Gina Gallagher

Senior Copywriter

Gina is an award-winning, versatile writer with more than two decades’ experience developing communications for leading financial services firms. Blending her strategic thinking and creativity, she delivers compelling copy that inspires action — and bottom-line results.

Lisa Kolgraf

Lori H

Senior Copywriter

Lori began her career as a copywriter in 1996. Since then, she has worked both on-staff and as a freelancer for agencies both large and small, major enterprises, corporations and other clients in the worlds of advertising, news and online media properties. Her specialties including delivering on-brand, on-strategy, on-time copy and knowing the right questions to ask. When she’s not writing for clients, she is either working on her next piece of science fiction, listening to music or at the nearest beach.

Irena Bosworth

Maggie Rush Vinciguerra

Senior Writer

Maggie brings over 20 years of professional writing expertise to Sage. With extensive experience on the client side in financial services, she has worked with major firms like UBS and BNY Pershing. Maggie excels in crafting clear, compelling communications tailored to both internal and external audiences.

Irena Bosworth

Steven Yenzer

Senior Copywriter

Steven is a digital and direct mail copywriter with over ten years of experience and a focus on nonprofit fundraising. He has written for some of the largest nonprofits in the world, including the Humane Society of the United States, Feeding America, and City of Hope, as well as Democratic and progress causes like Biden for President and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Irena Bosworth

Irena Bosworth

Project Manager/Account Director

Irena Bosworth brings over 20 years of marketing experience across multiple verticals. She has spent her career both on the client and agency side with a birds-eye focus on relationship management and customer experience. A proven, accountable leader, Irena is results-driven who fosters strong partnerships with each engagement.

Supporting Sages

Randi Swartz photo

Randi Swartz

Proofreader

Randi has many years of experience in editing, proofreading, print production, purchasing and project management. In her last position at an event production and B2B company, she managed the printing and distribution of magazines, newsletters, books, collateral, marketing, and on-site materials, and gave the final approval on all marketing emails.

Randi Swartz photo

Diane Giombetti Clue

Proofreader

Diane Giombetti Clue is a seasoned marketing communications professional, with more than 30 years of success as a copywriter, editor, and proofreader. Her background includes significant experience in the insurance, investment, and high-tech fields, as well as the college textbook and English as a second language (ESL) publishing markets. In addition to wielding her red pen, Diane is a published author.

Randi Swartz photo

Mike Trotman

Proofreader
Lisa Kolgraf

Lauren Willis

Content Director & Producer,
Intercultural Productions
interculturalproductions.com

Lisa Kolgraf

Fan Stanbrough

Web Designer/SEO expert
Website Partner
bbdsdesign.com

Lisa Kolgraf

Drita Protopapa, MA, MPH

President & CEO,
MAPA Translation & Voice Over, Inc.
mapatranslation.com

Four-Legged Sages

At Sage, we not only talk the talk, we also walk the walk. And enjoy doing so with our four-legged Sages, who are all rescue dogs.

Jilly

Jr. V.P., Leads and Follow-ups

Reggie

Director of Tail Wagging

Jeti

Sr. V.P., Sniffing & Retrieving
(In Memoriam)