The president of Olson Engage, Bryan Specht is a resident of Chicago, Illinois, and has spent his career working in communications and marketing. With a keen interest in helping children, Bryan Specht is involved with several charitable organizations, including Prevent Child Abuse (PCA) America, an organization that aims to prevent abuse and neglect of children across the country.
Adverse childhood experiences refer to events that had a traumatic impact on a person during childhood. Research has been conducted proving that these types of experiences can affect healthy brain development. Child neglect comes in different forms, including educational, emotional, environmental, medical, physical, and supervisory. Although their understanding of child neglect's long-term impact is limited, they are working to prevent this neglect from happening. Physical and sexual abuse is another focus area that can have major impacts on children and their development. Abusive head trauma is one specific issue that PCA America addresses, and this is an injury to a child’s brain due to shaking or other physical abuse.
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A resident of Chicago, Illinois, Bryan Specht earned a degree in public affairs from Harvard and has worked on numerous political campaigns and in communications positions during his career. Bryan Specht is also involved with his local Chicago Children’s Advocacy Center (CCAC), which offers numerous services that are designed to help children in vulnerable positions.
The CCAC first opened its doors in 2001 and serves as frontline responders to issues of sexual abuse, violence, and more for children in Chicago. Since its opening, the CCAC has helped advocate for more than 40,000 children. Their main objective is to coordinate the efforts of all parties involved in helping children and their families after traumatic events. This includes child protection staff, law enforcement, medical and mental health experts, and family advocates. Responding to sexual abuse is a major part of their operations. The center investigates claims of abuse, conducts forensic interviews, provides advocacy for children and their families, and offers resources to help identify and deal with trauma. Forensic interviews are available for any type of trauma or abuse a child may have suffered. Education and prevention is another cornerstone of the CCAC. They facilitate training for professionals and members of the community to help prevent abuse. There is also medical and mental health staff on-site to help with needs in these areas. A member of the National Board of Directors, Bryan Specht serves as president of Olson Engage, a public relations agency in Chicago, Illinois. Bryan Specht was also named to the top 50 PR week's power list as recognition as one of the top and most influential leaders in the public relations industry.
According to the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), public relations refers to a strategic communication process that drives mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their target public. Public relations can enhance, protect, and build organizational reputations through self-produced communications or any media. Generally, PR practitioners or PR agencies promote positive stories about organizational accomplishments after thoroughly analyzing organizations. In cases where an organization have compromising history, PR agencies can help them formulate resourceful response to mitigate reputational damage. While PR aims to maintain a good reputation, it does not involve paying media. Unlike advertisement, which is essentially paid media, PR practitioners convince reporters and editors to write a positive story regarding the client's organization, brand, or current issue. Unlike advertisements, PR uses trusted sources as means of communication and does not pay the media for the process. Another main difference is that PR stories appear in the editorial section of TV stations, newspapers, magazines, or websites, in contrast to the "paid media" section for advertising messages. Bryan Specht has spent seven years as President of Olson Engage, a brand marketing, advertising, public relations, and social media agency based in Chicago, Illinois. Beyond his leadership role at Olson Engage, Bryan Specht engages with a number of national and local philanthropic organizations, including his position on the Prevent Child Abuse America national board of directors.
Prevent Child Abuse America (PCAA) is a national not for profit organization working towards a safe, healthy childhood for every child in the country. The PCAA website provides families with a depth of useful information, including tips for speaking to children about bullying, an especially important topic during the school year. To begin, parents should ask children questions that initiate conversations. The typical “How was your day?” is likely to elicit a “Good,” and little more. Asking about what happened at recess or whether or not the child made a new friend can produce a more specific and potentially insightful response. If parents feel or know bullying is an issue, questions can be further targeted, such as, “Did anyone have a hard time in class today?” or “How did you feel when school ended?” If it becomes clear the child is experiencing bullying, parents have a variety of options. First and foremost, families should ensure children know they are not at fault. Though it can be a sensitive, sometimes lengthy process, guardians must establish the facts. This includes finding out who has initiated the situation, how long the bullying has been going on, and where the bullying tends to take place. How families move forward will depend on the specifics of each situation. That said, teachers and faculty at school should be made aware of the situation in order to intervene or prevent bullying from escalating. A former deputy chief of staff in the White House, Bryan Specht possesses experience in roles that include campaign manager for political candidates and chief operating officer and executive vice president of communications firms. Now the president of Olson Engage, Bryan Specht also serves on the board of directors of the Chicago Children's Advocacy Center (ChicagoCAC).
Founded in 2001, the nonprofit ChicagoCAC responds to child sexual abuse reports, providing treatment and recovery services to thousands of children in collaboration with law enforcement, mental health professionals, medical experts, and family advocates. The organization offers all of its services at no cost. These services include the Family Hope Center, which has an environment designed to help the healing process. Children who attend the center have the opportunity to work with a team of therapists and receive mental health therapies such as Integrated Treatment for Complex Trauma (ITCT) and Attachment, Self-Regulation, and Competency (ARC). The therapy processes focus on cultivating relationships of trust with children and their families. Therapists identify key issues to work through, such as anxiety, depression, or flashbacks, and then provide guidance in forming positive and healthy responses. Therapy may involve conversation, play, and art. Bryan Specht is the president of Olson Engage, a public relations firm located in Chicago. In addition to his work at Olson Engage, Bryan Specht has spent time in board positions with numerous philanthropic organizations, including the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago and the Chicago Children’s Advocacy Center, a group committed to protecting children from physical abuse, sexual abuse, and other mistreatment. The Chicago Children’s Advocacy Center (ChicagoCAC) hosts a number of fundraisers and special events over the course of the year, including the recurring Back to School Backpack Drive. Recent drives have collected approximately 600 new backpacks for local school children, each filled with various school supplies designed to prepare students for a successful year of learning. The annual drive, held in August before the start of the school year, also serves as a community gathering event, with more than 40 volunteers showing up to aid ChicagoCAC efforts in 2018. Local companies and agencies that supported the most recent Back to School Backpack Drive included Bluegrace Logistics, Austin Childcare Providers’ Network, Uber, and the Great American Insurance Company. To learn more about upcoming ChicagoCAC events or to make a contribution to the organization, please visit www.chicagocac.org. With 20 years of communications experience, Bryan Specht serves as the president of the PR firm Olson Engage. In addition to his career in consulting, Bryan Specht is a longtime children’s advocate who serves on the board of directors of Prevent Child Abuse America. Prevent Child Abuse America is preparing to host its 2016 National Conference for America’s Children, which will take place October 17-20 at the Hilton Netherland Plaza Hotel in Cincinnati. The organization has held the annual event since 1973, and it provides a forum for family-support professionals and youth advocates to come together and share strategies for abuse prevention. Experts from a variety of fields will be on hand for the four-day event to deliver presentations and workshops focused on the latest programs and research related to children and family services. Although a wide audience of professionals will attend the conference, it is not necessarily an event for professionals only. Anyone interested in preventing child abuse and neglect is invited to attend and will find Conference activities engaging and informative. To register online or to learn more about the 2016 National Conference for America’s Children, visit www.preventchildabuse.org. Bryan Specht currently serves as the president of public relations agency Olson Engage. A Chicago-area resident, Bryan Specht is also an outspoken proponent of child abuse prevention. One of the charities he has supported is the Chicago Children’s Advocacy Center (ChicagoCAC). A nonprofit organization accredited by the National Children’s Alliance (NCA), ChicagoCAC has helped over 30,000 children since the center’s opening in 2001. Unlike other foundations, ChicagoCAC synthesizes the experience and skills of doctors, mental health experts, law enforcement officials, and child protection staff to effectively prevent and respond to child abuse throughout the city. Some of the organization’s services include therapy and counseling, crisis intervention, interviews, and arranged visits. ChicagoCAC is funded through a combination of private donations and government sources. In 2015, ChicagoCAC received approximately 60% of its income from the government and 40% from private sources, which include individual donors, fundraising events, and grants. For additional information on how to get involved with ChicagoCAC, visit www.ChicagoCAC.org Bryan Specht has worked for the last 15 years as a communications consulting professional at firms across Chicago, Illinois. As president of Olson Engage, Bryan Specht focuses much of his work in the field of brand building. Creating a distinctive brand for your business is not as simple as generating a catchy slogan or designing a logo. Company brands encompass a much wider scope of organization, customer experience, and more. Here a few basic tips to help you get started establishing a recognizable brand for your business: Align your services with consumer lifestyles It is crucial to analyze your desired customer base and determine what type of lifestyle they wish to achieve. This knowledge will uniquely position you to develop a brand that fulfills these desires, which will thus help you better connect with your consumers. Offer a good value You can deliver good value in many more ways than offering a better price than your competitors. Consider developing a brand known for other traits, such as excellent customer service or superior products. During this process, think about how the value of your products relates to competitors’ offerings and how you can set your own services apart from them. Engage with your consumers Modern technology provides countless avenues through which you can present your brand to your customers. Consider a multi-platform approach in which you maintain a company blog or run various social media accounts. Maintaining a consistent media-posting strategy, will more effectively build a brand that your consumers will easily recognize. The president of the PR firm Olson Engage, Bryan Specht draws on extensive experience in executive leadership for communication companies, such as Weber Shandwick and Dig Communications. Bryan Specht has actively led political campaigns and continues to serve on the national board of directors for Prevent Child Abuse America. To raise money for its cause, Prevent Child Abuse America has launched its Pinwheels for Prevention campaign. Those who visit the group’s website, www.preventchildabuse.org, will find a link to the pinwheel store, which offers items such as 12-inch-tall pinwheels made of recyclable materials, and sturdy reusable tote bags. The proceeds support the organization’s programs, such as Healthy Families America. In addition to supporting Pinwheels for Prevention by purchasing pinwheel products or making a direct donation, interested persons can create their own pinwheel displays to showcase the campaign and raise awareness of child abuse. The website includes links to instructions to make a pinwheel, along with a pinwheel coloring sheet. |
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