Bio

Principal and owner of Pounce! PR, Sarah Grolnic-McClurg, APR, is a communications advisor and battle-tested media relations professional with more than 25 years of experience. Based in Berkeley, Calif., she partners with a select roster of clients.

Since 2000, Pounce! PR has promoted brands and organizations through persuasive pitching and savvy media know-how. As an accredited public relations pro, Sarah brings excellent communication skills, professionalism and sound media judgment to clients and their public relations.

Sarah has garnered top-tier placements in such outlets as CFO Magazine, NPR, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, US News & World Report, Time Magazine, Family Circle, Oprah, Good Morning America, NBC Nightly News, USA Today, the Chicago Tribune, and the Los Angeles Times.

Her clients range from large institutions, such as Kaiser Permanente and the University of California at San Francisco, to mid-market private companies, social enterprises, small nonprofits and VC-backed emerging growth companies. Client engagements typically last more than five years.

Sarah is a 1987 graduate of Brown University. She launched her PR career in San Francisco after working at a foreign policy think tank, a consumer advocate organization and a social service agency and was accredited in the field in 1997. After scoring a pile of national media placements with Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts, she founded Pounce! PR in 2000. She loves the learning, fast pace and collaboration of the profession and the satisfaction that comes from successful media placements and increased awareness of what her clients are doing.

Known for being trustworthy and down-to-earth, Sarah fosters productive, lasting relationships with colleagues and clients. Since 2010, she has been an integral member of Thinkshift Communications’ team, serving as a PR strategist for the sustainability-focused agency.

A member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) since 1996, she has judged its national Silver Anvil competition in New York City. Sarah earned her APR through PRSA’s accreditation program and has served as the San Francisco chapter’s APR chair as well as a review panelist. Read her blog post about Covid-19,