Fenton Communications
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Headquarters | New York City, New York |
|---|---|
| Date founded | 1982 |
| Founder | David Fenton |
| Website | fenton |
Fenton Communications is an American public relations firm founded in 1982 by David Fenton. The firm specializes in communications for nonprofit organizations, foundations, and advocacy groups, and maintains offices in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York City. Its chief executive officer is Valarie De La Garza, who succeeded Ben Wyskida in 2021.
The company was founded by David Fenton and Robert Pollock in 1982.[1] In 1984, Fenton and Pollock split the company, with Fenton retaining the New York office and Pollock the Washington office.[2] In 2014, the company was sold to Craig J. Leach and James Marcus, who were the principals of Collegium. As of 2014, the firm was headquartered in New York with offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington.[3][4] According to Fenton, around 20% of the company's work was with for-profit concerns in areas such as corporate social responsibility and sustainability. Bill Werde, editorial director of Billboard, replaced Fenton as chief executive, while Fenton moved to the role of chairman.[5] The CEO of Fenton is Valarie De La Garza. She succeeded Ben Wyskida as CEO in 2021.[6]
Fenton specializes in public relations for not-for-profit organizations, and serves nonprofit, government, education and philanthropy clients dedicated to social justice and equity.[7] Their client list includes foundations and advocacy organizations such as the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Annie E. Casey Foundation, Color of Change, Science Moms, The Volcker Alliance, RAICES and PWC's CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion.[8] Vocus supplied the agency with web-based software to facilitate their public relations campaigns.[9]
The American conservative magazine Human Events characterized Fenton as "the far-left's propaganda machine".[10] Clint Murchison described several of the company's campaigns as "less than honorable", including an Ancient Forest Campaign,' funded by the Rockefellers Environmental Grantmakers Association, as well as campaigns for the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, Andreas Papandreau of Greece, and the People's Republic of Angola.[11]
Fenton has been described as an umbrella for several nonprofit organizations which it cofounded, including Environmental Media Services, which manages publicity for environmental groups; a social justice group called New Economy Communications, and an anti-death penalty lobby known as the Death Penalty Information Center.[12][13]
The firm has represented numerous Marxist governments and organizations including the Sandinistas, Maurice Bishop's Marxist regime in Grenada, Angola, and others,[12] as well as left-wing groups including MoveOn.org.[14]
