About Us: MCS Team

Barbara Maynard, President

Barbara founded MCS in 1996, after serving as Director of Budget and Finance for L.A. County Supervisor Gloria Molina.  Often called on for her quantitative skills, knowledge of government budgets, municipal finance, and public policy, she has established herself as the “go to guru” among organized labor and affiliated political campaigns in Los Angeles. In addition, Barbara’s expertise in crisis management and media relations has been a cornerstone of her work in advising elected officials and some of the largest and most prominent progressive campaigns in California. She has a keen ability to translate complex policy jargon into easy to digest, politically persuasive - and when called for, agitational – media sound bites. Barbara understands the pressures and interests that guide people in positions of power, and uses that knowledge to create and promote winnable campaigns. Barbara is Executive Director of the LA-based Horizon Institute (horizon-institute.com), a new progressive economic think tank, and Vice President of the Miguel Contreras Foundation.

Barbara also directed the 48-day Bakersfield-to-Sacramento “March for California’s Future” in the spring of 2010, which was led by the California Federation of Teachers (CFT) and other unions and leaders in labor, faith, education and business circles. The march drew broad attention across the state to the need for our Legislature to support and restore public services vital to maintaining residents’ quality of life: our schools, parks, libraries, safety net services, infrastructure and more – and for a fair and democratic “majority” budget vote.

Julianna Arnold, Project Associate

Julianna Arnold is an accomplished multi-lingual marketing and communications professional with a uniquely diverse background spanning the private and public sectors in both U.S. and international arenas. For over 15 years, Julianna has worked with government agencies, municipal and local governments, non-profits and private companies – including the United States Agency for International Development, various UN agencies, and large international development firms – designing strategic marketing and communications programs that address some of the most pressing economic, social, and environmental issues in the developing world.
 
Having spent the lion’s share of her career in Washington DC and abroad, Julianna returned to Los Angeles in 2008 to run marketing and communications for The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, where she spearheaded the company’s rebranding efforts. Eager to return to the world of public interest, in 2010 Julianna joined forces with Maynard Consulting Services to head up the branding, marketing, and social media campaign for the March for California’s Future. She continues to work with both DC- and LA-based organizations providing strategic consulting services in marketing, communications, and business development.
 
Julianna is a native of Los Angeles and has a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the Monterey Institute of International Relations, a Graduate School of Middlebury College.

Victor Hugo Cuevas, Project Associate

Victor, a trained Urban Planner, serves as a bilingual Communications Specialist for the “Clean and Safe Ports” campaign at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. He provides assistance to the campaign in the areas of media outreach, social media, and public messaging. He brings in-depth political campaign and pubic policy knowledge from previously working in the CA State Assembly and serving as an LA City Commissioner.

Marc Grossman, Writer

Marc is a veteran of social justice, labor, and farm workers’ campaigns, who served as Cesar Chavez’s personal aide and press secretary. He was a also a speechwriter for the late Miguel Contreras, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the LA County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, and continues to write for Contreras’ widow and successor, Maria Elena Durazo. He creates strategic communications and marketing content for MCS clients on a freelance basis.

Nate Cowen, Graphic Designer

Nate is a talented in-house graphic designer who creates a wide variety of reports, newsletters, flyers, pamphlets and brochures for MCS clients. He also serves as MCS’ webmaster. Nate brings with him seven years of marketing and design experience working for large academic institutions, including the University of Michigan, UC San Diego and Notre Dame. 

Melissa Arrigoni, Logistics Coordinator

Melissa organizes logistics and community outreach for large-scale public actions and events as well as collateral materials and advertisements. Among her recent credits are the L.A. County Federation of Labor’s ambitious “Hollywood to the Docks” march and rallies, and the biggest union related public action in recent years, the 2010 March for California’s Future. Melissa is a proud member of OPEIU Local 537.

Elaine Medway, Accountant, Office Manager

Elaine is responsible for the management of all finances at MCS, and works closely with MCS vendors to coordinate invoicing, and payments. She also serves as a bookkeeper for a number of clients with which MCS is affiliated. Elaine also ensures that MCS operates smoothly and helps to coordinate office staffing. Elaine is a proud member of OPEIU Local 537.

New Media Team

MCS works closely with a number of experts in new social media to produce tailor-made videos, viral marketing, and web-based advocacy campaigns for clients.