1. C:202-669-5735 | ericawcunningham@gmail..com
www.linkedin.com/in/ericacunningham/
PUBLIC AFFAIRS ~ EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT ~ COMMUNITY RELATIONS PROFESSIONAL
Senior public affairs professional with a dedicated career planning and defining public affairs and
corporate social responsibility initiatives for Fortune 500 Companies. Effectively develops brand and
reputation management strategies to enhance organizations equity impact.
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS – New Jersey, Texas & Washington, DC 1999 – Present
Manager, Global Employee Engagement - Corporate Benefits (2006 – Present)
Recruited into high visibility role, responsible for a $4M budget to engage, communicate and create
external equity around Verizon’s enterprise-wide health and wellness awareness campaigns. Lead
policy initiatives and stakeholder management efforts focused on reducing costs and improving the
overall health of Verizon employees and the communities we serve.
Selected Achievements:
■ Develop andimplementhealth and wellness public affairs plans , to fostera public policy environment
aligned with our healthcare public policy philosophy.
■ ElevatedVerizon as a thought leaderin the healthcarespace s through executive participation in national
coalitions.Developed strategic andtactical communications,talk points,testimonies and presentationsfor
key executives on Health IT, wellness and health reform.
■ Use Verizon aggregate medical claims and national health benchmark data to translate insights into
actionablestrategies including crafting position papersandhealthcare policy recommendations toensure
ERISA Preemption for large employers.
■ Counsel and support key leaders and the Verizon Foundation in the development of our health
and wellness corporate social responsibility strategy focused on health care disparities and using
technology to bridge the gap for access to quality care in underserved and rural communities.
ERICA W. CUNNINGHAM
 Grant Administration
 External Relationship
Development&Management
 BudgetCreation&Management
 ConsumerAffairs
 Corporate Social Responsibility
 Brand & ReputationManagement
 ProjectManagement
 Corporate Communications

2. ERICA W. CUNNINGHAM,Page 2
■ Work with business leaders to communicate with external audiences regarding Verizon’s health
and wellness framework resulting in numerous invitations to share health and wellness employee
engagement strategy with key stakeholders including the Clinton Health Matters Initiative –
Employee Effectiveness and Wellbeing forum.
Senior Consultant, Public Affairs - Verizon Information Services (2004 – 2006)
Developed and effectively executed key aspects of community relations initiatives in support of diverse
communities through local giving and employee volunteer initiatives ensuring our efforts were reflective
of the values defined in our credo and showcase the impact of Verizon products andservices in increasing
the effectiveness of communities throughout the nation.
Selected Achievements:
■ Partnered with the Mayor’s office,Durham, NC to launch Black History Month Program featuring
James Earl Jones to further penetrate the Raleigh-Durham market. Interfaced with key stakeholders
to host literacy event achieving front-page coverage in Durham Herald Sun newspaper and
television coverage with all major networks in market.
■ Lead cross functional team in review of our advertiser database to identify under represented
segments resulting in the development of the 1st Verizon Information Services minority-business
event, which delivered an 18% increase in minority advertisers.
■ Managed and independently lead various cause marketing projects positioning Verizon as a global
industry leader and good corporate citizen with third party stakeholders.
Sr. Consultant, External Affairs – Public Policy, Law & Security (2004)
Full accountability for investigating, evaluating and approving grant proposals. Expanded civic
engagement, government and business relationships through strategic programs in Washington, DC to
establish an optimal business and policy environment enabling revenue and market growth.
Selected Achievements:
■ Wrote, created and edited external affairs business communications as needed, coordinating
necessary reviews and approvals greatly enhancing awareness of Verizon’s philanthropy efforts
internally and external through extensive media coverage.
■ Created and drove thought leadership strategies in support of priority issues and business
objectives to reach target audiences fulfilling the organizations strategic vision.
■ Built a profitable business relationship between Verizon External Affairs and the Verizon Multi-
Cultural Marketing team developing integrated cause-related marketing strategies for local and
national sales events hosted in Washington DC, increasing product penetration by 11% and 903
new customers within 2 years.
■ Protected and enhanced Verizon’s brand through management of $1M budget to develop signature
technology programs, including established grant monitoring process for strategic partnerships to
ensure full funding compliance and accountably.
Specialist, External Affairs - Public Policy, Law & Security (1999 – 2003)
Defined local Verizon Foundation communication strategies to achieve maximum gains of Verizon’s
community outreach and corporate social responsibility throughout Washington, DC. Developed a
collaborative strategy with government relations to gain FCC approval to enter the long distance
marketplace.
Selected Achievements:

3. ■ Developed Verizon Foundation grantcriteria;identified and launched new volunteering programs
and events; developed corporate broadcast messages to advise employees of upcoming volunteer
opportunities; and delivered market intelligence to Verizon business units on sales and event
sponsorships to increase our competitive advantage.
Ahold USA (GIANT FOOD) - Maryland 1996 – 1999
Community Relations Coordinator / Team Leader
Served as relationship manager to assigned businesses and schools leading engagement with the Apples
for the Students PLUS program resulting in increased visibility and brand enhancement for Giant Food.
Selected Achievements:
■ Developed and implemented grassroots partnership with local businesses to adopted schools in
diverse low income areas to donate Apples for the Students PLUS receipt tapes, increasing the
number of schools participating in the program by 20% within one year and $1.2 million in
increased grocery store sales.
■ Grants system administrator responsible for the day to day management of 10 representatives
tasked with growing the customer loyalty program. Our team was credited with expanding the
corporate social responsibility strategy positioning Giant Food as a good corporate citizen.
VOLUNTEER& PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE
NATIONAL BUSINESS GROUP ON HEALTH 2004 – Present
Member, Public Policy Committee
■ Drafted Verizon’s comments to the Secretary of Treasury on the Genetic Information
Nondiscrimination Act of 2008.
Calibr Global Leadership Network (Formerly NEXT GENERATION NETWORK) 2005 – Present
Member, Communications Committee
■ Developed content and edited the 2009 Annual Report.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA LATINO AFFAIRS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION 2004
Commissioner
■ Appointed by the Mayor to serve as business liaison to the Office of Latin Affairs. Challenged to
strengthen relationships between businesses, and Office of Latino Affairs and Latino citizens in
Washington, DC.
EDUCATION &CREDENTIALS
TOWSON UNIVERSITY • Towson, MD
Master of Arts in Professional and Liberal Studies; Concentration in Public Relations (1999)
BENNETT COLLEGE • Greensboro, NC
Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies; Concentration in Mass Communications (1993)
Certifications & Professional Development
■ Creating Winning Strategies Executive Certification – Strayer University Jack Welch Management
Institute (2012)
■ Healthcare & Groups Benefits Plans Certification - InternationalFoundation of Employee Benefit Plans
(2006)
■ Corporate Community Involvement Certification – Boston College (2001)
References Available Upon Request