Our Staff Members

Gabriella Bonitto is senior at Hofstra University majoring in public relations with a double minor in fine arts and civic engagement. She is currently developing her departmental thesis to graduate with an Honors College Bachelor's degree with distinction. Through her time at Hofstra, she has worked as a research assistant and intern with PR agencies like Spotlight Agency in Los Angeles. Aside from academics, Gabriella has a passion for ballroom dance and is the current President of the Hofstra Ballroom and Latin Dance Team (HBLD) on campus. She loves the world of beauty, especially makeup, and hopes to venture into the beauty/ fashion or nonprofit PR world in the coming future. Gabriella anticipates that Swing Agency will be a great environment to become more comfortable in communicating with real clients and colleagues.

Zach Dovel is a senior at Hofstra University majoring in public relations with a minor in psychology. He is currently serving as the External Relations and Sports Information inside the athletic department at Adelphi University. In addition to coursework going through both of those roles, he has previously served as president of his fraternity, Pi Lambda Phi. He is also very active in Hofstra’s on-campus radio station, WRHU, serving as producer of “The Baseline,” the station’s college basketball show. He also serves as the primary New York Islanders update reporter during games, as well as a prominent role in broadcasting Hofstra men’s and women’s basketball. Zach will serve as an associate lead for Wonder Shuffle and one day sees himself working in sports information at a Division I University.

Victoria Holtje is a senior at Hofstra University majoring in public relations with minors in marketing and history. Victoria is very involved on campus in leadership positions. Currently, she is the Director of Membership for Hofstra’s Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) and a mentor in the Lawrence Herbert School of Communication. Additionally, she is a hardworking student with a 3.96 GPA and is a member of Lambda Pi Eta National Honor Society. Victoria is the account lead for The Swing Agency and is looking forward to leading a team of enthusiastic members and growing as an aspiring public relations practitioner.

Sadie Ostad is a senior at Hofstra University majoring in public relations with a minor in fine arts. Outside of the classroom, Sadie is on the executive board for Alpha Phi as the Panhellenic Delegate and also serves as the Director of Philanthropy. She is the Executive Director for Dance Marathon, a fundraising event which raises money for local children’s hospitals. Sadie also loves to dance and is a member of Danceworks on campus. Sadie is enthusiastic about the semester ahead with The Swing Agency to grow as a professional and take on the role as account lead for Wonder Integrated Group.

Alisa Mastrandrea is a junior at Hofstra University pursuing a degree in public relations with minors in psychology and community health. Currently in addition to her work with the Swing, Alisa is both the President and a part of the PR Committee for Phi Sigma Sigma. In the past, she held an internship with CMM PR, working as a beauty PR intern on accounts such as KISS, eos, Marc Anthony, and many others. Alisa is eager to begin working as an associate lead for The Swing Agency and is hoping to learn more about the field of public relations as well as collaborating with others in an agency type setting. Aspiring to become a public relations practitioner, she is open to working in many different areas of PR but has special interests in beauty, sports, and food PR.

Destiny Garvin is a senior majoring in public relations (PR) with a minor in creative writing. She is originally from the Bronx, New York, but moved upstate to Middletown. Outside of academics, Destiny is the vice president of the National Black Public Relations Society (NBPRS) Hofstra chapter. In addition, she currently works at Zimmerman-Edelson Creative Communications as an intern. Destiny is excited to be a part of the Swing Agency and learn more about working with clients and creating PR plans. Her expectation from Swing is to hone her writing skills and prepare her more for what to expect when entering her field. After graduating, she looks forward to working in the entertainment area of PR.

Kelly O’Malley is a senior at Hofstra University pursuing a public relations degree with a double minor in civic engagement and radio, television, and film. She is currently serving as the PR/ Marketing Intern at a medical beauty spa with previous PR experience from a Music PR internship the previous summer. She is an account lead this semester. She is excited for the opportunity to further build and develop not only her connections with the current Swing Agency clients but also to develop her craft as a PR pre-professional and work with her fellow classmates to help develop and build awareness around the current clients and their important cause and missions.

Amanda Carmel is a junior public relations major with a graphic design minor at Hofstra University She is originally from Wethersfield, Connecticut. Currently, she’s interning at Channel V Media, which is a communications agency based in Manhattan. Her on-campus involvement includes serving on E-Council for Phi Sigma Sigma and being a member of PRSSA. She is also a Hofcast Producer, which means she creates and schedules the graphics to run on the televisions across campus. She is looking forward to expanding her knowledge of the PR industry and is excited about what The Swing Agency has in store!

Egan Bello is a junior at Hofstra University majoring in public relations with a minor in Latin American and Caribbean studies. Alongside her academic work, Egan dedicates her time to several campus PR-related organizations. She is the president of the Hispanic Public Relations Student Association (HPRSA) and vice president of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA). Additionally, Egan is a public relations intern at Upspring, a PR and marketing agency. This semester, Egan is an account lead for The Swing Agency. She is very excited to work with her fellow students and account representatives.

Bianca Roque is a junior at Hofstra University majoring in public relations with a minor in anthropology. She is currently on two executive boards for the 2023 academic year. She is the secretary of the Hispanic Public Relations Student Association (HPRSA) and the Sisterhood Development Chair of Phi Sigma Sigma. In addition to holding these positions, Bianca likes to fill her time with other organizations and clubs on campus, like PRSSA and, more recently, the Anthropology Club. Bianca is excited to be an account lead for her time at the Swing Agency and looks forward to working with clients and having a leadership position. In the future, Bianca sees herself working in beauty or entertainment PR but, more importantly, in a fast-paced environment with multiple clients.