Our core service is Public Relations for Nonprofits, securing you consistent press.
Your job is tough enough;
working with Bird Hill PR is fun and easy!
And we make you look good!
We combine decades of expertise with creativity and persistence to help your nonprofit increase brand awareness in front of your ideal audiences.
Clients of Bird Hill PR the nonprofit pr agency are also eligible for celebrity and influencer engagement and social media services.
welcome to
bird hill.
RICKI WEISBERG
BLACK LIVES MATTER
love is love
climate change is real
no health without mental health
womens rights are human rights
your body, your choice
Our Beliefs Are Never Compromised.
We hold an unshakeable commitment to humanitarianism and intersectional feminism in all areas of our business.
MEET THE TEAM.
MELISSA GONZALO
PUBLICIST
NESSA RODRIGUEZ
SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT
MARIANA LEONE
Junior Publicist
Ricki leverages her 20+ years of experience in the nonprofit and corporate world to build nonprofit brands into household names through effective press relations and social media strategies.
Now she is a senior bi-lingual publicist, but before, you could have caught Melissa in front of the camera as an NBC reporter! Melissa focuses on securing local, regional and Spanish-speaking media around breaking news.
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Nessa is passionate about engaging with PEOPLE via social media and IRL! She loves to learn what motivates folks to make a difference. Protecting your nonprofit’s reputation on social media while building an authentic and engaged community of supporters are her focus areas at Bird Hill.
The backbone of Bird Hill PR, Mariana supports all agency activities from social media to public relations. Her passion for social justice drives her to over-deliver for our clients, and is always thinking outside the box.
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RICKI WEISBERG
PUBLICIST / FOUNDER & CEO
RIMA BAKRI
PUBLICIST
Based in Beirut, Rima is a trilingual publicist connecting Bird Hill’s clients to journalists in the Middle East and Northern Africa. She has a professional background in nonprofit communications, development, marketing and PR, lending her a unique and valued perspective.
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Ricki Weisberg
PUBLICIST / FOUNDER & CEO
Ricki Weisberg (she/they) is a Nonprofit Publicist and CEO of Bird Hill PR. She is passionate about making the world a better and more equitable place and has spent over two decades developing and implementing communications strategies and building brands in the nonprofit and private sectors.
Ricki started her career as an activist in Washington, DC, working for nonprofit organizations, Women for Women International, The Landmine Survivors Network and Green for All, focused on
global women's rights, disability rights and building a more equitable green economy. That is where she learned about fundraising, donor relations, media relations and that she loved the challenge of communication. How do you get people to care? How do we capture their attention? Those are the sparks that light the fire in her brain.
In 2019 Ricki launched her boutique PR agency, Bird Hill PR, to help nonprofit organizations increase their brand awareness and grow their community of supporters by securing consistent press. Her clients range from the preeminent global disaster relief organization, International Medical Corps, to Philadelphia’s Oshun Family Center, fighting for Black maternal and mental health. 2023 year-to- date press efforts for Bird Hill PR’s nonprofit clients have reached over 1 billion people.
She has recently been known as the “Terrible Sandwich Mom” after a video of her son, telling her
“terrible sandwich, by the way” after his first day of school, went viral. The video gained national
attention and featured Ricki and Abe on national news broadcasts such as Good Morning America and The Today Show. Always a social justice advocate, Ricki used the spotlight to highlight the fight against childhood hunger and raise funds to support Feeding America.
Ricki graduated from George Washington University with BAs in Women’s Studies and Psychology. She lives in Ardmore, PA, with her husband, Moni Ndege and her son, Abe Ndege.
Connect with [Ricki on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickiweisberg/) to read more about her career, from filming for The Oprah Winfrey Show in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to leading global corporate rebranding efforts.
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MELISSA GONZALO
PUBLICIST
Melissa grew up in the suburbs of Montebello in Los Angeles County, California. Her parents are from Spain, and she grew up visiting her grandparents there every couple years. Melissa’s favorite food is paella, but having grown up in L.A., of course, she also loves Mexican food too!
She is a seasoned bilingual PR professional with more than 20 years of combined PR, media relations, and journalism experience, including social media and influencer marketing. She’s worked as a TV host, news anchor/reporter, radio news anchor, magazine writer, and public relations director throughout her career. Melissa is passionate about using her skills and experience to help others.
At Bird Hill PR, Melissa pitches media in an attempt to secure earned media coverage, which also includes strategizing different angles to pitch, who to pitch, etc. She likes that they get to work with organizations making a difference in the world.
When Melissa isn’t working on media pitches, you can find her spending quality time with family and friends, exploring new restaurants, hiking, going to the beach or traveling. If you ask who she admires most, she would tell you, “I admire my mother because she is a very strong, sensible woman who led me to always speak up for what I believe in while also treating others with respect and trying to do my best in all I do.”
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NESSA RODRIGUEZ
SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT
Nessa was born in Houston, Texas and moved to Matamoros, Mexico, from age 1 - 7. Her family then came back to Texas when she started school. Coming into a new school, in a new country, with a new language has had its struggles, but it fueled a fire in her to learn all she could about the language, and Vanessa believes it is the biggest reason creating conversations is so important to her.
She has been an engagement specialist for over a year now, as well as worked in client success for over 10 years. Nessa is a relationship builder! At Bird Hill PR, she helps our clients build community with their current followers while also helping build their network with their target demographic.
Nessa’s values include integrity, gratitude, courage, loyalty and honesty. While her pet peeves are not being accountable for your actions, lying, and chewing with your mouth open! When she isn’t working, you can find her playing board games with her family, watching cooking and baking shows, and reading. During the holidays, she loves building puzzles!
When asked what she loves about working at Bird Hill, she said,
“Working with Bird Hill has not only given me new energy for my specialty but also fulfilled the humanitarian part of my life. The ability to work with nonprofits motivates me to continue to stay current with the latest strategies and best practices so we can surpass our goals for our clients. As a CEO Ricki has created a space at Bird Hill where we are safe, acknowledged, appreciated, and valued. She is a true champion for her team and I am always in awe of the dynamic human being she is.”
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MARIANA LEONE
Junior Publicist
Mariana (aka Mara) is originally from Philly and grew up a 10 minute walk from the original La Colombe coffee shop. Fun fact, she actually went to the same high school Ricki attended in Bryn Mawr, PA. Mara recently graduated from Northwestern University with majors in Political Science and Theatre. She has interned on Pennsylvania political campaigns and Chicago non-profit organizations, mostly working on digital communications or social media.
She has always wanted to work within an advocacy/social-justice space, and gets the chance to be involved in a small way in everything Bird Hill does! Mara works on social media for our clients, prepares pitch decks, conducts research, and assists Ricki.
A typical day for Mara looks like getting up and scheduling out her day in her planner, having coffee, working on Bird Hill projects, and taking occasional breaks to cook lunch (she’s a big couscous fan) and meet with the team!
Her values are consistency, kindness, and being willing to learn. Pet peeves include BAD WIFI, people who aren't considerate, Romaine Lettuce (don’t ask her why, there's just something about it!). And when she isn’t working she can be found distance running or painting!
When asked what Mara loves most about her job, she said,
“I love getting to work with multiple non-profits, advancing many different missions all united under a common set of principles. It's exciting to be a part of publicizing the great work these organizations are doing. The Bird Hill team is also tremendous. They are all so welcoming, encouraging, and great at what they do. Ricki is an absolute powerhouse!”
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Rima Bakri
Publicist
Rima graduated from the American University of Beirut with a BA in Marketing. She started her career in advertising in Dubai where she worked with Ogilvy for four years.
In 2011, she moved back to Beirut and started her nonprofit career with Human Rights Watch working in communications, development, fundraising and research. In the past ten years, she worked as a communications and advocacy specialist for various local, regional and international NGOs advocating for women’s rights, equal access to quality education, and access to affordable and universal primary healthcare.
Rima says of her experience, “In the 12+ years I have been working with nonprofit organizations in MENA, I have seen the impact nonprofits have had on populations affected by war and natural disasters. Having been born and raised in Lebanon, I come to this work with a very good understanding of the cultural and media landscape in the region and can curate impactful stories.”
Born and raised in Lebanon, Rima is all too familiar with war and loss but also with resilience. She grew up with parents who demonstrated to her from a young age how to be resilient against all odds, and how to always adapt because “we never know what happens tomorrow”, a phrase Rima disliked as a child but finds herself saying more and more as an adult. Rima is an advocate for mental health and women’s rights.
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Eased fundraising efforts through increased brand awareness and third-party validation of earned media.
Experts who are globally recognized thought leaders and are called upon as press sources.
Spokespeople who are media trained and ready to speak to the press at a moment’s notice.
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top 3 client transformations
Naming her company Bird Hill was a way for Ricki to let her son and husband know that their love and support make this adventure a family affair.
Bird Hill is a combination of Ricki’s last name, Weisberg, which means white hill, and her husband’s last name, Ndege (pronounced in-day-gay), which means bird.
Bird Hill is also the name of their family home in Uganda (seen below), where some of the rarest birds make their nests, and Ricki and her family enjoy rolling hills that overlook Lake Victoria.
Why are we named Bird Hill?
testimonial
“Bird Hill PR is instrumental to our media outreach efforts, resulting in increased press coverage and an increase in visibility about our work.”
- Rebecca Milner, Chief Advancement Officer
@ International Medical Corps
“Bird Hill PR is instrumental to our media outreach efforts, resulting in increased press coverage and an increase in visibility about our work.”
