Shawn Kahle
Managing Director, Chicago
Shawn brings more than 25 years of senior-level public relations and communications expertise to our clients. Shawn offers extensive experience in multiple sectors including: Retail, non-profit, telecommunications, real estate, trade shows, hospitality, and consumer events.
Most recently, Shawn served as vice president, public relations for Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc. (MMPI), where she was responsible for all media relations for the company’s 70 trade shows and 300 consumer and special events, as well as all of their commercial properties in six major markets nationwide.
Prior to relocating to Chicago in 2006, Shawn was the president and chief executive officer of The New Detroit Science Center for four years, during which time she was the chief fund-raiser, built brand equity through community and media relations, managed the operations, staff and budget, and created a necessary infrastructure to ensure future growth.
For nearly a decade, Shawn served as the top public relations and public affairs executive of Kmart Corporation as vice president, corporate affairs. At Kmart, Shawn led all corporate communications, government affairs, community outreach, issues management, media relations, crisis and employee communications, financial communication, executive speech writing, and corporate philanthropy. Shawn’s career also includes six years as an executive speechwriter and head of employee communication at Michigan Bell/Ameritech, as well as experience as a freelance writer, fundraising advisor, crisis communications consultant, and presentation coach.
Shawn currently is on the adjunct public relations faculty at Loyola University in Chicago. Previously, Shawn was on faculty at Wayne State University in Detroit where she taught public relations, journalism, and communication classes at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.
Shawn has extensive non-profit board experience at Chambers of Commerce in both Chicago and Detroit, with March of Dimes, YMCA, the Michigan Museums Association, Michigan Retailers Association, as well as multiple other community service organizations. Currently, Shawn serves on the boards of both IABC/Chicago and PRSA Chicago, is a member of the Counselors Academy, and an accredited member of PRSA international.
Shawn is married to Robert W. Kahle, owner of Kahle Research Solutions, Inc., and lives in Chicago and Lakeside, Mich., enjoys tennis, travel, the performing and visual arts, and chasing their very happy puppy, Jamaica Spice.
*The APR Accreditation is the only professional certification program open to public relations professionals. The Accreditation program is administered by the “About the Universal Accreditation Board” Universal Accreditation Board (UAB), a consortium of nine leading industry organizations, including PRSA.