A native of New York City, “media capital of the world”, I might have been expected to be communications savvy at a relatively early age. Didn’t happen though, until as a freshman at Manhattan College, having been cut early in tryouts for the baseball team, I discovered the campus newspaper. Flash! Progressed to editor-in-chief, which later was my main ticket to an employed-internship at McGraw-Hill Publishing Company’s business magazine division. An editor of a succession of departments on a national oil magazine — refining, marketing, etc.(you can surprise yourself as to how fast you can learn a new field), I also found that as a 25-year-old I could write an occasional editorial (to inform, educate, advise top executives of the international oil industry !). This led to my first job in public relations …

• Hired as jack-of-all-trades writer for a small New York public relations firm (1 year)
• Moved to a mid-size advertising-public relations firm and rose to director of public relations department with 40 employees (11 years)
• Established Paluszek & Leslie Associates in 1971, specializing in corporate social responsibility. Wrote two CSR books. (11 years)
• P&LA, with offices in New York and Washington D.C, was purchased by Ketchum in 1982. Manager of New York, Washington D.C. offices (3 years)
• Active for years in The Public Relations Society of America, was elected national president in 1989
• Serve in several leadership positions in associations devoted to public relations education and international practice (current)
• Senior Counsel at Ketchum, available to help serve clients in CSR and related areas (current)