Craig Shirley

Craig Shirley is President and CEO of Shirley & Banister Public Affairs, the public relations, marketing, and government affairs firm he originally founded in 1984.

Biography

A graduate of Springfield College, Mr. Shirley’s fields of specialization include public relations, crisis management, marketing, and government affairs, political consulting and government affairs. He was honored as the school’s “Outstanding Alumnus of 2005.”

Mr. Shirley is the author of Reagan’s Revolution: The Untold Story of the Campaign That Started It All. The book, which analyzes Ronald Reagan’s pivotal 1976 presidential campaign, was released by Nelson Current Publishing in January 2005.^[1]

In 1987, Mr. Shirley and David Keene formed Keene, Shirley & Associates, Inc. During the five year association, ran an advertising and public relations campaign supporting President Bush and Operation Desert Storm, represented the Embassy of the State of Kuwait, and was placed in charge of public relations for an international conference on democracy hosted in Prague by President Václav Havel of then Czechoslovakia. In 1992, Mr. Shirley re-opened Craig Shirley & Associates. In addition to working with political, corporate, and trade concerns, Mr. Shirley served as an informal advisor to the 1996 campaign of Republican Presidential nominee Sen. Bob Dole. In 2000, the firm provided in-kind support to the presidential campaign of then Governor George W. Bush as well as the Florida recount. In that same year, Craig Shirley & Associates became Shirley & Banister Public Affairs with the promotion of Diana Banister from vice president to partner.

Mr. Shirley’s past efforts include the Fund for America’s Future, the political action committee of Vice President George Bush. Mr. Shirley worked with the future President George W. Bush, organizing conservative support for his father’s 1988 presidential bid.

During the 1984 campaign, he was the Director of Communications for the National Conservative Political Action Committee, on behalf of President Reagan’s re-election.

As Communications Advisor to the Republican National Committee in 1982, Mr. Shirley advised dozens of campaigns and state committees on public relations, political advertising, and campaign strategy.

In 1981, Shirley served as an account executive with a New York advertising firm, where he managed and supervised agency programs for the New York Racing Association and other clients.

In 1980, he directed the Fund for a Conservative Majority’s $750,000 independent expenditure campaign in support of Ronald Reagan’s 1980 presidential campaign. In 1978, Mr. Shirley served as press secretary to U.S. Senator Gordon Humphrey on his upset win in New Hampshire and came with the Senator to Washington, D.C. to serve on his Capitol Hill staff.

Mr. Shirley is a commentator and speaker on politics, and has appeared on C-SPAN, CNBC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, Fox News Channel and others. Mr. Shirley also lectures at various seminars and has contributed articles to publications including The Washington Post,^[2] The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Times, USA Weekend, Campaigns and Elections, The Weekly Standard, Conservative Digest, and Insight on the News. He currently holds membership on the boards of Campaigns & Elections magazine, the United Seniors Association, the Northern Virginia Youth Lacrosse League, and the Fort Hunt Youth Athletic Association. He has also edited two books: Are You a Conservative or a Liberal? by Vic Kamber and Brad O’Leary, and Coaching Youth Lacrosse, published by the Lacrosse Foundation.

Craig Shirley resides in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife, Zorine, and their four children.

He is also known for having coined the phrase, "luck is the residue of hard work,"^{[dubious – discuss]} a play on John Milton's maxim, "luck is the residue of opportunity and design."

References

1. ^ "Reagan's Revolution: By Craig Shirley". Thomas Nelson, Inc.. http://www.reagansrevolution.com/contents/shirley/. Retrieved 6 December 2010. 
2. ^ Shirley, Craig (April 22, 2006). "How the GOP Lost Its Way". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/21/AR2006042101593.html. Retrieved 6 December 2010. 

External links

• [1] Biography at the official website for his public relations firm.

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