Our Team

Michelle LeBlanc is the Founder of Blue Sky Marketing. A marketing strategist, Michelle guides her client companies through the vast array of marketing tools and choices to craft winning sales and marketing strategies that achieve their business goals.

Michelle has over 20 years of experience in marketing, both in business-to-business and business-to-consumer marketing. Her breadth of industry experience includes industrial, technology, retail, and healthcare among many others. Michelle continually looks for connectivity across industries and technologies that can be leveraged for marketing programs.

With a marketing degree from the University of New Orleans and MBA from Tulane, Michelle brings to her clients a strong focus on strategic marketing.

Michelle has served in several capacities across multiple professional organizations including the Boards of American Marketing Association, Houston Advertising Federation and Urban Land Institute Houston. Michelle is currently Immediate Past President of the American Marketing Association‘s Houston Chapter and serves on the Management Committee for Urban Land Institute Houston as Communications Chair.

Kate Nilsen is a Digital Marketing Strategist & Social Media Advertising Director at Blue Sky Marketing. On any given day, Kate is overseeing social ad campaigns, preparing lead nurturing automation campaigns, managing projects to deliver new functionality to websites, planning online and offline media buys, or otherwise supporting clients who have more to do than they can handle.

In her career, she has managed marketing efforts for various consumer and B2B products and services as well as non-profit organizations, such as Buc-ee’s, Sugar Land Wine & Food Affair, Johnson Development, Hotel Derek, PupSquad and BBVA Compass, to name a few.

Kate is a native of the New Orleans area, attended LSU in Baton Rouge, and spent two years living in Spain during college. She is a board member of the American Advertising Federation Houston chapter, co-charing the Education Team overseeing the annual Student Advertising Competition & Conference. She’s presented on social media marketing and marketing strategy at the Houston Chapter of the American Marketing Association, Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce, San Jacinto College, UH American Marketing Association, and Houston Bloggers.

As part of both the account and creative teams, Sara Barbieri is a Creative Strategist & Senior Brand Director at Blue Sky Marketing and very much a Swiss Army knife. She brings creativity, innovation, and passion to any project while she builds great relationships with clients. She is a passionate leader as well as an outstanding team player. 

In her career, she has worked with a variety of clients, from small and medium-sized businesses to multinational corporations to non-profits in a variety of industries, including tourism, IT, real estate, aviation, food and hospitality, retail and consumer goods. She has overseen projects involving marketing communications, media relations, and international events.

Sara was born and raised in Italy, in the Milan area. She received her MA in Languages and International Management from the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan Campus. In true fashion for an Italian, she likes good food, wine and cooking.

Yvonne Browning is an Accounting and Marketing Support Specialist at Blue Sky Marketing. She enjoys crunching numbers, keeping budgets in tip-top shape and lending a helping hand with campaign implementation and reporting, among many other marketing efforts.

Yvonne graduated from LSU with a degree in Marketing. While interested in this field, she also became intrigued with accounting, leading her to a career at an engineering firm. At Blue Sky, she is now able to fully exercise both of her professional interests.

Born, raised and currently living in New Orleans, she loves visiting Houston to collaborate with her team members. Outside of work she enjoys spending time with her two daughters and volunteers for programs that instill confidence and leadership skills in young girls, including the Girl Scouts of Southeast Louisiana.

Mandy Brake is an SEO and Google Analytics 4/Google Tag Manager Specialist at Blue Sky Marketing. With a background in tech and extensive experience in digital marketing, she is results and data-driven. Mandy excels at helping clients establish and continually grow their digital presence.

Mandy received her B.S. from Northwestern University in Electrical Engineering and her Masters in Electrical Engineering from Rice University before working as an engineer at Texas Instruments. Later, she was responsible for the digital marketing that made her family business successful, and co-founded a worldwide educational tech startup acquiring 30,000 website users in over 200 countries. An expert in full-stack web development, Mandy has extensive experience in coding and design, as well as PPC, email marketing and SEO strategy. If it’s possible on the internet, Mandy will make it happen!

When not taking the web-world by storm, Mandy can be found playing obscure boardgames with her husband and kids. Born in Canada, raised in Taiwan, and fluent in Mandarin Chinese and English, there isn’t much Mandy can’t do, and we’re excited to have her expertise as part of our Blue Sky arsenal!

Carrie is a Digital Marketing Manager at Blue Sky Marketing. After earning her B.A. in Communication from the University of Houston, Clear Lake, she began her career in special events planning and public relations. Throughout her career, Carrie has helped build and execute marketing strategies for a multitude of industries including, auto dealerships, educational institutions, large-scale fishing tournaments, medical, sports, real estate, and even a pickle festival!

When not nurturing professional relationships, Carrie enjoys spending time with her husband, their daughter and their two Great Danes, Simon and Duke. Motto: No matter where life takes you, always remember to be where your feet are.

Erika Cutrera is a Graphic Designer at Blue Sky Marketing. With a background in poster and flyer design, she loves finding innovative ways to lay type and use color in her work. Erika graduated from the University of Houston with a degree in Strategic Communication and a minor in Graphics Communication. During her studies, she worked behind the scenes as a printer at an ad agency.

Driven by a passion for graphic design, she best thrives in a team setting, believing that the greatest results emerge from shared talent.  During her free time, you can find Erika at the bouldering gym or exploring the newest coffee shops in town. 

Courtney Evans is a seasoned professional that brings over 20 years of project management expertise with her primary focus in real estate. She has an in depth understanding of all facets the real estate journey, from blue prints to supporting happy homeowners.  Courtney has worked on rendering and animation projects as diverse as major appliance manufacturers to streetscapes and community animations.  Meticulous and detail-oriented, Courtney takes pride in delivering an exceptional customer experience, and excels in overseeing projects from conception to completion. Courtney graduated Cum Laude from University of Texas with a Spanish major.

Outside of her professional life, you can find Courtney spending quality time with her husband, two daughters and three dogs. She enjoys yoga, grilling, trying new restaurants, entertaining, and bike riding. Notably, Courtney has ventured into epoxy art, where her creativity flourishes, inspired by the natural beautify surround her to create functional art pieces. 

Danielle Hickey is a Digital Marketing Manager at Blue Sky Marketing. Danielle thrives on learning new things and overcoming challenges. Throughout her career, Danielle has worked to build and execute marketing strategies for B2B and B2C clients across the real estate, hospitality, security services, healthcare, and retail industries. She graduated from St. Edward’s University where she received her B.B.A. in Marketing and was a member of their nationally ranked soccer team. She enjoys spending time with her husband and their two little boys, staying active, and playing disc golf. 

Fun facts about Danielle: She has a twin, was a nationally ranked goalkeeper in college, and is freakishly good at killing flies.

Sarah Magner is a Client & Project Manager at Blue Sky Marketing. With a background in marketing operations and digital marketing, she is an expert at creating and managing digital content to build relationships for organizations and individuals.

Sarah received her B.S. in Marketing from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Over the years, Sarah has focused on developing robust marketing strategies for various organizations including nonprofits, tech, life sciences and food & beverage. Sarah will go above and beyond to create powerful marketing that brings impactful results.

When she’s not changing the world of marketing, Sarah is an avid traveler and loves spending time in nature with her friends and family.

Wendy has over 20 years in Advertising and Marketing experience with diversity in multiple industries including: Automotive, QSR, CPG, Finance, Retail, Transportation, and Construction. Her career began as a receptionist at a small Dallas Advertising Agency. She was curious about how the media department operated and became a Media Assistant and grew from there into media planning/buying with all sizes of agencies. After getting into the digital media space, she later transitioned into Account/Brand Management specializing in Omni-Channel strategy and execution with Key Accounts. Her depth of knowledge includes both traditional, out-of-home tactics as well as all things digital media.

She is well-versed in the home builder industry, having spent 7 years in the space before joining the Blue Sky team. She thrives on a stellar customer experience and provides the best service she can for all of her clients. Wendy moved from Dallas to the Austin area in 2013.

In her spare time, she enjoys writing, traveling, seeing live music, and hanging out with her two children and two dogs.

Lauren is Digital Marketing Manager and Graphic Designer at Blue Sky Marketing. After earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a concentration in Graphic Design, Lauren began her career at a non-profit organization whose mission is to improve literacy rates for students across the country. Her background includes event planning, web design, email marketing and illustration.

Lauren enjoys translating an idea into a visual product and collaborating with other experts on the Blue Sky team to create meaningful designs. She is also an artist having painted over 150 family and pet portraits along with abstract work - the more color, the better! Born and raised in Metairie, Louisiana, she currently lives with her husband, two sons and two dogs, Rose and Blanche.

Audrey DeCancio Skoglund is a Digital Marketing Content Coordinator at Blue Sky Marketing. Audrey graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Houston with a degree in Strategic Communications and a minor in Marketing. With a background in retail, events, and advertising, Audrey loves to strategize and create new campaigns.

As a student, she was an officer in the American Advertising Federation University of Houston Chapter and was inducted into the Omicron Delta Kappa Honor Society. Audrey always sees the silver lining in any situation and believes in bringing out the best in others. Her enthusiasm is infectious, and she excels in generating team spirit and camaraderie, eager to dive into new challenges.

When Audrey isn't working, she spends most of her time with her husband and stepchildren, three dogs, and cat. Whether at the desk or the couch, her senior one-eyed schnoodle Lilly is always by her side. She loves to test her green thumb at strange plants, and likes to spend time admiring the beauty of nature. With a passion for history and languages, Audrey is a lifelong learner always dabbling in something that piques her interest.

Kayla Black is a Digital Marketing Content Coordinator at Blue Sky Marketing. Kayla has a passion for marketing and advertising and enjoys strategizing and creating digital, print, and promotional content. Kayla is a native of Pearland, Texas. She earned both a Master of Arts in Strategic Communication & Innovation and a Bachelor of Arts in Advertising from Texas Tech University, graduating Summa Cum Laude from the College of Media & Communications with a minor in General Business. 

During her time at Texas Tech, Kayla was a member of Alpha Lambda Delta and Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society and a member of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority. After completing her undergraduate studies, Kayla was called by the magic and answered the call to be a part of the Fall 2022 Disney College Program Internship at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. A fun fact about Kayla, she is a published author of her first children’s book, The Brave Little Princess. In Kayla’s free time she enjoys spending time with loved ones, traveling, and reading.