Shelley J. Spector

Co-Founder and Director
Museum of Public Relations

Shelley J. Spector is co-founder and director of the Museum of Public Relations, the world's only museum dedicated to the public relations and communications professions. Founded in 1997, the Museum is a 501(c)3 and holds more than 5k artifacts-- telling the story of the profession's history as well as how public relations has impacted history.
The Museum holds six heritage events each year celebrating the "hidden histories" of diverse PR pioneers. In 2021, the Spector earned the coveted Distinguished Service
to Journalism HIstory award from the American Journalism HIstorian Association, as well as several diversity awards from national organizations.

Spector is also president of Spector & Associates, an award-winning public relations firm founded in 1991. Known for its "big idea" approach to campaigns, the firm has worked for such brands as AT&T, Bayer, Philips, HP and L3Harris.

A frequent speaker in PR classrooms and international associations, Spector gave more than 90 online guest lectures in 2021. She is on the faculty of NYU and Baruch College. As an academic researcher, Spector has produced papers investigating the role of public relations in financial crises and the use of communications in pandemics. She is editor of Diverse Voices, a first-of-a-kind book capturing accounts of more than 40 leaders in public relations, and used in classrooms around the U.S.

Spector earned a B.A. in Journalism at the University of Rhode Island and an M.S. in Radio/TV from Syracuse University.