Parke, Isobel

Isobel Parke (1926–) is president and senior counsel of Jackson, Jackson, & Wagner, one of the most well-known consulting firms in the United States. Parke stands out in public relations history for her wide breadth of contributions to the field since the 1960s. She has helped to increase professionalism of the practice and champion undergraduate public relations education. In particular, she has contributed to the development of modern-day strategic environmental communication and coalition building. Her ability to balance her commitments to public relations as a democratic process, to educational issues, and to environmental concerns makes her a role model for today's young women entering public relations. “Even though we didn't consider ourselves feminists, per se, we wanted equal opportunity,” Parke said of women like herself working in public relations 35 years ago, “and we were prepared to work for that” (Parke, personal communication, 2003).

Parke's first foray into the practice of public relations occurred when she was in her early thirties and had the opportunity to help organize and promote the New England Pavilion at the 1964 World's Fair in New York. She had met Miriam Jackson and Patrick Jackson through mutual acquaintances and began to work for Jackson, Jackson, & Wagner, which was responsible for organizing and marketing the exhibition. She helped collect objects that represented New England from museums and then promoted the items through the media to attract fair attendees. She learned to work with media through trial and error. (She once sent a Boston Globe reporter a promotional photograph in a large, thick, blue paper “mat” frame in response to him requesting a “matte” finished photograph.)

After the Fair, Parke moved with Patrick Jackson and Miriam Jackson, owners and operators of Jackson, Jackson, & Wagner, to a 1735 farmhouse in New Hampshire. They grew their own fruits and vegetables and raised pigs while working for mostly nonprofit organizations. Parke's first client was a financially challenged repertory company. Parke helped the organization increase its audience base, but she also found herself placating creditors and electric companies that wanted to shut down the organization.

In the 1960s, Parke spearheaded Jackson, Jackson, & Wagner's statewide effort to build an environmental coalition to change an article in New Hampshire's constitution that allowed corporations to clear forests for purposes of business development. Parke brought together garden clubs, parentteacher associations, residents, environmental organizations, and local businesses and politicians. This coalition helped establish state limitations and restrictions on land use, and it became a model for advocacy campaigns for the environment. Parke continues to serve on the coalition to maintain the amendment for open space.

Parke has described herself as “the inner wheel” (Parke, personal communication, August 5, 2003) of Jackson, Jackson, & Wagner, a behind-the-scenes motivator for Patrick Jackson's vision of strategic management. Although most of Parke's initial clients were nonprofit organizations, she began working with corporations who were seeking to better understand citizen groups and environmental advocacy. Parke said, “The first responsibility of public relations is to consider the public good” (Parke, personal [Page 606]communication, August 5, 2003). For almost 40 years, Parke's expertise has been built on issue anticipation and analysis, community coalition building, strategic planning, and crisis containment. She has counseled environmental coalitions on land conservation, health-care organizations on mergers and restructuring, and the private school sector on crisis communication. She explained part of her work philosophy: “It's important to have a holistic grasp of the historical and societal issues before working on public relations solutions” (Parke, personal communication, August 5, 2003).

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