Business History

Cipalla Communications, Inc. is a consulting firm that specializes in providing marketing communications and copywriting services to clients in the Pacific Northwest. The company was started by Rita Cipalla, a journalist and communications professional.

Cipalla Communications specializes in working with museums, performing arts organizations, travel and tourism programs, foundations, and municipal and county governments, providing services from message development to communication strategic plans, from marketing collateral to e-newsletters.

Locally, the firm numbers among its clients: University of Washington, City of Federal Way, Federal Way Community Center, Dumas Bay Centre, Burke Museum of Natural History, City of Kirkland, The Mountaineers, Braided River Books, Seattle Symphony, Frye Art Museum, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Art Wolfe Photography, Seattle CARES Mentoring Movement and Burmer Music.

Before moving to Seattle, Rita Cipalla was director of communications at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. There she orchestrated some 200 media and public events annually, handled scores of media campaigns, and planned press conferences for the White House, cabinet officials and the U.S. State Department.

The firm has won many awards over the years, including an Award of Excellence from the Public Relations Society of America, Puget Sound chapter, and a Certificate of Merit for feature writing from the International Association of Business Communicators, Puget Sound chapter.

Rita Cipalla holds a BA (cum laude) and MA degree in English, both from the University of Dayton, Ohio.