Helene is active in Greater Boston community affairs, serving on the Board of Directors of the Commonwealth Institute, Building Impact and the Massachusetts Health Council. Helene is on the Board of Advisors for the Harvard Kennedy School of Government Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston, a Gavel member of NAIOP Massachusetts and a member of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and the Urban Land Institute. She previously served for many years on the Executive Committee of the Visiting Nurse Association of Boston, and as Chair of the Town of Brookline’s Transportation Board. She has also served on the Dean’s Advisory Committee at Boston University’s College of Communications, the Advisory Board of Boston Women Communicators and Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership’s Leadership Committee.

Helene has a Distinguished Alumni Award from the Boston University College of Communications, and was inducted into YW Boston’s 2014 Academy of Women Achievers. She was honored in 2015 with Lowell Richards Award from the Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership for her numerous contribution in the field of affordable housing. She is a recipient of the Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus Abigail Adams Award, which recognized her longstanding support of women and the community. She is a lifetime member of The Publicity Club of New England, having twice served as its president, and has been selected as a Crystal Bell Winner, which recognized her significant contributions to the field of public relations. She is also currently a member of the editorial board of PR News.

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Ashley directs the firm’s crisis response team and litigation relations practice. She has developed dozens of crisis plans for corporations, institutions and mission-focused organizations, and has played a key role in many sensitive and complex issues including labor negotiations and strikes, accusations of sexual harassment and abuse, state and federal investigations, workplace violence, and community relations for high-profile real estate developments.

C-suite and Boards of Directors also rely on Ashley to develop internal and external communications strategies for significant organizational changes such as layoffs, leadership departures, mergers & acquisitions, and buy-outs.

A forceful presence and compelling voice, Ashley regularly speaks on crisis planning and management before trade associations and communications organizations. The media call upon her to comment on crises and litigation. She has appeared in USA Today, Bloomberg, CNN, PR Week, PR News, O’Dwyer’s and COMMProBiz commenting on many of the pressing issues for businesses and organizations as they rise and fall amidst the current economic and political climate.

Ashley is a member of the Board of Overseers for the MSPCA, a member of the Alliance for Business Leadership, The Commonwealth Institute, and NorthEast Disaster Recovery X-Change. She is past president of the Publicity Club of New England, and in 2006, she won Crisis Communicator of the Year honorable mention at PR News’ PR People Awards.

Ashley has a B.A. in English from Mount Holyoke College.

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As CFO of Solomon McCown, Bill’s operational and financial acumen plays an integral role in steering the course of the firm and in training staff in solid principles of maximizing resources, both financial and human, while achieving and maintaining exceptional client satisfaction and retention.

Before joining Ashley and Helene in launching the firm, Bill brought his analytical and managerial skills to bear for a range of private organizations, many with social causes. He worked 10 years as CFO, Treasurer and later President of Integral Resources, a leading telemarketing company that organizes fundraising for political candidates and mission-focused organizations, including the Special Olympics and Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Prior to Integral, he was the Director of Finance & Administration for the Nobel Peace Prize winning organization International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War. His career includes experience with a number of healthcare and consumer-oriented organizations as well, including Inhalation Therapy Services and Commodore Seafoods.

Bill received his B.S. in Business Administration from Boston University.

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Dan is a veteran government relations and P.R. strategist with 20 years’ experience in the public and private sectors. He founded and managed two successful political consulting and government affairs firms where he represented the interests of clients including: New Balance, Suffolk Downs, Microsoft, Boston Beer, and The Massachusetts Craft Beer Guild before local, city and state government across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He maintains excellent working relationships with many members of the Legislature, the executive branch and many municipal officials around the State as well.

Earlier in his career, Dan was an aide to City Councilor Tom Keane, Government and Community Affairs Director for District Attorney Dan Conley, Press Secretary for Chris Gabrieli’s bid for Governor of Massachusetts and later was a part of Mayor Tom Menino’s reelection team.

He is also a member of the agency’s crisis and issues management team providing high-level strategic counsel.

Dan sits on the Board of Directors for the non-profit Children’s Advocacy Center of Suffolk County, which is housed in the Family Justice Center on Commonwealth Avenue. The Center works to raise funds and awareness for children and families dealing with violent and sexual offenses committed against their loved ones.

Dan received his Bachelor of Science in Communications from Boston University.

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Wendy brings a wealth of agency and corporate experience to Solomon McCown in the areas of real estate, hospitality, retail, food, beauty and fashion. She works across a range of client accounts to drive strategy and creativity.

Before SM&, Wendy was Principal at Goldstein Pierce Public Relations. Clients included Boston area developer Samuels & Associates, for whom she marketed properties in the city’s Fenway neighborhood as well as Hingham, Massachusetts. Wendy has also served as Account Director for a boutique public relations firm, where highlights included the premier Creative Coalition event during the 2004 Democratic National Convention and the national introduction of Cross retail products. Pierce has also held a number of executive positions with hospitality leaders such as Westin Hotels & Resorts and ITT Sheraton.

Wendy is actively involved in a number of area charities such as the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the JCCs of Greater Boston. Wendy is also a member of the Women’s Leadership Initiative Steering Committee for ULI Boston and the Executive Committee for NAIOP Massachusetts.

Wendy is a graduate of Trinity College in Connecticut, and resides in the Boston area with her husband, two children and lab mix.

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At SM&, Michelle develops and oversees the strategy and execution of all social media and digital initiatives for the agency and our clients. In addition, she assumes a leadership role on viral marketing campaigns, digital crisis management, as well as search engine marketing and optimization strategies.

Michelle comes to Solomon McCown & Co. from Propel Marketing (a GateHouse Media company) where she oversaw a portfolio of 100 social marketing clients pursuing integrated strategies in support of public relations, marketing and advertising campaigns. She also managed a team that created and optimized content for different platforms, curated clients’ social networking profiles and analyzed metrics.

Michelle was also a Digital Strategist for WNEU Telemundo in Boston. Earlier in her career, she worked in Los Angeles at leading talent agencies, including William Morris Endeavor (WME) and International Creative Management (ICM).

Michelle holds a B.A. in Marketing Communications & Visual Media Arts from Emerson College and is currently pursuing a Masters in Marketing.

She is a member of the Ad Club of Boston, the Boston Interactive Marketing Association and ULI Boston’s Real Estate Technology Council. She also serves as Social Media Strategist for the Young Professionals of the American Cancer Society Leadership Council and is a Board Member and Clerk for RESPOND, Inc.

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Based in New York City, Jon’s forte is in national,hard-to-get media coverage and finding creative ways to land meaningful stories that others simply cannot. He also serves as an internal “pitching” coach for other account staff. At SM&, Jon’s responsibilities include client support and counsel, top tier media and analyst relations, writing/editing, speaking opportunities/industry awards submissions, competitive audits and market studies.

Prior to his position with Solomon McCown, Jon worked as an Account Supervisor at New York-based Makovsky + Company, a public relations firm specializing in senior level client branding, public relations and reputation management, where he served as the day-to-day contact for clients such as Charles Schwab, AMB Property Corp (now Prologis), BondDesk Group and American Express. He also led the firm’s in-house PR account, securing media coverage and speaking opportunities for Makovsky’s leadership. Prior to Makovsky + Company, Jon worked in the Technology group at global public relations firm Ruder Finn, handling the media relations and strategy for clients including Microsoft Healthcare, Teradata, NEC, Kanbay International and Gale Global Facility Services.

He is a member of the Public Relations Society of America, the New York City chapters of the Urban Land Institute and NAIOP, and is an undergraduate student mentor for the Alumni Mentoring program at Fordham University, where he earned a bachelor of arts in Communications and Media Studies.

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T.J. Winick is a former broadcast communications professional with a proven track record of writing and presenting for audiences nationally and in major U.S. media markets.

With nearly two decades spent in broadcast news and feature television, T.J. brings the perspective of a veteran journalist to the agency’s award-winning media relations, issues and crisis management, as well as communications training capabilities. He conducts high-level writing and content editing across all client accounts. In addition, T.J. directs how the agency conceives and produces client videos.

T.J. is regularly relied upon for his counsel on many delicate and high-profile issues involving Title IX complaints, financial services and banking, international student travel, federal investigations, Greek Life communications as well as a myriad of crises that have their origin on social media.

Prior to SM&, T.J. was a correspondent for ABC News based out of Washington, D.C. and New York City. During his five-and-a-half years at the network, he reported for Nightline, as well as weekend editions of Good Morning America and World News. Before ABC News, he was a reporter and anchor at WBZ-TV in Boston.

T.J. has provided insight and commentary on media issues for WGBH-TV and the Boston Herald. His writing on crisis communications has appeared in PR Week, PRNews and PRNewser. In addition, he has presented on Communicating around Title IX at the annual meeting of NAICU (the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities).

He is a native of Marblehead, Mass. and holds a B.A. in government from Colby College, from which he graduated with honors.

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