About the Podcast

The Stevens Group has been presenting the PR Masters Series Podcast for almost two years now.  This series is part of the ongoing partnership between The Stevens Group and CommPRO to bring toPR, digital/interactive and marketing communications agencies the wisdom of those who have reached the top of the PR profession.

Today’s special guest is Art Stevens, Managing Partner of The Stevens Group. With today's episode, our "host" is our guest.  Join Art as he's interviewed by Shelley Spector, Co-Founder of The Museum of Public Relations & President, Spector & Associates.

About Our Special Guest

ART STEVENSis  Managing Partner of The Stevens Group, a consulting organization that specializes in facilitating mergers and acquisitions in the public relations and related marketing communications industries. The firm also provides consulting in PR agency management, profitability and strategic planning.

Mr. Stevens was the CEO of LobsenzStevens, one of the most prestigious independent public relations firms in the country for many years. Among the clients his firm served are American Express, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Johnson & Johnson, Pitney Bowes, The New York State Lottery, McKinsey & Company, Ernst & Young, Hertz and many others.

In 1999 LobsenzStevens was acquired by Publicis and Mr. Stevens stayed on to manage what became the New York office of Publicis Dialog. In 2003 he began a new career in the public relations agency industry.

Mr. Stevens has served as instructor of public relations and management case studies at Fairleigh Dickinson University and has lectured at the New School, New York University and many other colleges and associations.  

Listed in Who’s Who in America, Mr. Stevens has written numerous articles for financial, management, marketing and public relations publications. He is the author of the The Persuasion Explosion, a book published by Acropolis Books dealing with the role and influence of contemporary public relations practices.  He is also the author of When and How -- Selling Your Public Relations Firm.

A former president of the Publicity Club of New York and an accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America, Mr. Stevens was elected to PRSA’s College of Fellows, an honor given to a select group of public relations practitioners for meritorious professional lifetime achievements. As chairman of the Public Relations Committee of PRSA, he initiated a program to establish a closer relationship between the profession and national media. 

A former member of the executive committee of the Counselors Academy, Mr. Stevens founded the organization’s ethics committee and helped institute a new code of ethics and a grievance process. He was honored by the New York Chapter of PRSA with three awards: the annual John Hill Award for lifetime achievement; the President's Award for service to the chapter; and the Phil Dorf Award for mentoring and educational achievements.. He was also inducted into the City College of New York Communications Alumni Hall of Fame, which also includes David Finn, The Kalb Brothers and The New York Times’ A.M. Rosenthal.

Mr. Stevens has remained active in the Public Relations Society of America. He served as president of the New York Chapter  and on the national board as Secretary and board member. He is the recipient of the Patrick Jackson Award from PRSA for lifetime achievement to the organization and the profession.

He was nominated for an Emmy Award for a weekly humor commentary on WINK-TV, the CBS television affiliate in Fort Myers, Florida.  He has also written a humor column for the Sanibel Island Reporter, a weekly newspaper in Sanibel, Florida.

Mr. Stevens presently serves on such boards as Crossroads Theatre Company, a regional African American theatre company; the City College of New York Communications Alumni Group, and the Laurie Strauss Leukemia Foundation. He created an annual student scholarship for a public relations major at the City College of New York, now in its fourteenth year.  He made a record album on which he sings songs from the American song book and has performed publicly , including at Counselors Academy spring conferences.

About Our Guest Host

Named as one of the “most innovative” professionals in the field, SHELLEY SPECTOR has produced award-winning campaigns for some of the world’s top corporations, including AT&T, Bayer, ITT Corporation, Forest Laboratories, Harris Corporation, and Philips.

Spector co-founded the firm 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 at the PRSA New York Big Apple Awards.

Prior to co-founding the firm, Spector worked in financial relations for Hill & Knowlton, RuderFinn and Lobsenz-Stevens. She also served as press director for the American Stock Exchange.

In 1997, she co-founded theMuseum of Public Relations, the world’s first and only museum dedicated to preserving and exhibiting the history of the field. It is a 501(c)(3) educational institution, chartered by the New York State Department of Education.

Spector serves as an adjunct professor for the graduate Corporate Communications graduate programs at both Baruch College and NYU. She is a frequent guest speaker at academic, industry and corporate events, talking on subjects ranging from “PR in History” to “The Diversity Imperative,” to “Developing Big Ideas.” She is author of “Public Relations for the Public Good” and co-editor of the upcoming book, “Diverse Voices: Profiles in Leadership,” with the PRSA Foundation.

A graduate of the Journalism program at the University of Rhode Island, Spector earned an M.S. in Radio/TV/Film at the Newhouse School, Syracuse University.