Mark Weaver

president and founder, Communications Counsel Inc.

Mark Weaver is the founder of Communications Counsel Inc. in Columbus, Ohio. He is a practicing attorney and national communications advisor with two decades of crisis management experience, having counseled clients in 16 states. The Columbus Dispatch called Mr. Weaver "one of the most powerful figures in state government and Statehouse politics." The Cincinnati Enquirer agreed, describing him as "a top professional," and "a veteran strategist." Prior to founding the firm, Mr. Weaver was the Deputy Attorney General of Ohio, where he was responsible for crisis management, strategic counseling and all communications for an agency with 1,400 employees and 50,000 cases. He also served on the Attorney General's four-member Executive Staff and acted as a senior policy advisor and chief spokesman. While there, he co-authored a National Association of Attorneys General Management Study on communications management in five different state attorney general offices. His past professional assignments include serving as the Assistant Director of Public Affairs for the U.S Department of Justice and Vice President of a national communications firm in Washington, D.C. Mr. Weaver has provided media advice to thousands of government officials. He's written hundreds of PR plans, conducted media coaching, and supervised countless polls and focus groups. In 1993, he wrote, produced, and directed the TV special "An American Story," hosted by former President Ronald Reagan. Mr. Weaver regularly lectures around the country for such clients as the Jo Ann Davidson Leadership Institute, the Ann Anstine Excellence in Public Service Series, the John Glenn School of Public Affairs, Adelphia Cable, the National Association of State Retirement Administrators, the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police, the American Bar Association, the National Fraternal Order of Police, the Ohio Rural Electric Coop, Ohio University, and the School of Government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Mr. Weaver is an experienced First Amendment and Election Law attorney who also teaches Election Law at the University of Akron and Media Law at The Ohio State University College of Law. Early in his career, Mr. Weaver was a Communications Director with the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He also ran a Philadelphia-area communications consulting firm serving more than 100 clients. Mr. Weaver earned Bachelors and Masters degrees in Public Administration from Kutztown University in Pennsylvania, where he has received more alumni awards than any other graduate of that institution. As an undergraduate, he served a Fellowship with the Center for the Study of the Presidency. He earned his Juris Doctorate from the Delaware Law School of Widener University, where he graduated in the top 15% of his class. In 2004, the University of Akron awarded Mr. Weaver an honorary degree in Applied Politics. He has been interviewed by every major national media outlet including 60 Minutes, Nightline, ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, MSNBC, CNN, FOX News, NPR, BBC, USA Today, Newsweek, Time, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, and Reuters. He was recognized in both "Who's Who in American Law" and "Who's Who in American Politics." He is also a part-time felony-level prosecutor in Southern Ohio, where he often prosecutes child sex abuse cases. Mr. Weaver and his wife Lori reside in Central Ohio, where they are raising their two children.