Laura Wessner is a Vice President at Owen Blicksilver Public Relations, Inc. Primary responsibilities focus on media relations, crisis communications and executive coaching and support. Prior to joining Owen Blicksilver Public Relations, Ms. Wessner was a corporate communications consultant for Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, where she helped develop global internal and external client messaging campaigns as well as CEO op-eds. She worked at IBM for 11 years, serving as an IBM Corporate Communications Manager at headquarters. She later led IBM Software Cross Group Communications and managed PR for IBM's Pervasive Computing Group. Previously, Ms. Wessner worked for ABC-TV Network News for 11 years as senior press representative for ABC-TV News "Nightline," "PrimeTime Live," "20/20," "World News Tonight," and "Good Morning America," interacting with major media, heads of state and international news makers. She also freelanced for CBS Network News and was Director, Communications and Promotions for a nationally syndicated PBS-TV adventure series. She was Media Relations Supervisor at Burson-Marsteller, where she was the recipient of two American Women in Radio and Television Pinnacle Awards for outstanding women in the media. Ms. Wessner was a news producer at WNYW-TV, Ch. 5, New York, for the "10 O'Clock News." She began her career as an editorial assistant at Times Mirror Magazines. Ms. Wessner graduated magna cum laude with an M.A. from San Francisco State University in English, holds a B.A. from Franconia College, New Hampshire, and received a certificate from the Columbia University Business School Executive Education Course.