Our Team

Stefanie Lingle Beasley 
  partner

Stefanie Lingle Beasley is Co-Founder and Partner at Beasley + McCusker Communications + Events (BMC) — a boutique PR + Events firm that amplifies the voices of Female Founders, Venture Capitalists, and C-Suite executives. In addition to working with an array of outstanding leaders in Tech and Venture, BMC has strategically curated award-winning Tech, DEI, and Impact virtual and in-person conferences events including HITLAB Women’s Health Tech Challenge, SPKN, SHATTER SUMMITs—Investing in Women on a Global Scale, Women in Leadership & Philanthropy Symposiums for the University of San Francisco, Shatter Summit at the U.S. State Department in Washington D.C. in partnership with the U.S. India Alliance, Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good, the Institute for Nonviolence and Social Justice at USF, the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health at Stanford.

In addition to her role at BMC, Stefanie serves on the Advisory Board of Silicon Valley magazine — a Modern Luxury publication.

Prior to co-founding BMC, Stefanie served as President + Editorial Director of 18 Media (later the Golden State co.) and its family of luxury lifestyle publications for the San Francisco Peninsula and Silicon Valley, including Gentry, Gentry Home, California Home & Design, Gentry Destinations, Gentry Health, and SV—managing the publications through two successful sales and founding the annual Gentry Women in Tech Conference in 2018. An-award winning writer, Stefanie brings more than 20 years of experience and expertise in publishing, management, and operations, editorial and event production globally and has as deep-seated connections throughout Silicon Valley and San Francisco Bay Area.

In 2015, Stefanie was named a “Woman of Influence” by the Silicon Valley Business Journal. From 2015 -2018, she also served as Chief Content Officer for BrandU Events interviewing and working closely with Fortune 500 C-Suite executives for exclusive marketing events targeted at high-potential talent across the United States. Stefanie has served on the Gala Committee for the Commonwealth Club of California for the past 2 years and on the Advisory Board of the Wender Weiss Foundation for Children for over two decades. She also served as a PR and Fundraising Chair for Rodin by Moonlight—the event for Stanford University’s Cantor Arts Center for 10 years. Stefanie resides in Silicon Valley with her husband and daughter.

Carolyn Miller McCusker 
  partner

Carolyn is an accomplished marketing executive with over 20 years of experience. Carolyn’s scope of work draws from the disciplines of journalism, public relations, corporate communications, event production, campaign creation, social media, and content development in the B2B, enterprise, and consumer technology spaces. Carolyn has architected communications strategies for technology companies, from Fortune 500s to venture firms and start-ups, most recently as VP of Marketing and a founding team member of Payouts Network (formerly Wonder Technologies), and previously as a Director at the Horn Group and an Account Executive at Alexander Ogilvy Public Relations. Carolyn began her career in Southern California as a news reporter for the Orange County Register and LA Times and was a Contributing Editor and Writer for Gentry’s family of lifestyle magazines for 15 years. Carolyn is passionate about travel and is editor and founder of A Well Traveled Life. Carolyn serves on USF’s Women in Leadership & Philanthropy Spring Symposium host committee; was a Council Member & Host Committee member for fundraising events for the Asian Art Museum, SF; and served several years on the advisory boards & event committees of Bay Area nonprofits Parca Auxiliary, Peninsula Bridge, and One Love Foundation. Carolyn resides in Silicon Valley with her husband and three children.

Nicole Bestard 
  contributing  partner

Nicole Bestard is a seasoned PR pro working directly with founders, investors, and corporate executives on communications strategies and purpose-driven storytelling platforms that move business forward. Her firm belief that every marketing strategy must relate directly to the humans in both your target audience and in the rest of the population has landed her clients in leading business publications, garnered top-tier award recognition, and helped to open new audiences and revenue streams. Nicole began her career as a journalist covering the Silicon Valley lifestyle at the height of the dot-com boom. She received a Master’s in Professional Writing from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and her writing work can be found in white papers about semiconductor manufacturing software, on wine labels, and in poetry journals. Her PR career has focused on building high-caliber PR programs that deliver winning results for clients and their stories. Nicole’s past roles include Executive Vice President and General Manager for InkHouse PR; East Coast Managing Director of Enterprise and Consumer Technology for SparkPR; and Vice President for the New York consumer and enterprise practice groups at SHIFT Communications. Nicole is the Founder and Principal at Quarter Horse Strategies. Probably the best endorsement for her work is the fact that many of her clients choose to work with Nicole again and again as they change jobs and industries, and that her own team members continue to seek her out for as a mentor and a cheerleader on their own rocketing career paths. Nicole has been recognized for her steady guidance in crisis communications and for her team leadership skills. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and son.

Karen Salama 
  contributing  partner

Karen is an accomplished corporate strategist and team builder who has a passion for, and proven track record in, such vital fields as education, entrepreneurship, and innovation. Her resume encompasses everything from holding C-Suite positions at dynamic young startups to building and managing global practices and programs within Fortune 500s and agencies. Karen’s wide-ranging professional experience includes being appointed to an executive role at the strategic research advisory firm ZEITGUIDE, and co-founding trailblazing talent accelerator High-Potential Ventures. This producer of the popular BRAND U Events series established a stellar reputation for empowering the next generation of Corporate America’s thought-leaders. Karen’s commitment to developing tomorrow’s business pioneers has been a feature throughout her career, whether it’s helping to launch several emerging enterprises or spearheading multidisciplinary efforts at global Fortune 500 firms. A partial list of the preeminent organizations Karen’s worked with include National Geographic, Council on Foreign Relations, J. Walter Thompson (advertising), Ruder Finn and Weber Shandwick (public relations), BET.com, Richard Attias & Associates (events), Christie’s (auctioneer), and Wine Spectator (magazine). Karen is the former marketing chair of the MIT Enterprise Forum in New York City and is involved with the Venture Tech Division of AIPAC. Karen currently splits her time between New York City and Silicon Valley.

Liv Mason 
  associate  

At a very young age, Liv was diagnosed with dyslexia, now, addressing one’s learning disability may seem an odd additive to a first introduction, although Liv believes it important to tell others as she views her dyslexia as one of her greatest motivations, and subsequently, one of her greatest strengths. An avid learner and competitor, Liv’s diagnosis pushed her to inquire into the art of literature and develop a profound passion for the written word. Fortunately, she had the opportunity to build upon that passion at the University of Colorado, Boulder where she received a B.A. in English, Creative Writing as well as a minor degree in Journalism. While working towards these degrees, Liv worked under our own, Stefanie Beasley, as an intern at Gentry Magazine where several of her pieces were published. Just months following her college graduation, Liv began working with influencer, @corporatenatalie, informing her abilities to execute paid brand partnerships and assist in social media post creation and distribution across all social platforms. Now, an associate at Beasley & McCusker Communications, Liv’s ardor for literature, social media marketing, and human connection has found a unified home. And, this surely will come as no surprise, in Liv’s free time she enjoys writing, reading, and hand-building pottery.