Shelley is the co-founder of Spector & Associates and has been named one of the “most innovative” professionals in the public relations field. She has produced award-winning campaigns for some of the world’s top corporations, including AT&T, Bayer, ITT Corporation, Forest Laboratories, Harris Corporation, and Philips.   

Before joining Nineteen88 Strategies as a senior strageist, Shelley co-founded Spector & Associates in 1991. Within the first year of operation, she was awarded the Gold Creativity in Public Relations Award for her client Embassy Suites. Since then, her firm has won more than 50 national awards for their work with a variety of Fortune 100 companies. In June 2018, she was presented with the Phil Dorf Award for Leadership and Mentorship at the PRSA New York Big Apple Awards.

Prior to co-founding her own firm, Shelley worked in financial relations for Hill & Knowlton, RuderFinn, and Lobsenz-Stevens. She also served as press director for the American Stock Exchange.  

In 1997, Shelley co-founded the Museum of Public Relations, the world’s first and only museum dedicated to preserving and exhibiting the history of the public relations field. It is a 501(c)(3) educational institution, chartered by the New York State Department of Education.

Ms. Spector serves as an adjunct professor for the Corporate Communications graduate programs at both Baruch College and NYU. She is a frequent guest speaker at academic, industry, and corporate events, talking on subjects ranging from “PR in History” to “The Diversity Imperative,” to “Developing Big Ideas.” She is author of “Public Relations for the Public Good” and co-editor of the upcoming book, “Diverse Voices: Profiles in Leadership” with the PRSA Foundation.

A graduate of the Journalism program at the University of Rhode Island, Shelley earned an M.S. in Radio/TV/Film at the Newhouse School, Syracuse University.