Mark Bernstein Joins MWW Group as Senior Vice President in Firm's Energy, Clean Tech and Sustainability Practice; Will Create First Public Relations Industry Environmental and Energy Risk Management Consulting Practice

LOS ANGELES, July 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- MWW Group (www.mww.com), one of the top ten global independent public relations firms, announced today that Mark Bernstein, Ph.D., has joined the firm as senior vice president in the firm's expanded Energy, Clean Tech and Sustainability practice. In this role, Bernstein will play a central role in the growth of the practice and work with private and public sector clients to develop strategic initiatives for managing their environmental and energy issues.  In addition to crafting integrated marketing and communications plans for domestic and global clients, Bernstein will direct MWW Group's work helping institutions develop both economic and environmental sustainability strategies.

"Mark brings a unique focus, one that will help our clients craft solutions that go far beyond traditional communications.  By identifying and managing environmental and energy risk and quantifying outcomes, his strategic oversight will enable our clients to develop more effective communications to shareholders, decision makers and the public about their efforts to improve long-term sustainability goals," said Michael W. Kempner, president and CEO of MWW Group.

Prior to joining MWW Group, Bernstein spent five years as managing director at USC Energy Institute, University of Southern California and as a professor of the practice of political science.  In this role, Bernstein facilitated research across the USC campus and worked to engage government and corporate executives in discussions about energy and environmental research at USC. 

Before joining USC, Bernstein served as a senior policy researcher at the RAND Corporation for eight years. Additionally, he acted as a policy advisor to the Speaker of the California State Assembly during the 2001 energy crisis. At the end of 2005, Bernstein assisted the Housing Committee of the Mississippi Governors Commission on Reconstruction to develop recommendations for ensuring an adequate supply of quality and efficient, affordable housing in the Gulf Coast region in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

From 1996 to 1998, Bernstein served as the senior policy analyst for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, developing a public-private partnership for improving the quality of housing and supporting the President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology.  Prior to working at OSTP, Bernstein spent three years as principal energy policy analyst at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Washington, DC.

Bernstein has published more than 50 articles on implications on the benefits of energy efficiency, the impacts of pollution, the impact on environmental regulation on coal plants, as well as implications of private power generation in developing countries including Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Tanzania, Namibia and Ecuador.

He holds a Ph.D. in energy management and policy from the University of Pennsylvania, a masters in mathematics from The Ohio State University, and a bachelor of arts in mathematics and math education from The State University of New York at Albany.

About MWW Group

MWW Group is one of the nation's top mid-sized public relations firms and one of the ten largest independent global agencies. The company is industry-recognized for its work in consumer lifestyle marketing, digital marketing and social media, corporate communications, public affairs and government relations, consumer technology, healthcare and visual branding.

Through its "Network PR" approach, MWW Group helps its clients re-architect the conversation surrounding their brands to increase trust and relevance and drive action among key stakeholders.  Among its numerous awards for client work, the agency has been recognized as 2011 "Midsize Agency of the Year" and 2010 "Strategic PR Agency of the Year" by the Holmes Report and has received accolades from PR News for "Team of the Year," "Digital Firm of the Year" and "Top Places to Work in PR."

To learn more about MWW Group, visit www.mww.com, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

SOURCE MWW Group