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Dianne L. Chase Dr. Terry W. Cole Dr. Alan R. Freitag Joey C. Popp Oliver S. Schmidt
         

PRINCIPALS & ADVISERS

Dianne L. Chase

An accomplished media, journalism and public relations professional with profound expertise in various communication disciplines, Ms. Chase is also an experienced management consultant, trainer, presenter, and writer.

Ms. Chase’s broadcast journalism career includes positions throughout the Carolinas as news director, anchor, and reporter at the top news radio stations. She is the winner of numerous local, state, regional, and national broadcast news awards and the Executive Editor of ‘North Carolina Police Officer’, the official publication of the North Carolina Fraternal Order of Police.

A graduate of the University of Tennessee, the Asheville, NC native was the founding partner of several media relations consulting firms.  Ms. Chase has broad experience in helping individuals and companies of all sizes deal with the informational needs of the media and other important stakeholders.  Her work for C4CS has included immediate on-the-scene response to critical situations as well as ongoing strategic communications advice and media and crisis communication training for senior managers. 

Ms. Chase has served as president of the Radio-Television News Directors Association of the Carolinas and the Charlotte Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators. She currently holds several board memberships with nonprofit and professional associations, assisting with communications, media, public relations, professional development, and event planning.

A recipient of the National Associated Press Broadcasters Enterprise Award, the Bishop Fulton J. Sheen Award, the South Carolina Associated Press Best Newscast award, Ms. Chase has also served as adjunct professor at UNC-Charlotte, Winthrop University, the University of Bucharest, Romania and Knoxville Business College.


Dr. Terry W. Cole

Dr. Cole brings a wide range of academic and “real world” consulting experience to his work with C4CS.  Earning a Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Public Communication from the University of Oregon in 1974, he has served on the faculty of the Department of Communication at Appalachian State University for over thirty years.  During his tenure at Appalachian, Dr. Cole served as Director of Forensics for fifteen years and Department Chair for ten.  Among the courses taught during his academic career are Argumentation and Advocacy, Rhetorical Theory and Criticism, Communication Law, Communication Ethics, Public Speaking, Speech Writing, Communication Training & Development, and Crisis Communication. 

This academic diversity shapes Dr. Cole’s consulting expertise in Crisis and Risk Management and Communication, Presentation Communication, Executive Communication Coaching and Media Management of high profile clients.  His consulting experience with C4CS includes work with client partners in a variety of industries as well as executive coaching with corporate CEOs and CFOs, working with several major law firms as an expert witness in First Amendment cases, and litigation communication for high profile clients.

Consistent with C4CS’s international reach, Dr. Cole has been a visiting instructor at two Polish institutions, the University of Gdansk and the Warsaw College of Communication and Social Science.  His instruction included presentational communication, interpersonal communication, and First Amendment law as well as visiting Warsaw internship providers in television, radio, public relations, and journalism.

Dr. Cole’s recognitions include Outstanding Teaching Award from the alumni association of Appalachian State University, serving as National President of Pi Kappa Delta, National Forensics Honorary Society, President of the Carolinas Communication Association, receiving the top leadership and contributions awards from both organizations, and serving various offices in the Southern States Communication Association including chairing its Academic Administration and Freedom of Speech divisions.  An active leader in the Boy Scouts of America, he is the holder of the Silver Beaver Award from that organization.

His scholarly and professional work includes articles in national and regional communication journals, the recent publication of a textbook on Communication Law, numerous paper presentations and national and regional academic conferences and a recent invited presentation on Risk Communication at the Annual Conference of Women in Federal Law Enforcement.

Dr. Cole is married with two grown sons and makes his home in the Blue Ridge Mountain community of Todd, North Carolina.


Dr. Alan R. Freitag, APR, Fellow PRSA

Dr. Freitag is a professor with the Communication Studies Department, College of Arts and Sciences, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.  He teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in public relations, and has held this position since August 1998.  He also advises the university's chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America.  UNC-Charlotte is one of 16 campuses of the University of North Carolina system, and has a student population of 20,000.  The Department boasts nearly 1,300 majors and minors. 

He earned an associate in applied science degree in television production and direction from the Milwaukee Area Technical College (1971); a bachelor of science degree in radio, television and film from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh (1973); a master of arts degree in business administration and public administration from Webster University, St. Louis, Missouri (1977); and a Ph.D. in mass communication, specializing in public relations, from Ohio University's E.W. Scripps School of Journalism (1999).

A U.S. Air Force veteran, Freitag retired in 1995 as a lieutenant colonel after 22 1/2 years of service.  During that time, he spent nearly 10 years in Europe and two years in Hawaii.  He began his career as a navigator aboard C-130 Hercules aircraft, then entered the public affairs career field.  He served in advertising and publicity for Air Force recruiting, on the operations staff of the American Forces Network - Europe, as director of public affairs for a U.S. air base in England, with Air Force legislative liaison in Washington, D.C., as director of media relations for the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization at the Pentagon, as director of media relations and press aide to the Supreme Allied Commander for NATO's military arm headquartered in Belgium, and as assistant director of public affairs for the Air Force's Pacific command.

His military duties included direct public affairs involvement in the return of the U.S. hostages from Iran in 1980, the raid on Libyan terrorist facilities in 1986, and the invasion of Panama in 1989.  During three critical years with NATO, Freitag was closely involved with Alliance media activities surrounding the reunification of Germany, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact, the restructuring of NATO's military, the opening of NATO to Eastern Europe, the Russian coup, the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty, and NATO's involvement in the Gulf War.

Civilian experience includes production and direction work in public and commercial television prior to his Air Force service, and teaching courses in journalism and public relations during his three-year doctoral program at Ohio University, as well as serving as faculty adviser to the school's Public Relations Student Society of America chapter.

He is a member and officer of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, for whose national conventions he has presented several research papers.  He is also a member of the Public Relations Society of America and serves as faculty adviser to UNC-Charlotte's student chapter.  He also holds memberships with the SHAPE Officers Association (NATO), the Air Force Association, the Armed Forces Broadcasters Association, and the Retired Officers Association.

His work has been published in Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, Journal of Public Relations Research, Journal of Communication Management, Public Relations Quarterly, Newspaper Research Journal, Airman, and Asia-Pacific Defense Forum.

Professional military courses completed include Air War College, Air Command and Staff College, Squadron Officers' School, the NATO Officers' Course, the Senior Public Affairs Officers' Course, the Broadcast Managers' course, the Public Information Officers' Course, and the Air Force Communications Short Course.


Joey C. Popp

A professional broadcast journalist with over 20 years in television and radio news, Joey Popp uses realistic interview techniques to help build media and spokesperson skills for our corporate, not for profit and government client partners.

Mr. Popp’s career includes both journalism and public relations. In the early 1980s, he left a stint with an Atlanta network affiliate to undertake a new and exciting adventure. As Director of Communication for the 1982 World’s Fair, Mr. Popp was interviewed by hundreds of newspaper, radio and television reporters from around the globe.  In this role, he added to his talent for covering the news the ability to effectively work with the news media as a PR professional. 

Following the conclusion of the World’s Fair, Mr. Popp returned to broadcast journalism in Charlotte, NC.  As an investigative and medical producer with WBTV, the CBS affiliate, he quickly gained recognition for his award-winning work.  A member of the NC Radio Television and Directors Association, Mr. Popp conducted numerous memorable interviews and wrote and edited many groundbreaking investigative pieces.  In addition, he produced “Doctor-On-Call”, one the first local television news segments devoted to medical research, which quickly became a respected feature on WBTV news.

Mr. Popp then moved on to WLOS, the ABC affiliate in Asheville, NC, where he worked as a general assignment reporter, reporting “live” about many breaking stories and providing in-depth coverage of the area’s judicial system.  He also filled in as co-anchor of the station’s highly rated Morning News before joining the NBC affiliate, WCNC, in Charlotte.  For WCNC he reported “live” from many crisis spots and prepared breaking news stories from the station’s mobile newsroom.  Always stable and unflappable before the intensity of the cameras, Popp was a highly recognized and popular member of the News6 team.

In 1996, Mr. Popp left full-time journalism to pursue an independent career.  In his role as Senior Partner and lead media trainer at C4CS, he has since worked with hundreds of individuals who routinely praise him as an outstanding mentor and coach. 

Together with his wife Catherine, Mr. Popp also produces television and radio segments and places advertising with various broadcasting media.  In addition, he continues to work as a TV journalist with WTVI, hosting the popular weekly one-hour call-in program “Healthwise”.  

An avid sports fan, in his free time Mr. Popp can be found at Bank of America Stadium cheering the Carolina Panthers, pulling for the Charlotte Bobcats, or broadcasting from various high school football games where he occasionally provides both play-by-play and color commentary.


Oliver S. Schmidt

A native of Berlin , Germany , Mr. Schmidt looks back upon many years of consulting, training and coaching in the areas of strategic communication, crisis management, and organizational leadership. He speaks several languages and has lived and worked in North America , Europe and Asia . 

Due to his international background, Mr. Schmidt possesses a rare sense for cultural differences and their role in multinational corporations. He is capable of both quickly assessing complex business issues and guiding a comprehensive response while providing culturally diverse client partners with a depth of understanding and competence.

Mr. Schmidt has routinely advised business leaders including the CEOs of well-known corporations regarding high stakes business problems. On the consulting end his focus has been on working with domestic and international client partners in the areas of crisis and risk communication, media relations, internal communication, issues management, reputation management, and crisis management.

In confidential executive coaching sessions Mr. Schmidt has helped senior leaders improve their interpersonal and group communication skills as well as reach a greater understanding of what it takes to be a successful leader. This holistic approach is not only geared at enhancing verbal and physical delivery, but also at learning how to win over audiences and becoming a more confident and better manager.

Mr. Schmidt has frequently been invited to make presentations and conduct customized management trainings. He has addressed a wide variety of professional audiences in over 30 countries on topics ranging from crisis and risk communication to issues management, business continuity planning, and leadership coaching.

Mr. Schmidt's expertise extends to his educational career. He possesses a Master's degree in Business Management and in Communication Science and has been a guest lecturer at universities in several countries. A Friedrich Naumann scholar and recipient of a Fulbright Grant, Mr. Schmidt has written articles for a variety of industry and peer reviewed publications.

In his free time Mr. Schmidt enjoys biking and swimming with his wife and his children. His interest in learning about and exploring foreign cultures has turned him into a fan of travel literature. An avid fly fisherman, Mr. Schmidt can be found wading the streams feeding Lake Erie , preferably going after steelhead.

 



Photographs were taken from our company brochure.   
© 2005
C4CS®
, LLC. All rights reserved.

e-mail C4CS®
425 First Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA  15219 USA
412-421-0433


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