Yolanda
H. Caraway
President & CEO
Yolanda H.
Caraway is a nationally recognized public relations strategist
who is renowned for her more than 20 years of policy-making,
political management and public relations work in government to
nonprofits to the private sector.
Yolanda
founded The Caraway Group, Inc, in 1987 and has since counseled
numerous Fortune 500 companies, organizations, agencies and
high-profile individuals in every aspect of communications
strategy.
She has
worked with major U.S. companies such as Microsoft, MGM Mirage,
Bristol Myers Squibb, MCI, Mitsubishi and Texaco. She has also
counseled government and nonprofit agencies such as the
Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, the Congressional
Hispanic Caucus Institute, U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Center for
American Progress, NATO 50th Anniversary Summit, and
Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Foundation Project.
Often sought
to coordinate major undertakings for the Democratic Party, as
well as private organizations, her list of professional
achievements showcase her years of organizational ability and
management expertise. She is often the senior level executive
called upon to coordinate many diverse party efforts. Some of
her major undertakings include: Deputy Assistant Political
Director for the Mondale/Ferraro ‘84 General Election; Director
of the DNC’s Fairness Commission (1985); Chief of Staff of the
National Rainbow Coalition, 1988 Jesse Jackson for President
Campaign, and Deputy Chair of the Democratic National Committee
under Chairman Paul G. Kirk.
Yolanda
played a pivotal role in the historic election of the late
Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown to Chair the Democratic National
Committee in 1989. Because of her political expertise and
institutional knowledge of the DNC, Chairman Brown selected her
to serve as his Senior Advisor at Party Headquarters. She
assumed many responsibilities during her tenure; chief among
them was management of the site selection process for the 1992
Democratic National Convention.
In 1990,
Yolanda served as the National Coordinator for the first Mayor’s
Urban Summit. Hosted by then-mayor David N. Dinkins of New York
City, the Summit was deemed a resounding success and has served
as a model for subsequent mayoral summits.
In November
of 1992, after one of the most successful Democratic Conventions
in history and the subsequent election of President Bill
Clinton, then-Chairman Ron Brown once again called upon Yolanda
to serve as his Deputy for the President Inaugural Committee.
In 1998,
Yolanda was appointed Vice Chair of the 2000 Site Advisory
Committee and later served as executive producer of Democracy
Live! 2000, a series of live, “talk-show” type broadcasts
designed to reach cable and Internet audiences during the 2000
Democratic National Convention.
Yolanda has
served as an elected member-at-large of the DNC since 1988, and
in addition, has been a member of the DNC’s Standing Committee
on Rules and is currently on the Standing Committee on
Resolutions.