Nancy Gravatt, APR, Vice President, Communications, American Iron and Steel Institute

Ms. Gravatt leads the institute’s efforts in advancing its strategic plan, its branding and marketing strategies and its public affairs program. She has led the New Steel Campaign, a strategic, high impact integrated communications program designed to position the North American steel industry as innovative, technologically-advanced, environmentally responsible and globally competitive. In 2008, the campaign won national communications awards, including the Advertising Research Foundation’s Silver Ogilvy Award and the Public Relations Society of America’s Silver Anvil Award of Excellence. Guided by AISI’s Strategic Communications Council, Ms. Gravatt is responsible for strategy-development, branding, messaging, media relations and placement, marketing communications, the Web site and issues advocacy on behalf of AISI’s North American member companies. She spearheaded redesign of www.steel.org including introducing the e-commerce website and attracting 40,000 visitors a month and advancing the industry’s presence in social media.  The AISI website was awarded WorldSteel’s 2012 Steelie Award for “Website of the Year.”

Before coming to AISI, Ms. Gravatt provided strategic public relations counsel to the travel, insurance and food industries and to government. She served as a consultant to President Reagan’s Private Sector Survey on Cost Control in the 1980s, and prior to that, as Manager of Public Affairs in Nationwide Insurance’s Washington office.

Ms. Gravatt serves on the University of Illinois College of Media’s Advisory Board.   She has served as chairman of the National Association of Manufacturers’ Communications Council, on Harris Interactive’s Executive Advisory Board and is an accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America.  She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism from the University of Illinois and a Masters degree in Political Science from George Washington University.