Public Solutions :: Your Communications Team


	The Public Solutions Team Public Solutions has built a positive reputation with leaders and community decision makers, and we understand how to navigate the complex maze of communications challenges on behalf of our public and private clients. Based on fifteen years of public service, Mitchell Berner founded Public Solutions in 1998 to provide advocacy, communications, and government relations consulting services. Today, the firm includes six staff members with a combined forty years of experience in public service and communications Mitchell Berner Rachael Stankowski K.C. Strang :: back to top
	Principal A native San Diegan, Mitchell Berner founded Public Solutions in July 1999, after leaving 15 years of public service where he previously served as Chief of Staff to San Diego City Councilmember Barbara Warden from 1993-1998 serving as a key staff advisor to City Council members, City staff and City appointees on transportation, land-use, water, and wastewater matters. Prior to 1998, Berner spent five years with San Diego Mayor Susan Golding, serving as the Mayor’s first Chief of Policy and as her Senior Legislative Aide from 1989-1992 during her tenure on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors. As a land-use and transportation aide to a former member of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, Berner developed his interest and professional experience in land-use, transportation, and environmental planning by working closely with County Departments, Board members, County staff and community groups on sensitive land-use and transportation policy matters. Since returning to San Diego in 1989, Berner developed and maintains today the intimate relationships and working knowledge of key communities in and around San Diego County. With ten years of community planning and public communications experience between the City and the County of San Diego, Berner has made land use, infrastructure, environmental and community planning his key area of expertise. Berner holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Texas at Austin and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Southern California. He and his wife Kelly reside in the San Diego community of Carmel Mountain Ranch. Berner is a member of the following community service organizations: • Red Cross of San Diego & Imperial County’s • Development Committee • Seacrest Village Retirement Communities, • Vice Chair • Chair, Marketing Committee & Board of the • United Jewish Federation of San Diego County • Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California • Carmel Mountain Ranch HOA Delegate • Boys & Girls Club’s Scholarship Committee :: back to top Rachel Stankowski has been with Public Solutions since December of 2005, assisting the Public Solutions staff with client projects and managing the day-to-day activities in the office. As Project Assistant, Stankowski performs a variety of support services for every member of the Public Solutions staff. Her experiences include office management, research, direct mail, and project management. She has contributed to a variety of work for out clients in the areas of land use, real estate development, special event planning, and marketing, among others. Stankowski is an undergraduate student at San Diego State University, double majoring in Political Science and Communication. She is a member of the San Diego State Alumnae Association, Golden Key International, and is president of the Order of Omega Honor Society. She currently resides in Pacific Beach. :: back to top Director of Public Affairs K.C. Strang brings years of experience in public service to Public Solutions, putting his expertise in government and community relations to work for our public agency and private clients. Prior to joining Public Solutions, Strang served as liaison to a state assemblymember and a City of San Diego councilmember on state and local infrastructure projects including water and sewer, road and freeway, community park, office and residential projects. In addition, Strang served as an advisor to the 22nd Agricultural District, San Dieguito River Valley, Los Penasquitos Lagoon, SANDAG’s shoreline preservation committee, and Naval Air Station Miramar. After living in Guatemala, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Panama, in 1999 Strang interned for the Guatemalan Human Rights Commission in Washington D.C., where he published an article on the 2000 presidential election and its effects on human rights abuses for the Commission’s newsletter. He also worked on a project to bring healthy drinking water to a remote Guatemalan village. Strang gained an appreciation early on for the value of civic and community involvement by earning his Eagle Scout award from the Boy Scouts of America. Working closely with elected officials, public agency staff, and community leaders has given Strang a unique perspective on crafting public policy and achieving consensus among diverse groups. Strang earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from Brigham Young University at Hawaii. He is a native San Diegan and resides with his wife in San Elijo Hills. :: back to top Angela Pierce AngelaPierce@Public-Solutions.com Director of Legislative and Public Affairs Angela Pierce contributes over seven years of experience in public relations and law to our client assignments in land use, government relations and public relations. As Director of Legislative and Public Affairs, Pierce assists her clients in their dealings with public agencies, including the City and County of San Diego, and advises clients in land use and development matters. Prior to joining Public Solutions, Pierce was an attorney with Sullivan Wertz McDade and Wallace. She assisted clients with processing discretionary permits and with environmental review through various public agencies. Pierce also conducted legal research and writing in matters of land use, real estate, contract, and litigation. During her studies at the University of San Diego School of Law, Pierce was a legal intern with the San Diego City Attorney's Office, where she conducted legal research and writing for complex civil and criminal cases in the land use division. Pierce was also a legal fellow at the Appleseed Foundation in Washington, DC. While there, Pierce worked with several Appleseed centers throughout the nation to develop local projects and campaigns in such areas as public education, access to justice, economic opportunity, child support and immigrant rights. From 1997 to 2000, Pierce was an account executive at Ketchum Public Relations in San Francisco where she served as a communications and marketing consultant for clients in industries ranging from technology to consumer goods to financial services. While at Ketchum, Pierce was responsible for client management, media and analyst relations, conference and trade show placements, team leadership, research, strategic planning, and program execution. Pierce also served as an assistant guest booker for CNN in Washington, D.C. where she researched news stories and assisted with interview preparations for shows and reports such as Inside Politics. Pierce has a law degree from the University of San Diego School of Law and a bachelor’s degree in political science, rhetoric and communications from the University of California, Davis. She resides in the La Jolla area.