About
Public Good PR has a long track record of advancing social and environmental causes through strategic communications. The firm specializes in translating complex issues into plain language and recommending effective communications strategies to help our clients reach their goals. The Los Angeles Times, New York Times, National Public Radio, and many other national and local outlets regularly cover Public Good PR’s clients and their causes.
Nina Erlich-Williams
Principal
She/Her
nina [at] publicgoodpr.com
Nina is an expert at managing communications campaigns on behalf of broad coalitions, helping to refine messaging, coordinate diverse viewpoints and secure strategic media coverage. She has placed op-eds in dozens of outlets including the Los Angeles Times, Sacramento Bee, New Haven Register and The Hill on behalf of a wide variety of clients. Nina previously worked as a political and communications consultant in San Francisco, where she directed initiative campaigns. She holds a Master of Public Policy degree from UC Berkeley and a B.A. from Wesleyan University, and she completed a Coro Fellowship in Public Affairs.
Nina loves to cook, can and ferment the fruits and veggies that grow abundantly near her Willamette Valley home, where she lives with her husband, two teenagers, a high-maintenance dog and a bonded pair of rescue cats.
Severn Williams
Principal
He/Him
Sev [at] publicgoodpr.com
For more than 25 years, Sev has helped nonprofit organizations, issue campaigns, and progressive companies reach their goals through strategic communications. He founded Public Good PR in 2001 to provide exceptional communications outcomes efficiently and affordably. Sev played a key role in leading statewide coalitions aimed at protecting California’s most important environmental laws, promoting best practices for Property Assessed Clean Energy, and preventing Nestle from building a massive water bottling plant in the shadow of Mt. Shasta. Previously, he worked with celebrities and media executives to incorporate environmental themes into TV shows and feature films at the Los Angeles-based Environmental Media Association.
Sev is an avid tennis player and loves to garden at his Willamette Valley home, where he lives with his wife, two teenagers, a high-maintenance dog and a bonded pair of rescue cats.
Mary C. Derr
Senior Associate
She/Her
mary [at] publicgoodpr.com
Before joining the firm in 2014, Mary worked as a freelance editor, focusing on ecology and environmental education projects, and as a wildlife biologist with a specialty in ornithology. She holds an M.S. in Wildlife Conservation from the University of Minnesota, a Master of Library Science degree from Emporia State University in Kansas, and a B.S. in environmental biology from Yale University. Her happy place is Squam Lake, NH on a clear August afternoon, on the water with her two sons. Her favorite bird is currently the red-necked grebe (but ask her again next week).