Strategic Communications
& Counsel

Senior-level communications strategy for leadership transitions, crisis, business transformation, and reputation management.

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When stakes are high communications are critical.

These are the communications challenges that bring clients to me.

  • When leadership changes, the ground can shake

    A CEO departure, a new leader arriving, or a major organizational repositioning creates a lot of questions. Without a deliberate communications strategy from day one, stakeholders (employees, customers, investors and media) form their own version of events. And it’s rarely the one you'd choose.

  • Crisis doesn't wait for a communications plan

    When a cyberattack, service failure, or reputational issue breaks, the first 24 hours determine whether your organization controls the story or spends days, even weeks reacting to someone else's. Most organizations discover they don't have a crisis communications plan at precisely the moment they need one most.

  • Your organization is speaking. Just not with one voice

    As businesses grow and evolve, their external voice can lose consistency. When messages differ across leaders, channels, and audiences, confusion builds about what the organization stands for, eroding the stakeholder trust that took years to build.

Organizations with a defined external communications strategy recover twice as fast after a reputational crisis.

Strategic communication isn’t just about managing perception. It’s about protecting long‑term trust and business continuity.

SOURCE: DELOITTE

Where we can help

Where I can help

  • Comprehensive Communications Strategy

    End-to-end messaging frameworks, channel planning, and brand alignment that give your organization a clear, consistent voice across every audience. The strategy is built around your business objectives, not pulled from a generic template.

  • Board, Executive and C-Suite Communications

    Trusted counsel and hands-on support for leadership communications during transitions, organizational change, and large-scale transformation. We bring objectivity and help leaders communicate clearly and confidently at the highest levels ensuring their message lands with clarity and impact.

  • Crisis Communications

    When a cyberattack, service failure, or reputational issue demands an immediate response, the first 24 hours are decisive. Rapid strategy, clear messaging, and experience helps your organization get ahead of the story rather than spend weeks reacting to it.

  • Media Training

    Preparation and coaching for leaders facing media scrutiny, analyst questions, or public-facing communications. Spokespeople who are prepared and confident control the message.

  • Communications Audit

    An objective assessment of how your organization communicates externally, identifying gaps, inconsistencies, and missed opportunities before they become reputational risks. Practical recommendations your team can act on immediately.

  • Reputation Audit

    A focused look at how your organization is perceived across key stakeholder groups, and where that perception doesn’t match the story you want to tell. It’s the starting point for strengthening and repositioning your reputation.

Leading strategic communications across growth, transformation, and multiple mergers at a regional telecom company.

The Situation:

Enventis, a regional telecom company, went through a period of significant growth and transformation involving multiple mergers, major rebranding initiatives, and complex integrations.

John Finke served as President and CEO throughout that period. Jennifer led marketing, public relations, and investor relations as a member of the leadership team, providing strategic communications counsel across every major business event during that time.

The Work:

Jennifer was charged with elevating visibility and recognition for a regional telecom company playing on a national stage. From shaping a marketing strategy to support emerging cloud and data services to building employee engagement around a new business direction and navigating complex merger communications, she delivered cohesive strategies grounded in achieving business results.

From ringing the closing bell at Nasdaq MarketSite to breaking ground on the Greater Minnesota Broadband Collaborative Project to guiding a major brand pivot, Jennifer’s leadership ensured alignment, visibility, and trust across every audience.

The Outcome:

Under Jennifer’s leadership, communications became a strategic driver of business outcomes. Multiple mergers received shareholder approval following clear, transparent messaging that built investor confidence and alignment. Media coverage turned decisively positive, elevating the company’s reputation as a regional leader with national reach.

Employee engagement scores improved as internal communications connected teams to the company’s evolving strategy and values. The result was measurable growth in brand recognition, stakeholder trust, and market credibility—proof that disciplined, values‑based communication can move both perception and performance.

"She has a rare ability to balance diverse stakeholder needs while proactively anticipating challenges. Jennifer is a trusted strategic leader, and I highly recommend her to any organization seeking a communications executive or advisor who can navigate complexity, change, and high-stakes environments with confidence and impact."

JOHN FINKE PRESIDENT & CEO, ENVENTIS

Your situation, not a template.

01

Understand first.

Before any strategy is built, we learn your organization, your stakeholders, and the specific situation at hand. A leadership transition calls for a different approach than a crisis, which calls for a different approach than a media inquiry. We always begin with your situation.

02

Build around your situation.

From messaging frameworks and executive communications to crisis response and reputation management, every recommendation is built specifically for your organization, your brand, your voice, and the audiences that matter most to your business.

03

Deliver alongside you.

High-stakes communications moments rarely go exactly as planned. We stay with you through execution, adjusting the strategy as the situation evolves so you're never caught off guard.

Common questions

  • Strategic communications counsel goes deeper that media placement or publicity, and is focused on aligning messaging with business strategy, leadership intent, and stakeholder trust. It’s about shaping perception and guiding communication through critical moments, not just generating coverage. 

  • Both. We develop the strategy and stay through execution to ensure messages are delivered consistently and effectively, and the plan is working. This includes drafting statements, preparing leaders, and coordinating timing across internal and external audiences. 

  • Through a structured discovery process which involves reviewing existing materials, interviewing key leaders, and understanding your business objectives, priorities and culture. In a short period of time, we can identify what’s working, what’s missing, and where communication can strengthen alignment and build trust.

  • Absolutely. Many engagements focus on proactive communication, building clarity in messages, consistency in delivery, and confidence in execution before change or challenge arrives. Strong communication habits are the best insurance against future crises.

  • Clients may engage on a project basis tied to a specific transaction or event or on a monthly retainer basis. We can provide ongoing counsel through integration or post‑deal communication phases. The model depends on your timeline, internal resources, and the complexity of the transaction.

  • We can start with a defined project or advisory engagement, such as a leadership transition, organizational change, or reputation audit, and evolve into ongoing counsel as needed. The model depends on your needs: short‑term intensity or long‑term partnership.

01. Book a call | 02. Tell me what you’re navigating | 03. I’ll tell you whether I can help

Let’s talk about your situation

If your organization is in the middle of a leadership transition, a business transformation, or a reputational challenge and needs a communications strategy, a 20-minute call is the right place to start.