Portrait of Amy Shanler

Amy Shanler

Associate Professor of the Practice, Public Relations; PRLab Co-Director; Associate Chair, Department of Mass Communication, Advertising and Public Relations

About Amy Shanler

Amy Pavel Shanler has 25 years of experience managing communications activities for multiple organizations and industries, including retail, technology, business, health care, and entertainment. Amy co-directs the award-winning PRLab, the nation’s longest-running, student-led public relations agency, named “Best Training/Education Program” by PR News’s Agency Elite awards in 2018. In addition, Amy teaches courses on principles of public relations, crisis communications, and media relations.

Previously, Amy was director of public and media relations for Royal Philips in North America, overseeing media relations, brand activation, issues management, thought leadership and stakeholder relations on a global communication team spanning 15 major countries. Earlier, Amy directed PR strategies and community relations for the office products giant Staples; managed PR for Cognos, now a division of IBM; oversaw operations for the PR Club of New England; and served as senior account manager for a high-technology public relations subsidiary of FleishmanHillard.

Amy’s work has won several Bell Ringer Awards from the PR Club of New England, one PRSA Silver Anvil, and nominations from SABRE and the Creativity in Public Relations Awards (CIPRA). In 2020, she received the COM Dean’s Award for Alumni Initiatives and Innovation, recognizing exceptional and innovative contributions to COM’s mission. Amy also won the Lyndon Baines Johnson Faculty Advising Award in 2018. Amy has presented on writing, media relations, student-run agencies, and integrated communication for PRSA, PR Club, and AEJMC, and contributed an agency spotlight in Doug Swanson’s 2017 book about student-run PR agencies, Real World Career Preparation.

I love public relations. It was something family always told me I was good at, but I never knew what it meant until my first PR course in college. I ended up loving the blend of social sciences and communication, and continue to thrive in this fast-paced industry. My satisfaction comes from helping students find their joy as they discover and prepare for a career in communications.

Amy Shanler

Education

  • Bachelor of science, cum laude, in mass communications, Boston University
  • Bachelor or arts, cum laude, in psychology, Boston University
  • Master of science, with distinction, in corporate public relations, Boston University