# The Wakeman Agency

> The Wakeman Agency is a founder-led strategic communications firm for nonprofits, foundations and socially responsible companies. Founded by Vanessa Wakeman in 2003, it combines public relations, messaging and language audits, crisis planning, thought-leadership development and fundraising events with a distinctive Narrative Justice framework that asks who gets to define a story, who is missing from it and what action the story enables.

- **Founded:** 2003
- **Headquarters:** White Plains, United States
- **Founders:** Vanessa Wakeman (Founder and CEO)
- **Products:** Strategic Advisory, Public Relations, The Lexicon Project®, Narrative Resilience Program, Crisis & Reputation
- **Notable:** Founded in 2003 and has remained focused on mission-driven and social-change communications for more than two decades., Generated more than 35 prominent press placements in 30 days around United Way of New York City's True Cost of Living report., Helped ChemoCars increase rides by 20% in two months and expand from one city to two after national media coverage.

## Products & services

- **Strategic Advisory** — Communications planning, positioning, field-building strategy and execution for mission-driven organizations.
- **Public Relations** — Earned media, messaging architecture, media coaching, monitoring and campaign measurement for nonprofits and social-impact organizations.
- **The Lexicon Project®** — A research-led language and narrative audit that produces organizational guidance, a glossary of terms and protocols for keeping language aligned over time.
- **Narrative Resilience Program** — Assessment and consulting designed to help organizations maintain coherent, trusted narratives amid misinformation, polarization and political pressure.
- **Crisis & Reputation** — Risk registers, crisis playbooks, messaging, media coaching, real-time counsel and after-action planning.
- **Communications Innovation Lab** — A collaborative practice combining communications, ethnographically inspired methods and neuroscience for strategic experimentation, foresight and capacity building.
- **Special Events** — Event strategy, production, fundraising design, sponsor cultivation and board coaching for mission-driven organizations.
- **Narrative Justice Project** — A training and research initiative created to address the misrepresentation and under-representation of people of color in media.
- **The Social Change Diaries** — A podcast hosted by Vanessa Wakeman about narrative, philanthropy, equity and the practice of social change.

## Achievements

- Founded in 2003 and has remained focused on mission-driven and social-change communications for more than two decades.
- Generated more than 35 prominent press placements in 30 days around United Way of New York City's True Cost of Living report.
- Helped ChemoCars increase rides by 20% in two months and expand from one city to two after national media coverage.
- Helped YWCA of the City of New York rebuild its Salute Luncheon in fewer than four months, exceed its fundraising goal by 15% and establish a model used in subsequent years.
- Won the Diversity Action Alliance award for Best DEI Communications Research with the Institute for Public Relations for The Language of Diversity.
- Received PRSA gold medals for media relations; Vanessa Wakeman was recognized by PR News, PRWeek, PRovoke Media and City & State New York.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — Season 7 of The Social Change Diaries featured Stupski Foundation CEO Glen Galaich discussing philanthropy, democracy and institutional rules.
- **2026-07** — Vanessa Wakeman appeared on the Fund the People podcast to discuss Narrative Resilience and communications infrastructure for the nonprofit sector.
- **2026** — The agency published new guidance for nonprofits and foundations on public relations, trust, field building and communications under political pressure.
- **2025** — Season 6 of The Social Change Diaries, titled Who Shapes the Story?, examined narrative power, algorithms, journalism funding and social change.

## Links

- Website: https://thewakemanagency.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/the-wakeman-agency
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/WakemanAgency
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/wakemanagency

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/the-wakeman-agency
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-20