CYA biographical information:
The "Create Your Advantage" team represents a partnership of public communication professionals with a comprehensive background in media relations, health communication, risk and crisis communication and social marketing, and major league experience in broadcasting, print and the web. The partners' unique talents, skills and professionalism can help your organization develop public and media relations strategies, maximize both traditional and "new media" initiatives and execute campaigns that will produce the results you need.
Kristine A. Smith, M.A.
Kris Smith brings to CYA (and your project!) extensive credentials in the practice of health communications and training, including both practical and didactic experience in public relations; media relations; crisis and emergency risk communication; consensus building; social marketing and integrated marketing communications. Her professional background also includes risk communication and media training; broadcast and print journalism; public speaking; publications and print production; video production; event promotion; strategic communications planning; personnel administration and budget management.
Kris retired in January, 2007 after nearly 13 years with the New York State Department of Health. She last served as the Health Department's Director of Public Health Risk Communication and was responsible for development and coordination of strategies to communicate effectively in emergencies in order to reduce health risks, and support response and recovery efforts. In this capacity, Kris authored the risk communication section of the Health Department's Pandemic Influenza Plan and created a social marketing campaign aimed at enhancing pandemic preparedness. She is certified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a "Train the Trainer" for pandemic risk communication. As Assistant Director of Public Information for DOH, Kris interacted regularly with representatives of international, national, regional and local media to promote priority health issues and to ensure an accurate, effective response to media inquiries.
Previously, Kris was Director of Communications for the American Lung Association of New York State; and a national-award-winning reporter/producer for WTEN-TV and several Albany, NY radio stations. She has taught both undergraduate and graduate courses in Public Relations, Media Relations and Crisis Communication at the College of Saint Rose, in Albany New York, and is a frequent guest lecturer at the University at Albany School of Public Health, where she also hosts national satellite broadcasts produced by the Center for Public Health Preparedness.
Walter C. Wheeler
Walt Wheeler brings a broad gamut of expertise, developed over many years experience as a radio and television reporter and network anchor; developing websites for both commercial and governmental entities; and training military and law enforcement personnel on public affairs and related skills.
His broadcast resume includes more than a decade as a staff reporter for WCBS in New York City, where he served for nearly a decade as Chief Political Reporter, covering local, state and national politics. He also worked as a General Assignment Reporter, based in New York, for NBC News and as writer, editor and broadcaster for UPI in NYC and Albany, and, earlier, for local TV and Radio in the Northeast and California. Wheeler's most recent broadcast experience was a VP-News for Empire State Network, Albany, New York, a corporation in which he was a principal investor.
Following his time with ESN, Walt joined the New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs (DMNA), as Deputy Director of Public Affairs. His media relations operations overcame the agency's prior reputation for stonewalling reporters' inquiries and, over time, resulted in a wide range of favorable publicity or - in the cases of the miscues which sometimes occur within bureaucratic organizations -- even-handed coverage of problems and the agency's corrective measures. He also served as DMNA's webmaster, revitalizing its website and training personnel on production of sites which complied fully with w3c standards and the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 508. His DMNA operations included training Law Enforcement SWAT teams-under the auspices of DMNA's CounterDrug Program-and escorting media teams to observe military support operations for scientific missions in the Arctic and Antarctic.
As a public affairs asset, he was regularly loaned to the State's Emergency Management Office, both in support of natural disaster responses and as a backup for the New York State Disaster Preparedness Commission spokesperson within the context of the Radiological Emergency Protection program.
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