LEADERSHIP

energi PR’s two managing partners are known for their leadership, strategic counsel and entrepreneurial savvy.
Esther Buchsbaum, APR, FCPRS
Carol Levine APR, FCPRS

Esther Buchsbaum, APR, FCPRS

Esther is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of energi PR, Communications, Digital formerly Communications MECA.  She specializes in corporate communications strategy and development, crisis, issues and reputation management and has a particular core competency in the negotiation, development and implementation of corporate cause marketing and giving programs. Esther has provided brand development and strategic PR counsel to such clients as Proctor & Gamble, Ford of Canada, Samsung, Sunbeam, Burger King Canada, Uniroyal, The Caribbean Tourism Organization, Hilton Canada, Avon and ADT Security to name but a few, and was responsible for the formal introduction and PR launch of Ben & Jerry’s in Canada. In her role as senior counsel for the Caribbean Tourism Organization, Esther sat as a member of a global crisis communications advisory panel mandated to develop communications strategies related to hurricanes, Hepatitis A, SARS and the increasing number of crimes against foreign travelers. In her capacity as counsel to Hilton Canada, Esther was instrumental in the development of the communications strategy to address the aftermath of 9/11 and its impact on the Travel and Tourism industry.

Esther holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Political Science and is active in community affairs.  She has served on several Boards of Directors including the Executive Committee of the Montréal Holocaust Museum, the Executive Committee of the Public Relations Society of America’s Counselor’s Academy and Montréal’s Centaur Theatre. She currently sits on the National (NA) Board of the Society of American Travel Writers, she chairs the Advocacy Committee of the Canadian Public Relations Society and she also sits on the McGill University Desautels Faculty of Management Global Marketing Expert Panel. Esther is an internationally accredited APR and in 2008 was inducted as a Fellow of the Canadian Public Relations Society which recognizes her significant individual contribution to the field of public relations.

Esther is a member of TMAC, SRQ, IABC and SATW and is a regular guest lecturer in McGill University’s MBA program. You can find her on Twitter @ThegenuinePRKid

Carol Levine, APR, FCPRS

Carol Levine holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Industrial Relations from McGill University and an internationally recognized accreditation in public relations from the Canadian Public Relations Society. Her career began at the entry level in the PR department of a large community service organization where she ultimately advanced to become Assistant Director of Communications.After starting her own public relations consulting business in 1980 she went on to co-found Communications MECA ten years later with her business partner Esther Buchsbaum. In addition to building a successful national PR agency with offices in Montreal and Toronto, Carol’s passion still lies in mentoring and coaching younger professionals and in contributing to client mandates that present unique and challenging communications issues. A considerable amount of Carol’s energi is focused on projects and trends in health-related communication, including online and digital. A newbie blogger also known to tweet @PR Shrink, Carol is proof that social media can be age neutral.

Carol was a special consultant in the creation of Burger King Canada’s cause marketing program and was part of the international PR team responsible for the global rebranding of Hilton International. Her clients have included Ericsson, Teleglobe Canada, ADT, Priority Management, Astellas Pharma Canada, Biovail, Wyeth, BMS, Ernst & Young and McGill University.

Carol was inducted as a Fellow of the Canadian Public Relations Society, a designation that recognized her accomplishments throughout a lifelong and still going strong career in public relations. She is the 2010 Chair of the Canadian Council of Public Relations Firms, representing thought leaders of some of the leading multinational and independent Canadian PR consulting firms and an active member of the Alliance des cabinets de relations publiques du Québec.