Shawn T. Zelman

Shawn Taylor Zelman most recently worked at The Coulter Companies as a Communications Consultant. Zelman consulted with nonprofit clients on their communications and management needs including overall communications strategy, media relations, public relations, and served as editor of RESOLVE, for the Journey and Beyond.

Previously, Zelman worked to promote the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) initiatives to the media, develop media partnerships, media training national Board members and chapter leaders, develop branding guidelines, and assisted NAWBO’s 80 chapters in promoting their activities on the local level. In 2007, Zelman was named Senior Director and handled both NAWBO’s communications and chapter relations.

Zelman owned her own communication and management consulting firm. She worked with her clients to find solutions for their communication and management challenges. Her work as a business owner gave her the experience to better understand the business working environment.

Never afraid to take on challenging topics, Zelman began her career assisting the largest gun control organization pass the Brady Law and the ban on semi-automatic assault weapons. This experience provided Zelman with the opportunity to thoroughly understand the legislative process and work closely with print, television, and radio media.

To further her experience, Zelman worked for the largest, independent medical student association as director of public relations and legislative affairs. In this position, she developed media training curriculum for medical student leaders and assisted in organizing a health policy forum for medical students. The position allowed Zelman to utilize her public relations and legislative knowledge and use her program management and organizational skills to meet the organization’s needs.

Zelman then moved from a nonprofit setting to a for-profit public relations agency to work to improve care near the end-of-life. Through her work on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s (RWJF) Last Acts Campaign, Zelman managed volunteer committees; assisted in building an online community, recruited member organizations, wrote grants, and prepared budgets. One goal of this Last Acts Campaign was to explain to a consumer audience the need for effective advance care planning and help families understand and prepare for the dying process.

With extensive experience in handling an organization’s daily internal and external communications needs, developing and implementing communications plans, building online communities, managing community programs and projects, grassroots coalition building, and organizational management. Zelman’s experience brings a stronger communication and management presence to each project.

Throughout her career, Zelman’s direct and detailed-oriented approach has offered organizations the peace of mind to get their communications’ project completed on time and successfully.

Zelman, her husband, Jeff, and their three daughters reside in Leesburg, Virginia.

Education

• PhD - Organizational Management & Behavior
• MS, George Mason University 
• BS, Virginia Tech