Change for Balance Expands
Change for Balance Expands:
To a Full-Service Strategic Communications and Production Agency Dedicated to Social Good
Judi Ketcik and Kristen Barnfield join Roddy Tabatabai and John McCarthy to
deepen agency offerings and experience
(Los Angeles, February 3, 2021) — Change for Balance expands, now offering a full suite of strategic communications and production services to support nonprofits, purpose-driven companies and socially responsible brands. Judi Ketcik and Kristen Barnfield, formerly of CK&D, join award-winning filmmakers John McCarthy and Roddy Tabatabai, as partners and will lead the agency’s successful marketing communications and PR practice.
“Over the past decade our two agencies have worked together on a number of meaningful client projects, and we quickly discovered we truly share the same work-life philosophy,” says Roddy Tabatabai, co-founder and partner, Change for Balance. “It seems only natural to join forces, strengthening our ability to service our clients and make a more profound impact. And now, long story short, there’s no agency quite like ours.”
Change for Balance’s services encompass strategic communications, PR, branding, design, partnership strategies across entertainment, corporate and nonprofit sectors, digital marketing, philanthropy, and film, TV and streaming productions. The agency has a depth of understanding about how to best tap into the entertainment industry and media to amplify client work, grow audiences and empower them to act. Change for Balance represents a number of leading causes and respected organizations, including Easterseals Southern California and its Easterseals Disability Film Challenge and Easterseals in Entertainment, NEXT for Autism, Cure SMA, and U.S.VETS. Change for Balance serves as the lead content team behind the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project, and has also worked with Virgin Unite, Amnesty USA, and the American Heart Association.
Love and Bananas is Change for Balance’s first feature film. Released to international acclaim, the documentary uncovers the plight of Asian elephants and ignites a new way of thinking about this extraordinary species. Heralded by film critics and loved by audiences everywhere, it holds a score of 94% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film won the prestigious Genesis Award for documentary of the year from the Humane Society of the United States. Beyond raising global awareness, Change for Balance has directly supported the rescues of 7 elephants in need, broken ground on a sanctuary in Laos and raised money to enable “Elephant Whisper” Lek Chailert and her Elephant Nature Park to buy more land critical to the species survival.
“When lifelong friends join forces – and you partner alongside people who constantly inspire and challenge you – good things just happen. Together, we are at our creative best,” says Kristen Barnfield, partner, Change for Balance. “We combined our passions, friendship, skills, networks and resources to be a powerhouse agency for social good … to bring enormous value to our clients.”
Roddy and John first met in kindergarten and have been best friends ever since, travelling the world together. Kristen and Judi worked at Edelman PR early in their careers, managing several cause-related accounts and, as friends do, deliberately found ways to work together ever since.
The Change for Balance partners and team members are grounded in decades of experience as strategic communicators and master storytellers – each committed to doing work that matters most. We are constantly challenging the norms, collaborating with our partners in media, entertainment and philanthropy to bring our clients’ important causes and work forward. Like so many during the pandemic, the four partners and larger team are working remotely, based in Los Angeles, Newport Beach and Chicago.
