Issues Advocacy: How to Build and Run Successful Campaigns

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Issues Advocacy: How to Build and Run Successful Campaigns
Robert Leonard, DKC Public Relations

Critical fire prevention and life safety information and policies can literally save lives. But how do we get our important messages or causes 'above the noise' in an information-saturated society where everyone is 'too busy' to get involved? How do we identify, empower and energize key constituencies to join the battle for important changes in policies or laws? This session will provide a road map for designing, building and executing successful advocacy campaigns on a wide array of policy issues within the fire and life safety fields. Case studies of successful past campaigns will be highlighted as part of this highly interactive session. Participants will leave with a better understanding of how to take their safety messages and policy ideas and put them into action.

Presented by:

Robert Leonard, DKC Public Relations
Robert Leonard has 30 years of emergency response experience as an EMT, fire fighter, and fire officer. He has performed media relations and public affairs duties for many emergency service and government organizations in different roles, including as the FDNY's Deputy Director of Public Information, as Assistant Commissioner for Public Information at NYC DOT, as NYC*EMS Public Information Officer, and as Deputy Press Secretary for Uniformed and Emergency Services for Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. Since 2000, he has been a senior executive at one of the nation's largest public relations/communications firms, leading the public safety and local government practice. At DKC, Robert led the media and crisis communications efforts for St. Vincent's Hospital and several other regional organizations on 9/11 and in the months that followed.