Top Corporate, Military and Government Leaders Headline National Communications Summit In Washington DC April 22-23

WASHINGTON, March 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Some of the country's top communications and public affairs officers will speak at the 4th National Summit on Strategic Communications on April 22-23 in Washington DC when 100 leaders and CEOs from corporate, military and government communications, public relations and public affairs assemble to identify and discuss strategies which enhance engagement and to share best practices to improve communication.

A complete agenda, faculty and registration information is available at www.strategicsummit.com. Discounts for early registration are available until March 8. The venue is the Washington Plaza Hotel.

"More than ever, communications and public affairs officers are taking a leadership role to align what organizations say with what they do to ensure those actions are synchronized with organization values, character and strategies – and with the public's expectations," said Robert Grupp, Summit Director and chair of the non-profit Strategic Communications Leadership Initiative. "The annual Strategic Summit provides insights and tools to do that well across multiple industry sectors, in the Department of Defense and in government agencies."  

Although the term "strategic communications" is broad and its meaning has been debated by practitioners – most recently by the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, who will open the Summit on Monday, April 22 – there is unanimous agreement among leaders in the field today that communication is the core of strategic leadership.

"We must not abandon the fundamental principles upon which responsible and effective corporate communications, military public affairs and government relations are founded," Grupp added.

Featured speakers include:

• George Little, Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, PENTAGON
• Brigadier General Les Kodlick, Director of Public Affairs, US AIR FORCE
• Rear Admiral John Kirby, Chief of Information, US NAVY
• Congressman Dave Camp, Chairman, HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE
• John Whaley, SVP Communications and Marketing, SIEMENS
• Diane Melley, VP Citizenship Initiatives, IBM CORPORATION
• Mark Laity, Chief, Strategic Communications, SUPREME HDQRS ALLIED POWERS IN EUROPE (SHAPE)
• Marcia Bullard, Board Chair, AMERICA'S CHARITIES
• David Albritton, VP & Chief Communications Officer, ITT EXCELIS
• Rayid Ghani, former Chief Scientist for Data Analytics, OBAMA 2012 CAMPAIGN

Summit sponsors include, BAE Systems, Inc., Cubic Corporation,, Huntington Ingalls Industries, Northrop Grumman Corporation, Siemens, Bulletin News and TVEyes. Media Partners include O'Dwyer PR.

ABOUT THE STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS LEADERSHIP INITIATIVE ("The SCLI")

The SCLI is a non-profit organization established to advance the profession by providing thought leadership and setting standards for practicing strategic communications. The SCLI connects a community of senior executives, communications directors and public affairs officers from corporations, the military, government agencies and other non-profit organizations and NGOs. With an active volunteer Board of Advisors, the SCLI organizes the annual National Summit on Strategic Communications and conducts interactive programs, seminars and training to share knowledge and expertise within the professional community.   www.thescli.org

For Further Information

Robert W. Grupp
Summit Director
+1-484-557-8401
[email protected]

SOURCE National Summit on Strategic Communications