Joanne, a native of New Orleans, has nearly 27 years of advertising, marketing and public relations experience. She holds a BA in psychology and an MBA with a specialty in marketing, and has an extensive background in strategic planning and business development. She also has in-depth experience in primary and secondary research and analysis, public relations, and special event planning.

Joanne is very active in her community, serving on various boards including the Leadership St.Tammany Trustee Board and Covington Three Rivers Art Festival. She was one of the founders of the St. Tammany Leadership Program and has also served on the boards of the St. Tammany West Chamber, Northshore Advertising Federation, St. Tammany Economic Development Foundation and Covington Business & Professional Women. In 2001, she was named a CityBusiness Woman of the Year.

Contact: Phone 985-893-7350
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Sarah brings more than 12 years of publishing experience to Sophisticated Woman. With a concentration on niche publications such as Where magazine, Jefferson Parish Visitors Guide, Fine Food Digest and Louisiana Homes and Gardens, Sarah has a knack for tapping into diverse audience segments to increase both advertising sales and readership.

She was born and reared in England and later moved to Los Angeles in 1981 to study art at UCLA. Sarah remained in Tinsel Town, serving as a personal assistant to such celebrities as Mick Jagger, Ivan Reitman and Brandon Tartikoff until meeting her husband, Jerry (a St. Tammany native), and moving to the Northshore. They have one son, Collin, who is 11 years old.

Contact Phone 985-893-7350
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Amy Bouton has a degree in Mass Communications with a minor in English from the University of New Orleans. She worked in television news for WWL Television as an associate produce, investigative researcher and weekend assignment editor. She resides in Mandeville where she is a wife, mother to four active children, and a member of the Who Dat Nation.

Contact phone: 985-893-7350
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With over 25 years ­experience in art direction and graphic design, Cheryl has experienced the technological revolution from sketchpad to laptop first hand. She is ­responsible for making the conceptual advertising strategy a reality, and she leads a vibrant and creative art department of top-notch professionals. In addition to holding a degree in Advertising and Design from the Art Institute of Atlanta, Cheryl has received numerous industry awards for her work, including Best of Show for the New Orleans Addies.

Cheryl is happily married to Kenny and mother of two children.

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Holly comes to our team with a great depth of prepress production knowledge and design skills. She has over 21 years’ experience in the printing and publishing industry, with nine of those years working as the head of the prepress department at a large commercial printer. Armed with the insider information of offset printing, she manages and designs the most intricate jobs for our customers. Holly has a Bachelor of Arts degree from LSU in Journalism/Advertising and has completed continuing education in professional desktop publishing, color theory and correction.

As the mother of four beautful girls, she and her husband Jack remain active in the community.

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For over a decade, Julie has done award-winning graphic and web design for companies around the country, making her the go-to person for design and web production. Julie’s impeccable eye for color and composition, combined with the technical knowledge to streamline website design and functionality are a tremendous asset to the creative team. A native New Orleanian, her experience includes working with organizations such as the New Orleans Zephyrs, NewOrleans.com, Offbeat magazine, New Orleans magazine, and The Sunshine Pages, among others.

Julie is the mother of Luke and married to husband Kevin.

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A native of Louisiana, Gwen received her education from the University of New Orleans and has called Mandeville home for the past 15 years. Gwen has been employed with Sophisticated Woman Magazine for over nine years. She is committed to her sales career and enjoys the lasting relationship she has had with all of her clients.

She has been happily married to Jerry for the past 46 years and enjoys spending time with their one son, Chris, daughter-in-law Kelly and their grandchildren, Chase (15) and Cole (13). On her time off, she also enjoys all sports, boating, spending time on the beach and traveling.

Contact: 985-327-1003
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Annie Anne Simon is an account executive for Sophisticated Woman Magazine.  She graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree in Liberal Arts.  After moving to New York and Baton Rouge for college she happily returned to her Northshore hometown, Abita Springs where she now resides.  Annie enjoys her upbeat sales job at Sophisticated Woman and spending the weekends outside with her dog Baci.

Contact: 985-327-1005
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Nikki Lazaroe serves as Account Executive on the SW staff.   She brings with
her over 16 years of sales and marketing experience.  She describes
Advertising Sales as the "best of both worlds" for her as she enjoys both
the sales aspect as well as the creative process.

Nikki received her BS degree out of state and spent one year overseas
studying in Spain.  She returned to her Louisiana birthplace and has resided
on the Northshore for the past 15 yrs.  She is a happily busy mother of
three.

Contact: 985-327-1015
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Melissa, or Mel, as we affectionately call her, brings her wit and energy to our team. A self proclaimed “flower child,” she maintains peace and harmony within our traffic system. Mel credits the successful management of deadlines to patience, persistence and a bit of bullying!

“I can utilize my experience in journalism and marketing while working in a creative environment where every day is different. I was probably a circus juggler in a past life”, she laughs.

Melissa and Joey are parents to two active boys.

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Patty Beal, our fashion guru and editor of one of our readers’ favorites, Editor’s Picks. Each month, Patty will put together tips and browse the local shops for examples of the latest and greatest.

Patty, a 25 year veteran in fashion industry, is the owner of Closetopia where she is a wardrobe consultant revamping and reorganizing clients’ wardrobes one closet at a time. Originally from the Central Coast of California and working many places from Florida to Hawaii, she’s lived in the area for 20 years with her husband and two children. Feel free to contact her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .