Leadership
Bradley Public Relations is guided, overseen and managed by some of the top public relations professionals and professors in the field. Our unique bridge between the professional and academic worlds means that our workers bring fresh, creative ideas to the table while practicing according to time-honored theories in the field.
JEFF DUBOIS – Manager, Bradley Public Relations Agency
Jeff DuBois comes to BYU from the agency public relations community where he served as media/analyst relations specialist for clients in the wireless/telecom industry. Jeff provided senior counsel and PR strategy implementation for such clients as IBM Pervasive Computing, IBM Microelectronics, LG Electronics, various wireless and mobile computing companies including start-up AirPrime, Inc., and brand transition support for MediaOne and AT&T Broadband.
DuBois teaches the writing and production class in the public relations sequence at BYU. He is a licensed principal broker in the state of Utah and owns a real estate brokerage in Salt Lake City. He holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from BYU (1997), has been married to Bonnie DuBois for ten years, and is the father of four children.
BRAD RAWLINS – Associate Professor, Department Chair
Brad Rawlins received the 2003 Pathfinder Award from the Institute of Public Relations for his research on public relations ethics. His current research is in organizational transparency, community relations, and moral decision making. He teaches in the public relations sequence and core courses such as the introductory course, research methods, and ethics.
Prior to teaching at BYU, Rawlins taught at James Madison University, Walker College, and the University of Alabama.
SUSAN WALTON – Associate Professor, Associate Department Chair
Susan Walton, M.A., APR, comes to BYU with nearly 20 years of corporate communication and public relations experience in Fortune 500 companies. After holding a full-time, tenure-track assistant professorship in English and professional communications at Monroe Community College, State University of New York, she joined the Dow Chemical Company. While at Dow, Walton held a variety of communications positions, including a two-year assignment in Switzerland as the communications leader for Dow’s plastics businesses.
Walton subsequently joined Boise Cascade Corporation as the company’s director of corporate communications, where she oversaw the company’s rebranding efforts and directed the company-wide communications for Boise’s acquisition of OfficeMax. Most recently, she served as director of Corporate Communication at Harley-Davidson Motor Company.
Walton researches, writes and lectures on a variety of topics including improving relationships between PR and the media; employee engagement; corporate blogging; and PR ethics. Walton serves as faculty advisor to BYU’s chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America, and participates on three national committees and task forces of the Public Relations Society of America, including the Research Task Force, which she currently chairs. She was recently elected as a PRSA national delegate at large for 2010.
Walton received a bachelor’s degree in independent studies and a master’s degree in English from BYU.
LAURIE WILSON – Professor, former Department Chair
Laurie J. Wilson, APR, Fellow PRSA, is a professor and former chair of the Department of Communications. The former chair of the public relations emphasis, Wilson earned her Ph.D. in international relations with specialties in international communication and international development from The American University in Washington, D.C. (1988).
Wilson earned both an M.A. in mass communication (1982) and a B.A. in public relations and organizational communications (1980) from BYU.
Wilson consults widely for public, private, and nonprofit organizations and associations in strategic communication planning, media relations, and community relations. She participated in the work of the Commission on Public Relations Education, chairing the undergraduate curriculum committee and writing that portion of the commission’s report. Wilson continues to serve on the commission as a representative of PRSA and has also served on PRSA’s strategic planning committee, chaired by the president of the organization. She was chair of the Educator’s Academy in 2003 and continues to serve on their executive council. She has served on PRSA’s Educational Affairs Committee (1996-1998) and as the co-chair of that committee (2003-2004) and co-chair of PRSA’s Task Force on Education. In 2001, she was named the Outstanding Educator by the national PRSA organization and has been recognized with BYU’s Maeser Distinguished Teaching Award. Wilson was the national PRSSA faculty advisor (1992-1996), and has been faculty advisor to BYU’s award-winning Bradley Chapter of PRSSA for 10 years. She is also active in AEJMC’s PR division and is a regular participant in ACEJMC site teams for the accreditation of communications programs. She also serves on the Executive Board of the United Way of Utah County.
ROBERT WAKEFIELD – Associate Professor
Robert Wakefield is a consultant, author and researcher, emphasizing cross-cultural effects on reputation in multinational organizations. He has coordinated communication or presented on the topic in 25 countries. Before joining the faculty of the Department of Communications at BYU, he was director of University Communications for BYU-Hawaii from 2001-2005. He also directed global public affairs for Nu Skin International, a direct selling firm that generates two-thirds of its $1 billion-plus revenues outside the United States.
Wakefield has a Ph.D. in international public relations from the University of Maryland and is accredited by the Public Relations Society of America. He has been chair of PRSA’s International Section and served as a consultant to PRSA’s Global Initiatives Committee. He has been married to Clydie Wonnacott Wakefield for 24 years and is the father of two boys.
Kenneth Plowman – Associate Professor
Specializing in strategic management and conflict resolution in public relations, Ken Plowman earned a doctorate in journalism from the University of Maryland and is now an a
ssociate professor of communications at BYU. Prior to Maryland, Plowman spent 16 years in the field of public relations. About half that time was spent on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. He then lobbied at the state, local and federal levels for a government affairs agency, specializing in environmental issues. Plowman’s career in public relations has followed a dual track, the other as a now-retired public affairs officer for the U.S. Army Reserve. He has served as a commander of two public affairs detachments and recently returned from a year in Iraq serving in various public affairs capacities.
He teaches courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels, including public relations writing, campaigns, persuasion, communication management, integrated communications, and negotiation. In addition to his doctorate, Plowman has a master’s degree in public administration from George Washington University and a master’s in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College. He is the head of the public relations emphasis for the Department of Communications and is the former head of the Public Relations Division for the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. He is an accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America.