TrailRunner Team - TrailRunner International

Alex Fassnacht

Alex Fassnacht is an Associate in TrailRunner International’s Dallas / Fort Worth office. Alex began her career at TrailRunner International as an intern before being named an Analyst in 2023.

Before joining the firm, Alex worked at Southern Methodist University as a student ambassador in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and as an intern at the Office of President George W. Bush.

Alex graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in political science and public policy from Southern Methodist University.

In her free time, Alex enjoys running, reading, and being with her friends and family.

Gus Loring

Gus Loring is a Finance and Growth Associate for TrailRunner International, supporting Business Development, Finance, and Operations.

Before becoming an Associate, Gus was an Analyst for the Finance, Operations and Business Development teams. He began his career at TrailRunner International as an intern. Previously, Gus served as an intern for the Massachusetts Trial Court alongside attorneys in the Court Service Center.

Gus graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Boston University, where he was a member of the university’s Finance and Investment Club and the Phi Alpha Delta pre-law fraternity. In his free time, Gus enjoys traveling, skiing, and golfing.

Sarah Hicks

Sarah Hicks is an Associate based in TrailRunner International’s Dallas/Fort Worth office. Sarah began her career at TrailRunner International as an Analyst in 2023.

Prior to joining TrailRunner International, Sarah served as a public relations intern at Lambert, a strategic communications firm specializing in public relations, investor relations, and integrated marketing. Before that, she worked as a social media intern at Watlow Electric Manufacturing Company, creating content and helping maintain social media channels.

Sarah graduated from the University of Iowa with a Bachelor of Business Administration in management and a certificate in international business.

In her free time, she enjoys playing golf, traveling, reading, and spending time with friends and family.

Scott Sonju

Scott Sonju is an experienced executive, entrepreneur, teacher, and leadership coach with deep knowledge of leadership development, organizational behavior, culture building, change management, entrepreneurship, and the business of sports. He is the founder of SNS Advisory through which he advises and coaches multiple business owners and C-suite executives.

Scott was part of the initial team that launched TrailRunner Sports and serves as an ongoing resource. For five years he was President of Neltex Sports, an investment and advisory consortium that consults, develops, and owns and/or operates various sports-related businesses. During that time, Scott forged a historic partnership with the China Baseball Association, launched a professional rugby club, spearheaded acquisitions, and was a strategic advisor to a startup professional sports league.

For more than a decade, Scott was President and Co-Owner of the Frisco RoughRiders, a Texas Rangers affiliate and one of the most successful clubs in Minor League Baseball. During Scott’s tenure, the RoughRiders received myriad industry and community awards and placed numerous employees into professional sports leadership roles. Scott began his business career at the Dallas Mavericks, then invested five years helping to lead a 270-employee nonprofit in Upstate New York.

Scott has extensive experience with strategy, leadership and business development, turnarounds, negotiations, communications, operations, and public/private partnerships. He has been involved with several startups and is the founder of three nonprofits.

Scott is active in the community and over the years has served on multiple civic and charitable boards. He is a two-time selection for the Dallas Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” and was a Texas League Executive of the Year.

Scott earned his MBA at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management and a Bachelor of Arts in history from Texas A&M University. He is also an adjunct professor at Southern Methodist University, where he teaches a popular master’s-level sports sponsorship course. Scott loves to read, hike, travel, write, teach, and civilly discuss philosophy, worldviews, economics, business, and leadership. Scott and his wife Amy have four children and make their home in North Texas.

Teresa Henderson

Teresa Henderson is a Managing Director for TrailRunner International based in Texas with more than 35 years of experience as a communications strategist. She creates and leads high-performance teams and manages TrailRunner International’s global Client Success initiative, which ensures the highest-quality counsel, strategy, and execution for clients of the firm.

Teresa specializes in creating platforms and initiatives to address complex issues and deliver business results. For much of her career, she has focused on reputation management in the natural resources, energy technology, industrial, CPG, and professional services sectors. Her clients have also included leading infrastructure, healthcare, private equity, real estate, trade association, and financial organizations. She is a trusted advisor to the C-suite for change management and issues and crisis resolution and also specializes in senior leadership transition support.

Teresa routinely advises on strategic brand awareness, brand reputation expansion and repair, sustainability programs and goals, executive thought leadership, board governance, and other critical matters that move and impact stakeholders. She has managed numerous high-stakes situations including hazardous material accidents, workplace incidents resulting in loss of life, youth protection matters and sexual misconduct allegations, product recalls, foodborne illnesses, communications for Presidential cabinet appointments, Fortune 100 C-suite transitions and other sensitive leadership issues, NGO activism, and plant and location closures.

Before joining TrailRunner International, Teresa was Vice Chair, Client Strategy at Burson. Her prior roles at Burson also include President of the Midwest/Southeast Region and Chief Operating Officer for North America.

Previously, Teresa held senior leadership positions at Edelman, Ketchum, and Pierpont Communications, overseeing client campaigns and driving regional growth at all three firms.

A lifelong Texan and avid traveler, Teresa began her career as a copywriter at Runner’s World magazine. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Old Dominion University and is a frequent speaker on the art and science of communications.

Matt Paden

Matt Paden is an Associate based in TrailRunner International’s New York office. Matt began his career at TrailRunner International as an Analyst in 2023.

Prior to joining TrailRunner International, Matt served as a communications and marketing intern in Madrid for South Summit, a global conference connecting startups, investors, and corporations. He previously worked as a public relations intern for the Mental Health Association in New Jersey and Noble Steed Music.

Matt graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in public relations and Spanish along with a music industry minor from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.

In his free time, Matt enjoys playing saxophone, creative writing, biking, and exploring.

Claire Zoller

Claire Zoller is an Associate based in TrailRunner International’s New York office. Claire joined TrailRunner International as an Analyst in 2023.

Before joining the firm, Claire interned for Hello PR Group, where she worked with a range of architectural and interior design clients. Before that, Claire was an intern for the Breast Cancer Alliance, where she created social media content and helped with fundraising, working with local restaurants to donate to the organization’s annual Breast Cancer Awareness Month auction.

Claire graduated from Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications with a Bachelor of Science in public relations and a minor in writing.

In her free time, Claire loves reading, running outside, hiking, and traveling.

Mary Ann Schoppman

Mary Ann Schoppman is a Director and Deputy Head of New York, where she brings more than a decade of experience in corporate storytelling, executive positioning, and media relations. In addition to leading client strategy on her accounts, she plays a key role in shaping the culture and operations of the New York office, overseeing the Associates based in New York as part of the office leadership team.

Prior to joining TrailRunner International, Mary Ann was Vice President at Zeno Group, where she led consumer, corporate, and healthcare accounts. Previously, Mary Ann served as Senior Manager on PepsiCo’s global corporate communications team, where she led external communications for corporate functions and for enterprise-wide initiatives focused on corporate culture, data and analytics, strategy, and digital transformation.

Mary Ann’s prior experience also includes roles at Marina Maher, MWW Group, and Cohn & Wolfe, where she worked with clients across beauty, travel, health, CPG, and tech industries.

Mary Ann graduated from the University of South Florida in Tampa with a dual concentration in interpersonal and organizational communication and public and cultural communication. In her free time, she enjoys exploring new culinary experiences, traveling, and volunteering in her community.

Maddie Kraft

Maddie Kraft is a Director for TrailRunner International based in Phoenix, where she specializes in supporting clients in collegiate, professional, and international sports.

Maddie has more than eight years of experience in the business of sports. During her time at TrailRunner International, Maddie led the formation of the initial strategic plan for TrailRunner Sports alongside partners at Legends. She plays a key role on teams providing strategic communications and business strategy solutions for NFL, MLB, EPL, and “Power 4” collegiate clients. In 2025, Sports Business Journal named Maddie to its New Voices under 30 list.

Most recently, Maddie was an Associate at TrailRunner International and previously served as Manager of Corporate Partnership Marketing for the Dallas Cowboys, where she helped develop significant commercial relationships with more than 20 corporate partners. Before that, Maddie was a Partner Service and Activation Coordinator for the Arizona Cardinals Football Club, where she managed client relationships and oversaw contractual agreements for more than 40 corporate partners, including leading the onboarding efforts for the new naming rights partner, State Farm, in 2018.

Maddie holds a Master of Business Administration from the Harbert College of Business at Auburn University as well as a Bachelor of Science in marketing and a Bachelor of Arts in sports business from the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.

Maddie enjoys giving back to her alma mater, Arizona State, serving as an Executive Mentor for the Sports Business Scholars program. In her free time, Maddie likes to exercise, hike with her dog Charlie, travel with her husband, read, and work on her golf game.

David Lee

David Lee is Chief Financial Officer for TrailRunner International, based in our New York office. Previously, he was Managing Director, FP&A. David brings more than 15 years of financial experience to TrailRunner, including experience with non-profit, public and privately held companies.

Prior to joining TrailRunner, David led strategic planning and operations at Catalyst, a non-profit organization that accelerates progress for women through workplace inclusion. Before Catalyst, he served as Vice President of Finance at Hungryroot and prior to that, he held various finance roles at MediaMath, AOL and Weight Watchers. David started his career in investment banking, where he helped execute M&A and equity financing transactions for technology, media and internet companies.

David graduated from Drexel University with a Bachelor of Science in business administration with a major in finance. He lives in New York with his wife and their two daughters and enjoys playing basketball, biking, and learning to play the piano.

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