Meet Charisse Witherspoon: PCC President 2004-05

The PCC Board of Directors unanimously elected Charisse Witherspoon as president of the Publicity Club of Chicago for the 2004-2005 club year – the first African-American president in PCC’s 63-year history. Charisse is president and CEO of Witherspoon Marketing Group, Inc., the solutions-based marketing and management consulting business she started in 1993 in Chicago's South Loop.

Her firm's national and local client experience includes Suntory Water Group, Sears, and Ace Hardware Corporation. Local client experience ranges from the City of Chicago to the Chicago Academy of Sciences to heading public relations work on behalf of WBEZ Radio and the Chicago Defender. In addition, Charisse has developed and delivered a series of workshops for private- and public-sector managers in 17 states.

One of Charisse's personal accomplishments was coordinating for three years America's second largest parade (Bud Billiken), as well as public relations and publicity for the world's largest black music convention. Charisse hosted the "Business Building Business" weekly interview program airing on WGCI-AM for more than a decade and turned it into an award-winning initiative when she also became producer.

Other interests range from memberships in civic and professional organizations to donating time as a youth church leader at St. Philip Evangelical Lutheran Church. Witherspoon also is a member of the International Association of Business Communicators and the City Club of Chicago.

She is a two-time recipient of the PCC Golden Trumpet award. Chicago's NBC network affiliate WMAQ-TV saluted Charisse as part of a public service series recognizing "successful business women." Charisse holds a journalism degree from Northern Illinois University and is a nationally certified member of the American Seminar Leaders (ASLA).