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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

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,

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

Link to a recorded conversation with Ben Finzel of RENEWPR and Kati Murphy of Meow Wolf about Pride Month.

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

Highlight of an op-ed on Pride Month written by RENEWPR President Ben Finzel for a public relations industry trade publication.

Highlight and link to commentary by RENEWPR President Ben Finzel on Pride Month written for the public relations industry association's blog

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

Link to a news story about corporate support for Pride Month with commentary from RENEWPR President Ben Finzel.

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

Link to a podcast interview RENEWPR President Ben Finzel conducted with PR Week, a public relations trade publication.

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

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

Link to a story in a public relations trade publication about the addition of three new members to The Change Agencies.

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

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

Selecting my favorite comments from the most recent Common Sense Colloquy Q&As is both challenging and fun. I’m always struck by how relevant the comments from our participants are, and how much they have in common with each other. Listening, engaging others and simplifying what you say and how you say it come up as advice again and again. But what makes the series so interesting to me are the other nuggets of wisdom that may be specific, funny and/or inspiring.   The past

After nearly six years, I’m still surprised by how useful the insights shared by our Common Sense Colloquy participants are for my daily work. The inspiration and information each participant imparts is both helpful and encouraging and reminds me of what a great resource this series is for communicators.   This is my second post in our Years Five and Six in Review series and it includes responses from our sixteen participants about the best advice each participant has given

Somehow, nearly six years have passed since I started The Common Sense Colloquy series of Q&As with energy, environment and other leaders in February 2018. In that time, more than sixty leaders from a variety of backgrounds and organizations have shared their insights on common sense communications and the wisdom of their professional experience. It’s a remarkable collection of commentaries from an inspiring set of people and a reminder that common sense is a useful foundati

While we’re often recognized for our work on energy and environmental issues, our work on equity is equally important to us. So we were thrilled when one of our The Change Agencies partners, Bernadette Davis of BDC Strategy Group , suggested a collaboration on behalf of Reaching Out MBA (ROMBA) . ROMBA is the “biggest and best known organization focused on supporting the LGBTQ+ MBA Community.” ROMBA was looking for help on communications strategy and messaging. We worked toge