Biographies

Pat Walsh, President/CEO

Pat Walsh is a public relations strategist who advises clients in the United States, Australia and China. With specific expertise in media relations, Pat helps clients develop key messages and creates opportunities for them to effectively convey those messages through the media to the targeted audience. His clients have garnered strategic media coverage by the nation's top broadcast, online and print outlets, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The NewsHour, MSNBC, Washington Post, USA Today, National Public Radio, ESPN, Sports Illustrated Inc., Business Week and Forbes.

Pat joined The Ulum Group in 1996. Before that time, he was a public affairs officer with the Alaska Department of Military & Veteran Affairs. He also held executive-level positions with public relations firms in Anchorage and Los Angeles. A former journalist and a frequent business and journalism school guest speaker, Pat is a 1983 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and has completed graduate business classes at Alaska Pacific University. He volunteers his time to several civic organizations.

Deborah Herron, Vice President

Deborah provides policy analysis, strategy and direct advocacy to help clients achieve positive results in media relations, community and government affairs as well as electoral campaigns. On staff since 2005, Deborah specializes in crafting integrated public relations and public affairs strategy for business, municipal, nonprofit and membership association clients.

Her political insight and legislative acumen come from nearly 15 years of public policy and government affairs experience, including lobbying at state and local governments, serving as a Congressional staffer and as deputy chief of staff to a top 10 U.S. city mayor. She has also directed numerous successful ballot measure campaigns, resulting in voter approval of more than $350 million for local police and fire facilities, schools, libraries, parks, urban renewal districts, an airport expansion and after-school programs.

A graduate of the University of Mary Washington, Deborah is also a member of the American Association of Political Consultants and the International Association of Public Participation.

Amber Williamson, Director

Amber develops and executes media relations strategies, provides community and government relations counsel and specializes in coalition building and public participation expertise.

Amber’s creative media relation tactics have resulted in positive media coverage for her clients in national trade journals and numerous regional news outlets.

Amber earned bachelor’s degrees in communications and business from Linfield College. She joined The Ulum Group in 2002 and serves clients in retail, commercial and residential development, equipment sales and natural resource industries. Amber volunteers on marketing committees for Elkton Charter School and O’Hara Catholic School.

Lewis Taylor, Public Relations Manager

Lewis joined The Ulum Group in 2008. A former journalist, Lewis brings more than a decade of daily newspaper experience to The Ulum Group, providing clients with strong writing and editing skills. He worked most recently for The Register-Guard in Eugene, Oregon, where he covered entertainment, trends, the arts and youth culture. He holds a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree in English from Tufts University. Lewis serves on the board of directors for the Young Writers Association of Lane County.

Kelsey Wilson, Public Affairs Manager

Kelsey joined The Ulum Group in 2010 and is responsible for client account management, new business development and government relations. She has five years of experience in lobbying and association management. Kelsey has lobbied on a variety of issues, including transportation, energy, health care and social services. She builds strong relationships with legislators and stakeholders both in and out of the state capitol, and has successfully built coalitions and formed grassroots organizations to advance client agendas and goals. As part of her lobbying work, she served as the association manager for a large Oregon trade association. She also has experience managing both legislative and local issue campaigns. Kelsey is a graduate of Gonzaga University and has a bachelor's degree in business administration, a concentration in marketing and a minor in public relations.

Vanessa Ward, Public Relations Associate

Vanessa writes, researches and provides support to The Ulum Group team. She is a 2006 graduate of the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication and was first introduced to The Ulum Group as an intern in 2006. Before coming to work full time for the firm in 2009, she developed exceptional communication skills working in the customer service industry. Vanessa is further broadening her public relations background by working with a wide range of clients. She is a volunteer mentor for Committed Partners for Youth and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Lane County. She is a member of the Eugene Active 20-30 Club.

Adrienne Webb, Public Relations Associate

Adrienne provides research and writing support for various Ulum Group accounts. She graduated from the University of Oregon's School of Journalism and Communication in 2009. Before joining us full time, Adrienne interned with The Ulum Group and several Oregon-based magazines, served as an account supervisor for a student-run public relations agency and worked with the 2009 UNESCO conference public relations team. Having majored in both magazine and public relations, she is interested in strategic public relations and in journalism's adaptation to social media platforms.

Rob Holderness, Public Relations Associate

Rob provides writing, research and media relations support for the firm's clients. He joined The Ulum Group in 2010 after completing a master's degree in communication and political science from Oregon State University. While at Oregon State, Rob served as a graduate teaching assistant in the speech communication department. Prior to graduate school, he worked two years for the Statesman Journal in Salem, Ore., serving as the sports editor of the Statesman's two weekly newspapers, the Stayton (Ore.) Mail and the Appeal Tribune (Silverton, Ore.), in addition to performing general assignment duties. He also holds a bachelor's degree in speech communication from Oregon State.

Debbie Nehl, Administrator

Debbie oversees office operations at both the Portland and Eugene locations of The Ulum Group. Her duties include purchasing, tech support, human resources, payroll and accounting.

Before joining The Ulum Group in 1997, Debbie worked for the Eugene School District 4J for nearly 20 years, most recently in the public affairs department, where she organized special events, managed Web pages and contributed to district publications. Before that, she worked in the community school program and as network administrator of two computer labs. Debbie received her bachelor's degree in history from the University of Oregon.

About our Founder

Jenny Ulum, Founder

Jenny Ulum, APR, serves in an of-counsel role. Before founding The Ulum Group in 1995, she was the executive responsible for community and government relations at PeaceHealth, which includes Sacred Heart Medical Center and PeaceHealth Medical Group in Eugene.

Her career began as a legislative aide in the 1979 Oregon Legislature, and she has also worked in public relations for the University of Washington Health Sciences Center and Bellevue (Wash.) Public Schools. She specializes in managing communications for complex issues, particularly in the public policy arena.

Jenny has served as board chair for the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce and as president of the Greater Oregon Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America. She is past president of the United Way of Lane County board of directors and is a board member for the Relief Nursery, University of Oregon Alumni Association and Oregon Public Broadcasting.

Her undergraduate degree is in communications and sociology from Linfield College, and she has a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Oregon. She is accredited in public relations.