Biography
R. Christine Hershey — Chris — founded Cause Communications in 1977, the country's first nonprofit strategic communications firm, at a time when cause-driven work was a rare focus for communications professionals. A widely respected strategist and activist, she earned the title "evangelist for communications" as an early advocate for using strategic communications to amplify social sector issues, and she coined the term "Communications for Good" that still guides all of her work. Through Cause she consults with CEOs and senior executives on strategy, identity, crisis communications and systems change, and her cross-sector experience spans government, corporate and philanthropic communities — she is known for connecting ideas and people across those worlds for greater collective impact. Her firm has since grown into a capacity-building organization that trains community-centered leaders, publishes practical communications tools, and offers strategy-level counsel to nonprofits, foundations and public agencies. A graduate of ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, Chris was named Woman in Business Champion of the Year by the United States Small Business Administration in recognition of her leadership and advocacy for women-led enterprise.