Debra Gaynor

Chief Brand Reputation Officer

Debra guides clients and the agency on  building and protecting brand repuation

Experience

  • As Chief Brand Reputation Officer, Debra provides senior council on such reputation related issues as brand and corporate strategy, issues preparedness and management and agency marketing.
  • Trained as a journalist, she has worked for more than 25 years at some of the world’s most respected PR agencies, including Burson-Marsteller, Weber Shandwick and Edelman Worldwide on brand marketing, corporate and crisis assignments
  • She has led domestic and global programs for a broad range of brands, including Advil, The “Got Milk” campaign, Nexium, Similac, M-M-R and Varivax vaccines, The Merck Manual Home Edition and Quest Diagnostics
  • She is a strong believer in the “whole brain” approach to problem solving, with a deep dive in research and analytics supporting insights and strategic platforms
  • Debra has received a number of PR awards for her work, including the Silver Anvil, the Creativity in Public Relations Award (CIPRA), and the Big Apple Award

Education/Special Skills

  • Debra’s BA/BS is from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University
  • She spent a good deal of her career in the healthcare arena, and can comfortably discuss the many “languages” of science and medicine
  • She is a member of the Diabetes Advisory Board of the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center and PR advisor to The Three Tomatoes
Debra Gaynor

Fun Facts

Hometown: Grew up on a dude ranch in Succasunna, NJ

Voted Most Likely To: Challenge the teacher

Secret Skill: Getting information out of people and reading upside down - I used to be a journalist

Inspired By: My parents and my son-the-food-writer.

Words to Live By/My Motto: "The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it."

Song that Gets Me Going: Start Me Up by The Rolling Stones