Vice President, SBC Public Relations
zbingham@sbcadvertising.com
www.sbcadvertising.com
Zach says: My door is always open to any of the students in the chapter looking for a perspective on emerging trends, career advice, portfolio review, etc. I'm also very willing to come to PRSSA chapter meetings and speak about topics of interest.
Senior Account Executive, MWW Group
KSimpson@mww.com
Bio: Kate Simpson brings a wealth of experience to the table, with a rich and diverse background in consumer lifestyle and fashion public relations. Kate has worked on an array of campaigns and projects for clients, ranging from Macys Merchandising Group, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton and Parsons the New School for Design to Sara Lee’s Hillshire Farm, Frontier Airlines, ING DIRECT and Nutrisystem. Kate offers skill and expertise in media relations, seeing success with major cover and editorial placements in the likes of USA Today, The New York Times, Women’s Wear Daily, among other top media.
In addition to media relations, Kate specializes in event management and celebrity wrangling, with experience planning and executing national tours, product launches and markets, fashion shows, trade shows and special events on both the east and west coasts. Examples include the Macys Makes-Over-America Tour with Clinton Kelly, various fashion shows and special events at New York City Fashion Week and tradeshow activations at BlogHer.
In her free time, Kate writes and manages a blog called The Permanent Tourist, documenting her fashion musings and life in New York City.
Kate holds a BS in journalism from Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, with specializations in film and English.
Frank Deaner, APR
frankdeaner@sbcglobal.net
Vice President, Managing Director, Cleveland
Fahlgren Mortine Public Relations
aaron.brown@fahlgren.com
www.fahlgrenmortine.com
Bio: In his 10 years with Fahlgren Mortine, Aaron has specialized in business-to-business campaigns featuring creative media relations and social media programs. His work within the business-to-business arena has primarily been focused on supply chain, material handling and manufacturing markets. Media relations campaigns under his leadership have earned the central Ohio PRSA top honor for the year’s outstanding media relations program three of out of the last four years (2007, 2009, 2010). In 2011, he managed development of social media newsroom that was a national finalist in the PR News PR Digital Awards competition.
As managing director of the Cleveland office, Aaron is playing a leadership role in the alignment of account management and reporting processes, overseeing account staffing and support, and leveraging the expertise and specialties of the entire Fahlgren Mortine organization to ensure robust program development and overall client satisfaction.
President, M.J. Clark Communications LLC
mjclark@wowway.com
mj@mjclarkcommunications.com
www.mjclarkcommunications.com
Twitter: @mjclark
Facebook: mjclark22
Bio: M.J. Clark has worked in the communication field for more than 25 years. She has a master's degree in organizational communication from The Ohio State University and a bachelor’s degree in public relations from Ohio University. She was a visiting professor of public relations at Ohio University’s Scripps School of Journalism in 2006 and 2007, and she has won national and local awards for teaching and mentoring students. She currently serves as the professional adviser for ImPRessions, Ohio University’s award-winning, PRSSA Nationally Affiliated student-run firm.
M.J. owns a communication consulting business, M.J. Clark Communications, which focuses on public relations, marketing and advertising. In addition, she is a leadership consultant for Integrated Leadership Systems, a Westerville-based leadership consulting company. M.J. was the 2005 President of the Central Ohio Public Relations Society of America, is Accredited in Public Relations, and currently co-chairs the Central Ohio PRSA Masters Committee.
President, CommHa
troy@commha.com
www.commha.com
Troy says: I'm open to supporting the chapter in whatever way you need. Portfolio/resume reviews, career advice, networking, advising on award submissions, etc. You just let me know how you'd like me to be involved.
Bio: Troy Kirkpatrick is the president of CommHa (pronounced comma), a communication and humor consulting agency located in Columbus, Ohio. In this role he counsels clients on internal and external communication issues to help define, defend and enhance their reputation and create greater employee engagement. He can talk to squirrels, run a 3-minute mile and is the reigning champion of the Nathan’s International Hot Dog Eating Contest. He also thinks he is funnier than he actually is.
Prior to starting up his own agency, Kirkpatrick was vice president of Public Relations for Cardinal Health, a Fortune 20 global health care services company. At Cardinal Health, he led external communication for the company, including proactive and reactive media relations, financial communication, executive speech writing, social media and issues management. In this role, he also became close, personal friends with Geraldo Rivera.
Before joining Cardinal Health in 2006, Kirkpatrick was the global communication manager for GE Water, a $3 billion business unit of the General Electric Company, overseeing all internal and external communication. Kirkpatrick previously served as global communication manager for GE Global Research and led a variety of external and internal communication programs for GE’s research centers in Niskayuna, N.Y., Munich, Germany, Bangalore, India and Shanghai, China. Prior to GE, Kirkpatrick served as the assistant press secretary for Ohio Governor Bob Taft and held communication positions with Lord, Sullivan & Yoder (known today as FahlgrenMortine) and OhioHealth.
Kirkpatrick serves on the board of directors for the Ohio University Alumni Association and the Marketing Committee for the Simon Kenton Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in Public Relations from the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University. He lives with his wife, Lynn, and his three boys Ian, Nate and Quinn, who are an endless source of humor.
rdevinhughes@gmail.com
Twitter: @RDevinHughes
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/robertdevinhughes
Bio: Devin Hughes graduated magna cum laude from Ohio University in 2011 with a degree in public relations. Hughes was a member of PRSSA and ImPRessions all four of his years at the University, ultimately serving as CEO of ImPRessions, as well as sitting on the PRSSA executive board for two years. In 2011, he was honored with an Award of Excellence for "Outstanding Graduate" from Central Ohio PRSA, as well as the "Outstanding PR Graduate" award from the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism.
Currently, Hughes is an assistant account executive at Landau Public Relations, a PR agency in Cleveland, Ohio. Hughes has a wide range of communications experience, spanning the health care, corporate, agency and higher education sectors. His various duties have ranged from public relations, public affairs, community relations and internal communications. After enjoying a summer internship with PR agency Fleishman-Hillard, Hughes decided to pursue a full-time position in the agency world, happily landing with Landau.
Hughes is an avid sports fan and claims that, despite multi-million dollar offers from the NFL, he declined in favor of a career in public relations, his true passion. Hughes recalls that his favorite moments at OU came from watching younger students develop into PR rockstars, and adds that he is happy to help any student that approaches him.
Communications Coordinator, Big Red Rooster
Email: rodell@bigredrooster.com
Twitter: @rebeccaodell
Facebook: rebeccaodell
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccaodell
Bio: Rebecca Odell is the communications coordinator for Big Red Rooster: a Columbus, Ohio-based multidimensional brand experience firm. In her position, Odell assists the firm’s media relations, marketing, internal communications and social media functions.
Prior to joining Big Red Rooster, Odell held positions at the Ohio Department of Development and Nationwide Children’s Hospital. The 2010 Kent State University public relations graduate is a Central Ohio Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) member, and she was actively involved in the Kent State Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) Chapter.
In her free time, she loves chatting about digital media, decorating her apartment, enjoying Columbus’ restaurant scene and drinking too much coffee.
