Leslie Eicher APR, Company Principal

With 20 years experience in the public relations profession, Leslie Eicher has made a career of interpreting and communicating information regarding the products and services, philosophy, plans and positions of her clients and employers.

Leslie’s experience runs the gamut of strategic planning, reputation management, media relations, media planning, community relations, employee communications, crisis communications, new product launches to trade and consumer publics, special events planning, exhibit and trade show planning, and market research. Her work at Eicher Communications builds upon a distinguished career in public relations.

Leslie began her career in events and promotions positions at the Convention and Visitors Bureau, and then Busch Stadium, in St. Louis. After moving to Chicago she began an eight-year stint in the agency world where she ended up as Account Supervisor for San Diego’s then-largest advertising/PR firm, Franklin & Associates. At the agency, she managed the public relations work for diverse accounts such as the San Diego Olympic Training Center and Thermoscan ear thermometers, among others.

It was an offer to head up the PR department for San Diego-based Jostens Learning Corp., a well-known developer of software-based curriculum products, that lured her to the corporate world and opened the doors to the dynamic world of educational technology. During her five years at Jostens Learning, Leslie was responsible for developing the company's overall public relations strategy and programming. She likewise served as the company’s primary media spokesperson. Supervising a staff of four supported by outside agency help, Leslie and her team helped Jostens Learning through the best and worst of times — launching new products and acquiring competitor companies, as well as implementing crisis plans for employee layoffs and senior management changes.

It was her success at Jostens Learning that allowed Leslie to launch her own firm in 1994. Since that time, Eicher Communications has partnered with a variety of technology companies and marketing firms on projects ranging from local and consumer publicity to strategic planning for the national launch of new product lines.

A graduate of Southern Illinois University - Carbondale, Leslie is an Accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and a member of PRSA's prestigious Counselor's Academy. She served for many years as an officer and director of PRSA's San Diego Chapter, an officer of the Western District, and the founding president of the Gulf Coast Chapter in Naples, Fla. She has received awards from The Public Relations Club of San Diego, and PRSA’s San Diego and Gulf Coast chapters for excellence in news writing, feature stories, newsletters, employee communications and strategic planning.