The Apis team is different. We aren’t tied to a brick-and-mortar building in a single location. We’re a virtual network with a unique business approach: Providing agency-level service with the flexibility of an à la carte menu.
Our rock star freelancers and small-business owners have worked with some of the biggest names in the private and public sectors across the United States, as well as organizations you know and love throughout Appalachia. Through our collective experience in branding, marketing, and communications, we design and create platforms and products that help our clients achieve their goals.
Let’s work together to realize your vision and make your organization successful—no matter your size, no matter the challenges you face.
Bethany Hornbeck
President, Strategist, & Project Manager
Bethany has served as a business communications specialist since 1995 and is now founder and president of Apis Creative. She has worked as a strategist, project manager, team leader, content developer, editor, and meeting and workshop facilitator.
Bethany began her career at Alula (formerly The Continuous Learning Group), a management consulting firm in Morgantown, WV, and Pittsburgh, PA, that serves Fortune 500 clients. She then spent a decade leading the writing team at the National Energy Technology Laboratory, a U.S. Department of Energy fossil fuels research facility. During that time, she served four years on the board of directors for the National Association of Government Communicators. She and her team also won multiple awards for the laboratory’s Office of Public Affairs.
Bethany’s personal strengths lie in writing, editing, and project and team management. Over the course of her career, she has developed content for business platforms of many types: websites, social media platforms, peer-review journals, educational programming, speeches and presentations, conferences, white papers, marketing materials, grants, popular media, communications plans, public affairs and public relations, trade books, videos, training materials, and translations.
Susan McCarthy
Marketing Strategist, Public Relations Manager, & Event Manager
Susan brings more than thirty years of solid experience in the fields of advertising, marketing, public relations, association management, and special events.
Lori Costello Rigden
Designer & Project Manager
Lori is enthusiastic, positive, motivated, and loves to be involved. Her career mission is to contribute to the well-being of the community by providing vision and leadership through communication.
Danielle Costello
Content Developer & Editor
Danielle is a writer and editor with 14 years’ experience in marketing and publishing, including B2B and B2C. Her goals: to find a voice that appeals to each unique audience and to create results that hit the bullseye.
Grant Stewart
Game Changer
Grant Stewart is founder and owner of Performance Matrix LLC and co-founder of Strategic Partners International with business partner and friend Ray Overdorff.
Matt Fouty
Advertising Writer, Audio Engineer, & 3D Videographer
Obsessed with art and audio from a young age, Matt creates exceptional audio quality and spaces where the audio will blow the listener away. He will help you develop a podcast and create the high-end audio you are looking for in your social media, TV, or radio commercials. Matt takes live or online production to the next level.
