CommPRO Editorial Staff

Shelley Spector, founder of the Museum of Public Relations, will be honored with the Page Distinguished Service Award at the Page Annual Conference on September 18 in Chicago. The award recognizes leaders who have strengthened the role of corporate communications and public relations in business and society through service to the profession.

“Shelley started the Museum of Public Relations with just a few boxes in her basement, and she’s built it into an amazing collection of rare artifacts, oral histories, letters, photos and film. Visitors learn about the profession's pioneers and their contributions to the practice,” said Maril Gagen MacDonald, founder and CEO of Gagen MacDonald and chair of the Page Honors Committee. “She has also been a champion for advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in our industry through publications and events.”

Since 2017, the Museum has produced more than 30 programs showcasing the contributions of diverse practitioners of the present and past. Its six annual events —Celebrating Latino PR History, The Growing Role of Native Americans in PR, Celebrating Black PR History, PR Women Who Changed History, Celebrating AANHPI in Public Relations, The LGBTQ Experience in Public Relations– were the first events of their kind in the industry and have become among the most-watched diversity programs in the field.

In 2015, Spector created PRMuseum Press, a publishing arm of the Museum, with a goal of attracting more diverse talent into the profession. It partnered with the PRSA Foundation to publish Diverse Voices: Profiles in Leadership, the first book to examine diversity in our profession. Books also published by PRMuseum Press includeOfield Dukes:An Autobiography of a Public Relations Man,by Dr. Rochelle L. Ford and Rev. Dr. Unnia L. Pettus andMarilyn: A Womanin Charge, a biography of Marilyn Laurie,written by Dick Martin.

Spector is currently working on the first book to provide a diversified history of the field, highlighting people of color who have been left out of the textbooks and college curricula.An active proponent for diversity, Spector serves on the Page DE&I Advisory Board and frequently provides online guest lectures to colleges on the “Hidden Histories of PR.” During 2021, Spector gave more than 90 online lectures to colleges around the world.

“Shelley’s action bias, her advocacy for diversity, and her calm, patient approach to serving the profession exemplify the Page Principles in many ways. Her work with young people is a great example of ‘managing for tomorrow,’” said Lou Capozzi, former chairman of the Publicis Public Relations and Corporate Communications Group and Shelley’s nominator for this recognition. “We all owe her a debt of gratitude for her amazing contributions to our profession.”

In addition to the Museum of PR, she co-founded the firm Spector and Associates in 1991. Within the first year of operation the firm was awarded the Gold Creativity in Public Relations Award for client Embassy Suites. Since then, the firm has won more than 50 national awards for a variety of Fortune 100 companies. In June 2018, she was presented with the Phil Dorf award for leadership and mentorship, and since then has won several awards for her work advocating diversity, most recently, the inaugural Ragan Award for Distinguished Service to the Industry.Recent recipients of the Page Distinguished Service Award include Bob Feldman, founder of The Dialogue Project and Feldman+Partners; Sandra Macleod, CEO, Echo Research, and Jim O’Rourke, professor, Management & Corporate Communication, Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame.

For more information or to register (members only) for the Page Annual Conference, please seehere.About the Museum of Public RelationsThe Museum of Public Relations was founded in 1997 as the world’s first institution dedicated to preserving the century-old history of the PR profession. It holds more than 5,000 artifacts from PR pioneers as well as individuals who have served as activists to advance social causes through strategic communication. Now in its 25th year, the Museum of Public Relations is a 501(c)(3) educational institution based in New York City with a strong presence online, where it serves as an educational resource to more than 9,000 unique visitors a month. The Museum also holds virtual and in-person tours for college classes, corporate communications departments, and agencies. For more information visit:https://www.prmuseum.org/