David Perry
Principal

During the past 25 years, David Perry has generated extensive media coverage – print, online, TV and radio – for a variety of clients and introduced many to the Internet, Web strategies and basic online communications. As a writer he has contributed to a number of national publications and written the textbook, “The Media How-To Guide for Nonprofits (1991, Media Alliance). Additionally, Perry has written, designed and produced a number of newsletters. From scratch, Perry developed an original and international media database with more than 10,000 contacts. His clients have been featured on local, national and international media.

Originally from Richmond, Virginia, Perry moved to San Francisco is 1987 to take the job of Advertising Manager for San Francisco Opera (1987- 1990). After three years as a communications consultant, specializing in art-related and public sector clients, Perry was hired to help launch the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, where he served as Communications Director (1993 – 1997). After a year (1997 – 1998) setting up the communications office for The San Francisco Partnership at the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, Perry went on a “working sabbatical” as editor for the daily newspaper aboard the cruise ship Crystal Symphony . During that time, he circumnavigated the globe two-and-a-half times by ship, and visited 45 countries. Returning in mid-1999, Perry re-established David Perry & Associates, Inc.

Currently his clients include the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives, Frameline, Smuin Ballet, The Black Choreographers Festival, the Museum of Craft and Folk Art, LightHouse for the Blind, The Flood Building, the Northern California Cancer Center, Tangerine Restaurant, Brandy Ho's Restaurant, the Wax Museum at Fisherman's Wharf, Children's Book Press, the National Liberty Ship Memorial/ S.S. Jeremiah O'Brien and the Union Square Business Improvement District among others. Also, Perry recently represented two acclaimed Bay Area nonprofits: Chabot Space & Science Center and Zeum. In the summer of 2005, he represented the landmark “Maori Art Meets America” exhibit which had its American premiere at San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts – garnering unprecedented international media attention. He also represented the 2005 summer season for San Francisco Opera and 2006 was honored with the Business Arts Council Award for “Exceptional For-Profit Arts Related Business.”

In early 2007, Perry launched the Public Art Component of San Francisco's extensive new “T-Line” Muni service, garnering considerable media and public attention. Also, on behalf of Mayor Gavin Newsom's office Perry recently concluded public / media outreach efforts around the HomeForHalloween public safety campaign. Envisioned to communicate the message that the annual Halloween event in San Francisco's Castro District had been cancelled and to dissuade large crowds from attending anyway, the HomeForHalloween campaign not only delivered that message but encouraged Bay Area residents to find Halloween events in their “Home” neighborhoods. Based on media outreach, public/private partnerships, extensive coordination efforts with the Mayor's Office, SFPD, other City Hall offices, BART/ MUNI and others, a proactive poster/flyer campaign and a dedicated website at www.homeforhalloween.com (which on Halloween day alone received more than 130,000 web hits) the efforts were incredibly successful: less than 2,000 people arrived in Castro, vs. the 100,000+ attendees last year and in years past. Currently, Perry is again working with the City and County of San Francisco, having conceptualized and created the “Sustainable Journey” Campaign www.sustainablejourney.org whereby a pool of citizens was identified to have the distinct honor of running with the Olympic Torch when it is in San Francisco en route to the Beijing Olympic Games. Additionally, Perry and his team are coordinating the media and public relations efforts for the Torch Relay on April 9, 2008 in San Francisco.

At the invitation of the San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau and Grants for the Arts, Perry produced and presented a popular series of PR / Media Relations trainings for the arts community in 2005. The popularity of these trainings led him to replicate them for other interested organizations and provide a free podcast of the trainings online. In addition, Perry is a frequent lecturer on the ethics of public relations, and how technology is changing the media and communications landscape. Most recently, Perry has become a regular guest on the Bay Area TV show San Francisco / unscripted discussing the City's cultural landscape and sits on the Board of Directors for the Northern California Chapter of NATAS (The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences), producers of the “Emmy” Awards – a volunteer commitment that not only allows him to be of service to his clients through relationships with the TV industry, but also, allows him to keep his contacts up-to-date with leading-edge media.

Over the years, Perry has also represented and worked with a number of LGBT clients. One of the original co-founders of “Under One Roof” — the world's first store for AIDS relief — Perry also served for several years on the Boards of the SF Steering Committee for the Human Rights Campaign; the Academy of Friends; and Visual Aid. In the last 1980s, Perry was one of the founders of “BAMGALS” (“Bay Area Media Gays and Lesbians”) the direct forebear of the NLGJA (the National Lesbian and Gay Journalist Association) of which he is currently a member. Since the rise of the HIV / AIDS pandemic he has continued to work with a variety of ASOs including The NAMES Project; STOP AIDS Project; AIDS Emergency Fund; and Project Inform.

A firm believer in the philosophy that there are only two forces in the world – fear and open communication – Perry tries to mirror this concept by fostering dialogue between his clients, the media, and the community at large. A bonafide “ship nut”, Perry is a regular lecturer on maritime history for major cruise lines and is working on a book about his travel experiences and another about communications philosophy and tactics. Perry and his husband of nine years, Alfredo Casuso, make their home in San Francisco and the Russian River.