Why Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Is the New Frontier for Public Affairs—and Why It Matters to You

DDC Public Affairs, a leading national public affairs and strategic communications firm and a member of the Omnicom PR Group, announced today the appointment of media veteran Terry Neal as Executive Vice President, Earned and Strategic Media. Neal will oversee the expansion of DDC’s media relations practice, providing greater national reach and a top-tier presence in the Washington, D.C. media market.

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DDC Welcomes Seasoned Media Veteran Terry Neal to Lead Media Practice

DDC Public Affairs, a leading national public affairs and strategic communications firm and a member of the Omnicom PR Group, announced today the appointment of media veteran Terry Neal as Executive Vice President, Earned and Strategic Media. Neal will oversee the expansion of DDC’s media relations practice, providing greater national reach and a top-tier presence in the Washington, D.C. media market.

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A Tipping Point for Advocacy—What Comes Next?

A fragmented communications landscape, big shifts in power dynamics in Washington, and widespread institutional distrust mean public affairs pros must rethink how they approach advocacy. Read more from Chief Strategy Officer Jennifer Miller in our latest blog.

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America’s Food Policy is About to Be Overhauled. Is the Food Industry Ready?  

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s journey to potentially becoming our nation’s next Secretary of Health and Human Services has been challenging. President Trump’s encouragement for Kennedy to “run wild” in the healthcare sector has created uncertainty across various healthcare domains, including pharmaceuticals, Medicare and Medicaid, private insurance exchanges, and NIH research funding. Healthcare companies are scrambling to find strategic positions to stay competitive and succeed, unsure of Kennedy’s priorities as he prepares to take charge.

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Navigating the New Political Normal: A Guide for Businesses Operating Across States 

The United States has always been a complex political landscape, but with polarizing divides across states and communities, businesses today face unique challenges. While some states lean into progressive social policies, others hold firm to conservative values. For organizations that operate across state lines, aligning with multiple perspectives is no longer optional; it’s the backbone of survival and long-term growth. Here’s how to navigate this new normal and thrive as a business in an increasingly divided nation.

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Higher Ed Braces for a Tough 4 Years

In the days since inauguration, the Trump Administration has launched sweeping reforms. As promised by Vance and Trump on the campaign trail, higher education (ed) is a “First 100 Days” priority, with calls to eliminate federal funding from DEI programs, overhaul student loan policies, revamp accreditation and curriculum programs and more, impacting operations, compliance and funding for colleges and universities across the US.

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Leading Authentically Through Uncertainty

The new administration underscores an undeniable truth for organizations everywhere—the pace of change is unrelenting, and the landscape can shift without warning. Policies reverse overnight, societal debates erupt in an instant, and companies often find themselves thrust into the public spotlight without warning.

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Lessons from Elections: Moving Beyond Assumptions in Audience Engagement

Elections often offer valuable insights into human behavior, communication, and the importance of understanding diverse audiences. One key takeaway from recent elections is this: we cannot engage audiences effectively by relying on assumptions about their ethnicity, gender, or other things about their identity. Instead, we must focus on what truly drives them—their motivations, interests, and the issues they care about most.

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Buckle Up: 2025 Is Likely to be a Wild Ride

DDC hosted our annual Horizon event, bringing together the best and brightest political and media strategists across the DDC network for a set of conversations to look back on the year. We brought in several client leaders to have an open dialogue about the challenges and opportunities that next year will bring.

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Health Equity in Black America

SVP Dan Sweet and Account Coordinator Stella Kustra recently attended BlackDoctor.org a forum highlighting the importance of early and consistent stakeholder engagement and collaborative coalition building in shaping positive public policy outcomes for key programs like 340B.

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Navigating Election Uncertainty for Business Leaders

The 2024 elections confirm that the political zeitgeist in the U.S. has shifted. The reasons behind the shift are complex, and its implications for both policy and reputation for businesses will also be complex. Chief Strategy Officer Jennifer Miller provides important perspective on what businesses should be thinking about and preparing for as they consider their priorities through the current political lens.

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2024 Elections Demonstrate the Power of Connecting with Individuals, not Identities

It has been nearly 60 hours since most major news outlets have called the Presidential election. Michael Shue explores how to build winning coalitions and some of the lessons we can learn as public affairs leaders as we go into 2025 and beyond.

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DDC Election Perspectives

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Policy Roundtable Recap: Lessons Learned on Community Engagement 

The energy transformation is at a critical juncture, with demand poised to reach record heights thanks to AI advancements and industrial policy. Yet increasing opposition to development at the community level is hindering progress.

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What DDC is Watching in the 2024 Elections

One week out and there is no clear leader in the presidential race or the races for control of Congress.  People across the country are already voting, and the tea leaves are ripe for reading.

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The Importance of Trust in Independent, Peer-Reviewed Science for Healthcare Solutions

In today’s increasingly complex healthcare landscape, the need for trustworthy, independent, peer-reviewed science has never been more critical.

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Game on: The Need for Sports Advocacy 

The need for sports advocacy is far bigger than any single industry; it’s a cultural phenomenon, and as you might expect, passion runs deep. Like in so many successful industry transformations before this, the best communicators win. Learn how our Sports Practice can help you get in the game.

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Authentic Public Affairs for the Energy Transition:Perspectives from DDC’s Energy Practice Group

The energy transition is all-encompassing; it touches every sector of the economy and impacts communities large and small across the socioeconomic spectrum. When it comes to energy, policymakers and business leaders are divided over the details, but they can all agree on one fact: we need more, and we need it fast.

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The Future of Healthcare Hinges on Local Community Engagement

DDC Senior Vice President and healthcare practice lead Dan Sweet attended #BIO2024 last month, and he’s sharing a few key takeaways on why local community engagement will be critical to influencing both healthcare policy and behavior today and in the future.

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Hispanic Voters: A Critical Audience for Elections and Advocacy

The 2024 campaign season is in full swing. 30 of the 50 states will have completed primaries by the end of June—some of them breaking records for campaign spending before even getting to the general election. The national conventions will be held in July and August, and with the first presidential debate this Thursday, this election cycle is shaping up to be one of the most polarizing and competitive in recent U.S. history.

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Navigating Uncertainty Around CCUS: Insights from the Global CCS Institute Conference

The Global CCS Institute conference was a convergence of thought leaders, policymakers, and industry professionals, all gathered to discuss the future of Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS). Among the key issues keeping CCUS proponents up at night are global uncertainty, policy and regulatory challenges, and the lack of education around CCUS in local communities. All of these pieces can lead to project delays that could make it unfeasible to move CCUS projects forward. A central focus of the conference—and DDC’s central expertise—is how the industry and those relying on CCUS to achieve their net zero goals can more effectively navigate these uncertainties and successfully move forward CCUS projects.

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DDC Public Affairs Welcomes Greg Graham as Executive Vice President of Technology & Product

DDC Public Affairs, the leading firm at the intersection of business, communications and politics, is excited to announce the appointment of Greg Graham as the new Executive Vice President of Technology & Product. With a distinguished career spanning over 25 years of technological innovation and leadership, Greg brings a wealth of experience in driving significant business technology transformations across various industries.

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Purposeful Leadership: Lessons for DDC’s CLIMB Initiative from Lan Phan’s AAPI Heritage Month Webinar

In celebration of AAPI Heritage Month, DDC team members had the privilege of joining other professionals within the Omnicom network for an insightful storytelling session on purposeful leadership. The session featured Lan Phan, the esteemed author of Do This Daily and founder of the Community of SEVEN.

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Managing Misinformation: Make Sure AI Is Working For You, Not Against You

In today’s digital world, misinformation can spread like wildfire, tarnishing corporate reputations and instigating crisis before the truth even gets its boots on. Most organizations are struggling to understand how misinformation is influencing their stakeholders—and how to manage it. Recognizing these challenges, DDC Public Affairs is offering a Misinformation Management platform that combines our human expertise with the power of AI to efficiently parse conversations for common themes, outspoken voices, and emerging threats so clients can get ahead of misinformation and prevent crises before they can take hold.

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Elizabeth Gerke Joins DDC Public Affairs with a Focus on Supporting Complex Client Engagements 

DDC Public Affairs has welcomed Elizabeth Gerke as its new Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff. Liz brings expertise in both public and corporate affairs, as well as substantial experience helping build successful teams in support of complex domestic and global client engagements.

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Policymaker Questions Persist as the Change Healthcare Outage Continues

On February 21, Change Healthcare, a company crucial to US healthcare billing and payment operations, suffered a severe cyberattack. The company’s systems were shut down for an extended period, causing significant disruptions in patient care services nationwide. This incident affected the processing of provider claims and resulted in limited access to essential healthcare services, leaving many patients and their families distressed.

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Protecting the Madness: Fans are the Key to an NIL Policy Buzzer Beater

It’s hard to imagine a March without March Madness, but things could look different unless there is federal action soon to regulate the chaos around how collegiate athletes are compensated for the use of their name, image, and likeness.

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Survey Says…Community Collaboration Will Determine a Successful Energy Transition 

The Energy Future Initiative (EFI) Foundation recently published a study that surveyed community attitudes on hydrogen hubs. The analysis concluded the Department of Energy (DOE) and hydrogen hub developers should prioritize collaboration with communities in creating benefit plans.

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TikTok Could Use a Tutorial on Legislative Advocacy

TikTok’s recent activation on Capitol Hill is the latest case study as to why proactive, informed voter engagement is required to win on legislative issues. Lucy Pieper lays out what went wrong and how others can learn from TikTok’s missteps to mobilize advocates effectively in the digital sphere.

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Davos Digs Deep into AI for Global Stakeholders

Recently at Davos, we were again reminded that AI is enjoying more than a moment. Look no further than the AI House to understand both the promise and the tension of AI, highlighting the collaboration, joint agenda setting, and action to address the many aspects of the technology that are weighing on global leaders.

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Praise and Critiques of COP28 Reflect the Challenges of the Energy Transition

After an extra day of negotiations, the biggest headline coming out of COP28 was an agreement to “[transition] away from fossil fuels in energy systems … to achieve net zero by 2050.” Depending on who you talked to this was either a “historic agreement” or “deeply disappointing and misleading.” The praise and criticism of this agreement (and COP28 as a whole) reflect the stakeholder dissonance countries and industries are facing around the Energy Transition.

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DDC Welcomes PAC Compliance and Legal Expert Catherine Crane, Elevates Additional Team Members Ahead of Major Election Year

Catherine Crane has joined DDC as Vice President of PAC Compliance. This strategic hire cements DDC’s continued leadership in the PAC market and illustrates how the firm is doubling down on its commitment to provide clients with unparalleled PAC compliance, administration and communications services in preparation for the 2024 elections.

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COP28 Reminder that AI Risk is Bigger than Privacy  

Artificial intelligence (AI) has rapidly become embedded into our lives, influencing every industry on a global scale. Last week, world leaders gathered at COP28 to discuss global strategies for climate action, and AI solutions took center stage as both a key tool in addressing climate issues and a contributor to the threat of climate change.

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The Impact of Climate Change on Global Health Will Take Unprecedented Cooperation 

The 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (or COP28) kicked off last weekend with its first-ever Health Day, where World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told delegates that environmental health, rising sea levels, and extreme weather patterns have a tremendous impact on global health. These can lead to sudden outbreaks of infectious diseases, strain healthcare services, and displace populations, making it harder for them to access medical treatment. According to the WHO, an additional 250,000 deaths per year will occur in the coming decades because of climate change.

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Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy & Practice Gathers Experts to Discuss Reimagining America’s Approach to Well-Being

The Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice (CTIPP), in partnership with DDC Public Affairs and Ketchum, today released “Transform Trauma: Reimagining America’s Approach to Well-Being,” a discussion that promotes community-led, trauma-informed, prevention-oriented, resilience-focused, and healing-centered approaches to prevent, mitigate, and address the negative impacts of trauma.

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Connected PACs and the 2024 Election—Be Prepared for a Stormy Season 

We are living in tumultuous times, and the 2024 elections are not going to provide us with the respite we all need. Control of the White House, the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, 11 governorships, and nearly all of the state legislatures is up for grabs. Next year’s elections will be challenging for those of us who are active participants in the political process. There are a few things you can do now to make things run more smoothly in 2024, including taking steps to get your PAC in order.

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Navigating Election Debates at All Levels

Now more than ever, businesses in nearly every industry must be especially cognizant of the influence of politics on their reputations and their ability to operate the way they need to. Not only is the partisan divide widening over key issues, both Republicans and Democrats mutually acknowledge the parties’ inability to collaborate as a pressing challenge.

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DDC and Portland Create New Multinational Public Affairs Initiative: Fortify Global

DDC Public Affairs, an Omnicom PR Group (OPRG) agency, in partnership with fellow OPRG firm Portland, is proud to launch Fortify Global, a first-of-its-kind, multi-national risk and reputation management solution. DDC and Portland have collaborated to offer the marketplace a holistic and more effective way to approach market and stakeholder engagement.

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Connecting with Stakeholders Has Never Been So Vital—or So Challenging

Tectonic shifts taking place in our culture, economy, and government are confronting businesses and industries with challenges and opportunities that traditional business decision-making frameworks are not equipped to handle. Organizations seeking to make positive strides must be constantly vigilant about the ripple effect their business decisions in one area have in all the others. From a reputational and policy perspective, organizations have to think and act in much more nuanced ways in everything from their investment and marketing strategies to how they engage their employees and how they navigate business and social issues.

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Dan Sweet Joins DDC Public Affairs as Senior Vice President, Focusing on Company’s Growing Healthcare Work

DDC Public Affairs has welcomed strategic communications veteran Dan Sweet as its new Senior Vice President as DDC continues to grow its presence in the healthcare space.

“Dan brings over two decades of experience creating and leading successful strategic communications and public affairs campaigns for some of the world’s leading healthcare brands and associations,” said DDC CEO Michael Fleischer.

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What Successful Crisis Communications and Advocacy Campaigns Have in Common

At their core, whether you are communicating around a crisis or trying to achieve a desired policy outcome, crisis comms and advocacy are all about effective stakeholder engagement.  And when trying to engage stakeholders, you need to be prepared, know who you’re talking to, and have a flexible plan in place that allows for both proactive and reactive communications in a timely fashion. 

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Gina Cherwin Joins DDC Public Affairs as Chief Operating and People Officer

“Gina is that rare leader who has excelled in politics, public affairs and strategic communications and the non-profit sector,” said DDC CEO Michael Fleischer. “She knows how to bring the best parts of each of those worlds together in ways that will benefit clients across DDC. As important, she understands the connection between employee experience, client success and the bottom line. We are thrilled she is bringing her vision and energy to DDC.”

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Post-Redistricting Opportunities for Public Affairs Efforts

In November, state and federal legislators ran for the first time in districts changed by the decennial redistricting process. The scale of these changes ranged from barely significant to so stark that some incumbents simply decided not to run in their dramatically altered districts. For many re-elected legislators, their margins of victory shrank substantially from what they had become accustomed to seeing prior to redistricting.

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DDC Public Affairs Announces New Strategic Communications Hires, Expansion of Technical Support Team

DDC Public Affairs, an Omnicom Public Relations Group (OPRG) agency, has announced several key additions to the company’s Campaigns, Advocacy and Corporate Communications practice: Jill Hudson as a Senior Vice President; Abbey Rogers, who will be joining DDC as an Account Supervisor; and Molly Douglas, who has been consulting with DDC for two years and is joining the firm full-time as a Senior Vice President. DDC is also expanding its technical support team as the agency broadens its product stack and technology offerings.

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Congratulations to our Q2 Employee of the Quarter, Franny-Peterson-Sand

Say hello to our Q2 EOQ, Franny Peterson-Sand. Since she started at DDC many of us knew she had great potential. She has thrived on the Creative team and in the past year she has stepped up in various capacities, especially with recent departures. She continues to maintain a high quality of work on the Creative team, ensuring efficiency of workflows on requests. Most recently she has further developed her program management skills under Carolyn’s support. All of which has paid off on deliverables for our clients requiring program management and she will continue to lean into that role.

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DDC and WLF – Making Strides Against Breast Cancer

DDC, a division of Omnicom Public Relations Group and one of the nation’s leading public affairs and strategic communications firms, joined together today with hundreds of other businesses, non-profit groups, community-based organizations, and individuals to participate in the American Cancer Society’s annual Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk in Washington, D.C.

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DDC’s New PACWeb Platform: Technology Designed for Today’s PAC Managers

PAC managers have a tough job, made only tougher by the current political and social climate. As organizations reimagine the purpose and goals of their PAC, many are strategizing not only for growth but greater transparency and better analytics when it comes to understanding what is happening with their PAC, and what is possible.

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Omnicom PR Group Taps Public & Corporate Affairs Veteran Michael Fleischer to Lead DDC 

Omnicom Public Relations Group (OPRG) today announced the appointment of Michael Fleischer as CEO of DDC, one of the nation’s leading public affairs and strategic communications firms. Fleischer joined the agency on August 22 and reports to Chris Foster, CEO of OPRG. Fleischer takes the reins from B.R McConnon, who founded the agency 26 years ago, and is set to depart at the end of the month.

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Digital Advertising in Public Affairs: Navigate an Ever-Changing Ecosystem

Social networks including Facebook, Twitter, and now TikTok, as of late, have taken steps over the last two years to limit misinformation ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. After facing substantial criticism in 2020, many platforms are creating policies to limit or in some cases ban paid content that falls under a broad “political, electoral, or social issue” category.  

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Congratulations to our Q1 Employee of the Quarter, Kiym Gardner

Say hello to our Q1 EOQ, Kiym Gardner. As Director of Engagement and Senior AVP, Kiym has years of experience leading grassroots advocacy outreach for Fortune 100, trade association, and non-profit clients spanning a variety of industries from healthcare to energy.

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Assessing Your Advocacy Program’s Impact—and Potential

We’re in the middle of a midterm election year. There’s a war in Europe for the first time since World War II. The dynamics between employers and employees are undergoing a tectonic shift. Supply chains are being disrupted. Inflation is rampant.

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Congratulations to our Q4 Employee of the Quarter, Ryan Coughter

Say hello to our Q4 EOQ, Ryan Coughter. As the project management lead for the Creative team, Ryan quite literally leads the charge keeping that team on track, hitting all deadlines, hitting all budgets, and always being accountable for what we’ve been asked to produce.

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Celebrating 2021 at DDC

A few weeks ago, Thanksgiving kicked off the Holiday Season—a time of year full of celebrations, family and hope. In that same spirit, I want to take this opportunity to reflect on what this time of year means for me personally and for all of us at DDC.

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Historic Infrastructure Bill Bridges Divides to Build a Stronger Economy

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) President Biden signed into law in late November was a truly landmark piece of legislation.

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Congratulations to our Q3 Employee of the Quarter, Colleen Zelenakas

Say hello to our Q3 EOQ, Colleen Zelenakas. In her time as a member of the PAC services team, she has shown true grit by championing our client works and being an enthusiastic and valuable team player.

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DDC Creative Spotlight: Bridging the Gap Between Strategy and Design

Amid our 25th anniversary celebrations, we’re excited to add another achievement to celebrate: our incredible creative team being recognized by Graphic Design USA (GDUSA) with two major award wins. Our creative department has been instrumental in helping DDC shape its market position as an agency that specializes in creating advocacy and PAC brands that foster conversations and drive audience engagement.

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Congratulations to our Q2 Employee of the Quarter, Elizabeth Racke

Say hello to our Q2 EOQ, Elizabeth Racke. In her short time as a member of the client relations team, she has shown true grit by championing our client works and being an enthusiastic and valuable team player.

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DDC Public Affairs Celebrates 25th Anniversary

From a tech startup to the largest full-service public affairs firm in North America, DDC celebrates 25 years of service and a culture of innovation.

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Introducing TechTalks – Our New Podcast for All Things Tech

Jake Chapiesky, Product Manager & Joey Smith, Vice President of Technology Delivery, dive into DDC tech innovation, trends in advocacy and PACs, and how we‘re revolutionizing the public affairs industry.

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Introducing our new Vice President of Client Relations, Kellin Heron

Kellin Heron, our new Vice President of Client Relations, brings over a decade of experience in PAC strategy, grassroots and advocacy to our team.

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Project Catalyst: How DDC is Driving the Next Generation of Public Affairs Technology

Joey Smith, Vice President of Technology Delivery, discusses how DDC’s new technology methodology allows us to innovate more rapidly and cost-effectively – to ensure our clients are continually ahead of trends in politics & communications.

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Honoring Service Members with a Washington Tradition

B.R. McConnon, III, Chairman and CEO of DDC, recalls the No Greater Sacrifice Congressional Invitational’s early history, and how it reached new heights through the Beltway’s competitive spirit.

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Successfully Navigating the Changes to Regulations.gov and Making Your Voice Heard

Dan Murphy, Senior Vice President, discusses the updated Regulations.gov, and how DDC is helping our clients advocate efficiently and effectively.

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DDC Public Affairs Welcomes Katie Chipps, Vice President of PAC Services

Our new Vice President of PAC Services, Katie Chipps, brings nearly 20 years of experience and leadership in PAC compliance and reporting.

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DDirect Mobile: The Power of Data at Your Fingertips

Jake Chapiesky, Product Manager, tells the story of DDirect Mobile and the power of accessing your public affairs data anytime, anywhere.

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Creating a Strategy for Infrastructure Advocacy

Teresa Stepic & Katie Wright, SVPs of Client Relations, discuss Biden’s American Jobs Plan and the challenges it presents for key industries, such as energy, transportation and infrastructure.

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President Biden’s Open Table Bodes Well for Our Collective Future

Teresa Stepic, SVP of Client Relations, shares her thoughts on why Secretary Pete’s unique personal and professional voice will expand what’s possible for America’s transportation systems.

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Moving Your PAC Successfully through a Challenging Political Landscape

SVP of Strategic Communications & Engagement Shannon Manning presents her take on how to keep PACs moving forward in the aftermath of the 2020 election.

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Accurate PAC Compliance Takes on New Importance for 2022

To say the 2020 election cycle was tumultuous is putting it mildly. In this heightened political environment, accurate compliance at both federal and state levels needs to remain a priority.

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Advocacy is Bigger than Letters to Legislators

DDC is leading a new era of advocacy engagement by leveraging technology, and understanding the power of advocacy to influence policy and business goals.

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CLIMB: Key Learnings from OPRG’s Global DE&I Officer, Soon Mee Kim

Soon Mee Kim, Global Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer at Omnicom Public Relations Group, shared the key areas of focus for its plan toward greater diversity and inclusion.

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Why Building Tomorrow Must Begin Today

Shannon Manning, SVP, Strategic Communications & Engagement, describes after years of debate, why it is critical now more than ever before that legislators focus on bipartisanship to make a deal on infrastructure.

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5 Common Issues in PAC Compliance

Peter Sherman, SVP of PAC Services, reviews five areas that organizations must master when managing their PACs.

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