Expertise
Communications should start with the objective, not the tactic.
Most clients don't come to me with a perfectly defined communications assignment. They have something they're trying to accomplish, a problem they're trying to solve or a decision they're trying to make.
My job is to help figure out where communications fits — and then help get the work done.
Strategic Communications & Senior Counsel
I work directly with CEOs, founders and senior leaders to think through business objectives, positioning, audiences and communications strategy — often before decisions have been made.
That can mean serving as an ongoing senior communications advisor or helping think through a specific opportunity, challenge or decision. Either way, I start with the same question: What are we actually trying to accomplish?
Reputation, Crisis & Issues
Some situations require more than a good message. They require clear thinking about what to do, who needs to hear from you, what could go wrong and how different decisions may be received.
I help organizations prepare for and respond to reputational challenges, investigations, litigation, organizational issues, unexpected scrutiny and other sensitive situations where judgment matters as much as communications.
Positioning & Narrative
Organizations and executives need to be clear about what they stand for, what they want to be known for and how they talk about their work.
I help develop and sharpen that positioning, then bring it to life through messaging, executive visibility, thought leadership, speaking opportunities and other ways of reaching the audiences that matter.
Media, Digital & Audience Strategy
People don't get their information the way they did 20 years ago — or even five years ago. Effective communications requires understanding where your audiences actually are and how best to reach them.
That can include earned media strategy and direct work with journalists, as well as social media, creators and influencers, digital platforms and other emerging ways of reaching audiences. The goal is to pick the right opportunities for what you're trying to accomplish.
Launches, Growth & Change
I've always enjoyed helping organizations build something — and helping them communicate when something meaningful is changing.
That can mean launching a company, product, platform or initiative; entering a new market; navigating a leadership or organizational change; or helping an organization determine how its story needs to evolve as the business does.
The work keeps changing.
I started my career when press releases were still sent by fax and part of the morning routine involved photocopying articles out of actual newspapers. I'm just old enough to remember communications before blogs, social media and web-first journalism fundamentally changed the way news traveled.
I've also spent my entire career adapting as those changes happened — from the rise of digital media and social platforms to the growth of the creator economy and now the rapid emergence of AI. I've never believed that experience means doing things the way they've always been done.
The fundamentals of good communications haven't changed much. Understand the objective. Know the audience. Be clear about what you want people to understand or do.
How you reach them has changed enormously. Good counsel requires understanding both: the fundamentals that endure and the ways people actually consume information and communicate today.