At Burness Communications, we provide public relations support to nonprofit organizations in the United States and abroad. Our offices are located outside Washington, DC in Bethesda, Maryland. We seek to empower people with information that can be used to improve the human condition and advance social change. We do so recognizing that that caring for others starts with modeling our own caring environment -- one where all employees are valued and respected for their particular talents and contributions, welcomed into the process of company decisions, and, above all, supported in their personal and professional dreams. To that end, we are very proud to have been selected -- for the second time in a row -- as one of Washingtonian Magazine's Great Places to Work in the DC area.

Services Our Media Relations, Strategic Communications Counsel, Communications Training, Global Communications, and Forums on Public Issues services are all designed to help our clients effectively engage the media and other key audiences. Our Public Policy services enable foundations and nonprofits to connect with their policymakers on Capitol Hill. And our Writing and Publications services are geared toward helping our clients communicate via a variety of written materials.

Focus Areas Our areas of expertise span a wide spectrum of health-related topic areas. We specialize in Addiction Prevention and Treatment, Children and Families, Health Policy, Medical Ethics, Public Health, and Vulnerable Populations. Our focus areas with an international emphasis include Agriculture and the Environment and Global Health and Science. We also specialize in Washington, D.C-area Nonprofits.

Our Impact We take it as a given that sound strategy and tactical successes, such as media coverage, publications, and meetings with policymakers are crucial but ultimately are only a means to an end. Our goal, our "end," mirroring that of our clients, is affecting social change -- the actual implementation of new ideas and recommendations stemming from research that improves people’s lives. Of course, communications is only one element in the quest for impact, and its role in change depends largely on the effectiveness and innovation of the programs it supports. Sometimes, we generate the newsclips, share information on the Web, and produce the documents that generate widespread attention. But for reasons beyond our control, palpable change will be months or even years away.

Other times, it all comes together, and we can credibly link our efforts to specific changes.
 

• The research we publicized and the policy counsel we offered that led to dramatic new leadership from the National Association of Attorneys General around care at the end of life;
• The on-camera message and media training and outreach to journalists the world over that led to favorable media attention on every continent for a complicated and nuanced malaria vaccine research enterprise -- and, ultimately, to substantial new funding for that research project;
• The ongoing work across our skill sets that played a very direct role in broader acceptance of consumer direction for disabled people, mostly elderly, under a national program called Cash and Counseling;
• Our early work with the Health Care for the Homeless and AIDS Health Services projects across the country that helped lead to federal legislation authorizing expansion of these demonstration projects nationally; and
• The continuing advice and coordination we provide to national and local public health organizations that will, for the first time in history, help them clearly define what local health departments do and the important roles they play in America’s overall health and security.

Impact is difficult to quantify, and it usually requires some combination of excellence in content, superb execution, and luck. We have been and remain fortunate to work with some of the most respected minds in health, science, and social policy, and know that the credit for any impact we have starts with them and their work.