Rock Paper Scissors Inc. Reports New Hires and Company Growth

Public relations firm rock paper scissors inc. has made three new hires, including two new positions, creating a new high-water mark for the Bloomington-based company. Rps was founded in 1999 by Dmitri Vietze, and in the early years a few publicists represented a slate of global music artists. Fast-forward nineteen years, and the company has earned a reputation for telling compelling stories that reliably garner media attention from the likes of the New York Times, NPR, TechCrunch, and hundreds more. Its roster has grown to include clients in music technology, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, sports tech, and more. That growth has also allowed rps to expand services into event planning, custom content creation, and founding its own music technology conference.

The three new hires build the strength of rps’s diverse team to fifteen communicators, creatives, and business minds. “As our client base and services grow, it’s important that we grow our team intelligently,” says Sheryl Woodhouse, rps COO. “Each of our new hires brings a set of skills drawn from some pretty interesting life experiences. Collectively the rps team now has five Master’s Degrees and three PhDs to our credit, not to mention the albums and tours of the musicians on our team. These new hires respond to the growth we’ve made in the last few years, and also pave the way for future growth on all fronts.”

Abby Noroozi, formerly an rps publicist, is taking on a newly created position as music and media growth manager. “Music publicity is where rps began, and it’s a sector that’s very near and dear to all our hearts.” explains Dmitri Vietze, rps founder and CEO. “With Abby as music and media growth manager, rps is poised to keep building our music clientele, even while the technology side of our business grows by leaps and bounds.” Abby is known around town as the co-founder of The Green Nursery, a retailer of eco-friendly baby products. The Bloomington Chamber of Commerce recognized Abby’s achievements in business, non-profit volunteering, and fundraising with their ‘Top 10 Under 40’ award in 2015. Abby brings extensive marketing, business development, and social media experience—she’s earned over 47K Facebook fans—to managing rps’s music sales and music publicity team.

Sarah Matthews has joined rps’s crack team of publicists, filling the position left vacant by Abby’s promotion. Born in Cameroon, Africa, Sarah developed a fascination with cultural diversity from a young age. With a BA in Arts Management, she is passionate about social improvement at the intersection of art and technology. Sarah’s interdisciplinary background in radio production, music marketing and food banking allows her to experiment with new perspectives and to never stop asking questions. Sarah spent some formative years in Indianapolis and has recently returned to the Midwest from San Diego. Sarah writes and records her own sound art compositions, which she performs in galleries, including a recent show at Big Car’s Listen Hear space in Indianapolis.

Stephanie Topolgus is rps’s new full-time event planner. Her 20 years of experience in the arts and non-profits organizations significantly boost rps’s capacity to plan and manage live events for clients, like the CD Baby DIY Musician Conference, as well as rock paper scissors' own upcoming Music Tectonics Conference this fall. After earning a Master’s Degree in Arts Management at The American University in Washington, DC, Stephanie worked for several major cultural institutions including the National Gallery of Art, National Academy of Sciences, and the Blanton Museum of Art at the University of Texas at Austin, where she specialized in developing signature events and experiential marketing. A Bloomington native and Indiana University alumna, Stephanie returned to her hometown to restore a historic family property into the private event venue, Topo’s 403.

Eleanor Rust has taken on the new position of writer and marketing specialist, adding to the company’s writing capabilities both to promote clients and increase rps’s own profile. Eleanor is a writer committed to helping creators build connections with new audiences by telling compelling stories about their work. Eleanor honed her research and writing skills during a dozen years in the academic world, as a PhD in Classics and a Fellow at the American Academy in Rome. She comes to rps after a stint as a freelance writer and editor for arts and heritage organizations in Columbus, Indiana, where she helped clients like Exhibit Columbus and the Columbus Area Arts Council develop their unique voices and promote their creative work.