Jo Cato is President and managing partner of Periwinkle Media Group a boutique public relations, marketing, business development and public affairs agency in Las Vegas, Nevada. Prior to Periwinkle, Jo served in the capacity of General Manager of Public Relations and Diversity, spokeperson and marketing sales executive within the telecommunication industry for over 15 years.
A successful entrepreneur and dedicated advocate for small businesses, Jo Cato juggles many different and often competing roles. She is a business owner, speaker, community leader, business coach, author, radio talk show host and mom. Her ability to balance all of these roles and transfer that capability into a productive work environment has won her and her company recognition.
Jo’s most recent entrepreneurial endeavor is a coaching program “Re-entry to Entrepreneurship” she developed for female ex-offenders who are faced with the challenges of finding employment and are aspiring entrepreneurs. Jo has coached more than 70 clients in the program to start and grow successful businesses by providing expertise in the areas of marketing, talent management and business development.
She is a sought-after speaker on topics of entrepreneurship, business management, community inclusion outreach and balancing work and business. She writes a column “Business Elixir” for Uptown News and hosts a weekly radio show “On The Move” which profiles successful entrepreneurs.
She is also the CEO and Publisher of Pulse Magazine, a cultural diversity magazine that focuses on minority businesses which she founded in 2001. Ms. Cato received the KLAS-TV Community Spirit Award in 2008 as recognition for her contributions to other businesses and the community. She was also selected as a finalist in Pinpoint Magazine’s Woman to Watch in 2006 and was named to Las Vegas’ Top 100 Minority Business Owners 2006 sponsored by I Magazine. She is frequently quoted and featured in several publications, including Smart Money, Desert Diamonds, Entrepreneur Magazine and many online content sites.
Jo has developed public relations, marketing, strategic plans and diversity inclusion campaigns for Nevada State Department of Health and Human Service’s Office of Minority Health, Nevada Business Service, Poker Palace Casino, Celebrate Homes, Centex Homes, Jerry’s Nugget Casino and Las Vegas Clark County Urban League. The main goal of these campaigns was to implement diversity outreach initiatives; cause related marketing; branding strategies, business-to-business liaison, social media strategies and full detailed marketing plan with implementation milestones and measurements for success.
Ms. Cato wrote the Self Help Book: Do-it-Yourself Public Relations: For Businesses with No Budget to Hire a PR Agency. Her next book, Driven – A Road Map to Success, is set to launch in September 2009.
Jo currently serves as a Director on the boards of the Las Vegas Black Historical Society, Valley View Cares and Nevada Concerned Citizens Alliance. She has served on the North Las Vegas Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee, North Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce and the Clark County Mixed Use Development Committee. She currently serves as Planning Commissioner for the City of North Las Vegas where she is Vice Chair. Jo is a registered lobbist and she serves on mutilple boards dedicated to civic and business development causes.
She is a member of the Urban Land Institute, American Planning Association, the Southern Nevada Home Builders Association, the Urban Chamber of Commerce and the North Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce.
Jo holds a Master of Arts degree in Economics from George Washington University, School of Business and Public Management, and a Bachelors degree in Economics from University of Nevada Las Vegas.
