An award-winning strategist, Nell Callahan has worked across sectors and issues, including technology, health care, education, civil liberties and the economy. She founded Frontwood Strategies after more than a decade working with some of the nation’s largest brands and prominent advocacy campaigns. She works with business leaders, advocates and experts to develop effective communications strategies, messaging, and national and local earned media placements.

As Managing Director and Chief of Staff at SKDKnickerbocker, which was the Holmes Report 2018 Public Affairs Agency of the Year, Nell led effective campaigns across industries and policy issues. She worked with the government of Puerto Rico to frame the Island’s historic fiscal crisis as a humanitarian crisis, leading the charge for landmark legislation that gave them access to bankruptcy protection. She’s worked with leading women’s organizations to empower leaders and advance equality. She’s helped trade associations and corporations navigate crises and articulate their competitive advantages. And in 2013, she was part of the team that helped make marriage equality legal nationwide.

As Press Secretary for Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Nell developed a broad understanding of the political landscape, the mechanics of media and where decision makers turn for information. Prior to that, as a director at The Glover Park Group, she designed and executed an award-winning integrated campaign for the nonprofit Center for Constitutional Rights to promote the Center’s Guantanamo Bay–related legal activities and expertise. She worked at the national headquarters of the Kerry-Edwards presidential campaign, and began her career at The Albright Group. She received her master’s degree in media and public affairs and her bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from The George Washington University.