Leonard is Vice President at AKCG – Public Relations Counselors and heads the firm’s Washington, D.C.-area office. Leonard provides strategic planning, issues/crisis counseling, branding and marketing communications, and media training services. He has particular expertise working with 501(c) organizations in the energy, science and construction sectors.

Prior to joining AKCG, Leonard was a partner at Potomac Communications Group, where he led the firm’s 501(c) practice and specialized in risk and crisis communication. His work included branding, repositioning and marketing communications services for numerous trade associations and professional societies, as well as crisis communications and community engagement counsel for corporations and government agencies across the country.

Leonard serves on the Public Relations Society of America’s Association/Non-Profit Section Executive Committee and is the author of What to Say When Things Get Tough: Business Communication Strategies for Winning People Over When They’re Angry, Worried, and Suspicious of Everything You Say. He also hosts an eponymous podcast designed to help people communicate effectively in difficult situations, both professional and personal.

He earned a Master’s Degree in journalism from Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications from the University of Michigan.

Learn more about Leonard’s deep experience in crisis communications on the #AKCGteam blog here.