Laura Burns
Laura Burns

BoardroomPR promotes Laura Burns to senior VP. Burns has been with the firm since 2012, most recently serving as VP. She specializes in media relations and crisis communications, working with clients in such industries as real estate, healthcare and education. Before joining BoardroomPR, Burns was an executive producer at WPLG/Local 10, the ABC News affiliate in Miami. “Her incredible journalism background, combined with her unwavering professionalism and dedication has made her a true asset to our team,” said BoardroomPR CEO and founder Julie Talenfeld.

Crenshaw Communications names Caroline Yodice director of ad tech. Yodice, who was previously a senior account supervisor at the firm, reports to partner Chris Harihar. Before coming to Crenshaw, she was a senior account executive at both SourceCode Communications and Sparkpr. “Caroline’s expertise and experience in this space are matched only by her enthusiasm for it,” said Harihar. Crenshaw has also added Hannah Kasoff, who was previously associate marketing manager at Mediaocean, to its ad tech team. The agency has also brough on new clients including video technology company tecConnatix, and BrandTotal, a social competitive intelligence and brand analytics platform.

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a think tank that develops policy solutions aimed at eradicating barriers to the full freedom of Black people in America, names Chandra Hayslett VP of communications. The addition of this position is part of the Joint Center’s plan to restructure and position itself as the “go-to” resource on emerging issues that are critical to Black communities. ​​Hayslett comes to the Joint Center from the Center for Constitutional Rights, where she was director of communications. She previously spent 11 years as a newspaper reporter covering K-12 public education and politics at newspapers across Tennessee and New Jersey, including the Newark Star-Ledger, where she was part of a reporting team that won the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news. In her new post, Hayslett will be responsible for the development and implementation of a communications strategy to amplify and advance the Joint Center’s strategic audience engagement, research priorities and growth.