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Call them the “shuns:” communicators are routinely offered opportunities for certification, accreditation, and education (including everything from advanced degrees to continuing education credits). Which should you consider? What value can they add to your job and career? Four IABC Fellows explore the “shuns” and discuss IABC’s new certification program.

Panel participants include:

• Barbara Puffer, MA, ABC — Barbara owns Puffer Public Relations Strategies. Previously, she was Corporate Communications Manager at Barnes Group for 13 years; her communications management career spans 25 years, including work in banking, insurance, and telecommunications organizations. She is an Associate Professor at the University of Maryland University College.

• Mark Schumann, ABC — Mark is the founder and principal of re-communicate. Most recently, he was VP of marketing and communications for Western Connecticut Health Network. He served as IABC’s chair in 2009-2010 and is currently IABC’s liaison to the Global Alliance. He was a managing principal and global communication practice leader at Towers Perrin for 26 years.

• Jennifer Wah, MC, ABC — Since founding her storytelling and communications firm Forwords Communication Inc. in 1997, Jennifer has worked with clients to deliver ideas, plans, words and results. The company operates as a strategic alliance of hand-picked professionals; all renowned for work in their areas of specialization. This approach means the right team is assembled for each project; no more, no less.   With more than two dozen awards for strategic communications, writing and consulting, Jennifer is recognized as a storyteller and strategist. She has worked in industries from healthcare to financial services to academia, and is passionate about the opportunity for stories to inspire actions and reactions within organizations.In 2013, Jennifer was named Associate Faculty of Royal Roads University, and in this capacity, continues to teach, coach and mentor others with an interest in business communication.

• Brad Whitworth, ABC — Brad is a senior communication and marketing manager at Cisco Systems as well as a communication coach at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Brad joined Cisco in 2007, before which he ran enterprise communication for the California State Auto Association and internal communication for PeopleSoft. He spent several years in various communciation roles at Hewlett-Packard, and was IABC’s 1989-1990 chair.

About Shel Holtz

Shel Holtz, ABC (Accredited Business Communicator), is director of Internal Communications at Webcor, a commercial general contractor headquartered in San Francisco. Before joining Webcor, Shel spent 21 years as principal of Holtz Communication + Technology. In addition to integrating technology into communications strategies, his expertise includes strategic communications planning, change management, organizational culture, business initiatives and communications research. Full bio