William Parkhurst
Parkhurst Communications president William Parkhurst began broadcasting in the 1960’s covering Presidential candidates in his home state of New Hampshire. Times being what they were, he also found himself in the middle of many campus demonstrations. “Holding a microphone while being stampeded into a line of snarling police dogs was a common experience for college radio people in those days,” he says, “and not something you easily forget. A German shepherd trained to subdue you with his teeth does not care if you have a press pass.”
After college and service aboard a Navy destroyer, Bill returned to radio and television news, covering presidential politics and general assignments for a variety of New England television and radio stations before he moved to New York to pursue a career in book publishing. At Simon and Schuster, the Putnam Publishing Group and Avon books, he produced radio and television commercials and directed hundreds of publicity campaigns as Director of Publicity before starting Parkhurst Communications in 1981. For seven years he hosted “Night Talk” on New York’s number one talk station, WOR, and was host of the nationally syndicated cable author interview program, “Book Break.”
He is the author of three books, How To Get Publicity, The Eloquent Executive and True Detectives, all published by Random House, as well as articles in many major magazines and newspapers. Mr. Parkhurst’s work has been featured on National Public Radio, CNN, “Good Morning America,” “Today” and “Oprah” as well as in articles in most major newspapers including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe and The Chicago Tribune.
Speech training clients include Time, American Banker, Esquire, Time Out New York, Spa Finder, People, New York Magazine, Goldman Sachs, Xerox Corporation, IBM, General Foods, Mennen, Kraft and the United Nations. In media training he has worked with over 1500 authors including four Nobel Laureates and over fifty Pulitzer Prize winners.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of New Hampshire and a Master of Science in Social Work from Columbia University.
Nanette DeWester
Nanette DeWester brings to Parkhurst Communications 10 years' experience coaching Media, and Presentations skills. She has prepared dozens of high profile clients for national television and radio appearances such as: “The Today Show,” “Good Morning America,” “The Daily Show,” and “Charlie Rose.”
Her clients include Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Jhumpa Lahiri, real estate entrepreneur Barbara Corcoran, Curves CEO Gary Heavin, New York Times Economist Paul Krugman, and #1 bestselling author Sue Monk Kid. Additionally, She has also worked with leading communications skills consultancies both as trainer and as course developer.
Her clients range from Fortune 500 Senior Executives to non-profit support staff in companies such as Amgen, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Google, Barclays Capital, Bank of America, Citigroup, The Federal Reserve, Campbells, Pearson Education, and UNICEF. Nanette's training strategy is to focus on an engaging style of communication that emphasizes the speakers' connection to their topic. This enables her clients to consistently deliver convincing messages that are heard.
Of special interest to Nanette is her current work with Storytelling and Leadership, and, how a skillfully told narrative creates a compelling reason to believe both the message and the mission.
Nanette began training after a career as a professional actor performing on stage and television, and as an improviser with such companies as Second City. She then worked with Mt. Sinai’s Morchand Center teaching communication skills to physicians and medical students. Afterward, she developed a unique training approach that’s well suited for all “improvised” public speaking formats. She continues her work in improv and creativity with her corporate clients by specializing in coursework that fosters innovative thinking and the use of creativity for developing new products, ideas, and solutions.
Nanette holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Indiana University.
Gail Parker
Gail Parker has over 15 years experience facilitating group workshops and coaching professionals one on one to provide more impactful communications. She has also helped authors, CEO’s and other senior management prepare for their national media appearances.
Among Gail’s many executives and partners at Fortune 500 and AmLaw 100 firms are JP Morgan Chase, CITI, Price Waterhouse-Coopers, Fisher Scientific, Avon, KPMG, Zurich Insurance, Goldman Sachs, Disney, Kimberly Clark, Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy, LLP, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Dewey & LeBoeuf, LLP.
She also worked in sales for Guerlain and taught theatre at New York University. Gail pioneered and facilitated a workshop in interview skills that became required curriculum for the New York Job Security Division of Hospital Union 1199. She also developed and taught the seminar for the New York Labor Division and not-for-profit organizations throughout the state of New York. At Parkhurst Communications, she was instrumental in the fusion of improvisation and presentation skills that resulted in our Speak Without Fear! Program.
Gail has been featured in articles in The New York Times, Glamour magazine and the Wall Street Journal.
Danielle Elleman
Danielle Elleman joined Parkhurst Communications in 2005 where she has worked with many successful authors including Lincoln biographer and Time magazine cover story journalist Joshua Wolf Shenk; Environmental Bad Boys authors Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger, authors of The Death of Environmentalism; and Academy Award nominated director Dana Adam Shapiro, author of The Every Boy and winner of the 2010 Tribecca Film Festival’s Best New York Film award for his highly-acclaimed film, Monogamy.
Danielle also worked with our Media Skills team with The Women's Refugee Commission and has extensive training experience with major non-profit corporations. A native of Kansas, she holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wichita State University and a Master of Science in Social Work from Columbia University.
