R. Christine Hershey
President & Founder, Hershey|Cause

R. Christine Hershey is the founder and catalyst for Hershey|Cause, guiding its overall strategic and creative vision. Passionate about “Communications for Good,” she consults regularly with CEOs and senior executives throughout the country, advising on positioning, identity and strategy. Her experience in both the corporate and philanthropic sectors includes such Fortune 500 companies as Disney, Wells Fargo, and AT&T (Cingular) as well as the World Health Organization, the Institute of Medicine and The Nature Conservancy.

Her work in communications has helped shift debate on issues ranging from social justice, racial equality, health care, domestic abuse, and GLBT rights, to immigration reform. An early pioneer in cause marketing, she formed corporate partnerships with the Los Angeles Women’s Foundation. Her work with the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation and Liberty Hill helped these foundations quadruple and triple their assets respectively. Politically active, her work with ANGLE is credited with helping ensure Gay and Lesbian issues were heard and that President Clinton was elected.

As an author and expert, Chris’ work has appeared in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, The New York Times and The Chronicle of Philanthropy. As a publisher of Why Bad Ads Happen to Good Causes and Why Bad Presentations Happen to Good Causes, Chris has helped educate the philanthropic sector regarding best practices. Her first book, the Communications Toolkit, published in 2005, has been distributed in all 50 states, 24 countries and across six continents.