Contact

Author: Zach Irsik

Intense scrutiny on Cornell leads to broader questions

A Cornell student’s civil suit alleging a 2024 drug- and alcohol-fueled gang rape at the Chi Phi fraternity house has ignited a national firestorm. Much of the debate it has provoked focuses on the behavior of the young people involved and the prosecutor, who, two years ago, when the alleged assault happened, declined to bring […]

University Communications Amid 2025 Visa Revocations

Since the end of March 2025, more than 1,500 international students at nearly 250 institutions have seen their visas revoked or SEVIS records terminated as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration and alleged antisemitism. To track how leading institutions are managing communications during this crisis, Legend Labs developed a rolling strategic analysis to systematically catalogue statements […]

Breaking Down the House: Deep Dive Analysis of the House Settlement

With a decision imminent in the House Settlement—arguably the most consequential turning point in the history of college athletics—Legend Labs conducted an in-depth analysis of how public discourse around this landmark case has evolved over the past year. Using advanced digital listening tools like Meltwater, Radarly, and BuzzSumo, we analyzed the online conversation to uncover key […]

Now Is Time for Campuses to Prepare for Fall Unrest

From Columbia to UCLA and across the nation, tranquility has mostly returned to campuses that recently were roiled by demonstrations and conflict. Campus leaders should take advantage of this welcome summer respite to reflect, review, regroup, and plan. With the Israel-Gaza war continuing and the U.S. election year gearing up, there’s every reason to expect […]

Diversity, Division, and Higher Education

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is one of the largest and fastest-growing topics in higher education this year. The same was true last year as well. Media readily cover DEI controversies on campus and in the state house, where new legislative approaches are being prototyped. Universities must be prepared to speak to a variety of audiences […]

Higher Ed Trends Report: Value and Values

In this report, Legend Labs leveraged Meltwater, a digital and social media listening technology, to analyze online conversations around higher education in AY 22-23. As conversation around the industry shifts in response to contemporary events, topics that preoccupied campus leaders in previous semesters — COVID-19, monuments, social justice protests — receded in proportion to other key […]

Prime Time – How Deion Sanders Took the Buffs to New Heights

Four weeks into the college football season and the University of Colorado Boulder is already reaping the rewards of their investment in head football coach Deion Sanders. The numbers speak for themselves, but more important are the lessons that other institutions can learn from the rise of Coach Prime and the Buffaloes. Embracing the age […]

Court Ruling Strengthens Universities’ Academic Discretion in Hiring Faculty

An important case addressing the limits of the First Amendment rights of faculty members in connection with a university’s employment decisions was recently issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York. Heim v. Daniel, No. 22-1135cv, Aug. 30, 2023. The case has significant implications for universities, particularly in situations where […]

Olivia Vegas

Associate

Olivia brings a thoughtful, detail-oriented approach to communications work that sits at the intersection of public visibility, institutional reputation, and audience trust. She helps organizations clarify complex initiatives and communicate them in ways that feel grounded, accessible, and credible. Her experience includes helping shape school safety campaigns by identifying credible stakeholders, translating policy goals into clear one-pagers and campaign materials, and developing social content that brought the issue to broader public attention.

Before joining Legend Labs, Olivia was an Account Executive at The Mach 1 Group, where she worked across public affairs and strategic communications engagements. She also served in Governor Greg Abbott’s Press Office, an experience that sharpened her understanding of message discipline, responsiveness, and the pace required when communications and public scrutiny converge.

Olivia believes strong communications are built through precision, consistency, and trust within a team. Outside of work, she enjoys watching Formula 1, cooking, and hosting dinner parties for her friends.

Steve Patterson

Board Co-Chair

Steve Patterson has served as an innovative and successful executive in the NFL, NBA, NHL, professional baseball and college athletics for over 30 years. He has built championship teams and organizations, designed, financed, built and run stadia, ballparks and arenas all over the United States. Patterson successfully led the effort to bring the Houston Texans NFL team and Super Bowl XXXVIII to Houston, Texas. As General Manager of the Houston Rockets he built the 1994 NBA Championship team.

Patterson is formerly the President and CEO of the Arizona Coyotes. He is also the former Director of Men’s Athletics for the University of Texas at Austin where he oversaw the largest athletic department budget in all of college sports while setting records for academic success, revenue generation, endowment growth and philanthropic giving to the athletic department.

Prior to UT, Patterson served as Managing Director of Sun Devil Sports Group, Vice President for Athletics and Athletic Director for Sun Devil Athletics at Arizona State University. In that capacity, Patterson was responsible for all ASU Athletic Department business and sports operations, acquisition, development and operation of current and new sports facilities and assisted with the development of the 425-acre Sports Facilities District adjacent to the University in downtown Tempe.

Born and raised in Beaver Dam, WI. Patterson attended the University of Texas, graduating with honors earning a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in 1980. He graduated from UT’s Law School in 1984.

Don V. Cogman

Board Co-Chair

Don V. Cogman is a former communications, public affairs and advertising executive with forty years of experience working in business, government and politics. He began his career in Washington D.C. as chief of staff to Senator Dewey F. Bartlett (R-Okla.). He followed that experience with leading the Washington office of an Oklahoma based energy company, MAPCO Inc., as their Vice-President of Government Affairs. Subsequently he founded the Washington based public and government affairs consulting firm, The RCF Group, which merged with the world’s leading public relations/public affairs firm, Burson-Marsteller, in 1992.

In 1996 Cogman joined Burson-Marsteller as the Chief Operating Officer World-wide, becoming President and COO in 1999 before moving to parent company, Young & Rubicam as Executive Vice President for Corporate Affairs for Y&R Inc.

He has served on the Board of Trustees of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the Acting Company, the Fund for American Studies, Interlochen Center for the Arts, the Scottsdale Cultural Council, the Partnership for Gender Specific Medicine, the International Foundation of Electoral Systems (IFES), the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF). He has been appointed and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to three Presidential commissions.

Corin Wakefield

Director

Corin brings a disciplined, creative lens to complex communications challenges. He helps clients make sense of competing inputs, identify what matters most, and turn research, intelligence, and context into strategy that sharpens decisions and creates momentum. His work spans brand positioning, reputation management, crisis preparedness, executive positioning, and narrative development for organizations including Johns Hopkins University, Rutgers University, Stony Brook University, and Dominion Energy.

As a Director at Legend Labs, Corin advises institutions and leaders across higher education, health, energy, and sports. His work pairs analytical rigor with the creative framing needed to make strategy usable — helping clients move from complexity to clarity, and from clarity to action.

Corin starts with the decision the work needs to support, then builds from there. He believes strong strategy depends on understanding the landscape clearly, finding the essential idea, and giving clients direction they can act on with confidence.

Jake Russell

Senior Associate

Jake brings a data-informed approach to communications challenges where operational realities, public perception, and reputational risk are all in motion. He helps organizations read the landscape around them, understand which signals matter, and translate that intelligence into practical communications plans, clear messages, scenario planning, and real-time response.

His work spans energy, infrastructure, and sports — sectors where trust is earned through performance and tested repeatedly in public. He has advised clients including ERCOT, Dominion Energy, the Southeastern Conference, the Port of Corpus Christi, Texas Competitive Power Advocates and the Pedernales Electric Cooperative.

Jake began his career at Legend Labs after graduating from the University of Texas in 2022, where he studied public relations under founding partner Jeff Hunt. That path shaped his understanding of how data, message, and stakeholder expectations shape whether organizations are trusted under pressure.

Methodical, curious, and pragmatic, Jake brings patience before action and precision before message. Outside work, he is an avid outdoorsman and fisherman, and stays active in his community.

Mike Rizzo

Director

Mike brings an analytical lens to communications challenges where leaders need more than polished language — they need a clearer way to see the problem. He advises on executive positioning, board-level communications, corporate rebrands, reputational risk, and thought leadership that moves beyond category shorthand. His work has included counsel for Caterpillar, Dell, Rutgers University, Boeing, and ERCOT, with a focus on translating complex business, operational, and stakeholder dynamics into sharper strategic narratives.

Before Legend Labs, Mike spent five years at Dimensional Fund Advisors as VP and Director of Corporate Marketing, after earlier digital communications work at PulsePoint Group.

Caroline Rizzo

Marketing and Operations Manager

Caroline brings a relationship-forward perspective to the intersection of marketing, operations, and organizational alignment. She helps teams navigate the practical and human dimensions of growth — from client engagement and brand experience to internal coordination and execution. Known for earning trust quickly and maintaining it over time, Caroline approaches communications and operations with a long-game mindset rooted in consistency, clarity, and follow-through.

Her background spans field, community, and customer marketing across technology companies in DevOps, agriculture, and manufacturing. Prior to joining Legend Labs, she built and executed customer and event marketing programs for organizations including Liquibase, TeamSense, and Prospera Technologies, a Valmont company. That experience sharpened her instinct for creating meaningful connections between organizations and the people they serve.

Caroline is deeply team-oriented and values steady execution over unnecessary complexity. She is drawn to work that creates forward momentum and appreciates the discipline of bringing complex initiatives to a clear and thoughtful finish. Outside of work, she volunteers with Best Buddies, enjoys improving her cooking through an ever-growing collection of cookbooks, and spends time with family on Lake Austin or the Texas coast.

Michael Kehs

Partner

Michael advises senior leaders through the communications challenges that shape reputation, trust, and organizational momentum. Over four decades, he has helped companies, trade associations, and CEOs navigate moments requiring clarity under pressure – from strategic positioning and executive communications to crisis response and complex stakeholder engagement.

Known for quickly mastering technical and operational issues, Michael translates complexity into language audiences can understand and act on, whether addressing employees, investors, regulators, elected officials, host communities, or the public. His work has included counsel to organizations including Business Roundtable, U.S Chamber of Commerce, American Petroleum Institute, American Chemistry Council, American Forest and Paper Association, Motorola, JobsOhio, QuidelOrtho, Dominion Energy, Medtronic and Wyeth.

Experience across industries and institutional cultures has sharpened Michael’s instinct for how organizations build credibility, maintain alignment, and communicate through uncertainty. His approach is grounded in precision, preparation, and the belief that clarity creates momentum when it matters most.

Marta Izarra

Associate Director

Marta helps organizations shape brands, narratives, and communications that create clarity and momentum. Her experience spans brand strategy, reputation management, stakeholder engagement, and content production, helping clients connect positioning to execution with consistency and precision. She has supported organizations including the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, Global Refuge, the GRAMMYs, and UVA Batten, bringing a thoughtful approach to communications challenges that require both strategic judgment and practical follow-through.

Before joining Legend Labs, Marta held strategy and production roles at Austin Film Festival, Publicis Groupe, and Liquid Works. That experience sharpened her ability to move fluidly between big-picture thinking and creative execution — understanding not only how ideas are shaped, but how they are received.

Originally from Madrid, Marta approaches her work with curiosity at the center: asking thoughtful questions, listening with intent, and noticing the details others may miss. Inspired by film, travel, and music, she believes meaningful communication begins with a deep understanding of the people it’s meant to reach.

Zach Irsik

Associate Director

Zach works with communications leaders who need a clearer view of the public conversation around their organization and their industry, and a partner who can translate what they're seeing into action. He builds the listening systems behind that view and advises clients on the reputational risks and strategic openings they bring to light.

His counsel spans earned media reporting, issues monitoring, crisis readiness, and executive communications for senior teams at the University of Missouri, University of Illinois Chicago, Indiana University, University of South Carolina, JobsOhio, and others. He also produces Canary, Legend Labs' weekly higher-education issues landscape newsletter.

Zach believes communications work is strongest when evidence and instinct sharpen each other. A graduate of the Moody College of Communication at The University of Texas at Austin, his background in film and communications strategy informs how he approaches the work — with a storyteller’s sense of what will resonate, and an analyst’s discipline for what the data supports. Outside of work, he draws inspiration from film, classic and science fiction literature, and weekends with his dog, often organized around a round of golf.

Chris Hunt

Partner

Chris brings calm judgment, creative discipline, and a clear sense of audience to complex communications challenges. He helps clients sharpen their positioning, navigate issues and crises, plan with intention, and develop content that moves people toward understanding and action. His work spans sports, entertainment, higher education, and major cultural institutions, including the Southeastern Conference, USTA, the Grammys, the Oscars, the Houston Astros, and universities including Texas, Tennessee, Florida, Virginia, and Stony Brook.

Before Legend Labs, Chris was an Emmy Award-winning producer with Pac-12 Networks, where he learned how to make decisions quickly, tell compelling stories, and work closely with administrators, coaches, and athletes in consequential moments.

Chris is highly collaborative and relationship-driven, with a belief that trust is built before, during, and after the work. He is a longtime Big Brothers Big Sisters volunteer, avid golfer, film lover, and creative writer.

Debbie Godfrey

Senior Counselor

Debbie is a leading-edge market research specialist and thought leader with over 25 years of experience in market research, marketing communications and brand planning. These skills have been applied to some of the country’s largest and most well-known domestic and global brands including: Citibank, Sears, AT&T, Colgate, Disney and United Airlines. Debbie gained those experiences during 15 years at Young & Rubicam, rising through the ranks to become EVP, Managing Director of Brand Planning.

Following Y&R, Debbie assumed these same responsibilities at Carnegie Communications, a marketing services firm for colleges and universities. As EVP, Market Research and Brand Strategy, she provided strategic guidance to senior members of colleges and universities that spanned a range of small to large institutions from The University of Texas to the University of San Francisco on issues ranging from strategic messaging to organizational assessments. She provided research-based business-building ideas for traditional and non-traditional students, and for institutions in the U.S. and Central America. She authored eleven proprietary studies including: “Effectively Engaging Alumni through the Web,” “New Messaging for Private and Public Institutions in Challenging Times,” and “Creating a Digital Leadership Brand with International Students.”

At Legend Labs, she works with a number of clients in the education space, including The University of Utah, Johns Hopkins University, and The University of Texas at Austin. Debbie is an active volunteer with Princeton, a past Chair of the Alumni Relations and Communications Committee and past Board Member of the Association of Graduate Alumni and does volunteer work with Dorchester Collegiate Academy, a public charter school in Boston. Debbie holds a B.S. in Pharmacy from the University of Kansas and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Princeton University.

Alison Gibson

Senior Associate

Alison helps organizations define how they communicate, navigate evolving environments, and articulate their value with clarity and credibility. Her work spans brand positioning, reputation intelligence, and communications strategy, with a particular strength for situations where leaders need thoughtful counsel, clear signals, and steady support. She has advised clients including Johns Hopkins University, Rutgers University, Caterpillar Inc., and the Mountain West Conference.

Her perspective was shaped through both academic and competitive experiences at the University of Texas, where she earned undergraduate and master’s degrees in advertising while competing as a two-time USA Olympian. Those experiences sharpened her ability to stay composed under pressure, build trust quickly, and navigate change with discipline and perspective.

Outside of client work, Alison volunteers regularly in her local community and has raised more than $100,000 to build a medical clinic in rural Kenya, reflecting her commitment to creating opportunity, supporting others’ growth, and leading with purpose beyond her work.

Bill Feldman

Senior Counselor

Bill Feldman is a lawyer and former journalist who combines both backgrounds to help clients navigate communications challenges in environments where litigation, liability, and regulations can pose significant risks. His work has taken him seven times to Japan to work on the Fukushima nuclear crisis, and he has also advised clients in higher education, health care and pharmaceuticals, banking and finance, and more. His work has included guidance on managing human rights issues for a global telecom firm, providing communications counsel for several major law firms regarding cyber breaches and ransomware attacks on their clients, and the development of crisis preparedness programs, including crisis simulations, for several Fortune 500 organizations.

Bill has more than 40 years’ experience at the intersection of law, journalism, politics and public policy. Prior to his work with Legend Labs, Bill was Senior Counselor with PulsePoint Group. Before that, he was president of Agra Informa, Inc. (a unit of Informa plc), the leading information company in the U.S. covering food and nutrition regulation and policy. Prior to that he held several positions in legal journalism and publishing, including the period 1982-1990 at the Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., now Bloomberg/BNA.

Bill holds a B.S. in Journalism, magna cum laude, from Boston University, and a Juris Doctor from George Washington University. He is admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia.

Meredith DeSpain

Director

Meredith helps clients turn brand, reputation, and stakeholder complexity into operating narratives, bringing fluency across commercial, civic, and institutional contexts to shape how organizations are understood. She advises on executive visibility, go-to-market narratives, media strategy, and issues response, particularly in regulated and reputation-sensitive environments.

Her perspective was shaped in roles requiring both strategic altitude and operating discipline — from communications leadership at NetSpend and marketing leadership at Pathway Lending to coalition work around transit and consulting and agency roles with Deloitte and WPP. That range informs her ability to translate complexity into narratives leaders can use: clear across audiences, disciplined inside organizations, and durable in consequential moments.

Meredith has advised Dell, Flash, Indiana University, JobsOhio, NetSpend, UVA Batten and others. Her counsel is practical and collaborative as much as it is strategic, grounded in the belief that communications discipline helps leaders think, decide, and act clearly when it matters most.

Rachel Arthur

Senior Designer

Rachel brings strategic clarity to the space where positioning becomes visible. With expertise in visual design and art direction, she helps clients bridge the gap between what a brand means and how it is recognized, felt, and remembered. Her work is grounded in a codified approach to visual benchmarking, moodboards, and direction-setting — giving clients a calibrated spectrum of creative possibilities shaped by their needs, audiences, and competitive landscape. Her experience includes work with The Grammys, Flash, AACOM, Mizzou, and Mountain West.

Before Legend Labs, Rachel worked in-house at startups, where design had to hold up beyond the presentation. That perspective sharpened her ability to create brands that are not only distinctive, but livable — built to guide real decisions and translate across teams, timelines, and channels.

Away from the screen, she tends a collection of houseplants — a quiet reminder that good things grow with care.

James Wakefield

Founding Partner

James Wakefield focuses on brand strategy, reputation management, and product design under the firm’s Ventures arm. At Legend Labs, James has led branding projects for the West Coast Conference and Dustin Johnson, and has overseen communications strategy development and implementation efforts for clients including Johns Hopkins University and the Pac-12 Conference.

Prior to Legend Labs, James operated in a hybrid role as Creative Director and Director of Strategy at PulsePoint Group, a communications and brand consulting firm. James oversaw a team of designers, developers, and animators to deliver world-class creative and digital experiences for clients including Penn State University, Virgin Australia, and Purdue University. As a Director of Strategy, James was a leader in the firm’s brand reputation and crisis management practice, leading engagements with clients like Tokyo Electric Power Company in the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

James has built a career on the use of digital listening technology to shape proprietary strategies in brand reputation management and vulnerability analysis. He operates at the intersection of data, strategy, and design to build platforms that enable more effective threat detection and subsequent issues response.

James is a graduate of The University of Texas and is based in Austin.

Ahmed Khamash

Founding Partner

Ahmed advises organizations navigating complex questions of brand, reputation, and digital strategy. His work has spanned branding, positioning, naming, digital and social media, and broader strategic counsel for clients including Wells Fargo, Target, Caterpillar, The University of Texas, the PAC-12 Conference, and others. As a founder of Legend Labs, he also oversees the firm’s business, operations, and finances, bringing an operator’s perspective to the counsel he provides.

Before founding Legend Labs, Ahmed was a Strategy Director at PulsePoint Group and a consultant at Dachis Group, where he advised Fortune 500 companies and other large organizations on communications strategy and enterprise social media. Earlier in his career, he worked at Tocquigny across digital strategy and integrated campaigns.

Ahmed brings structure to ambiguity He helps clients clarify the real problem, connect patterns across industries, and move through complexity with focus and judgement. His involvement in venture and emerging technology, along with interest in design, culture, and the global economy gives him a broad view of the forces shaping organizational relevance and reputation.

Jeff Hunt

Founding Partner

Jeff advises leaders and organizations navigating moments that shape reputation, trust, and resilience. He helps executives sharpen their message, align communications with strategy, and communicate with clarity when visibility and expectations are high. His work includes advising organizations such as Caterpillar, Boeing, Tokyo Electric Power Company, Dell, and the Academy Awards.

He brings more than 30 years of experience leading global communications practices. He co-founded PulsePoint Group and held senior leadership roles as President of Cohn & Wolfe, CEO of GCI Group, and Chief Operating Officer for Europe at Burson-Marsteller, where he oversaw 16 offices and expanded the firm’s presence into Korea, Mexico and Europe. That experience continues to shape how he approaches leadership counsel today.

Jeff believes effective communication begins with a clear sense of direction. A graduate of The University of Texas at Austin, he serves as an adjunct professor at UT’s Moody College, where he teaches emerging communicators to think strategically and challenge assumptions.