Veteran Communications Strategist Debra DeShong Joins Subject Matter to Expand Public Affairs Practice

WASHINGTON, Sept. 25, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The recently launched integrated advocacy and communications agency Subject Matter has hired veteran media and political strategist Debra DeShong. The agency is a merger of top government relations firm Elmendorf | Ryan and Home Front Communications, a prominent Washington-based strategic communications firm. DeShong will join the firm as Executive Vice President and Managing Director for Public Affairs and will lead Subject Matter's public affairs expansion and integrated services.

"We are thrilled to have her on the team," said Subject Matter partner Paul Frick. "Debra has significant experience in both political communications and corporate public affairs. She will be a great boost for our expansion plans."

DeShong's public sector work took her most recently to Tokyo where she served as the Chief of Staff to U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Caroline Kennedy. At the embassy, she was responsible for managing the Ambassador's executive office, schedule and long-term strategic plans. She served as the Ambassador's political advisor and oversaw the communications strategy, which included the successful rollout and introduction of the Ambassador to the people of Japan.  

"For the past five years I have worked with Debra, she has consistently demonstrated strategic vision, political acumen and astute judgment," said Ambassador Kennedy. "She is immensely creative and knows how to turn great ideas into reality. She is a true team player, and Subject Matter is lucky to have her on board as part of the new venture."

Debra has previously served as press secretary to Congressman Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and communications director to U.S. Senator Bob Torricelli (D-NJ). In the private sector, DeShong worked in senior communications roles for the 2004 Kerry/Edwards Presidential Campaign and the Democratic National Committee. She has successfully run two public affairs consulting firms, Point Blank Public Affairs, with former partner Amy Weiss, and Five by Five Public Affairs as the founder and CEO.

Through the public affairs firms she founded, DeShong handled clients and projects ranging from launching coalitions and developing strategic media plans, to managing communications crises on a global scale. She has deep ties in the national media, having negotiated a two-hour primetime special for the launch of Jacqueline Kennedy's oral history, to managing a widely praised recent 60 Minutes profile of Ambassador Kennedy.

SOURCE Subject Matter

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