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Alissa Kaplan Michaels, a former hard-news journalist, consults on issue-based strategic communications by drawing upon her broad and deep experience to achieve optimal results.
The bulk of her diverse clients are nonprofit organizations that seek to make the world a better place. Her work spans human rights, domestic and international policy, health care, education, arts and culture, children’s issues, and Israel- and Jewish-related matters. She often serves as a spokesperson, and has appeared on camera and in print worldwide.
Through her creative strategic campaigns, she harnesses the power of media around the globe to position her clients and advance their causes. She also handles internal and external communications of the most sensitive nature, such as for high-profile international policy negotiations, institutional crises, and business reorganizations.
A versatile writer and editor, Michaels is equally at home drafting testimony for congressional hearings, translating technical documents for lay audiences, and crafting annual reports and other fund-raising collateral.
Prior to launching Michaels Communications, she was the in-house communications lead for several prestigious institutions, including Columbia University. Several former employers have hired Michaels Communications.
Michaels worked as a journalist for ABC News, helping to launch the online news division (ABCNews.com) and eventually running the hour-to-hour, day-to-day operation of the site, determining its coverage and editorial “voice,” and overseeing its bicoastal staff of more than 50 journalists. She has directed the creation and/or redesign of other major websites.
Her news credentials also include The Des Moines Register, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The New York Times and the Omaha World-Herald, among other media outlets. Notably, she was sent on assignment to Tunisia.
Michaels earned a master’s degree in Liberal Studies (literary theory, Hebrew and Judaic Studies) from New York University, and was a visiting graduate student in Mideast policy at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Her bachelor’s degree is from Iowa State University, where she held a double major in Journalism and Distributed Studies (philosophy, women’s studies, English) while proudly serving as editor-in-chief of the school’s newspaper, the Iowa State Daily.