PRR Inc. has announced the hiring of transportation communications veteran, Cathy Gillen. Bringing more than two decades of transportation communications experience, Gillen joined PRR’s Baltimore, Maryland team led by team Traceé Strum-Gilliam, PRR’s East Coast director of transportation, to service PRR’s growing transportation practice.
The addition of Gillen strengthens PRR’s Mid-Atlantic practice which has grown significantly over the last 15 years to encompass marketing, public engagement, community and stakeholder outreach, graphic and website design, and public opinion research on national and local, high-profile infrastructure, health and environmental projects.
“Cathy has spent the last 25 years creating lifesaving educational campaigns for clients, helping to prevent crashes, injuries and fatalities on our nation’s highways,” said Colleen Gants, PRR’s co-owner and vice president of transportation. “Cathy brings a wealth of successful integrated communications to PRR and is a great addition to our Baltimore team.”
Gillen also founded The Gillen Group, a boutique public relations firm that focused on transportation safety communications. She brings extensive experience working for numerous state and federal transportation agencies, advocacy organizations, non-profits and private companies.
As a former National Highway Traffic Safety Administration official with the U.S. Department of Transportation, Cathy is proficient in behavioral safety issues, including impaired driving, occupant protection, distracted driving, and teen and senior driving.
Gillen has held public affairs positions with the Governors Highway Safety Association, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety and NHTSA. She is a current board member of the Washington Regional Alcohol Program and the Road Gang. She has received the NHTSA Administrator’s Award for Excellence and The Century Council’s (now the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility) Kevin Quinlan Traffic Safety Leader Award. She holds a bachelors of science from the University of Maryland in Journalism with a specialization in public relations and a master’s degree in Publications Design from the University of Baltimore.
