Shakira is a 13 time award-winning public relations, corporate communications and branding professional with over 20 years of  experience leading external and internal communications strategies for various small businesses, corporations and professional services firms. She has been featured as an expert in PRWeek, BrandWeek, Woman's World, Working Mother, Creditcards.com, Black Enterprise, US 1 Princeton Magazines, Jersey 101.5 FM, MidJersey Business Magazine, Institutional Investors, Nonprofit Communications Magazine,  AOL Money & Finance, Plastic Surgery,  Practice Advisor, NJBIZ and Smartmoney.com among many others. . She is also a noted professional speaker on branding, social media, leadership, innovation, small business strategy and effective communication.

As a publicist, Shakira cut her teeth at Madison Avenue boutique PR firm which had high profile clients such as Microsoft, Scripps Networks and a host of technology companies. She has successfully placed her clients in major media outlets such as The Today Show, The Wall Street Journal, the Associated Press, Businessweek (print and online), Fortune,Forbes, The Los Angeles Times, Financial Times,New York magazine, Lifetime Television, USA Today, The New York Times, National Public Radio(NPR) and many other national, regional/local television affiliated networks and radio stations nationwide. Her clients have included: MSNBC.com; BET.com; Dr. Frank Newport, editor-in-chief, The Gallup Poll; Russell Simmons, founder of Def Jam and Phat Farm empire; Mort Walker, creator - Beetle Bailey comic strip; and Patrick McDonnell, creator – Mutts comics, among many other small and large businesses.

Prior to her career in public relations, Shakira produced and/or worked on programming for  over five years for CBS News, MTV Networks, HBO, ABC Networks and NBC News, MSNBC and television network affiliates in New York and Boston. As a producer at MSNBC, Shakira produced daily news broadcast and served as producer for the network’s daytime weekday and weekend news broadcasts where she produced programming for Brian William (NBC Nightly News), Ann Curry (Today Show), Soledad O’Brien (CNN), Lori Stokes (WABC News), Dan Abrams (Good Morning America legal analyst) and many other recognized broadcasters.   

 For over 20 years has been voting member of the National Academy of Television & Arts Sciences, commonly known as the Television Emmy Organization. She is also a media council member with Gerson Lehrman Group Research, a network of consultants, physicians, scientists, engineers, attorneys, market researchers, and other professionals from around the world. Shakira has been a member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and previously served as chair of its National Financial Communications section. She also served as diversity chair on the executive board for the PRSA-NJ chapter. She also previously served on the Board of Trustees for TV-36, a local public access television station serving the five New Jersey towns of Berkeley Heights, Millburn/Short Hills, New Providence, Springfield and Summit.

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