Sarah Evans

As we closed this section, Sarah Evans announced that her firm had won the huge agency-of-record assignment for the Hilton Luxury Brands portfolio. Evans and partner Jamie Lynn Sigler built JPR into a $12 million travel PR powerhouse from scratch, so you can bet they didn’t just roll over when the pandemic crashed their business this spring. The partners cast their net beyond their core hotel and destination clients to rein in health care, food and beverage, real estate and tech accounts. As the year went on, some travel clients came back and new ones jumped aboard. Evans has also doubled down on her role as a creative lead for clients, helping hotels reinvent themselves as education venues, staycation hubs or markets. Against the odds, the agency’s pulling back into pole position, recouping lost revenue and hiring back staff. “We’re seasoned at offering counsel,” Evans said. “But we’ve never had to do it while going through our own crisis.”