top of page


New Year, New Website, New Business Anniversary
A blog post celebrating eleven years in business and highlighting our new website.
14 hours ago


The Common Sense Colloquy: Q&A with Bernadette Davis of BDC Strategy Group
The opportunity to collaborate with other public relations professionals is one of the things that makes my job so rewarding. And my colleagues in The Change Agencies are at the top of that list. As the nation’s inclusive communications agency network, The Change Agencies is built on the idea that smart agency professionals working together can do even more to help clients succeed. One of those smart agency professionals is Bernadette Davis of BDC Strategy Group . Bernade
Nov 17, 2025


The Common Sense Colloquy: Q&A with April Hale of A.Hale PR, Inc.
After conducting nearly 80 of these interviews, I am still learning so much from the fascinating, funny and fearless people I have the privilege of including in this series. The members of The Change Agencies are among the most fascinating, funny and fearless people I know. It’s an honor to be able to include them in this series and share their insights and hard-won wisdom. When LaTricia Woods of Mahogany Xan Communications and I co-founded The Change Agencies in 2019,
Sep 5, 2025


The Common Sense Colloquy: Q&A with Zeke Stokes of ZS Strategies, LLC
Although Pride Month is over, there is never a bad time to highlight the work of LGBTQ leaders in communications and other industries across the country. Every year, I try to decide which ones to include in this series. This year that was an easy decision given my membership in The Change Agencies (the national network of inclusive public relations, communications and marketing firms that LaTricia Woods of Mahogany Xan Communications and I co-founded). The Change Agencies
Jul 16, 2025


PR News Live: “Where’s the Pride for Pride” interview with RENEWPR President Ben Finzel
Link to a recorded conversation with Ben Finzel of RENEWPR and Kati Murphy of Meow Wolf about Pride Month.
Jul 1, 2025


The Common Sense Colloquy: Q&A with Kristelle Siarza Moon of Siarza
2025 is the tenth anniversary of RENEWPR . During that time, we’ve worked with dozens of clients and enjoyed many successful collaborations across the industry and across the country. One of my proudest collaborations is the one I started with my friend LaTricia Woods of Mahogany Xan Communications : The Change Agencies (TCA). TCA is the nation's inclusive communications agency network and includes 15 public relations, communications and marketing firms owned and operated b
Jun 30, 2025


What Pride Month Means in 2025
Highlight of an op-ed on Pride Month written by RENEWPR President Ben Finzel for a public relations industry trade publication.
Jun 29, 2025


Dwindling Corporate Support for Pride Month Is Only Part of the Story: What Is Our Role as Communicators in 2025?
Highlight and link to commentary by RENEWPR President Ben Finzel on Pride Month written for the public relations industry association's blog
Jun 22, 2025


The Common Sense Colloquy: Q&A with Tammy Belton-Davis of Athena Communications
Writing about, talking about or posting about The Change Agencies and the fantastic members who belong to this national network of inclusive public relations, communications and marketing firms is always a joy for me. From our founding in 2019 (when LaTricia Woods of Mahogany Xan Communications and I developed this idea) to today, The Change Agencies has been a vehicle for change that has fostered deep, meaningful connections among an amazing group of communications profess
May 29, 2025


Axios Communicators: “U.S. companies end Pride sponsorships as anti-DEI pressure mounts”
Link to a news story about corporate support for Pride Month with commentary from RENEWPR President Ben Finzel.
May 14, 2025


Honoring the Past, Acknowledging the Present and Looking to the Future with a Little Bit of Hope: Ben Finzel's Remarks at the RENEWPR Tenth Anniversary Celebration
As we continue our year-long celebration of ten years in business, we hosted a party in Washington, D.C. this week to bring together clients, colleagues and friends to mark our anniversary. In addition to celebrating RENEW PR and the work we've done over the past decade, we also honored a former client, Family Equality, to support their work advocating for the rights of LGBTQ+ families. I'm proud to say we have raised more than $12,000 for Family Equality as part of our ann
May 1, 2025


Celebrating Ten Years and Looking Forward with Hope…and Action
“….you have to give people hope.” – Harvey Milk Our tenth anniversary year has already been an eventful one and we’re busier than ever. The past ten years have brought us to a place I never could have imagined when I launched RENEW PR on January 23, 2015. We have helped nearly 50 clients on a variety of campaigns, programs and projects focused on energy, environment and equity. We work with a team of seven independent PR professionals from across the country. We have buil
Mar 11, 2025


Reflections on Ten Years of Restoring Common Sense to Communications
Eleven years ago, a colleague gave me this advice when I asked him about building RENEW PR : “You aren't a true business until you've been hired by someone who doesn't know you.” That was sound counsel – you might even say “common sense” – and I have thought about it a lot as we have grown the firm over the past ten years from me to more than half a dozen partner agencies and a Team of seven independent PR professionals (not to mention our amazing COO, my wonderful husband
Jan 23, 2025


Ten Dollars for Ten Years: Support the RENEWPR LGBTQIA Scholarship
When I launched RENEW PR ten years ago , my plan was to create an opportunity to do good work with good people. I thought my focus on energy and environmental policy and related communications challenges would afford me solid opportunities to do that. And I was right. What I didn’t foresee, at least at first, was the opportunity to expand that remit to include equity and the many ways in which the energy and environment conversation includes those considerations. For examp
Jan 21, 2025


The Common Sense Colloquy: Q&A with Shawn Smith of Shawn Smith Communications
As I have written before, in 2018, I had an idea for a national network of multicultural and LGBTQ owned and operated public relations agencies. The idea was inspired by my friendship and collaboration with LaTricia Woods of Mahogany Xan Communications . I took the idea to LaTricia, and she said yes before I even finished my pitch! And from that conversation, The Change Agencies was born and later launched with four other partners. Now, six years later, The Change Agencies
Aug 15, 2024


The PRWeek Podcast with Guest RENEWPR President Ben Finzel
Link to a podcast interview RENEWPR President Ben Finzel conducted with PR Week, a public relations trade publication.
Aug 14, 2024


The Common Sense Colloquy: Q&A with Abenaa Hayes of Elysee Consulting
As I have written before, in 2018, I had an idea for a national network of multicultural and LGBTQ owned and operated public relations agencies. The idea was inspired by my friendship and collaboration with LaTricia Woods of Mahogany Xan Communications . I took the idea to LaTricia, and she said yes before I even finished my pitch! And from that conversation, The Change Agencies was born and later launched with four other partners. Now, six years later, The Change Agencies
Aug 12, 2024


The Common Sense Colloquy: Q&A with Sandy Diaz Haley of SDH Communications
As I have written before, in 2018 I had an idea for a national network of multicultural and LGBTQ owned and operated public relations agencies. The idea was inspired by my friendship and collaboration with LaTricia Woods of Mahogany Xan Communications . I took the idea to LaTricia, and she said yes before I even finished my pitch! And from that conversation, The Change Agencies was born and later launched with four other partners. Now, six years later, The Change Agencies
Jul 23, 2024


O’Dwyer’s PR: The Change Agencies Adds New Members
Link to a story in a public relations trade publication about the addition of three new members to The Change Agencies.
Jul 15, 2024


The Common Sense Colloquy: Q&A with LaTricia Woods of Mahogany Xan Communications
In 2018, I had an idea for a national network of multicultural and LGBTQ owned and operated public relations agencies. The idea was inspired by my friendship and collaboration with LaTricia Woods of Mahogany Xan Communications . I took the idea to LaTricia, and she said yes before I even finished my pitch! And from that conversation, The Change Agencies was born and later launched with four other partners. Now, a little more than five years later, The Change Agencies inclu
Jan 30, 2024


Celebrating Nine Years in Business and Honoring Where I Came From
Although I was confident and excited when I launched RENEW PR nine years today , I didn’t envision what the future held. Did I think we’d work with nearly 50 clients and collaborate with a team of eight freelancers and more than 10 agency partners in our first nine years? Did I foresee that we’d win awards and that I would be inducted into the PRSA National Capital Chapter Hall of Fame ? In a word, no. What I did know was that RENEW PR was a very good idea whose time had
Jan 23, 2024
bottom of page

