Emily Kaplan Petterson is the founder of Portland, Oregon-based, EKP Media. An established public relations practitioner, Emily has more than 12 years of experience in public policy, media management and strategic communications.

Most recently, Emily worked as a Director of Public Relations at apparel and footwear giant, Columbia Sportswear Company. During her seven year term at Columbia, Emily provided direction for the integration of all corporate, category, product, event and philanthropic endeavors to the media, industry, consumer and worldwide employees. During Emily's tenure, Columbia enjoyed features on the Today Show, the CBS Early Show, CNBC, the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Times, BusinessWeek, Forbes and hundreds of apparel and footwear trade and consumer oriented media.

Prior to Columbia, Emily served as a Legislative Aide to an Oregon State Senator and a PR Coordinator at Metro, a Portland regional land-use and transportation planning agency. In both positions, she provided media relations, community outreach and strategic communication support.

In addition to the above experience, Emily has provided 10 years of PR consulting support to a prominent winery, Panther Creek Cellars. Emily through all of her experience has a proven track record of producing results with effective public relations programs that support brand marketing strategies. With extensive experience in managing media relations, orchestrating special events and developing comprehensive collateral materials, Emily is a well-regarded industry performer. Clients benefit from the depth of experience, strong commitment to service and professional integrity.

Emily has a Masters Degree in Public Policy from the University of Washington and a Bachelors Degree in International Affairs at Lewis & Clark College. She is married and has two kids.