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SPEAKERS
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Risë Birnbaum
Founder and CEO, zcomm
Risë is the founder and CEO of zcomm, a nationally certified Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE). Since its inception in 1989, she has overseen the agency’s growth from a small shop specializing in radio news releases and promotions to an award-winning, national public relations, marketing firm that specializes in broadcast, digital and social media. America’s top marketers, from major PR agencies and the Fortune 500 to government agencies, associations and non-profits tap zcomm for audio and video content development and distribution that efficiently reaches, engages and impacts target audiences.
A former award-winning ABC Network Correspondent, Risë Birnbaum brings her creative flair and years of PR/Broadcast experience to the table on every front. Risë is listed in “Who’s Who Among Young Entrepreneurs,” was one of 2,000 Notable American Women, and was selected as one of Washington DC’s 2007 Top 25 “Women who Mean Business” by the Washington Business Journal. Under her leadership, the company has received numerous awards including the PRSA’s prestigious Silver Anvil and the Galaxy award and was most recently ranked as one of the top 15 independently owned firms in the Washington, DC area.
Risë graduated from the University of Rochester and received her Master’s in Broadcast Journalism from Boston University's School of Communications.
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Vice President, BurrellesLuce
During a career spanning almost 20 years, Johna Burke has worked both as a public relations practitioner and a provider of services that are vital to the work of communication professionals. For 11 years starting in 1989, she worked for U-Haul International, ultimately becoming head of public and investor relations. Burke joined BurrellesLuce in 2000 and serves as a vice president of the company, the largest media monitoring and measurement firm in the United States. Burke is a highly rated speaker who is often invited to talk about best practices in public relations, and her commentaries on the subject have appeared in PR print and web outlets. She is chair of the Southern Region of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC).
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Senior Vice President, Communications & Strategic Initiatives, CHPA
Virginia Cox leads the Consumer Healthcare Products Association’s Communications department, and oversees CHPA’s media relations, educational program development and outreach efforts. Since her arrival at CHPA in 2003, Cox has overseen the creation of CHPA’s consumer education foundation and been the chief strategist of the association’s external communications efforts surrounding regulatory and legislative issues. In addition, Cox spearheads CHPA’s outreach to consumers and outside organizations.
Cox has a long history of public service. She spent eight years working for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), as the director of outreach and strategic initiatives for the commissioner at FDA and a special assistant to the secretary at HHS. She recently wrote a chapter in the book Change for America for President Obama’s transition titled “Food and Drug Administration: Protecting Public Health Through Science.” Cox is a member of the Maryland Bar.
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Chief Communications Officer, Prudential Financial
Robert DeFillippo is head of Global Communications at Prudential Financial. In this role, he is responsible for developing and implementing integrated public relations, including media relations, event marketing and internal communications strategies for one of the largest diversified financial institutions in the world. DeFillippo directs Prudential’s communications activities in more than 30 countries. He serves as official company spokesperson on a wide array of issues and products, including insurance and investments and coordinates Prudential’s crisis communications.
Prior to joining Prudential in January 1994, DeFillippo served as Director of Public Affairs for the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), the largest membership organization in the country, where he was in charge of media relations, speechwriting, advocacy advertising, and community outreach. Prior to that, he served as press secretary for the Hon. Hamilton Fish, Jr., U.S. House of Representatives, following a 10-year career as an award-winning reporter and editor for Gannett and other newspapers.
DeFillippo is a member of the boards of the Prudential Political Action Committee, the Public Relations Society of America Foundation, and the Arthur W. Page Society. He is also the Dinner Chair of the annual National Press Foundation Awards Dinner.
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Co-Founder and President, MyMediaInfo/RedEgg Solutions
Eric Hill founded RedEgg Solutions along with Gaugarin Oliver in the summer of 2006. RedEgg has launched several successful products including MyEdcals, MyMediaInfo and MyNewsBrief. In the past year, RedEgg has launched a Professional Services division delivering Media Analysis for a number of PR agencies and corporations including Fortune 1,000 companies.
Prior to founding RedEgg, Eric held management and strategic roles at MediaMap, Cision and OneSource Information. Eric also served in the U.S. Peace Corps as a business development consultant in the Dominican Republic helping local businesses use technology to create new sources of income. Eric received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting from Assumption College and is the father of two beautiful girls.
Eric has been a guest lecturer at Boston University, Emerson College, NYU and has presented to several trade associations and PRSA chapters.
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Vice President Editorial Research, VMS
Angela Jeffrey ended up in the research and measurement world by accident, but has become one of its most passionate advocates. After spending two decades in PR, advertising and marketing with JCPenney and major national agencies, she started Houston-based Jeffrey Communications. Along the way, she snagged several PRSA Silver Anvils and IABC Gold Quills.
Then, after countless nights creating measurement reports by hand, she appealed to her brother, a Silicon Valley hotshot, to build a little system called PRtrak. She then talked data giants Nielsen, Arbitron, SQAD and others, into letting her resell their data “a la carte” for the first time ever. In 2002, she sold the firm to SDI, an international analytics firm that enhanced the platform through the creation of “Share of Discussion.” Joining SDI as head of the PRtrak division, Angie worked toward the goal of standardizing PR measurement metrics, and with SDI researchers on correlating PR outputs with business outcomes. In September 2005, Angie played a large part in the acquisition of SDI’s PRtrak Division by New York-based VMS. Angie now serves as VP Editorial Research for VMS, and speaks on measurement nationwide. She also serves as a member of the IPR Commission on PR Measurement & Evaluation.
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Vice President, External Communications, Aflac
Laura Kane is Vice President, External Communications for Aflac, Inc. where she serves as the primary corporate spokesperson and is responsible for communications initiatives that enhance and protect the corporate reputation. Kane has over 25 years experience producing integrated marketing communications in corporate, agency and media settings for national brands. Kane has worked at Disney ABC, Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, EuroRSCG, National Geographic and Viacom.
Some of her accomplishments include: leading the communications initiatives around the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce’s successful effort to remove the confederate symbol from the Georgia flag; writing ABC, Inc.’s first eCommerce plan and creating online stores; managing Aflac’s communications efforts around say-on-pay, launching Viacom’s Viewer’s Choice II, ESPN’s Japan Sports Channel and NHK’s TV Japan. In 2008, Kane was inducted into PR News Hall of Fame at the National Press Club. She and her teams have won recognition and awards in several industry competitions.
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Senior Vice President – Digital Public Affairs, Edelman
Monte Lutz is Senior Vice President of Edelman’s Digital Public Affairs Practice, where he crafts social media and online advocacy campaigns for corporate, association and non-profit clients. Mr. Lutz is a social media pioneer who created his first political blog in 1998.
Prior to joining Edelman, Mr. Lutz was an executive speechwriter, produced Congressional events for the Public Forum Institute and worked for various news organizations, including CBS News and C-SPAN. He has developed award-winning traditional and online crisis communications campaigns for Fortune 500 companies, federal agencies and not-for-profits. Mr. Lutz also has produced original programming for CNBC and advertising campaigns for corporate and government clients, including an award-winning Super Bowl ad for Monster, ranked as one of the Top 10 ads of all time by USATODAY.
Mr. Lutz recently published The Social Pulpit: Barack Obama’s Social Media Toolkit, an examination of how companies can apply social media lessons from the Obama campaign to their own communications and advocacy programs. He has an MBA from the University of Florida and is a visiting faculty member at Johns Hopkins University. You can find him at @montelutz.
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Executive VP, Measurement & Strategy, Weber Shandwick
Tim Marklein is an accomplished public relations leader with 18 years experience helping companies launch new businesses, create market categories, build reputations, beat competitors, win proxy fights and grow their business. As an agency and in-house manager, Tim has worked with hundreds of innovators and industry leaders across technology, healthcare, consumer and B2B industries. His award-winning measurement and strategy work has been recognized by AdWeek, PR Week, PR News, The Holmes Report, AMA, IABC, PRSA and the Council of Public Relations Firms.
Tim currently leads the Measurement & Strategy practice for top global PR firm Weber Shandwick. The global practice helps clients better assess the value, impact and precision of their communications, bringing together the right resources and methods to measure communications ROI across online and offline campaigns. Tapping into agency, client and industry best practices, Tim and his team have developed an integrated measurement model – ARROW – and repeatable family of metrics that can be deployed affordably for weekly and monthly insights. The practice employs a variety of research methods including surveys, focus groups, media content analysis, social media analysis, competitive intelligence, web analytics, search optimization, advocate profiling, network analysis and marketing mix analysis.
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Vice President, Global Communications, Prudential Financial
Deborah Meany is a vice president in Global Communications at Prudential Financial. In this position, she creates and implements internal and external communications strategies to support the company’s strategic objectives and key initiatives.
Meany leads the Digital Media Team for Global Communications, which focuses on identifying strategic opportunities to leverage new technologies to reach important audiences inside and outside the company. She is also responsible for continuing to build an interactive program for sharing information between the corporate center and our businesses around the world.
To that end, Meany is responsible for oversight of the company’s Online Newsroom, daily e-mail newsletter, PRUToday, and the bi-monthly magazine Prudential Leader. She also oversees the company’s in-house studio, video and event production units. Previously, Meany served as a staff writer at Chevron Corp. in San Francisco, where she was responsible for writing articles for various internal magazines and drafting speeches for senior executives. Meany has a BA in journalism from the University of Arizona.
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President, Echo Research
David Michaelson, Ph.D. is president of Echo Research Inc. He has over 29 years experience conducting research for numerous Fortune 500 companies, universities and philanthropic organizations. Dr. Michaelson has extensive experience in communications testing, message development, measurement of communications effectiveness and branding. His work with corporate clients includes Novartis, GSK, MetLife, American Express and Citigroup.
Prior to joining Echo Research as President, Dr. Michaelson managed his own research firm. He also has been Managing Director and Head of Research for Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, Managing Director at GCI Group and a director of research at Burson-Marsteller. Dr. Michaelson is a member of the Commission on Public Relations Measurement and Evaluation of the Institute for Public Relations and has published numerous articles on public relations research, and is the co-author of a forthcoming book “A Practitioners Guide to Public Relations Research, Measurement & Evaluation”. Dr. Michaelson was elected to the first class of research fellows of the Institute for Public Relations, is the 2008 recipient of the Jackson, Jackson & Wagner Behavioral Science Prize given by the Public Relations Society of America and is the 2009 Measurement/Research Expert of the Year (PR News). Based in New York City, Dr. Michaelson is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Massachusetts and received his Ph.D. from the New School for Social Research.
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Vice President, Analysis Services, Cision US Inc.
Craig Mitchell is Vice President, Analysis Services at Cision, the world’s largest media intelligence company. Craig has 20-plus years of experience in communications, public relations and PR measurement. Currently he directs Cision’s New Hampshire-based team of measurement experts in delivering PR measurement services to major consumer, financial services, healthcare, B2B, consulting and technology organizations. Craig has planned and managed PR campaigns and measurement/analysis programs on both the agency and client sides. He has counseled numerous leading companies in quantifying the impact of their media coverage and demonstrating the value of their PR activities in support of strategic business objectives. Craig joined Cision via the acquisition of Delahaye in 2004. Previously he was Vice President at Golin/Harris International, managing category-leading technology accounts. His experience also includes PR and communications positions with large and start-up technology firms. Craig holds a BA in Political Science/Economics from Boston University and an MBA from Southern New Hampshire University.
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Public Affairs Officer, Air Force Reserves, and Legislative Affairs Specialist for the U.S. Forest Service 
Michael Odle is the Legislative Affairs Specialist for the U.S. Forest Service’s Alaska Region, which encompasses two of the system’s largest national forests; the Tongass and the Chugach. He is responsible for the overall planning and direction of congressional and legislative affairs activities, which include congressional outreach, legislative analysis, production of informational materials, and response to congressional and intergovernmental inquiries about Alaska Region programs.
Odle began his career with the U.S. Forest Service in 2003, serving as the Public Affairs Officer for the Shasta-Trinity National Forest and the Northern California Geographical Coordination Center in Redding, Calif. He joined the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, a federal water and hydropower management agency, in August 2008. As the Regional Public Affairs Chief for Reclamation, he managed the region's strategic communication and congressional affairs efforts across nine states. Odle rejoined the Forest Service in January 2010. Prior to joining the federal government, Odle worked in sales for Marriott Hotels and Resorts, working in Washington, Oregon and South Dakota. Odle is also a Captain with the 173rd Fighter Wing, U.S. Air Force Reserves, where he serves as a Public Affairs Officer. In 2009, Odle was named as one of 15 young public relations professionals to watch by PR News. He is a recipient of the 2002 Colonel Robert ‘Bud’ V. Payton National Public Affairs Officer of the Year award, the Meritorious Service Medal for public affairs and the California Commendation Medal for public affairs.
A native of Seattle, Odle received his bachelor’s degree in tourism and hospitality with an emphasis in marketing and planning from Black Hills State University, S.D. He earned his master’s degree in international management from the University of Western Sydney, Australia, and a graduate certificate in legislative programs from Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
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Founder and CEO, KDPaine & Partners LLC .jpg)
Katie Delahaye Paine is the founder and CEO of KDPaine & Partners LLC, a New Hampshire based research consultancy that provides measurement and accountability for corporations, non-profits and government agencies world wide. Her book, Measuring Public Relationships: the Data-Driven Communicator’s guide to Measuring Public Relationships was published in December 2007. Paine is the publisher of KDPaine’s Measurement Blog and The Measurement Standard, the first blog and the first newsletter for marketing and communications professionals dedicated entirely to measurement and accountability. Prior to launching KDPaine & Partners in 2002, Paine was the founder and president of The Delahaye Group, which she sold to Medialink in 1999.
For the past two decades, Paine has been providing marketers and communications professionals the tools, data and information to help them make better business decisions. She and her firms have read and analyzed millions of news articles, blogs, newsgroup postings and internal communications and have conducted hundreds of thousands of interviews in the relentless pursuit of quantitative and qualitative measures of her client’s marketing success. She works with some of the world’s most admired companies including Raytheon, Allstate, Facebook, and Southwest Airlines. Most recently, her endeavors have been focused on social media measurement as well as providing cost effective measurement programs for non-profits, small businesses and government agencies.
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Director, Corporate Communications
Campbell Soup
Anthony Sanzio, who was named PR News’ Media Relations Professional of the Year in 2009, is a firm believer in high-level learning. At Campbell Soup, he encourages executives to engage in media training, something that has dramatically changed the company’s public affairs environment. Now, a cadre of trained spokespeople exists at the company, and media training itself has become a desired growth opportunity for rising leaders. And as the economy slid into a recession in recent years, Sanzio took the tack of positioning Campbell as a food provider that served up a plate-worth’s of value, convenience, nourishment and quality.
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Managing Director, Insights and Research
Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide
As global Managing Director of Insights and Research at Ogilvy PR, Dr. Jennifer Scott provides counsel to a range of clients on using research to inform reputation management and crisis response, strengthen new and established brands, advocate for public policy initiatives, educate and mobilize target constituencies and track the impact of outreach efforts. As a member of Ogilvy’s Strategy + Planning group, Dr. Scott develops specialized audience insight and trend analyses, as well as custom research and measurement tools.
Over the past 16 years, Dr. Scott has worked closely with corporations including GE, LexisNexis, Ford, Intel, Unilever, Quaker/ Tropicana, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Liz Claiborne, Inc, Nissan North America and Swiss Re to help navigate challenging competitive environments, develop and refine corporate reputation, and create compelling advertising and communications campaigns.
Dr. Scott also develops research and evaluation programs in support of public health and safety campaigns for many of Ogilvy’s Social Marketing clients, including the NIH, CDC, NKDEP and the Lance Armstrong Foundation. She designs research to inform and measure public policy campaigns for clients including the AAR, ACC and AAA.
Prior to joining Ogilvy PR, Dr. Scott was President of StrategyOne, a specialist research company. She has also served as Managing Director of Applied Research & Consulting, Senior Vice President at Shepardson Stern + Kaminsky, and Vice President at Bozell/ Sawyer Miller Group.
Dr. Scott received her B.A. (Hons.) in Politics and Psychology from the University of Natal in South Africa. She has a Ph.D. in Politics from Oxford University, England.
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Director of Product Management
Vocus
Kye Strance is responsible for the overall product strategy and roadmap of Vocus’ on-demand Public Relations and Government Relations software. Additionally, he heads the company’s industry research to provide both analysis of the competitive landscape and potential opportunities for the company. Strance also moderates Vocus’ monthly webinar series designed to offer Public Relations professionals tips and techniques on the latest trends in the industry and has appeared in leading industry publications including PRWeek and eContent Magazine.
Prior to joining Vocus, Strance was with Sharp Ideas where he was responsible for helping establish the organization’s new IT division including the development and design of multimedia, database and computer based training programs.
Strance is a graduate of George Mason University in Fairfax, VA where he holds a B.S. in Economics.
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SVP, Insight and Analytics practice and product development, Waggener Edstrom Worldwide
Karla Wachter joined Waggener Edstrom Worldwide in 1999 and currently leads the company’s Insight and Analytics practice and product development efforts, within the WE Studio D group.
In this capacity, Karla is responsible for Waggener Edstrom Worldwide’s family of insight and analytics tools, such as twendztm and twendz protm, and services across a spectrum of online and offline influence channels. Through a deep understanding of influence, the highly skilled researchers and analysts provide insight into Waggener Edstrom’s clients audiences, brand awareness and perception and shows the clear impact of communications campaigns on a company’s brand through delivery of actionable insights and analysis. Prior to Karla’s leadership in the WE Studio D group, she led Waggener Edstrom Worldwide’s public relations efforts for multiple business groups on the Microsoft account.
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CEO
PRIME Research – North America
Mark Weiner is the CEO of PRIME Research in North America. PRIME Research is one of the world’s largest public relations and corporate communications research and consulting providers with offices in Western Europe, North and South America, Eastern Europe and the Far East. Since 1993, Mark has devoted his career to helping many of the world’s most respected organizations and brands to demonstrate and generate a positive return on their investment in corporate and brand communications. He is the author of “Unleashing the Power of PR: A Contrarian’s Guide to Marketing and Communication” which was published in 2006 by John Wiley & Sons..
Prior to PRIME, Mark Weiner was the Global Director and Senior Vice President of Ketchum Research where he led an international team of analysts. Prior to joining Ketchum, Weiner was the CEO and president of Delahaye, one of the world’s most recognizable providers of corporate communications and public relations research and consulting.
Weiner is a member of the PRSA, IABC and the Institute for Public Relations for whom he served as Trustee and Chairman of the Research and Measurement Commission. He is an editorial advisory board member of PRSA’s Strategist and PR News.
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