MARLENE BYRNE
Marlene has been writing her entire life for both fun and work in her career in advertising. She published five children’s books under the Project Play umbrella. She has written multiple books for clients and recently wrote a book for NPH about Father William Wasson, the priest who founded Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos, titled “Save the World, Start with the Children.”
Professionally, Marlene is the CEO of Celtic Chicago, a full service, advertising agency. She has balanced motherhood, career and service throughout her life. Her charity work led her to volunteer for NPH USA, where she would accept the opportunity to care for Juan Manuel Pineda.
Marlene lives in Chicago with her husband Brian, their children, Samuel, Matthew and Maggie, and their dog, Riley.
DAVID HAZNAW
David is a full-time writer/author, amateur musician and sports lover. He loves the craft of storytelling and writes in a way that makes the reader imagine what’s going on in the mind of the main character. He has written and produced video content for clients for over 25 years.
A native Midwesterner, David’s first job after graduating with degree in Journalism from the University of Wisconsin was as county beat reporter for The Watertown Daily Times.
In 2019, David published a book titled “A Year in Words” crafted from his commitment to write his thoughts every day for a year.
He now lives in suburban Milwaukee with his wife, Joan, and their two children, Kate and Will.
Marlene Byrne and David Haznaw met 25 years ago, working in advertising. Both writers by trade, they worked on crafting headlines and stories for clients. Marlene would go on to become CEO of Celtic Chicago, an ad agency. David would become a writer and producer of a production company and director of a video about Juan during his concert performance.
After 35 years in advertising, the two have decided to become writing partners and worked together to craft the story of Juan’s journey. Music Has Legs is a wonderful, true story that changed both Marlene and David’s lives. We hope it will touch yours as well.