OUR GROUP

20K Group hires seasoned communications and business professionals who partner with clients to identify and enhance the true value of your company’s or organization’s identity.  With experience ranging from for-profit brand awareness and crisis management to finance and compliance and not-for-profit development strategy and communications, 20K Group utilizes a multi-disciplined approach to position our clients.

DEBORAH A. FIORITO is a communications professional with more than 30 years of corporate and agency public relations experience.  She currently is president and principal of 20K Group, LLC, a perception-management firm specializing in incident management, corporate social responsibility, and media and community relations.  Throughout her career, Fiorito has successfully managed campaigns to positively influence perception opportunities or threats.  She has trained dozens of senior -level executives, board members and not-for-profit leaders to communicate their business messages more effectively and thousands of field personnel and support-staff members to deal with the media during times of crisis.

Prior to forming 20K Group, Fiorito was principal of Sextant Consulting, LLC, an issues management firm in Houston, and before that, she was executive vice president and chief communications officer of Dynegy Inc.  In that role, Fiorito was responsible for external and internal communications activities, including branding, marketing, media relations, community affairs, and employee communications and was founding president of the Dynegy Dare to Care Foundation board of trustees.

From 1995 to 2000, Fiorito was senior vice president, public affairs, of Chase Bank of Texas (now JP Morgan Chase), where she managed internal and external communications, state and local government affairs, multimedia services, community relations and the Women’s Business Initiative of Chase in Texas.  She has also held senior communications

positions at Apache Corporation and Mitchell Energy & Development Corp. (now Devon Energy).  In 1997, she was named a founding director of the Houston Image Group, Inc., an organization affiliated with the Greater Houston Convention & Visitors’ Bureau, which is charged with improving the city’s image worldwide.

Fiorito is the immediate past chair of the March of Dimes Houston Division, is past chair and a current board member of the Houston Downtown Alliance and the Women’s Energy Network.   Previously, she was a member of the executive committee and board of trustees of the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston and served on the boards of Leadership Houston, Society for the Performing Arts and Houston Grand Opera.  She also is a Leadership Forum graduate and fellow of the Center for Houston’s Future, and in 2001, she was named one of Commodities Now magazine’s “50 Key Women in Energy.”  In addition, Fiorito has chaired or co-chaired a number of large fundraising events, including “March of Dimes WalkAmerica 2003,” “Heart of the City Gala,” “AIDS Foundation World AIDS Day Luncheon,” and the “Crisis Intervention Answer the Call Dinner.”

Born in Tokyo, Japan, and raised in the Washington, D.C. area, Fiorito graduated from North Carolina State University and spent the early years of her career in issues management and public relations for a Washington-based PR agency.  She and her husband, Tom, an energy-industry executive, have three grown children.

ANDREA DAHLKE is vice president of 20K Group, LLC.  She is responsible for the firm’s client- and project-management services and is a presentation coach and trainer.  A certified public accountant (CPA), she has diverse experience in event and program management, financial reporting, risk management and investor relations and is an active volunteer with various community organizations. 

A native Houstonian, Dahlke began her career as an auditor and consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers (formerly Pricewaterhouse LLP) in Houston.  In 1998, she became corporate controller of Encap Investments L.P., where she managed cash and portfolio investments, administered credit facilities and coordinated investor relations.  Prior to joining 20K

Group, Dahlke was an analyst with the North American Power Risk Management group of UBS Warburg Energy (previously Enron North America).  In that role, she managed risk analysis and position reporting for six commodity portfolios and was awarded the company’s “Personal Best Award” for exceptional individual contribution to the company. 

A magna cum laude graduate of Texas A&M University, Dahlke has held leadership roles in numerous civic organizations, including Downtown Houston Association’s Emerging Leaders (past chair) and the St. Joseph Hospital’s PULSE Leadership Group.  In addition, Dahlke is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Beta Gamma Sigma Business Honors Fraternity.