Audrey B. Young

Audrey B. Young is a senior strategic communications advisor in Holland & Knight's Washington, D.C., office. Ms. Young leads the firm's High-Stakes Communications Team and serves on the Risk and Crisis Management Team. She is a seasoned public relations and litigation communication strategist with an extensive background in public affairs and crisis communications. She is a national advisor to parties in high-stakes litigation, including mass tort litigation, junk science, false claims, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), antitrust, and settlement coercion. Ms. Young designs strategic communication initiatives for the leaders of corporations, coalitions, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), governments and high-profile individuals. Among other complex and challenging issues, she has advised the leadership of corporations and organizations around the globe involved in significant public policy disputes and/or litigation, including affordable healthcare, anti-greenwashing, national security government contracts, corporate governance, anti-trafficking, animal welfare, environmental contamination and product liability.

Ms. Young develops communication and media strategy and messaging to advance public policy reform and business-growth objectives, as well as to communicate effectively during government investigations, attacks by politically entrenched policy critics, accidents, data security incidents, assaults on corporate practices, supply chain scrutiny, jury trials and class actions. A longtime public affairs campaign strategist, she works with a wide range of science, health, safety, organized sports, higher education, national defense and data security experts throughout the world on critical issues where commentary or politics have received more attention than science and/or the facts. Working with a team of widely recognized public affairs professionals in key markets around the globe, Ms. Young navigates sensitive community-based issues and broad public policy matters that are playing out online and in the news.

During major business deals, offerings and product launches, Ms. Young mobilizes third-party experts and works with leading journalists to inform newsworthy business, trade and consumer media coverage in key markets throughout the U.S. and worldwide. Her work with the media on major issues includes interaction with journalists, editors, producers and bloggers who work for CNN, BBC, Reuters, The Associated Press, Bloomberg, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, The Guardian, Forbes, Time, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Vanity Fair, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, Politico, ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, NPR, PBS, Discovery Channel, Huffington Post and other major business, science, health, medical, higher education and legal news outlets.

Ms. Young also serves as a risk and crisis management communication authority for the Financial Services Volunteer Corps (FSVC), advising emerging economy national bank leaders on implementation of effective communications in the wake of regulatory and bank failures that have undermined public confidence in the financial sector.

In addition, Ms. Young is National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)-trained and certified for managing communications during an accident or incident.