September 11, 2018 NSME Akron/Canton Workshop Presentation

Stephanie York, JD – VP, Hennes Communications 

TITLE: Crisis Management, Communications, and Social Media

Summary:
Controversies today are tried in the Court of Public Opinion — at least as much as in any Court of Law. Therefore, CEO’s, Executive Directors, law directors, CFO’s, mayors, non-profits and other organizations have much to gain (or lose) by the way a controversy is positioned in both the traditional media, as well as Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms where reputations built up over years of good work can be shattered in an instant. Especially in today’s world of “gotcha” journalism, managing a crisis situation, long before trial, is today a necessary skill set for government officials. This seminar will focus on a highly-strategic approach to crisis management and crisis communications for a wide variety of situations, enabling those officials to help their organizations move messages forward or mount a defense against an outraged public, unhappy customers or a sudden press onslaught.

Benefits:
The audience will:
• Gain perspective of the current media landscape (traditional media and new media, including social media)
• Be able to anticipate what reporters expect and what is expected of them
• Understand how to use the “Damage Control Playbook,” which are practical and actionable activities designed to blunt, avoid and/or mitigate crisis situations
• Learn how to establish and maintain “control of the message”
• Identify, and appropriately react to, the challenges of communicating during a crisis (via traditional media and social media)
• Appreciate and foster positive collaboration between the financial, communications and legal functions at their agency

Stephanie York Bio:

 Stephanie York is Vice President and an attorney at Hennes Communications, one the few firms in the U.S. focused exclusively on crisis communications and crisis management.

 Hennes Communications serves corporations, government agencies, nonprofits, education and healthcare institutions, as well as law firms and their clients, that are “on trial” in the Court of Public Opinion.

 With over 20 years’ experience in law and communications, Stephanie and the firm’s past and present clients include the 2016 Cleveland Host Committee for the recent Republican National Convention, ThyssenKrupp, Avery Dennison, Lubrizol, Kent State University, Oberlin College and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, as well as scores of municipalities and law firms across the U.S. 

Better recognized as the Assistant Director of Law and spokesperson for the City of Akron and former Mayor Don Plusquellic, Stephanie serves on seven local non-profit boards and is President of Downtown Akron Kiwanis Foundation.