JENNIFER BALIOS, founder and president of 5th Element Communications LLC, has over a decade of experience developing public relations and marketing strategies for non-profit and for-profit organizations.

Jennifer focuses on helping companies integrate traditional marketing strategies with new social media opportunities. Jennifer began to see the evolution and opportunity with social media several years ago when she led the communication efforts for LexisNexis, a $1.3 billion information technology company.

While at LexisNexis she published several insightful findings on Web 2.0, which garnered media attention, and further fueled her passion on the subject. She also positioned LexisNexis to win the first SIIA Codie Award in the category of Best Blog Integration with Newstex.

Before joining LexisNexis, Jennifer served as the Director of Public Relations for ISM, Inc., a boutique Customer Relationship Management (CRM) consulting firm, and increased the company’s media exposure by doubling the amount of article placements in national and local IT media. She also secured top Customer Relationship Management vendors to participate in ISM’s Software Review Process, which generated software review sales and numerous consulting opportunities.

During a six-year span, she also served as a communications professional for the American Chemistry Council and the Chemical Educational Foundation where she was responsible for program development, advertising and marketing communications. Many of the programs and publications that her team developed are still profitable today.

Jennifer earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Mass Communications with minors in Marketing and Psychology from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.

Jennifer is a native of the Washington, D.C. area and continues to play an active role in the D.C. metropolitan business community. She is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Marketing Association as a contributor for social media communications, the Public Relations Society of America as the gala chair of the Thoth Awards, the International Association of Business Communicators, and the Tech Breakfast Club.