Suzanne Parsonage Miller, President and Founder, SPM Communications, Inc.
SPM specializes in crisis communications, and when the first U.S. case of Ebola hit Dallas in October 2014, the city went into panic mode. SPM, led by Suzanne, who personally leads all crisis efforts, put together crisis plans for all of its clients that had proximity to the victim’s home and the hospital where he died. Then came word that one of the officials who had assisted the victim’s family during their quarantine may have been exposed to the deadly virus and that he was the husband of an SPM client employee.
Miller and the SPM crisis team spent weeks helping the client with internal and external communications and encouraged the company to do the maximum to protect its employees and customers. She also worked with the health department to help coordinate communications while the public waited to hear the outcome of the officer’s medical tests. The client learned that the officer did not have the virus, but was well prepared with media and employee statements, timelines and a list of preventive actions taken to protect the brand in the event that he did have the virus and his personal details were reported.