Passion. Experience. Diligence
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Judith Harrison, a tireless advocate for the advancement of women and people of color, is one of the most influential, awarded executives in marketing communications.
She is a visionary leader dedicated to changing the face of the business through industry collaboration and inclusion-focused organizational transformation. Throughout her high-profile career in top marketing services agencies and organizations, Judith has activated industry diversity and inclusion efforts through the creation of the Diversity Distinction in PR Awards, initiating a partnership with the United Negro College Fund, and bringing together multiple professional and trade organizations in an unprecedented joint effort to attract, retain and develop diverse talent. Judith is an inspiring, authentic, powerful speaker who is passionate about motivating women and multicultural professionals to see the best in themselves, be the best they can be, and boldly face the future with the information, confidence, and courage they need to fulfill their potential.
Judith is past president of the PRSA (Public Relations Society of America) Foundation, which works to increase racial and ethnic diversity and inclusion in the public relations industry, and two-term president of New York Women in Communications, the premier organization for the advancement of women at every career stage in a changing media landscape through scholarships, empowerment grants, professional development events, and mentoring. Judith is the first woman of color to hold either position and the only individual to hold both simultaneously.
As president of the PRSA Foundation, Judith conceived and led the creation of Diverse Voices: Profiles in Leadership, a groundbreaking book featuring interviews with more than 40 public relations leaders designed to help the communications industry better understand the challenges faced by professionals of diverse backgrounds.
As Executive Vice President, Global Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Weber Shandwick, Judith drives programs designed to build a culturally diverse and agile workforce that leverages different backgrounds and perspectives to create innovative solutions for clients and an inspiring, high-performance workplace.
Judith’s background includes public relations and marketing communications positions and projects at Burson-Marsteller, Ernst & Young, CBS, Media General, Random House, and the Italian Trade Commission.
Since joining Weber Shandwick in 2006, Judith has guided the firm to recognition as a champion of diversity and inclusion, with honors including the PRWeek/PR Council Diversity Distinction in PR Awards in 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2016, the 2016 PR News Diversity Heroes Award as an Organization of the Year and the 2019 Big Apple Leadership in Diversity Award. She brought the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) together with the PR industry to form the PRIME (Public Relations Internship, Mentoring, and Education) Program, launched in 2015 with sponsorship from Fortune 500 companies as well as leading PR agencies.
Judith is a founding member of the Diversity Action Alliance, the only coalition of public relations/communications trade groups, leaders, and organizations focused on facilitating measurable improvement in industry-wide diverse representation and development, and serves on the 4A’s Diversity Steering Committee. Judith also serves on the Ron Brown Scholar Program advisory board and is a former member of the Clinton Global Initiative Disabilities Working Group and the ColorComm advisory board.