Mission North Expands with New Public Affairs Practice to Address Complex Regulatory Challenges

Mission North, a communications agency for consequential companies, announced the launch of a public affairs practice to help its clients navigate the increasingly complex regulatory landscape at the federal, state and local levels. Led by Emily Field, who brings deep public sector and policy communications experience to Mission North, the new offering is an expansion of the firm’s corporate affairs practice. The combined practice is on pace to grow more than 3X this year amidst accelerating demand for integrated product, corporate and policy communications services across Mission North’s industry practice areas, including AI, energy and infrastructure, cybersecurity, financial services, life sciences and healthcare.

AI is accelerating the rate and pace of organizational change and reshaping stakeholder communications requirements for startups and Fortune 50 companies alike. The current agency model needs to adapt. From tech-native industry disruptors to legacy brands on a digital transformation journey, organizations face increased complexity and new pressures at all levels of government – from the executive branch, to federal, state and local. Winning in this environment requires an agile, creative and integrated approach to communications that empowers organizations to shape the future of their markets as policy change agents.

Policy and stakeholder engagement is a new competitive battlefield. Splitting corporate, product, and policy communications across multiple specialty shops — or parking it all at a global agency — creates friction and forces brands to choose between specialization and scale, said Bill Bourdon, co-CEO at Mission North. Mission North aims to offer something different: the deep subject matter expertise, creativity and agility of a boutique advisory and the breadth of specialized services of a larger agency.

Emily Field, a senior director who brings specialized experience in public sector and policy communications, will head the new practice under the leadership of Co-CEO Bill Bourdon, EVP and Head of Growth Meghan Gardner, and SVP Courtney Chennells. Emily previously worked at RH Strategic, a leading public affairs firm in Washington, D.C., where she advised federally funded research institutions, workforce development organizations and the policy communications and government affairs arms of top technology, cybersecurity, healthcare companies and education organizations.

Since January, the regulatory landscape has fundamentally changed: organizations are confronting some of the greatest reputational challenges of our time. Washington D.C., state and local governments are evolving, as are the methods in which organizations are reaching them. Engaging in this environment requires innovative approaches and new mediums to reach key stakeholders. At Mission North, Emily’s work has focused on educating the Administration, federal agencies, state and local governments, and constituents on critical innovation issues related to AI safety and security, data center energy consumption and the next generation of defense technology. This work is helping drive technology adoption, build valuable thought leadership and increase mindshare among the nation’s most powerful decisionmakers.

Mission North’s public affairs offering includes strategic services and programs to help clients get smarter and faster on the reputational stressors and storytelling opportunities amidst shifting policies and positions from the Administration, Congress and state and local governments. These include strategic counsel and reputation management advisory, targeted whisper campaigns, policy content and messaging, stakeholder engagement, legislative analysis, congressional testimony, and strategic alignment. For more information about Mission North’s public affairs and corporate reputation capabilities, visit https://www.missionnorth.com/expertise/corporate.