Linden

Cara Eastwood, former press secretary to Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal, this week joined the staff of Linden, a full-service marketing, branding and graphic design agency in Fort Collins.

Linden is one of the largest full-service marketing firms in Northern Colorado, with clients in health care, education, and many other professional, consumer and service-based industries.

Eastwood brings extensive knowledge of Western issues and Wyoming state government, and experience on both sides of the media, said Linden owner Susie Cannon.

“We’re excited to have Cara join our team,” Cannon said. “She brings expertise in the many different issues facing Wyoming and the West today and has a solid understanding of how to help clients communicate key messages to their customers.”

Eastwood said she is eager to help the highly regarded agency expand its business in Wyoming and other Western states. She will be based in Linden’s home office in Fort Collins but will spend much of her time traveling throughout the region.

“Linden’s grounded, research-based approach is a perfect fit for me.” Eastwood said, “I’m eager to begin working with existing clients in Wyoming and reaching out to new companies that can benefit from Linden’s expertise in health care, education and technology-related marketing and communications.”

Eastwood joined the staff of Gov. Dave Freudenthal in 2007, becoming the two-term Democrat’s second press secretary. Working closely with the Governor and policy staff, Eastwood managed all media and communications, helping craft messaging and position the Governor’s Office on evolving issues.

She led the State of Wyoming’s communications efforts on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, writing news releases and web content and creating strategic messaging. She also coordinated interviews on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” “NOW” on PBS and headed up the statewide “Energy Wise Wyoming” media campaign that resulted in a 33 percent increase in applicants for a low-income energy assistance program.

Eastwood earned bachelor’s degrees in journalism and anthropology from the University of Colorado at Boulder where she graduated magna cum laude in 2000.

She has worked as a reporter and photographer at newspapers in several states including the Greeley (Colo.) Tribune, the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle and the Jackson (Tenn.) Sun. Her work has been published in USA Today, on Time.com and in American Photo Magazine.

Eastwood began her writing and photography career in Wyoming as a newspaper intern for the Casper Star-Tribune in 2000. After spending a year in Tennessee as a staff photographer at the Jackson Sun, she returned to the West to work for the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle as a reporter and photographer, and later as editor of the Outdoors section. In this position, she wrote and photographed stories about Wyoming's outdoor recreational sports, wildlife and environmental issues while traveling extensively in the state.

She has taught photography at Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne since 2004, and spends her free time outside, hiking, biking and fishing with her fiancé Ryan Baldwin.

Eastwood can be reached through our contact page.