Who is Bluestone Communications?

Our Founders

Who we are

Bluestone Communications is a student-run public relations firm at James Madison University that offers research, digital, media and strategic communications for all client projects. Our firm is led by a faculty adviser, six executive student members and eleven student staff members.

Our mission

Bluestone Communications prepares students to be educated and enlightened citizens by enhancing their hands-on education, broadening their professional network and helping them excel their careers after graduation. Bluestone Communications serves as a facilitator of mutually beneficial relationships between students, clients, public relations professionals and the Harrisonburg community.

Our goal

Bluestone Communications strives to provide exceptional work in research, digital, media and strategic communication services to our clients.

Meet Our Founding Members. Est. 2017

Peyton Johnson

Peyton Johnson founded and was the first-ever firm director of Bluestone Communications during the fall of 2017 as a senior at James Madison University (JMU).

Her interest in communications marketing began when she joined PRSSA to explore public relations beyond the classroom. Peyton further pursued this passion through internships the past three summers, respectively, at Edelman, Crosby~Volmer and Environmental Defense Fund.

In her Summer 2017 internship with Edelman, Peyton worked with clients including Hilton, and developed pitches and conducted outreach, earning coverage in Reader’s Digest and TravelPulse. In January 2017, Peyton rejoined the Edelman team as an assistant account executive.

At JMU, Peyton earned the 2017 Outstanding Graduating Senior Award from the School of Communication Studies. Outside the classroom, Peyton led an array of university activities and student organizations. In addition to launching and running Bluestone Communications, Peyton was a student ambassador for the university. Additionally, during the 2016-2017 school year, Peyton served as the director of professional development for the JMU chapter of PRSSA. She also served as the president of the JMU chapter of Habitat for Humanity, one of the largest community service organizations at JMU, made up of more than 300 active members.

You can contact Peyton by email at peytonjohnson117@gmail.com and on Twitter at @PeytonJohnsonDC.

Leila Ostria

Leila Ostria majored in communication studies with a concentration in PR. Leila is from Potomac, MD, not too far from D.C. In summer 2017, she interned at two different companies in the heart of Manhattan. The first company was Screenvision Media, one of the biggest cinema advertising companies in the world, where Leila worked as an executive marketing intern and pitched to clients such as Under Armour, about how they could integrate with Screenvision Media to be put in their "Front + Center" pre-show at the movie theaters.

The other company that she interned at was Gabriela Hearst, a high-end fashion designer. Leila spent her time at this company writing descriptions for the new fall/winter collection that were then published online. She also wrote a monthly newsletter and helped manage the showroom for press day, which is when well-known fashion stylists and buyers come to the warehouse to decide which stores will be selling the brand.

To incorporate Leila's love for fashion into her professional endeavors and everyday life, she interned virtually with CollegeFashionista for over a year. On this platform she produced monthly blog posts about the latest fashion trends for college students. This internship allowed Leila to use not only her writing skills, but also her photography skills in every article. She also became a campus influencer for Daniel Wellington, where she utilized social media to promote the brand.

In 2015, Leila interned at ICF International, a global consulting and technology services company, and worked alongside the internal communications team to analyze research on how communications within a company helps a business grow.

Leila was also involved in several extracurriculars at JMU. She served as the current vice president for the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), as well as the vice president of Madison Dance. Being invested into these organizations enhanced her collaborative, resourceful, and leadership skills. Leila also served as the director of media relations for PRSSA for the 2016-2017 school year and was in charge of managing all of the social media accounts for the organization, as well as leading a social media/graphic design committee of 30 members. She also invested her time into being the historian for Madison Dance last year. As historian, Leila had the responsibilities of taking photos at all events and performances, and then creating an end of the year slideshow and promotional video, which helped improve her video editing skills.

Leila can be described as a problem solver. She knows how to identify problems, but more importantly, develop solutions. She is passionate and persistent about everything that she does and always has an optimistic approach to situations.

Brittany Leuth

Brittany Leuth is one of the founding members of Bluestone Communications during fall 2017 of her senior year at James Madison University (JMU).

Brittany’s interest in public relations began her sophomore year after attending her first agency trip to Washington D.C. with PRSSA. Her passion for public relations continued that summer at her first PR internship at the top brand and advertising agency of the Triangle in North Carolina. Since then, Brittany has interned at the number one sports public relations firm and has been a very active member of PRSSA. She served as the Chapter President of 2017-2018.

In addition to Brittany’s passion for public relations, Brittany enjoys consulting and business development. Brittany has worked for two startup companies that aligned with her interest, travel, and technology. During her time at both companies, Brittany applied her public relations background to gain new skills to help expand new clients and increase brand awareness.

While at James Madison University, Brittany worked for several departments throughout campus including James Madison Debate Team as the Media Relations Director and in Career Academic Planning as a Career Advisor. When she was not helping others, Brittany spent her free time competing on the James Madison University Club Tennis Team and on the James Madison Ski and Snowboard Race Team.

Brittany is known for her competitive spirit; the answer "no" is not in her vocabulary. She identifies solutions that turn a no into yes. As the first public relations director of Bluestone Communications, Brittany hopes to increase the brand awareness throughout JMU and the Harrisonburg community in additionally bring more business to the firm.

Jordan Cook

Jordan was a founding member of Bluestone Communications in the fall of 2017 as a senior at James Madison University (JMU).

Jordan majored in Communication Studies with a concentration in Public Relations and minoring in Computer Information Systems. Jordan has a passion for both the face-to-face and technical aspects of communications.

During summer 2017, she interned with Booz Allen Hamilton, a Fortune 500 consulting company based out of McLean, Virginia. Here, she was placed on a team of other interns under the guidance of two team leads to create solutions to real client problems.

During her junior year, Jordan interned for the Talent Development department at JMU. She designed and distributed marketing materials for workshops the department hosted to better the skills of JMU employees.

Jenna Scull

Jenna Scull is a senior, pursuing a major in Communication Studies and a minor in Writing Rhetoric and Technical Communication.

Jenna loves writing on her blog and tutoring fellow Dukes at the University Writing Center. She also serves on the executive board for JMU's chapter of PRSSA and volunteers with Rockingham County Big Brothers Big Sisters.

During summer 2017, Jenna took her love for communications studies all the way across the world and studied abroad in Seoul, South Korea! In Korea, her and six other JMU students immersed themselves in the culture and learned more about sports PR and international PR.

After graduation, Jenna would be interested in working at a PR firm or media group in her hometown of Philadelphia.

Julia Smith

Julia Smith is a senior double major in communication (concentration in public relations) and media arts and design (concentration in journalism).

In addition to being a founding member of Bluestone Communications, Julia has written for the news section of The Breeze, JMU’s student newspaper. She has also served two years on the PRSSA executive board as the director of finance.

Over the summer, Julia continues to look for ways to expand her public relations knowledge. During the summer of 2016, she wrote newsletters, created promotional flyers and designed graphics for a frozen yogurt store. During the summer of 2017, she studied sports and international public relations abroad in South Korea with two professors and six other students.

Moving forward, Julia hopes to further pursue public relations and keep an open mind about where life takes her.