For Immediate Release For more information, contact: Marc ... - Politico

October 1, 2015

For Immediate Release For more information, contact: Marc Allen 212-584-5000 [email protected] Ben Branham Named Head of New York for Fenton NEW YORK, NY. (October 1, 2015) — Fenton, the leading social change agency, has named Ben Branham as managing director of the New York office. Branham comes to Fenton from the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) where he served as the executive vice president and chief strategy officer under Mayors Michael R. Bloomberg and Bill de Blasio.

For the last 15 years, Branham’s career has spanned the public, private and nonprofit sectors, leading and advising mission-driven organizations to adapt to the challenges of an ever-changing landscape. During his more than three years at NYCEDC, Branham helped secure public approvals of the Cornell Tech applied science campus now under construction on Roosevelt Island, execute a robust expansion of the city’s Living Wage policy and launch such initiatives as sector-specific incubators across the five boroughs, tech training boot camps for public high school students and a campaign to promote local manufacturing and design. Prior to NYCEDC, Branham served as vice president, public affairs for Edelman, where he advised clients including Stanford University, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum and Harvard Business School. Branham graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a BA in English and with a Masters in Public Policy from the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government. “Ben is an advocate for cultivating growth, innovation and economic opportunity in both traditional and emerging industries,” said Fenton CEO Bill Werde. “We are thrilled to have him join us at this time of evolution and social change progress at Fenton.”

Fenton has continued to grow at a rapid pace, adding senior leadership in all four of its offices as the agency further evolves under CEO Bill Werde, who began at Fenton ten months ago. Branham’s hire comes amidst increased investment in digital capacity and sector expertise, with a focus on innovation and strategy. “As someone who’s admired – and been envious of - Fenton since the start of my career, this opportunity is without exaggeration a dream job for me,“ said Branham. “I’m excited to work with Bill and the team to provide world-class service to such an impressive roster of powerful clients as I continue my career propelling innovation and social change.” Fenton has recently helped launch Philanthropy University, an online university for socialchange professionals that has received over 100,000 course signups in under two weeks and promoted a fossil fuel divestment from institutions representing a total of more than $2.6 trillion in investments. The agency has been working with JUST, a company that aims to create optimism and economic value through operational innovation, delivering disruptive products at affordable prices, and recently brought to market its first product, Just Water, boxed 100% spring water sourced from the Glens Falls watershed in the Adirondack Mountains. Last month, the agency won work with the American Diabetes Association to assist it with a campaign to inspire healthy habits at work and beyond and work with the Hip Hop Caucus, a national bus tour and concert to illustrate the link between climate change and racial inequality. Fenton continues to work with top foundations including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Kresge Foundation. ### ABOUT FENTON Fenton opened its doors in 1982 to create social change campaigns that serve the public interest. We have been part of some of the defining movements of the past quarter century, from ending apartheid to curbing global warming. Today, Fenton is the leading social change communications firm in the United States with offices in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. We combine decades of expertise with creativity and innovation to accelerate progress on today’s most pressing global and national issues. Our full suite of integrated services including social marketing and advocacy campaigns, branding, media relations, crisis communications, digital and social media, advertising, graphic design and video. To learn more about Fenton visit www.fenton.com and follow Fenton on Facebook and Twitter.

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