Meet Gard’s newest hires!

We’ve been busy here at Gard in recent months – so much so that we’ve added some new faces to our team. You can read a little about them here.
Informal portrait of Meaghan Burns with her dog.

Meaghan Burns – Account manager
Meaghan brings a long list of public relations and communications experiences with her to Gard, including her own PR firm Burns PR, as well as roles with Salt & Straw, Broussard Communications and Lola Red PR. She earned a bachelor’s in human services from Virginia Tech and a master’s in communications from the University of Denver. At Gard, Meaghan works with our PR and advertising clients, setting strategy, developing communications plans, writing, pitching and anything else involved with account management. An outdoor enthusiast, Meaghan attempts to keep up with her family, be it skiing on Mount Hood, camping, hiking, horseback riding, biking in the great outdoors or paddle boarding around our magnificent waterways.


Informal portrait of Naureen Khan at the waterfront.

Naureen Khan – Associate
To say that Naureen was busy in college is a bit of an understatement. Not only did she earn a degree in marketing and international business from Portland State University in 2019 – a path inspired by her background as a first-generation American with parents from India and Pakistan – but she also held a total of seven student jobs during her time there. Those ranged from office assistant to student ambassador to communications and data analytics manager. Before coming to Gard, Naureen worked as a homeowner consultant at Vacasa, and she also currently works as contract Government Relations Associate for Friends of Frog Ferry, an initiative to bring a ferry service to Portland. At Gard, Naureen will be supporting the Public Relations team. She is a strong advocate for sustainable living and has been utilizing her extra time at home to convert her place into a zero-waste home.


Arthur Parker, lead web developer at Gard Communications, on a hike.

Arthur Parker – Lead Web Developer A long-time web developer with more than 20 years of experience, Arthur worked with the Gard team for many years before officially joining us in 2021. A graduate of Emory University with a degree in philosophy, Arthur is a full-stack developer who works with our web team to develop websites for clients, from implementing design on the front-end to writing custom code on the back-end.  A native of the Southeast, Arthur has lived in Portland for 17 years, where he is a performing and recording musician.


Informal portrait of Angela Tait.

Angela Tait – Media specialist
A 21-year veteran of the media buying industry, Angela brings her skills as a media buyer and planner to Gard. She handles everything from traditional TV and radio to out of home, digital search and social. Largely self-employed throughout her career, Angela said she was a work-from-homer before it was cool. A graduate of the University of Oregon, she also has her own small agency, Tait Media. When she’s not buying or planning media, Angela likes to hike in the summer, snowshoe in the winter and cook. She says she also has a “normal-not-at-all-over-the-top level of obsession/love” for her rescue pup, Milo.