PR Veteran KayAnn Schoeneman Joins Curley Company to Lead Expansion of Corporate and Public Affairs Practice
CommPRO Editorial Staff
Curley Company announced today that KayAnn Schoeneman is joining the firm as Senior Vice President and Director of Corporate and Public Affairs and will serve as a member of the executive leadership team. Schoeneman, an award-winning public relations counselor with 20 years of public affairs experience, joins Curley from Ketchum, one of the world’s largest public relations firms, where she spent the past 10 years and most recently served as Senior Vice President, Director of Public Affairs and Washington Marketplace Leader for Ketchum. Last month, Schoeneman was honored as a 2019 Finalist for the prestigious Washington Women in Public Relations “Woman of the Year” award. In its 30th year, the award recognizes the most talented women in the industry in Washington who are at the pinnacle of their career.“KayAnn brings sophisticated, data-driven solutions to the challenges faced by C-suite leaders, policymakers, trade association leaders and other influential stakeholders,” said Curley Company founder and Chief Executive Officer Jennifer Curley. “Having known KayAnn professionally for several years, I know her wealth of experience, impressive credentials and strategic counsel will contribute significantly to Curley Company’s continued growth.”Schoeneman, a respected veteran in Washington PR, spent more than a decade at Ketchum serving in a variety of leadership roles. In 2018, Schoeneman was promoted to Ketchum’s Washington, D.C. Marketplace Leader and oversaw the office and its nearly 100 employees. In 2017, Schoeneman took over the public affairs practice and led the team to year-over-year single-digit growth through new client and incremental growth. Prior to leading the public affairs team, Schoeneman served as part of the agency’s Global Research & Analytics leadership team, overseeing employees in the Washington D.C., Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco offices and creating innovative research campaigns for clients. Prior to Ketchum, Schoeneman spent more than a decade in the political and public policy arena with experience in global, federal, state and local public affairs. She served as public affairs director for a top grassroots firm and was director of research for a boutique state and local procurement firm. She also served as vice president of communications for the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce, promoting the positive business climate and working with various stakeholders in the region. Schoeneman served as a campaign field analyst for the National Republican Congressional Committee’s $50M issue advocacy effort during the historic 2002 midterm election cycle, only the third time in the last 100 years that the president’s party gained House seats in a midterm election. She’s also served in the public sector as the Public Information Officer for the U.S. Court of the Appeals for the Federal Circuit.“Jennifer Curley has built a firm that represents the future of PR and public affairs and the impressive roster of clients and high-growth are proof the team has figured out how to provide high-impact, measurable results for a wide variety of industries and clients. We are going to do great things together and I look forward to leading and serving as a member of the executive leadership team,” Schoeneman said.In addition to global agency experience, Schoeneman has a substantial thought leadership footprint in Washington. She is a frequent speaker on topics ranging from creating data driven public affairs campaigns to advocating for diversity, equity and inclusion to identifying corporate reputation drivers and beyond. Schoeneman was an adjunct professor at The Johns Hopkins University for the Master of Arts in communication program teaching polling and public perceptions. She’s also is active in Professional Women in Advocacy, Women in Government Relations, Politico’s Women Rule Ambassador program and Washington Women in Public Relations. Schoeneman currently serves on several boards including the Executive Committee of the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce, the Board of Directors of College to Congress and the Parent’s Association Board of Directors for Flint Hill School. She is an alumna of The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs.
About Curley Company: Curley Company is a Washington, D.C. based strategic communications firm, founded in 2003 by Jennifer Curley. The company prides itself on being a team of creative problem-solvers and passionate innovators, with 30+ years of combined experience in Washington, D.C., in a variety of roles, including on Capitol Hill, in the White House, and various large public relations firms. Curley Company has been recognized by the Washington Business Journal’s list of top PR firms in D.C. for the last three years. Clients range from Fortune 500 companies and large trade associations to start-ups and nonprofit organizations.
