Kelly O'Hanlon

Kelly has worked in the public relations industry for 17 years, both agency and in-house, consumer and B2B. A former BCU student herself, Kelly graduated in 2005 with a BA in Media and Communications, and in 2018 with an MA in Public Relations. She started her career at the multi award-winning WPR Agency and went on to lead its successful home and lifestyle team, before moving on over a decade later to establish a PR arm for One Black Bear before moving joining BCU as Senior Lecturer in PR within the School of Media in 2016.

Additional roles see Kelly as Marketing and Recruitment Lead for the School of Media and Co-Chair and Budget Manager for the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) Midlands Committee. Kelly is also a proud CIPR Accredited Practitioner and a regular contributor to industry debates, having been interviewed by national and local media on a variety of topics, including issues around Christmas ads, social media, celebrity profiles, brand reputation, crisis and representation.

Kelly is keen to give students real insight into the ways in which the media world is changing and how this is creating new and exciting pathways for public relations professionals. Passionate about the important role PR has to play and the creative opportunities this career provides, Kelly wants to ensure students become thinking practitioners who actively seek new ways to tell stories and will continue nurturing her contacts to provide a close link between university study and the industry in practice.