Helen C. Shelton
Senior Partner, Director of Multicultural Marketing
Finn Partners Inc., New York, N.Y.
Helen C. Shelton?s r?sum? describes her as senior partner and multicultural, luxury and lifestyle communications strategist at Finn Partners Inc., creating and overseeing communications campaigns and providing strategic counsel for blue-chip brands like Strength of Nature?s ethnic hair care portfolio, the Verizon Foundation and the Belgian jewelry line LX Collection. Less formally, Shelton describes herself as a ?trusted point of counsel? for her colleagues and clients, who simply help to translate a creative vision to the public. ?As a PR person, our job is to not be seen ? I like to be behind the scenes, responsible for creating the scene, and that, to me, is what a woman of influence does,? she says.
In her work, which covers from integrated media platforms to corporate social responsibility campaigns and risk assessment, Shelton draws on her passions for the Italian Renaissance and for writing. Those passions explain her bachelor?s degree in art history from Dartmouth College and her master?s from Boston University College of Communication, where she was appointed a writing fellow. A 2004 Network Journal ?40 Under Forty Achievers? honoree, Shelton has worked in public relations since the early 1990s, rising to executive vice president at Ruder Finn Arts & Communications Counselor Inc. before joining Finn Partners in 2007.
Shelton is fluent in Italian, obsessed with handbags, passionate about horses and equine husbandry, and committed to doing good while doing well. Her recent membership in the Greater New York Chapter of The Links Inc. was ?a landmark achievement? in her quest to ?do good? in her community. ?If I had the time and money, I would build and operate a state-of-the-art working horse farm that serves as a teaching and mentoring facility for minority youth to learn about the art of equine sports and the discipline that comes with maintaining horses,? she says.
