Stefan Friedman is a Managing Director of Mercury’s strategic communications and public relations practices in Los Angeles and New York. He has nearly 20 years of experience in public affairs, serving as a newspaper columnist, editorial board writer and reporter for almost a decade before moving into the public relations space in 2006. Stefan maintains relationships from his journalistic past with numerous reporters across all sectors and can tap into these relationships to quickly place stories, deliver off-the-record intelligence and keep a close eye on the news of the day. Stefan led all media efforts on the campaign to raise the cap on charter schools in New York State. During a three-month campaign, Stefan’s team generated hundreds of news stories and editorials throughout the state in favor of lifting the cap, leading one opponent to complain in the Huffington Post that her side was “overwhelmed by a tsunami of editorials and op-eds.” The Legislature voted to double the cap on charter schools from 200 to 400. Stefan ran all communications for New Yorkers United for Marriage, the coalition of five pro gay marriage groups that spearheaded the campaign to legalize same sex marriage in New York State. Utilizing a precise messaging effort aimed at steering individual state senators who had previously rejected gay marriage just two years earlier, Stefan produced a relentless drumbeat of positive press, secured editorial support from 23 newspaper outlets across the state and helped New York State become the largest state in the country to enact gay marriage. During his career Stefan has worked for dozens of corporate and non-profit clients including AT&T, The Genting Group, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Democrats for Education Reform, StudentsFirst, The Rockefeller Foundation, The New York Public Library and Independence USA (Bloomberg PAC). He specializes in helping organizations manage complex public relations challenges, both short- and long-term. Stefan is married to Amy Glickman and has a daughter, Lucy, and a son, Leo. He is a lifelong New Yorker now living on the West Coast.
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