Archives: Team Members

Bowman Design is Catalyst Communications’ design partner.  Sarah Bowman creates unique and compelling corporate identities and results-driven marketing pieces for start-ups to Fortune 500 companies.  In addition to completing her B.F.A. in Graphic Design with honors, Sarah has received her Master’s Degree in Organizational Communication.

Experienced news anchor Wendy Erikson is our broadcast performance trainer and a producer on our video team.  Wendy has spent more than two decades in front of the camera, most recently as host of the magazine program Show Me St. Louis on St. Louis’ NBC affiliate, KSDK-TV.  Wendy helps our clients who are doing broadcast TV segments to promote their companies and products through one-on-one prep sessions where she helps them develop on-air performance skills and improve wardrobe and make-up.

Mistie Thompson is our Social Media Partner.  In her ten years at St. Louis-based reputation management firm Standing Partnership, Mistie provided strategic communications program development; video concepting, writing and directing; crisis communications counsel; professional writing services; and was one of the first at Standing to understand and develop social media communications strategy to clients from a variety of industries, including TWA/American Airlines, Ranken Jordan Pediatric Specialty Hospital, Monsanto, the St. Louis Economic Council, the Saint Louis Zoo, and the Charlottesville-Albemarle (Va.) Airport.  Mistie owns Sweet Tea Communications and her current clients include recyclable waste stream management company ecoVerus, consulting and engineering firm Faith Group LLC, and residential home builder Payne Family Homes. She also is a longtime active blogger at My Heart’s In Dixie and is the administrator for the fledgling Missouri Women Bloggers, part of The Women Bloggers network serving as the link between powerful bloggers and top regional brands in a number of Southern and Midwestern states.

Chris Cross is our Director of Photography.  With content generation often the key these days to successful marketing and PR campaigns, Catalyst expanded in 2014 to include video production and added Chris to our team.  Since that time Chris has produced beautiful still images and impactful video content for clients such as Wexford Science & Technology (developers of @4240 in St. Louis’ Cortex District), Payne Family Homes, Baby Lock Sewing Machines, and Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Select Properties.  Chris is a 20-year veteran of the television news business, having most recently worked as a videographer at St. Louis’ NBC affiliate KSDK.  He is an Emmy and National Press Photographers Association award winning videographer.  He also often sits in on our media training sessions, adding his perspective as a veteran TV news journalist.

Julia Bishop-Cross, President, had a ten-year career in television news before joining the airline PR industry in the late ‘90s, first at TWA and then American Airlines.  After six years in the airline business and before launching Catalyst, Julia represented a wide variety of clients as a vice president and team leader at a boutique PR firm specializing in lifestyle, luxury and culture.  There she led a team that developed and executed integrated marketing campaigns, grand openings, promotions and product launches for The Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center, The Container Store, Build-A-Bear Workshop, The Crescent in Clayton, Saint Louis Science Center, and the Saint Louis Zoo, among many others.  Julia is most proud of promoting the installation of the Animals Always sculpture at the Saint Louis Zoo, launching Build-A-Bear Workshop’s flagship store on New York City’s Fifth Avenue, promoting the most successful Container Store opening in the company’s history at that time, launching Dot Foods’ tenth distribution center in Dyersburg, Tennessee, and helping Wexford Science + Technology successfully launch and fully lease their first St. Louis development.  Julia’s core competencies are events and media relations, especially engaging TV media, as well as crisis communications and video production.