Linden advises a range of clients on navigating news cycles and advancing ideas, leveraging more than 20 years of experience working on complex issues ranging from litigation, policy and regulatory matters, to high-stakes labor negotiations, and public affairs campaigns. Before joining Risa Heller Communications, Linden served as deputy chief of staff for Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton and as communications director and deputy campaign manager for U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar.
As a partner at New Deal Strategies, Camille Rivera draws on deep ties to the labor movement and years of experience with issue and electoral campaigns in New York City and across the country. An Afro-Latina born and raised in the Bronx, Camille understands the importance of bringing lived experiences to campaign leadership. Camille lives with her children in Brooklyn. She is also an adjunct professor at Columbia University.
What is the best advice you have received from a mentor?
Perfect is the enemy of the good.
Is there something you wish you knew before starting your career in this industry?
That the world never stops in politics and having a moral compass is important
What is one thing you hope to accomplish in 2024?
I hope to win races and support campaigns that will bring justice and equality to our world and make life a little easier for folks.
Rachel Roseneck is a powerhouse public affairs strategist and energy lead at Avoq. Specializing in strategic communications and advocacy, Rachel crafts campaigns that boost brand visibility, shape policy, and drive major infrastructure and energy projects like wind, solar, transmission, and battery storage. Her extensive experience in renewable energy and climate tech, combined with her expertise in traditional media, digital strategies, research, and creative advocacy, makes her an influential force driving New York’s dynamic energy landscape.
Stacey Ross Cohen, a native New Yorker, founded Co-Communications, a full-service PR and marketing agency, in 1997. The agency serves sectors including economic development, real estate, education, health care, professional services, and hospitality. With prior experience on Madison Avenue and major television networks, Stacey excels in leveraging clients’ unique voices for impactful campaigns. Her accolades include Forbes Enterprise, PRSA Practitioner of the Year, City & State NY Power100, and Crain’s New York Business recognition.
What is the best advice you have received from a mentor?
The best advice I received early in my career was to prioritize building relationships. In PR, relationships with clients, journalists, and influencers are everything. My mentor emphasized the “3 R’s”: Show Respect, Be Responsive, and Serve as a Resource. This approach builds trust and has helped me develop a solid network and valuable, long-lasting relationships. These connections have consistently opened doors to unique collaborations and opportunities while enriching my professional growth.
Is there something you wish you knew before starting your career in this industry?
I wish I’d known how quickly your “To Do” list can get pushed aside. PR practitioners must be nimble and adapt to ever-changing demands, often coming up with solutions on the fly. Managing multiple projects, juggling deadlines, and reacting to breaking news and crises come with the territory. Curveballs will come, and your routines will quickly go out the window. Expect the unexpected. It’s all in a day’s work.
What is one thing you hope to accomplish in 2024?
I plan to expand my BrandUp program to more schools and communities, positively impacting youth. The program prepares teens for the future by providing tools and guidance to develop essential skills like social media, interviewing, and goal setting to excel in today’s competitive world. Regardless of their chosen path, youth will learn to bring out their inner champion and create a roadmap to achieve academic and career success.
A third-generation, world-leading brand strategist, Richard Rubenstein is the founder and president of Rubenstein Public Relations. Richard has extensive experience in corporate communications and reputation management, having led programs on behalf of major corporations, family businesses and visionary entrepreneurs around the world. Throughout his three decades-plus in public relations, Richard has devised media campaigns that have yielded substantial, high-profile exposure, helping both new businesses and existing brands achieve unprecedented market success. Richard has developed successful campaigns for some of the world’s most iconic and successful real estate development projects in New York, while personally advising a number of high-profile clients.
David Schwartz is an internationally recognized, award-winning attorney, and for more than a decade, a lobbyist as founder and president of Gotham Government Relations. David advocates on behalf of businesses, trade associations, not-for-profits, foreign countries and individuals. Whether in the courtroom defending and advocating on behalf of litigants in high profile cases or in the halls of the Capital, the same philosophy and attitude exists, which is to advocate aggressively and passionately for the client.
What is the best advice you have received from a mentor?
I spent my career practicing law as a litigator and became actively involved with the political landscape in New York. I learned to use the same philosophy in the courtroom and in the halls of government – advocate aggressively and passionately for the client. Be bold, think outside the box, be ethical, have an authentic voice, build genuine relationships, understand your clients’ needs, and continue to always learn.
Is there something you wish you knew before starting your career in this industry?
At Gotham Government Relations, our team consists of experienced professionals with political, law, business, and government backgrounds. Along the way I learned that someone looking to get into this field should be committed to providing expertise, strategic guidance, and personalized attention to causes and clients, and become a passionate advocate supporting and nurturing a client. And should embrace diverse perspectives, and work collaboratively to deliver results and champion causes.
What is one thing you hope to accomplish in 2024?
My goals in 2024 and beyond…to continue to grow Gotham and our partnerships by crafting solutions and delivering success so we can help advocate for more people and causes that make a difference in New York. I will continue to think outside the box, utilize data driven insights, technology and grassroots campaigns, and the media in order to get the points home and to educate the public and government officials on these causes.
Todd S. Shapiro is the president and CEO of Todd Shapiro Associates Public Relations, one of the region’s most well-respected and time-tested public relations firms. After forming the agency that bears his name, Shapiro quickly became known as one of the best names in the business, while also holding the distinction as one of the youngest principals in the trade.Shapiro’s strategic understanding of the media cycle coupled with over 30-years experience has made him among the most trusted names in public relations, crisis management and media relations.
Jon Silvan is founding partner and CEO of Global Strategy Group. GSG is regularly ranked as a top public affairs firm and was recently recognized for the second time as Public Affairs Agency of the Year by PRovoke Media. Jon has guided GSG’s growth from a boutique agency into a leading public affairs, communications, and research firm with a client roster including Fortune 500 companies, national issue advocacy groups, and the country’s top government officials.
What is the best advice you have received from a mentor?
The best advice I have ever received is to surround yourself with great people and give them what they need to succeed, then get out of their way so they can do their job – and that’s exactly what we have done. For more than two decades, we have expanded a team of over 150 professionals across the country, allowing each and every one to grow, succeed and become the rock stars they are.
Is there something you wish you knew before starting your career in this industry?
Know your sweet spot and be disciplined to stay within it.
Kerri Lyon oversees communications and media strategy for corporate and nonprofit clients, specializing in crisis communications, coalition management, and leadership transitions. A former TV news reporter and NYC Department of Education communications director, she excels in crafting compelling stories and simplifying complex policy issues. Kerri has been recognized among PR News’ Top Women in PR and Insider’s Top Crisis Professionals. She serves on multiple nonprofit and advisory boards in Brooklyn.
