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The LUCID Team
Meet LUCID’s Team of talented PR Gurus. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions, comments, or just want to say hello!
Ben Cooke
President/Founder
The creative guru of the firm, with a decade of in-the-trenches experience, Ben Cooke brings a rare cross of creative talent and business savvy to his clients, blending his background in production, PR, a keen understanding of new media and the value of social media, combined with an intrinsic sense of how to develop and implement creative business strategies which has allowed him to help his clients revitalize and re-think their businesses. Ben is also a prolific networker, with a proven ability to achieve critical strategic alliances for LUCID’s clients.
“The best of the old school, meets the best of the new”. Several years of tutelage in the methods of “old school” traditional PR combined with a more personal tech savvy approach has allowed Ben to create his own unique approach to PR, focusing on getting the job done in new trendsetting ways while building long lasting relationships. Ben firmly believes that strong relationships, creativity, and hard work are essential to delivering client messages clearly.
Ben earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication from The University of Wisconsin where he honed his story creation skills at writing, directing, and producing for television and film while producing and hosting his own radio program. After moving to Los Angeles in 2000 he broke into production for television and film. In 2003, Ben made the transition to public relations representing clients in a wide array of fields including medical practitioners, product manufacturers, web based technologies, marketing companies. Ben brings a solid understanding of what it takes to create enticing news media stories for a diverse client base. His passionate ability to work with the media to give them the stories they want has put him on speed dial with producers and journalists at such major news outlets as Fox News Channel, CNN, LA Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Entertainment Tonight, Extra, Access Hollywood, People Magazine, every television news desk in Los Angeles and the list goes on and on… One of Ben’s greatest joys of PR is getting to know a client’s business almost as well as the client does.
Cooke doubles as the “Chief Creative Officer” at LUCID and directs the overall creative vision for the Firm, and leads our weekly client strategy meetings.
Jonathan Franks
Managing Partner/Co-founder
jonathan@lucidpublicrelations.com
Jonathan Franks is a seasoned business adviser with a deep background in crisis management and strategic communications advice. His background in national politics and private practice prior to moving to California provided a wealth of experience in bet-the-company situations, including high stakes litigation, criminal and civil, as well as in mission critical political communications. Franks takes great pride in being able to quickly immerse himself in a communications emergency and come up with a plan of action that brings calm to an otherwise chaotic situation.
Jonathan Franks earned his bachelor’s degree in Government and Economics from Connecticut College in 2004, and began working out of college at a major Washington, D.C. law firm where he handled PR on high profile criminal cases. In 2006, Jonathan became Staff Assistant to House of Representatives Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, handling a wide range of communications and logistics related items. Never a fan of cold weather, Jonathan relocated to Los Angeles in February of 2008 to work at an agency in Los Angeles, where he enjoyed great success managing accounts. His clients have appeared on/in Good Morning America, The Today Show, Access Hollywood, The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, The Los Angeles Times, The Los Angeles Business Journal, Los Angeles Confidential, In Touch Magazine and The Boston Globe among others.His experience in politics left Jonathan well prepared for private practice. He prides himself on quickly learning a client’s business, and most importantly, listening to his client’s objectives, and quickly developing a strategy for meeting them.
Franks leads the crisis management and political consulting practices, as well as an area that he and LUCID Founder Ben Cooke pioneered, which addresses the unique communications needs of the drug and alcohol treatment industry.
Franks also coordinates LUCID’s efforts on the East Coast, which have expanded to include New York and Washington, D.C. operations.
Alison Shapiro
Senior Publicist
Alison@lucidpublicrelations.com
Born and raised in Northern California, Alison Shapiro always had a natural talent for writing and editing. In high school, she was the Editor in Chief of the school newspaper and continued on to earn a Masters in Communications Management from the USC Annenburg School of Communications. Her extensive experience in PR began as an account executive at BrenerZwikel& Associates, where she worked on sports oriented accounts on a national and event side level including the AVP, LA Sparks, MLB Youth Academy, PBA and Nascar.
Following her time at BZA Alison acceptedan in house position with the AVP as Public Relations Manager, where she handled all local and national press for the league.After two and a half years with the AVP,Alison landed at LUCID PR as a Senior Publicist, where she has created impactful national and local healthcare segments. Her creative prowess and comprehensive knowledge of journalism enables her to develop impressive media placements that accurately capture and showcase the clients’ message. She enjoys engaging new and current media, and especially loves creating media stories that truly help people.Alison also enjoys cooking and is a jeopardy fanatic.
As senior publicist, Alison works directly with LUCID’s partners to ensure each client’s needs are met on a daily basis, and has been instrumental in staff development.
Brian Chui
Publicist
Brian@lucidpublicrelations.com
Born and raised in Northern California, Brian Chui moved to Los Angeles in 2006. Inspired by his parents, both of whom are business owners and entrepreneurs, he earned a B.A. in Marketing and International Business at Loyola Marymount University, where he also began to explore the field of public relations through an internship here at LUCID PR. Through this experience, he immediately began to build relationships and create high-profile media placements for our clients. His success as an intern led to his current position as full-time publicist, where he has worked with some of the most visible and well-regarded media outlets in the country, such as the Associated Press and Good Morning America.
A lifelong golfer and sports fan, Brian is also skilled in creating newsworthy health and wellness stories as they pertain to athletics and fitness and has created relationships with media outlets in this field, including Men’s Health and ESPN. With an innate understanding of branding and the power of the media, Brian’s unique ability to blend business and journalism allows him to play a key role in client management and development, consistently striving to create new and exciting strategies for current and potential clients alike.
Kyle Erickson
Publicist
Originally from a small town in Illinois, Kyle Erickson moved to Los Angeles in 2010. Growing up on a farm, his parents instilled a strong work ethic and value system which he has carried with him throughout his life. He earned a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Illinois, while also studying Molecular and Cellular Biology for two years in an effort to establish a well-rounded education in the sciences. Kyle got his first taste of public relations, marketing, and social media through an internship with a communications firm and soon decided that he wanted put his education and life skills to good use in this field. His networking ability and talents were recognized by LUCID PR, and he was invited to join the team as a Publicist. Since joining LUCID, he has exceled in establishing relationships with first-rate media contacts at television, print, and online outlets, including but not limited to The TODAY Show, Good Morning America, Dr. Drew’s Lifechangers, Dr. OZ, FOX News, The Wall Street Journal, Cosmopolitan, and even at international outlets such as Sunrise, Australia’s number one morning show.
Kyle works with a wide variety of clients in the entertainment industry and medical fields, with a unique sub-specialty of drug and alcohol treatment center PR. He has an exceptional ability to create effective PR campaigns by applying his education and life experience with his extensive list of top media contacts. Kyle believes his success comes from his belief that every challenge is simply an opportunity devise new, creative solutions and that monotony should never exist in public relations. In his free time, Kyle enjoys outdoor sports such as rock climbing, hiking, and surfing as well as spending time with friends and family.
