As an owner of a PR firm, I felt it only right to acknowledge PRWeek’s Power List 2018. As a female owner of a PR firm, I wanted to shout out some women who mean a lot to me because I appreciate the headline and that PRWeek is acknowledging smart, successful women.
Thank You Steve Barrett, PR Week’s editor-in-chief, for writing this headline and acknowledging these women. Truly, thank you.
“2018 Power List shows shift toward female leadership power. It is a year in which women’s empowerment is top of mind in marcomms.”
- Donna Imperato of Burson Cohn & Wolfe
- Karen van Bergen of Omnicom Public Relations Group
- Emma Gonzalez of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
- Jennifer Kuperman of Alibaba Group
- Rachel Whetstone of Facebook
- Michele Moore of the ACLU
- Suzanne McCarron of ExxonMobil
- Shannon Stubo of LinkedIn
- Sarah Gavin of Expedia
- Barri Rafferty of Ketchum
- Hilary Rosen of SKDKnickerbocker
- Janice Kapner of T-Mobile
- Gail Heimann of Weber Shandwick
- Stacey Tank of Home Depot
- Caroline Dettman of Golin
- Marisa Thalberg of Taco Bell
- Kelly Vanasse of Procter & Gamble
- Barby Siegel of Zeno Group
- Julie Batliner of Carmichael Lynch Relate
- Charlene Wheeless of Bechtel
- Dale Bornstein of M Booth
- Jennifer Saenz of Frito-Lay
- Lauren Wesley Wilson ColorComm
- Aedhmar Hynes of Text 100
Congratulations to you ladies and well earned. It is very nice for me to see women in leadership and power positions.
I’ve had the good fortune to meet Barby Siegel; we met years ago when we sat next to each other at a PR roundtable in San Francisco. You impressed me from the very beginning.
Because of my friendship with Highwire PR founder Kathleen Gratehouse, I’ve only heard great things about Text 100 CEO Aedhmar Hynes.
I’ve heard of many of the women on this list, especially those who are powerhouse communications leaders at tech companies. I hope our paths will cross and that I might have the good fortune to network with great minds.
This list has inspired me to write about a few women who have impacted my career in a positive way.
Barbara Bates, thank you for giving me the chance to be a contractor. Who knew that BOCA would grow from a one-woman shop working from the comforts of her home to a PR agency with fabulous clients, fabulous employees and a pretty awesome office in downtown SF. I promise, my intent was not to grow an agency. It happened organically. I was having a lot of fun and just kept going. I actually had just read “The 4-Hour Workweek” by Tim Ferriss and thought I would be on a beach working remote with a Mai Tai in hand. (That obviously did not happen and I am very happy with the direction BOCA took).
I also want to shout out Joanna Kulesa of Offleash PR. Joanna, you are more than a soul sister, you are a guru, a guiding light and a mentor. Thank you for all your guidance over the years.
Life would not be right if I did not mention my dear friends and the leaders of Highwire PR, Carol Carrubba, Emily Call Borders, and Kathleen Gratehouse. You ladies have been a true partner and friend to me personally and BOCA Communications. Thank you for your encouragement, and thank you for your wise words when I need them.
#Letsdothis – #WeRock
Kathleen Shanahan
Founder of BOCA