Kathy Cripps

President, Council of Public Relations Firms

As President, Kathy runs the Council, the trade association that represents the interests of public relations firms operating in the U.S. The Council advocates for the importance of public relations on behalf of member firms and the professional.

Kathy brings to the Council a comprehensive understanding of the needs of firms. Before joining the Council, she was responsible for growing the U.S. healthcare business for Hill & Knowlton, and earlier for founding and serving as President/COO of SCIENS Worldwide Public Relations (a division of Nelson Communications). Kathy has held senior positions at Creamer Dickson Basford (now Magnet Communications) and Burson-Marsteller. She began her public relations career with The Nestle Company and Farberware, the cookware manufacturer.

Kathy served on the board of PRSA’s Counselors Academy and was its 2000 Chairman. She was on the board of the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Associations and, as a founding member of the Council of Public Relations Firms, also served on its board. She is currently on the board of The Lagrant Foundation.

Kathy has been recognized as a “Public Relations All-Star” by Inside PR and named to the “Top 50 Healthcare Executives” list by PRWeek. She holds a BA in nutrition from Queens College and an MBA in marketing from Fordham University. She is an active industry speaker.