Jonathan Bernstein, President, Bernstein Crisis Management
Jonathan Bernstein has more than 30 years of experience meeting clients’ needs in all aspects of crisis management – crisis response, vulnerability assessment, planning, training and simulations. Prior to launching his firm in January 1994, Bernstein created and served as the first director of the Crisis Communications Group for Ruder Finn, Inc., one of the world's largest public relations agencies.
Bernstein’s crisis and issues management experience has encompassed a wide range of industries and subjects, to include accounting, architecture, associations, banking, charities, education, environment, financial services, food (retail and B2B), health care, housing, insurance, labor & employment, litigation, manufacturing, product recalls, professional services, real estate development, religious institutions, securities, security, senior housing, and white collar crime. He is a self-admitted “Internet nerd,” online since 1982, who has pioneered strategies and tactics for Internet-centered crisis and reputation management.
His past experience includes corporate, agency and non-profit public relations positions, preceded by five years of investigative and feature journalism -- to include a stint with investigative reporter/columnist Jack Anderson. He is a veteran of five years in U.S. Army Military Police and Military Intelligence counter-terrorism operations.
Bernstein is the publisher of Crisis Manager, a first-of-its-kind email newsletter written for “those who are crisis managers whether they want to be or not,” currently read in 75 countries, and manages two industry leading blogs on the same subject. His commercially published Keeping the Wolves at Bay: Media Training has been described as “an outstanding foundation for preparing individuals and organizations for effective crisis management.” His newest book, Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management (McGraw-Hill) was published in November 2011.
Bernstein is frequently interviewed by national and international media outlets about various “crises du jour.” A PR Week feature story entitled “The Crunch-Time Counselors” identified Bernstein as one of 22 “people who should be on the speed dial in a crisis” and Business Week featured his perspectives in an article entitled “Masters of Disaster.”
A popular speaker at a wide variety of industry functions, Bernstein has been featured and praised for presentations and workshops at events such as the American Bar Association, Arizona Bar Association, Association of Corporate Counsel, National Summit on Campus Security, World Conference on Disaster Management, National Symposium for Healthcare Executives, Builder 100 Conference, International Facility Management Association, the National School Boards Association, and Intel Corporation’s Worldwide Issue Prevention & Management Group.
A married father of five, Bernstein is a yoga practitioner, folksinger and is very active in community service. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Speech Communications, magna cum laude, from the University of Maryland.
Terry Fahn, Senior Executive, Sitrick and Company
Terry Fahn, a senior member of the firm, specializes in strategic communications, litigation support, crisis/reputation management and transactional public relations. During his tenure at Sitrick And Company he has worked on a broad variety of matters, including civil and criminal litigation support, special investigations, proxy contests, transactions and restructurings involving corporations, government agencies, non-profits and high-profile individuals from the world of business, sports and entertainment.
Representative clients include the Beverly Hills Unified School District; the Fiesta Bowl; the Estate of Michael Jackson; Patricia Dunn, former chairman of the board of Hewlett-Packard; The Gores Group; Dan Snyder, owner of the Washington Redskins and Roy Disney and his “SaveDisney” campaign.
Mr. Fahn previously served as a Senior Vice President at Dick Clark Productions, where he was in charge of communications for such notable programming as the American Music Awards, Dick Clark’s New Years’ Rockin’ Eve, the Golden Globe Awards and the Academy of Country Music Awards. Prior to joining Sitrick And Company, he was a litigation attorney at Christensen, Miller, Fink, Jacobs, Glaser, Weil & Shapiro, LLP.
Mr. Fahn is a member of the Sitrick And Company Management Committee and an inactive member of the California State Bar. He holds a Juris Doctor from Santa Clara University School of Law and a BA in Communications from the University of Denver.
Megan Jordan, Vice President Corporate Communcications, Southern California Edison
Megan K. Jordan is vice president of Corporate Communications for Southern California Edison (SCE), responsible for all SCE communications including internal and client services communications, external communications and the community involvement functions in the department.
Previously Jordan was director of corporate communications where she was responsible for leading internal and client services and external communications.
Prior to joining SCE, Jordan was a senior vice president at MS&L, a public relations agency in Los Angeles. She was also top management for Cohn & Wolfe, Zeno Group, and Kaiser Permanente, where she was director of public relations.
Jordan is an adjunct professor at the Annenberg School of Communication & Journalism at the University of Southern California, (USC).
Jordan earned her master’s degree in mass communications from California State University, Northridge, and a bachelor’s degree in public relations from USC.
Brenda Maceo, Vice President Public Relations & Marketing, University of Southern California
Brenda K. Maceo was appointed vice president of public relations and marketing effective August 8, 2011. Reporting to the senior vice president for university relations, she provides strategic direction and leadership for USC's outreach and reputation.
Maceo's prior experience encompasses more than 20 years in public relations and marketing. From 1993 to 2005, she was USC's associate vice president for health sciences public relations and marketing, concurrently holding the title of senior associate dean at the medical school. In this capacity, she led the launch of the university's first integrated health-care marketing campaign, orchestrated the rebranding of USC's medical school as the Keck School of Medicine of USC, and directed development communications for fundraising initiatives in support of the Harlyne J. Norris Cancer Research Tower, Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute and a $2 billion fundraising campaign.
More recently, Maceo served as senior vice president of communications at City of Hope. Her six-year tenure encompassed the update of City of Hope's organizational brand and the launch of its "canswer" advertising campaign. She also played a pivotal role in establishing ThinkCure, the Los Angeles Dodgers' official charity, which supports cancer research at City of Hope and Children's Hospital Los Angeles.
From 1988 to 1993, Maceo was an account supervisor at Manning, Selvage & Lee Public Relations, where she led national account teams for a variety of nonprofit and corporate clients, including Time Warner and Nestle.
She began her professional career at USC, serving for two years as a special projects assistant in University Public Relations.
Moderator: Paul J. Wright, Esq., President, British American Business Council Los Angeles
Paul J. Wright, Esq. is an English Barrister and California Attorney. In 1990, he formed Paul J. Wright & Associates, a law firm based in Malibu, California specializing in domestic and international transactional and litigation matters. He has successfully represented many companies and individuals in the US and UK in the business and entertainment communities, from the negotiation of contracts and business investments to the protection of intellectual property rights, to the successful prosecution of many complex business disputes.
Currently in his second term as President of the British American Business Council, Los Angeles (BABC LA), Mr. Wright also served as its Chairman from 2008 to 2009 (comprising of 22 Chapters, the BABC is the largest transatlantic business network). In 2009, he founded InternationalEsq and formed an ongoing joint venture with Daily Variety to address cutting edge international legal developments. Seminars have included Celebrity Justice & Media Globalization: Why Hollywood Celebrities Flock to the UK Courts and The Music Industry’s Response to Piracy: Intervention or Innovation?
In 2011, Mr. Wright was appointed to the Board of the Variety Foundation. He serves as its General Counsel and co-chairs the annual Variety Venture Capital New Media Summits (2011-2012). In 2011, he co-chaired the Variety Venture Capital and New Media Summit, which took place in Beverly Hills and was attended by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
Mr. Wright is on the Board of BritWeek and serves as its General Counsel. Britweek focuses on the British contribution to film, fashion and music in southern California. In 2011, he co-chaired the BritWeek Gala Dinner, which honored Timothy J. Leiweke, President & CEO of the Anschutz Entertainment Group Worldwide, and in 2012 he co-chaired the same Dinner, honoring Piers Morgan, CNN Presenter and Host.
Recently, Mr. Wright was named in the Queen's New Year Honours List 2013, published in the United Kingdom. He was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in recognition of his services to British Business interests in the USA. Other recipients of the OBE in the 2013 New Year's Honours List include Stella McCartney, leading fashion designer, and Andy Murray, London Olympic's Gold Medalist in Tennis.
Mr. Wright has organized, chaired or co-chaired many prestigious events and conferences. He is extensively consulted on legal and business matters and has been a speaker in a number of distinguished international forums.
