Susan A. Davis is a pioneering woman business owner considered an icon in the public relations industry. She opened her agency when relatively few women were experiencing success in the business world, and fewer still owned their own business. Over three decades, she has grown her agency into a global public affairs and strategic communications powerhouse, receiving accolades and recognition from industry peers and earning the respect of business and government leaders around the world. Internationally known for her expertise in strategic positioning, reputation management, government relations and crisis communications, Davis has provided counsel to government and industry heads throughout Europe and The Americas, and continues to advise key public figures worldwide.
A lifelong advocate for social entrepreneurship, democracy building and leadership development for women, she is the Chair of the Board of Vital Voices Global Partnership, the preeminent NGO that trains and empowers emerging women leaders in 125 countries. She was the first International President of the International Women’s Forum, the global leadership organization now representing more than 3000 women of achievement.
Ms. Davis chaired the landmark U.S. Ireland Business Summit which created the groundbreaking U.S.- Ireland R&D Partnership; and has been recognized for her leadership in Ireland and Northern Ireland by Irish America Magazine (“Top 100 Irish Americans and 75 Most Influential Irish American Women”) and The Flax Trust “For Service to Northern Ireland”. She is Board Chair of The Irish Breakfast Club; member of Glanbia’s U.S. Board, and University College Dublin Graduate School of Business Board; Co-Chair of the Washington Ireland Program Trustees Council, and a board member of Medical Missions for Children; St. Judes Hospital’s Professional Board and the US-Panama Business Council;
Her awards include “National Woman Business Owner of the Year”; “Woman Business Advocate of the United States”; the National Association of Women Business Owner’s “Outstanding Achievement in National and International Public Affairs”, the University of Wisconsin “Distinguished Service Award in the Field of Communications”, and the “University of Wisconsin Distinguished Alumni Award”. She is a recipient of the inaugural National Capital Public Relations Society Hall of Fame award, and was awarded the prestigious Order of Merit by the Knights Templar. Washingtonian Magazine has called Ms. Davis one of Washington’s Most Powerful Women and she is a recipient of the Washington Business Journal’s “Women Who Mean Business” award, recognizing the DC region’s most influential women.
Judith H. Whittlesey, Executive Vice President, has more than 20 years broad-based experience in strategic planning; media relations; spokesperson training; crisis communications strategies and management; institutional positioning for nonprofit organizations and institutions; and the organization of issue, cause and political campaigns at the national, state and grassroots levels.
At SDI, Ms. Whittlesey has created and administered award-winning communications strategies that have effectively guided clients including government entities, nonprofit and professional groups, associations, and national and international corporations through periods of both great opportunities and great challenges. Ms. Whittlesey has developed effective strategic campaigns and initiatives for entities seeking to position an existent or new institution; promote a cause, concept or information; or introduce a public education campaign, along with appropriate communications and outreach strategies to capture major national and international media attention.
Ms. Whittlesey has managed projects for the Commission on the Advancement of Women and Minorities in Science, Engineering and Technology; the congressionally mandated National Japanese American Memorial; the Bicentennial of the Library of Congress; the Women in Military Service for America Memorial; the Foundation Fighting Blindness; Operation Smile; the National Campaign for Hearing Health established by the Deafness Research Foundation; the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum; and the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. She played key leadership roles in the Mondale Ferraro and Dukakis-Bentsen national presidential campaigns, and the Clinton-Gore transition.With particular expertise in working with our nation’s military, she led the SDI team providing public relations counsel to AT&T’s Military Markets division, and she currently leads SDI’s team providing public relations counsel to the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation and the Department of Defense program, Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve.
Tom E. Davis, Vice President, is known for his work in the fields of strategic communication, organizational communication, risk analysis and contingency planning, and issues management. He has led project teams to develop communication strategies and programs for government agencies including the Department of Defense, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Veterans Health Administration, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the Food and Drug Administration, and multinational companies including AT&T Wireless, Du Pont Chemicals, Commonwealth Edison, Tokio Marine, and Amoco. He has consulted in countries ranging from the United States to Japan, and Canada to Kuwait.
Davis has provided communication counsel and training to hundreds of executives in matters ranging from health and safety concerns to crisis management. These crises have included health concerns, natural disasters, oil spills, kidnappings, theft, blackmail, transportation strikes, and a host of litigation issues. At SDI, he helps clients to identify incipient communication problems, evaluate and organize communication support structures, and address and alleviate public concern over products and practices.
Davis has lectured widely, worked internationally, and written extensively on crisis management and disaster recovery. He co-authored the manual used by the Chemical Manufacturers Association to teach the principles of crisis management to its members, and published a series of articles on crisis management in Japan. He has appeared as a spokesperson and expert commentator on numerous radio and television programs, including ABC’s Good Morning America. Davis is a former adjunct professor at American University in Washington, D.C., where he taught crisis communications.
Lisa T. Miller, Vice President, has oversight responsibility for the SDI Special Events Division and for Administration.
She has and continues to play a major role in organizing and managing high profile national events including the annual Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award Gala; the America Supports You Freedom Walk; the Women in Military Service Memorial 10th Anniversary Celebration; the White House Conference on Aging, and the National Museum of the Marine Corps Dedication, which was attended by 12,000 guests. She has extensive experience in event logistics, registration, transportation, venue management and protocol.
Previously, Miller worked on the successful Martinez for Senate campaign in Florida. As the Director of Compliance, she was responsible for the oversight and management of the campaign’s $12 million budget, and coordinated fundraising and grassroots events throughout the state, including the 2004 election victory rally. Prior, Miller served as the Director of Scheduling and Advance for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Miller holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Iowa.
Kenneth W. Fitzgerald, Vice President, calls upon his twenty plus years experience creating and producing innovative marketing campaigns for some of the world’s best known companies and their brands to develop marketing and communications programs for SDI clients, and create strategic alliances between government agencies and businesses in the private sector.
Fitzgerald currently advises SDI clients Giant Food on strategic development of public affairs and community relations programs, GreatAmericans.com on marketing partnerships with non-profit organizations and private sector businesses, Foundation Fighting Blindness on corporate partnerships, and Square Enix on marketing its new online gaming products to the military audience.
Fitzgerald directed development and management of 35+ corporate, sports and entertainment marketing relations for the Department of Defense program America Supports You. These marketing partnerships help to inform and connect our military service members and their families to over 400 support programs across the nation. He worked directly with ASY corporate partners, including Microsoft, Toyota, Qwest Communications, USAA, TriWest, NASCAR, PGA of America, and Major League Baseball.
To successfully build their brands and strengthen relationships, Fitzgerald helps clients leverage their existing partnerships with sports, entertainment and non-profit properties. Clear Channel, AT&T, Kellogg, General Motors, Comcast , Procter & Gamble, Coke and GEICO have all achieved business results through Fitzgerald’s creation, activation and management of marketing initiatives.
Fitzgerald’s work history with agencies including Advantage International, World Premier Marketing, DelWilber & Associates, and the Howard Marlboro Group for programs including 1984 Summer Olympics, 1994 Winter Olympics, 7 Major League Baseball World Series, 2 America’s Cup Yacht Racing campaigns, and national US Rowing and US Skiing events has given him the opportunity to hone the skills he brings to SDI clients. Among his signature cause marketing successes, he established the first affinity credit card with MNBA America Bank on behalf of the American Diabetes Association, built partnership programs for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and brokered corporate partnerships for American Youth Soccer Organization.
Colby Miller, Associate, a graduate from The Citadel, was commissioned into the United States Navy in 1999, where he had three operational tours and one administrative tour. He is an Iraq War veteran, whose combat career included conducting riverline patrols in Iraq which led to the capture of a number of enemy combatants. Colby’s last tour in the Navy was on Capitol Hill as a Congressional Liaison for the U.S. House of Representatives where he escorted over 20 Congressional Delegations to nearly 30 different countries across the globe including North Korea, China and Russia. He began his civilian work as Congressman Roscoe Bartlett’s Military Legislative Assistant for whom he handled Chairman Bartlett’s defense appropriation and authorization matters and was his personal staff representative to the House Armed Services Projection Forces Subcommittee.
In 2007, Colby became Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison’s Defense and Foreign Policy Advisor, managing her issues on the Senate Appropriations Defense and Military Construction/Veterans Affairs Subcommittees and directing the Senator’s Foreign Policy agenda. Colby also advised the Senator on Defense and Foreign Policy matters during her tenure as the Chairman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee. He is expert on defense and homeland security policy and procurement issues.
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