AAA Public Relations Staff

Yolanda L. Cade
Managing Director
407-444-8000
Shaping the organization's national public relations presence in Washington, D.C., Miami and Heathrow, Fla., Yolanda oversees all aspects of communicating public policy and national activities to the media. Prior to joining AAA, Yolanda served as the chief spokesperson and director of Strategic Communications and Public Affairs for the Transportation Security Administration. Previous to her federal service, she served as the Deputy Director of Public Relations for Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. In addition to work in the fields of security, transportation and aviation, Yolanda has a wealth of experience in television and client-side management. In 2002, she was voted one of Georgia's 100 most powerful and influential women. Yolanda holds a Bachelors of Science degree in broadcast journalism from Florida A&M University and is a native of South Florida.

Geoff Sundstrom
Director, Public Relations
407-444-8000
Expertise: automotive and energy issues
Geoff oversees AAA communications on road service, vehicle maintenance and other automotive services and is AAA's leading spokesperson on energy issues, including gasoline prices. He is interviewed on a regular basis by national financial and consumer media. He joined AAA in 1989 after working for eight years as a business reporter for Automotive News magazine, the New York Journal of Commerce and Kyoto News Service in Washington, D.C. Geoff holds a B.A. in journalism from Northern Arizona University and is based at AAA's National Office in Heathrow, FL.

Janie Graziani
Manager, Public Relations
407-444-8004
Expertise: social media and Web-based communication
Janie provides web-based communications support for the entire public relations team including podcasting and management of the AAA NewsRoom. Janie joined the AAA National Office public relations team in 1998 after serving three years as senior editor of AAA Car & Travel Magazine (AAA Florida/Louisiana/Mississippi) and working as a reporter and travel writer for more than 20 years with various newspapers and magazines. Janie earned a Master of Journalism from Louisiana State University.

Heather Hunter
Manager, Public Relations
407-444-8005
Expertise: Publishing
Heather Hunter joined the AAA public relations team in June of 2007, bringing more than 13 years of experience, including extensive work in both the travel and publishing industries. As a public relations professional, she has participated in campaigns to promote hotels, resorts, tour operators, travel guide publications and travel organizations and conducted sweepstakes and special events. For over five years she served as PR manager for Wiley Publishing managing PR activities for Frommer’s travel guides, Frommers.com, the Unofficial Guides and the For Dummies travel series, which she helped to launch. Additionally, she has worked with several PR agencies in New York City where her clients have included well-known members of the travel industry. In her most recent position, Heather served as the Director of Publicity for North Shore Animal League America, a national, no-kill, pet rescue and adoption organization. In this role, she developed a PR campaign in partnership with Weight Watchers to encourage members to "Adopt a Walking Buddy," resulting in over 3,400 pet adoptions nationwide.

Christie Hyde
Manager, Public Relations
407-444-8003
Expertise: automotive and traffic safety programs

Christie manages media relations for AAA’s automotive and traffic safety programs such as roadside assistance, auto repair and maintenance, driver training, and school safety patrol. With a decade of public relations experience, she previously headed public relations for Patterson/Bach Communications, overseeing clients in aviation, expressway transportation and convention tourism. Christie also spearheaded public relations at the inception of the Grand American Road Racing Association, a subsidiary of NASCAR. Additionally, she worked for the U.S. Olympic Committee, serving as a press officer at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney and 1999 Pan Am Games as well as numerous national and international competitions. Christie also handled public relations for several NCAA events during her time with the University of South Carolina Upstate.

Troy Green
Manager, Public Relations
202-942-2082
Expertise: advocacy and safety issues
Troy oversees AAA Government Relations publicity and serves as a secondary resource on energy and fuel topics. Before joining AAA National, Troy worked for AAA Mid-Atlantic's Maryland office appearing regularly on Baltimore's television outlets discussing various energy, safety, and travel issues. Troy is also known as "the voice" of the University of Maryland-Baltimore County basketball program, providing play-by-play announcing and color commentary during the television and radio broadcasts for his alma mater's men's and women's basketball teams. For five years, Troy served as a sports producer for a local Baltimore television stations covering several professional and college sports teams and events. In 2003, Troy's exceptional ability as an on-camera spokesperson led him to the quarterfinal round of ESPN's Dream Job Sports Anchor competition in New York City. Troy earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Maryland-Baltimore County.

Laura Palermo
Manager, Community Relations
407-444-8011
Expertise: community outreach for the AAA National Office and Web-based media communications
Laura leads volunteer and outreach programs in Central Florida and seeks ways to disseminate information about AAA's priority issues and safety programs at the grassroots level. Laura joined AAA in 2000 and managed automotive communication projects prior to taking her place on the public relations team. She has held marketing and public relations roles in the retail and tourism industries. Laura earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Christine Johnson
Coordinator, Public Relations
202-942-2069
Christine is responsible for supporting publicity efforts for AAA’s Partnership Programs, as well as contributing to AAA's efforts to promote travel and traffic safety products and programs. Previously, Christine was the coordinator for research and education at the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety and helped build awareness of the Foundation's research projects. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Mary Washington.