| James F. Haggerty, Pres. & CEO | Jon Coifman |
| Sean Hughes | Harvey Englander |
| Rachel Serlin | Shanna Duncan |
| Joshua Plant | Michael Waxman |
| Bruce Berman | Gwen Gordon |
James F. Haggerty
President and CEO
James F. Haggerty, President and CEO of The PR Consulting Group (PRCG), is an attorney, writer and communications consultant with more than twenty years’ experience in marketing, public relations and public affairs. Among the nation’s best-known experts in litigation and crisis communications, Jim has also earned a national reputation in environmental issues and “green” marketing, public affairs and professional services marketing.
In addition to advising legal, corporate and nonprofit clients on variety of communications matters, Jim has been involved in numerous high-profile lawsuits, including many of the largest cases of their kind in history. In the past decade, he has worked on the largest lawsuit ever filed against the United States government (the Cobell v. Norton Indian Trust class action), the largest employment class action in history (the Home Depot case), the largest single-family Holocaust restitution claim in history (the Wertheim Department Store case) and the largest child custody and support case in history (Duff v. Perelman). He successfully advised Consumers Union (nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports magazine) on two high-profile defamation cases—the infamous Suzuki Samurai rollover case, and a product disparagement lawsuit brought by The Sharper Image Corporation over the Ionic Breeze air cleaner. He has also led the communications effort in the Jonathan Pollard spy case and the historic Screen Actors Guild labor dispute against the commercial advertising industry.
The Washington Post recently called Jim “an expert on media strategies in high-profile cases,” while Ragan’s Media Relations Reports has called him “one of the nation’s foremost experts in Litigation PR.” During his representation of Patricia Duff in her famed child custody case with billionaire Ronald Perelman, the New York Observer noted that his work helped “even up the odds.”
From 1997-2001, Jim served as Executive Director of the International Lawyers Network (ILN), a worldwide federation of 75 law firms in 60 countries on six continents. Jim has worked on a variety of environmental and market-based public relations initiatives, including the development of a paper recycling mill in New York City, and sustainable development issues. He has also worked for numerous other business and nonprofit organizations on recycling, cleantech and other sustainability issues.
Jim is the author of In The Court Of Public Opinion: Winning Strategies for Litigation Communications (ABA Publishing, 2009). Now in its second edition, In The Court Of Public Opinion is a groundbreaking look at the use of communications and public opinion strategies during lawsuits. Financial Times called the first edition of In The Court of Public Opinion “…the perfect handbook for this age...” In The Court of Public Opinion was also positively featured in publications including The Boston Herald, The New York Law Journal, American Lawyer, Law Society Gazette, the Washington Post, The Holmes Report, PR Week and O’Dwyer’s PR Newsletter.
From 1997 to 1999, Jim served as Senior Vice President and Director of New York Operations for The Kamber Group, one of the largest independent public relations firms in the nation. He has also worked in public affairs for the City of New York, and as a Special Assistant to U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan.
Jim holds a B.A. in Political Science and English Literature and Rhetoric from the State University of New York at Binghamton, and studied Law at Fordham University in New York and Stetson University in St. Petersburg, Florida (J.D.). He is admitted to practice Law in New York and Florida, and is a member of the New York City and New York State Bar Associations. A frequent writer and lecturer on communications issues, Jim’s articles and other writing has appeared in USA Today, The New York Times, The National Law Journal, the New York Law Journal, Law Practice Management and PR Week. [top]
Bruce Berman
Bruce Berman has been a Managing Consultant at The PR Consulting Group, since 1999. Over the past twenty years, Bruce has implemented marketing, investor relations, and public relations programs on behalf of more than 200 businesses and partnerships, and is a leading national authority on the monetization of intellectual property assets. Representative clients include technology and healthcare companies, merger and acquisition targets, corporate departments and divisions, investment bankers and partnerships, owners of patents and patents portfolios, brands and other IP, and law firms and practices.
Prior to his current work, Bruce served as Vice President - Financial Relations at Ruder & Finn, one of the oldest and largest public relations consultancies. Previously, he was Vice President at Rubenstein, Wolfson & Company (now a part of WeberShandwick PLC) focusing on professional services and investment banking clients.
Bruce’s articles have appeared in numerous periodicals, including The Internet Letter, The National Law Journal, The New York Times, Managing Intellectual Property, BuySide and EuroBusiness. He has additionally been quoted on technology and IP-related issues in media outlets such as Buyouts, Reuters, Asset Sales Report, BondWeek, Crain's New York Business, EE Times, The New York Times and PR Week. He is both editor and contributing author of Hidden Value: Profiting from the Intellectual Property Economy (Euromoney Institutional Investor, 1998), and From Ideas to Assets: Investing Wisely in Intellectual Property , published in early 2002. Bruce is co-chair of the IP Marketing Committee of the Licensing Executives Society (L.E.S.) and is on the editorial advisory board of Patent Strategy & Management. Recently, he provided expert witness testimony in a litigation action involving the misuse of marketing resources.[top]
Sean Hughes
Sean Hughes is an Account Supervisor at PRCG with specialties in media relations and public affairs. For nearly a decade, Sean has worked with a broad range of corporate and nonprofit clients -- including professional service firms, healthcare organizations, bar associations, advocacy groups and alternative dispute resolution organizations.
Sean joined PRCG after starting his career at one of the countries top 10 largest public relations firms. Over the years, he has gained significant experience from managing and advising many clients on national public relations and public affairs campaigns. He has been active in some leading public policy debates such as Puerto Rican statehood, medical liability reform, arbitration issues, election reform and anti-tobacco campaigns. He also has significant experience in healthcare by advising associations, hospitals and medical societies with their public relations initiatives.
Sean also has considerable crisis communication experience, working on issues that include women’s health, a election fraud and consumer rights. He has advised multiple clients as they prepare to present their issues to all three branches of government (United States Congress, Judicial including the Supreme Court and the White House).
Sean is very active in politics. He worked for two Members of Congress and a New Jersey State Senator, and has worked on numerous federal and state campaigns with a variety of responsibilities including media, community outreach and grassroots activities.
Sean’s work in the public relations field has won numerous awards, including the 2003 and 2005 Gold Mercury Awards, and the 2003 SABRE and PR WEEK award for Public Affairs Campaign of the Year. He is active in the American Cancer Society and the American Diabetes Association and Project Children, which provides humanitarian relief to the children of Northern Ireland. He won the Project Children Humanitarian award in 1995.
Sean received his B.A. from Bloomfield College, majoring in Political Science with a minor in Communications. He has also attended professional development programs at the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University and the United Nations. [top]
Rachel M. Serlin
Rachel Serlin, an attorney, is an Account Executive with PRCG specializing in litigation, crisis and related issues. Prior to joining PRCG, Rachel had been in private legal practice in New Jersey with a concentration in local government law. She has also worked in legal capacities for the New York County District Attorney’s office and the New York City Police Department, and served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Budd Goodman of the New York State Supreme Court.
Rachel’s media and public relations experience includes positions with CBS affiliate KYW-TV in Philadelphia, Weider publications, and The Star Group, an advertising and public relations firm in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
Rachel received her B.A. from George Washington University with a major in Communications, and her law degree from New York Law School, where she part of the Criminal Law Society and the Domestic Violence project. [top]
Michael Waxman
Michael Waxman is a Senior Consultant in our Washington, D.C. office. Waxman joined PRCG/Hyde Park after founding Waxman Consulting, a Los Angeles-based firm that specializes in public affairs, strategic communications and community relations.
He also served as an elected member of the Los Angeles Community College Board of Trustees and served as the President of the Board. The Board manages the largest community college district in the country, consisting of nine colleges and more than 130,000 students. It also oversees an annual budget of over $500 million and a $2.2 billion bond-financed building program.
Before launching Waxman Consulting, Waxman spearheaded community and government relations efforts as Director of Public Affairs at Charter Communications. At Charter, Waxman negotiated franchise agreements with local cities, developed public-private partnerships with community organizations and public institutions, coordinated outreach to the community and developed public service campaigns.
Prior to Charter, Waxman served as Manager of Community Affairs at Falcon Cable TV where he developed corporate strategies for crisis management and coordinated internal and external communications efforts. His professional experience also includes serving as an Account Executive at Fleishman-Hillard, Inc.
Waxman is a graduate of Brandeis University with a B.A. in sociology. [top]
Shanna Duncan
Shanna Duncan provides strategic counsel and manages marketing, constituency relations and public affairs programs for the firm.
Prior to joining the PRCG/Hyde Park, Ms. Duncan served as Vice President, External Affairs at the Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation. Under her leadership, the Foundation launched the largest public education campaign in its history.
Before her work at the Foundation, Ms. Duncan served as Vice President in the Consumer Marketing Group at Fleishman-Hillard International Communications, where she managed the launch of several pharmaceuticals, including Glaxo SmithKline's Lotronex and Merck's Singulair, and provided strategic counsel to non-profit organizations such as AARP. She also provided strategic counseling, account management, media relations, community relations, public affairs and crisis communications counsel to clients.
Prior to joining Fleishman-Hillard, Ms. Duncan was a senior associate at Nelson Public Relations where she managed several accounts including the award-winning Look Good...Feel Better program. She also managed outreach for KY, launched Monistat 3, managed Bristol-Myers Squibb's Get Tested, Get Treated public education campaign and partnership with the NFL Players Association.
Ms. Duncan also served as senior associate for Prospect Associates, now the Prospect Center at the American Institutes for Research (AIR). At Prospect, she managed a variety of social marketing accounts for the U.S. Government, including the USDA's Team Nutrition, which won the public relations industry's coveted Silver Anvil award.
A native Texan, Ms. Duncan is a graduate of Texas Christian University with a B.A. in communications. [top]
Jon Coifman
Mangaging Director
Jon has been providing strategic communications and public affairs counsel on energy, clean technology and environmental issues to corporate, government and non-profit clients for more than 15 years. He also has extensive experience in crisis and litigation PR. He is an experienced strategist, spokesman and speechwriter who has appeared frequently on network and cable television, National Public Radio, and in print outlets ranging from The New York Times to People magazine.
As Managing Director at PRCG, he works with a wide variety of business and non-commercial organizations to create solutions-oriented initiatives on energy efficiency and renewables, organization branding, carbon policy, and sustainable business. He is also active in the firm’s crisis and litigation communications practices.
Jon joined PRCG from Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, one of the largest independent communications firms in the world, where he headed the agency’s energy and environment practice group, working for clients including Microsoft; plant-based plastics innovator NatureWorks; electric vehicle battery developer Ener1; and FuelCell Energy, developer of highly efficient power systems.
Prior to Waggener Edstrom, Jon was the global media director at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a leading advocacy organization, where his work included everything from Supreme Court litigation and a busy legislative calendar to corporate partnerships including Google, Wal-Mart, McKinsey & Company, Major League Baseball and Toyota. He also handled NRDC’s entertainment media, and worked closely with cleantech partner group Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2). On the legal front, he advised on media strategy in the Cheney Energy Task Force case, numerous Clean Air Act and endangered species cases, and a high-profile lawsuit over the Navy’s use of sonar in training exercises.
Previously, Jon was with the bipartisan Global Environment & Technology Foundation and Environmental Media Services in Washington, D.C., working with companies including Johnson & Johnson and IBM. He has also worked at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and served with two senior members of the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C..
Jon has a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Texas and a bachelor of arts in political science from the University of Wisconsin. Originally from Minneapolis, he currently lives in New York City with his wife and son.[top]
Harvey Englander
Harvey Englander, PRCG’s Los Angeles partner, has been at the center of California’s political and business life for more than 40 years. From advising elected officials to counseling CEOs, few have Englander’s depth of experience and record of achievement. He brings his expertise at creating and running political campaigns for some of the biggest names in elected office to his work in developing communications and public affairs campaigns for companies and nonprofit organizations nationwide.
California’s leading media outlets have recognized Englander’s strong background in media relations and crisis management. Reporters from The Los Angeles Times, CBS, FOX, Orange County Register, San Francisco Chronicle, The Daily News, The San Diego Union-Tribune and other statewide and Southern California publications often seek his point of view and quote him on current affairs and political personalities.
PR News, a leading public relations industry publication, named Englander the 2003 Public Affairs Executive of the Year.
Englander serves as senior public relations/public affairs counselor to local, regional and national clients ranging from Fortune 100 companies to small businesses, trade associations, e-commerce companies and nonprofit organizations.
As a strategic planner, he has created and successfully executed numerous public relations and public affairs campaigns covering a wide variety of industries. From automotive and banking/finance/insurance clients to real estate developers and food and drug companies, Englander is known for his ability to step into a situation and create focus; implementing a strategic approach as a foundation for applying successful public relations tactics.
In December 1980, following twelve years working in politics and public affairs, he formed The Englander Group, specializing in public relations, public affairs, lobbying and political campaign management. The Englander Group merged with the Washington, D.C. based Kamber Group in 1994. In early 1999, Englander re-purchased his firm from Kamber. MWW Group subsequently acquired his firm.
Englander led the Los Angeles office of MWW Group, one of the nation`s top fifteen public relations firms, which is owned by InterPublic Group. Under his leadership, the Los Angeles Office tripled in size and also won numerous national and regional awards.
Former Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson appointed Englander to the Bi-Partisan California Commission on Internet Political Practices. Supervisor Don Knabe appointed Englander to the Los Angeles County Junior Golf Commission. He is also a founder and member of the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Lobbyists & Public Affairs Association.
In early 2005, Englander left MWW and opened an independent public relations and public affairs consulting practice, Englander Knabe & Allen. The firm specializes in developing and implementing Position -A- Strategies for its clients.
A UCLA graduate, Englander has also been involved in numerous community activities including having served on the Board of Directors of the American Diabetes Association Los Angeles Chapter and is the co-founder of the ADA`s highly successful "Los Angeles Political Roast." He also served as a member of the Board of Directors of the American Heart Association`s Los Angeles Chapter and he chaired the AHA`s "Downtown Los Angeles Heart walk". Harvey also serves on the Board of Directors of the West Coast Sports Medicine Foundation. [top]
Gwen Gordon
Gwen Gordon brings health policy and new media experience to the PRCG team. Most recently, she worked as an advocate for the physician assistant profession in the American Academy of Physician Assistants' government relations office and with public and private payers in all 50 states to improve physician assistant reimbursement policies. She previously developed new media strategy for a U.S. Senate campaign. She received her B.A. in Government from Claremont McKenna College and serves on the board of its Alumni Association. She is currently pursuing a Masters degree in Public Policy with an emphasis in health policy at the George Washington University. [top]
Joshua M. Plant
Joshua Plant is an Account Executive with specialties in media, promotions and social media. He has considerable experience working with law firms and environmental clients on a variety of marketing, public relations and public affairs assignments. He is also experienced in public events and managing the logistics of public relations activities.
Joshua is also a professional photographer and chef who has attended The French Culinary Institute. [top]
President and CEO
James F. Haggerty, President and CEO of The PR Consulting Group (PRCG), is an attorney, writer and communications consultant with more than twenty years’ experience in marketing, public relations and public affairs. Among the nation’s best-known experts in litigation and crisis communications, Jim has also earned a national reputation in environmental issues and “green” marketing, public affairs and professional services marketing.
In addition to advising legal, corporate and nonprofit clients on variety of communications matters, Jim has been involved in numerous high-profile lawsuits, including many of the largest cases of their kind in history. In the past decade, he has worked on the largest lawsuit ever filed against the United States government (the Cobell v. Norton Indian Trust class action), the largest employment class action in history (the Home Depot case), the largest single-family Holocaust restitution claim in history (the Wertheim Department Store case) and the largest child custody and support case in history (Duff v. Perelman). He successfully advised Consumers Union (nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports magazine) on two high-profile defamation cases—the infamous Suzuki Samurai rollover case, and a product disparagement lawsuit brought by The Sharper Image Corporation over the Ionic Breeze air cleaner. He has also led the communications effort in the Jonathan Pollard spy case and the historic Screen Actors Guild labor dispute against the commercial advertising industry.
The Washington Post recently called Jim “an expert on media strategies in high-profile cases,” while Ragan’s Media Relations Reports has called him “one of the nation’s foremost experts in Litigation PR.” During his representation of Patricia Duff in her famed child custody case with billionaire Ronald Perelman, the New York Observer noted that his work helped “even up the odds.”
From 1997-2001, Jim served as Executive Director of the International Lawyers Network (ILN), a worldwide federation of 75 law firms in 60 countries on six continents. Jim has worked on a variety of environmental and market-based public relations initiatives, including the development of a paper recycling mill in New York City, and sustainable development issues. He has also worked for numerous other business and nonprofit organizations on recycling, cleantech and other sustainability issues.
Jim is the author of In The Court Of Public Opinion: Winning Strategies for Litigation Communications (ABA Publishing, 2009). Now in its second edition, In The Court Of Public Opinion is a groundbreaking look at the use of communications and public opinion strategies during lawsuits. Financial Times called the first edition of In The Court of Public Opinion “…the perfect handbook for this age...” In The Court of Public Opinion was also positively featured in publications including The Boston Herald, The New York Law Journal, American Lawyer, Law Society Gazette, the Washington Post, The Holmes Report, PR Week and O’Dwyer’s PR Newsletter.
From 1997 to 1999, Jim served as Senior Vice President and Director of New York Operations for The Kamber Group, one of the largest independent public relations firms in the nation. He has also worked in public affairs for the City of New York, and as a Special Assistant to U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan.
Jim holds a B.A. in Political Science and English Literature and Rhetoric from the State University of New York at Binghamton, and studied Law at Fordham University in New York and Stetson University in St. Petersburg, Florida (J.D.). He is admitted to practice Law in New York and Florida, and is a member of the New York City and New York State Bar Associations. A frequent writer and lecturer on communications issues, Jim’s articles and other writing has appeared in USA Today, The New York Times, The National Law Journal, the New York Law Journal, Law Practice Management and PR Week. [top]
Bruce Berman
Bruce Berman has been a Managing Consultant at The PR Consulting Group, since 1999. Over the past twenty years, Bruce has implemented marketing, investor relations, and public relations programs on behalf of more than 200 businesses and partnerships, and is a leading national authority on the monetization of intellectual property assets. Representative clients include technology and healthcare companies, merger and acquisition targets, corporate departments and divisions, investment bankers and partnerships, owners of patents and patents portfolios, brands and other IP, and law firms and practices.
Prior to his current work, Bruce served as Vice President - Financial Relations at Ruder & Finn, one of the oldest and largest public relations consultancies. Previously, he was Vice President at Rubenstein, Wolfson & Company (now a part of WeberShandwick PLC) focusing on professional services and investment banking clients.
Bruce’s articles have appeared in numerous periodicals, including The Internet Letter, The National Law Journal, The New York Times, Managing Intellectual Property, BuySide and EuroBusiness. He has additionally been quoted on technology and IP-related issues in media outlets such as Buyouts, Reuters, Asset Sales Report, BondWeek, Crain's New York Business, EE Times, The New York Times and PR Week. He is both editor and contributing author of Hidden Value: Profiting from the Intellectual Property Economy (Euromoney Institutional Investor, 1998), and From Ideas to Assets: Investing Wisely in Intellectual Property , published in early 2002. Bruce is co-chair of the IP Marketing Committee of the Licensing Executives Society (L.E.S.) and is on the editorial advisory board of Patent Strategy & Management. Recently, he provided expert witness testimony in a litigation action involving the misuse of marketing resources.[top]
Sean Hughes
Sean Hughes is an Account Supervisor at PRCG with specialties in media relations and public affairs. For nearly a decade, Sean has worked with a broad range of corporate and nonprofit clients -- including professional service firms, healthcare organizations, bar associations, advocacy groups and alternative dispute resolution organizations.
Sean joined PRCG after starting his career at one of the countries top 10 largest public relations firms. Over the years, he has gained significant experience from managing and advising many clients on national public relations and public affairs campaigns. He has been active in some leading public policy debates such as Puerto Rican statehood, medical liability reform, arbitration issues, election reform and anti-tobacco campaigns. He also has significant experience in healthcare by advising associations, hospitals and medical societies with their public relations initiatives.
Sean also has considerable crisis communication experience, working on issues that include women’s health, a election fraud and consumer rights. He has advised multiple clients as they prepare to present their issues to all three branches of government (United States Congress, Judicial including the Supreme Court and the White House).
Sean is very active in politics. He worked for two Members of Congress and a New Jersey State Senator, and has worked on numerous federal and state campaigns with a variety of responsibilities including media, community outreach and grassroots activities.
Sean’s work in the public relations field has won numerous awards, including the 2003 and 2005 Gold Mercury Awards, and the 2003 SABRE and PR WEEK award for Public Affairs Campaign of the Year. He is active in the American Cancer Society and the American Diabetes Association and Project Children, which provides humanitarian relief to the children of Northern Ireland. He won the Project Children Humanitarian award in 1995.
Sean received his B.A. from Bloomfield College, majoring in Political Science with a minor in Communications. He has also attended professional development programs at the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University and the United Nations. [top]
Rachel M. Serlin
Rachel Serlin, an attorney, is an Account Executive with PRCG specializing in litigation, crisis and related issues. Prior to joining PRCG, Rachel had been in private legal practice in New Jersey with a concentration in local government law. She has also worked in legal capacities for the New York County District Attorney’s office and the New York City Police Department, and served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Budd Goodman of the New York State Supreme Court.
Rachel’s media and public relations experience includes positions with CBS affiliate KYW-TV in Philadelphia, Weider publications, and The Star Group, an advertising and public relations firm in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
Rachel received her B.A. from George Washington University with a major in Communications, and her law degree from New York Law School, where she part of the Criminal Law Society and the Domestic Violence project. [top]
Michael Waxman
Michael Waxman is a Senior Consultant in our Washington, D.C. office. Waxman joined PRCG/Hyde Park after founding Waxman Consulting, a Los Angeles-based firm that specializes in public affairs, strategic communications and community relations.
He also served as an elected member of the Los Angeles Community College Board of Trustees and served as the President of the Board. The Board manages the largest community college district in the country, consisting of nine colleges and more than 130,000 students. It also oversees an annual budget of over $500 million and a $2.2 billion bond-financed building program.
Before launching Waxman Consulting, Waxman spearheaded community and government relations efforts as Director of Public Affairs at Charter Communications. At Charter, Waxman negotiated franchise agreements with local cities, developed public-private partnerships with community organizations and public institutions, coordinated outreach to the community and developed public service campaigns.
Prior to Charter, Waxman served as Manager of Community Affairs at Falcon Cable TV where he developed corporate strategies for crisis management and coordinated internal and external communications efforts. His professional experience also includes serving as an Account Executive at Fleishman-Hillard, Inc.
Waxman is a graduate of Brandeis University with a B.A. in sociology. [top]
Shanna Duncan
Shanna Duncan provides strategic counsel and manages marketing, constituency relations and public affairs programs for the firm.
Prior to joining the PRCG/Hyde Park, Ms. Duncan served as Vice President, External Affairs at the Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation. Under her leadership, the Foundation launched the largest public education campaign in its history.
Before her work at the Foundation, Ms. Duncan served as Vice President in the Consumer Marketing Group at Fleishman-Hillard International Communications, where she managed the launch of several pharmaceuticals, including Glaxo SmithKline's Lotronex and Merck's Singulair, and provided strategic counsel to non-profit organizations such as AARP. She also provided strategic counseling, account management, media relations, community relations, public affairs and crisis communications counsel to clients.
Prior to joining Fleishman-Hillard, Ms. Duncan was a senior associate at Nelson Public Relations where she managed several accounts including the award-winning Look Good...Feel Better program. She also managed outreach for KY, launched Monistat 3, managed Bristol-Myers Squibb's Get Tested, Get Treated public education campaign and partnership with the NFL Players Association.
Ms. Duncan also served as senior associate for Prospect Associates, now the Prospect Center at the American Institutes for Research (AIR). At Prospect, she managed a variety of social marketing accounts for the U.S. Government, including the USDA's Team Nutrition, which won the public relations industry's coveted Silver Anvil award.
A native Texan, Ms. Duncan is a graduate of Texas Christian University with a B.A. in communications. [top]
Jon Coifman
Mangaging Director
Jon has been providing strategic communications and public affairs counsel on energy, clean technology and environmental issues to corporate, government and non-profit clients for more than 15 years. He also has extensive experience in crisis and litigation PR. He is an experienced strategist, spokesman and speechwriter who has appeared frequently on network and cable television, National Public Radio, and in print outlets ranging from The New York Times to People magazine.
As Managing Director at PRCG, he works with a wide variety of business and non-commercial organizations to create solutions-oriented initiatives on energy efficiency and renewables, organization branding, carbon policy, and sustainable business. He is also active in the firm’s crisis and litigation communications practices.
Jon joined PRCG from Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, one of the largest independent communications firms in the world, where he headed the agency’s energy and environment practice group, working for clients including Microsoft; plant-based plastics innovator NatureWorks; electric vehicle battery developer Ener1; and FuelCell Energy, developer of highly efficient power systems.
Prior to Waggener Edstrom, Jon was the global media director at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a leading advocacy organization, where his work included everything from Supreme Court litigation and a busy legislative calendar to corporate partnerships including Google, Wal-Mart, McKinsey & Company, Major League Baseball and Toyota. He also handled NRDC’s entertainment media, and worked closely with cleantech partner group Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2). On the legal front, he advised on media strategy in the Cheney Energy Task Force case, numerous Clean Air Act and endangered species cases, and a high-profile lawsuit over the Navy’s use of sonar in training exercises.
Previously, Jon was with the bipartisan Global Environment & Technology Foundation and Environmental Media Services in Washington, D.C., working with companies including Johnson & Johnson and IBM. He has also worked at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and served with two senior members of the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C..
Jon has a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Texas and a bachelor of arts in political science from the University of Wisconsin. Originally from Minneapolis, he currently lives in New York City with his wife and son.[top]
Harvey Englander
Harvey Englander, PRCG’s Los Angeles partner, has been at the center of California’s political and business life for more than 40 years. From advising elected officials to counseling CEOs, few have Englander’s depth of experience and record of achievement. He brings his expertise at creating and running political campaigns for some of the biggest names in elected office to his work in developing communications and public affairs campaigns for companies and nonprofit organizations nationwide.
California’s leading media outlets have recognized Englander’s strong background in media relations and crisis management. Reporters from The Los Angeles Times, CBS, FOX, Orange County Register, San Francisco Chronicle, The Daily News, The San Diego Union-Tribune and other statewide and Southern California publications often seek his point of view and quote him on current affairs and political personalities.
PR News, a leading public relations industry publication, named Englander the 2003 Public Affairs Executive of the Year.
Englander serves as senior public relations/public affairs counselor to local, regional and national clients ranging from Fortune 100 companies to small businesses, trade associations, e-commerce companies and nonprofit organizations.
As a strategic planner, he has created and successfully executed numerous public relations and public affairs campaigns covering a wide variety of industries. From automotive and banking/finance/insurance clients to real estate developers and food and drug companies, Englander is known for his ability to step into a situation and create focus; implementing a strategic approach as a foundation for applying successful public relations tactics.
In December 1980, following twelve years working in politics and public affairs, he formed The Englander Group, specializing in public relations, public affairs, lobbying and political campaign management. The Englander Group merged with the Washington, D.C. based Kamber Group in 1994. In early 1999, Englander re-purchased his firm from Kamber. MWW Group subsequently acquired his firm.
Englander led the Los Angeles office of MWW Group, one of the nation`s top fifteen public relations firms, which is owned by InterPublic Group. Under his leadership, the Los Angeles Office tripled in size and also won numerous national and regional awards.
Former Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson appointed Englander to the Bi-Partisan California Commission on Internet Political Practices. Supervisor Don Knabe appointed Englander to the Los Angeles County Junior Golf Commission. He is also a founder and member of the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Lobbyists & Public Affairs Association.
In early 2005, Englander left MWW and opened an independent public relations and public affairs consulting practice, Englander Knabe & Allen. The firm specializes in developing and implementing Position -A- Strategies for its clients.
A UCLA graduate, Englander has also been involved in numerous community activities including having served on the Board of Directors of the American Diabetes Association Los Angeles Chapter and is the co-founder of the ADA`s highly successful "Los Angeles Political Roast." He also served as a member of the Board of Directors of the American Heart Association`s Los Angeles Chapter and he chaired the AHA`s "Downtown Los Angeles Heart walk". Harvey also serves on the Board of Directors of the West Coast Sports Medicine Foundation. [top]
Gwen Gordon
Gwen Gordon brings health policy and new media experience to the PRCG team. Most recently, she worked as an advocate for the physician assistant profession in the American Academy of Physician Assistants' government relations office and with public and private payers in all 50 states to improve physician assistant reimbursement policies. She previously developed new media strategy for a U.S. Senate campaign. She received her B.A. in Government from Claremont McKenna College and serves on the board of its Alumni Association. She is currently pursuing a Masters degree in Public Policy with an emphasis in health policy at the George Washington University. [top]
Joshua M. Plant
Joshua Plant is an Account Executive with specialties in media, promotions and social media. He has considerable experience working with law firms and environmental clients on a variety of marketing, public relations and public affairs assignments. He is also experienced in public events and managing the logistics of public relations activities.
Joshua is also a professional photographer and chef who has attended The French Culinary Institute. [top]