Betsy Ann Plank: The Making of a Public Relations Icon

In 1973, Betsy Ann Plank became the first woman to chair the Public Relations Society of America in its twenty-five-year history. It was a tumultuous time to assume the national association’s leadership. Civil society seemed to be fraying at the edges, and trust in institutions and businesses had plummeted in the aftermath of Watergate. Yet Plank was ready to take on the task at hand. Throughout the span of her sixty-three-year career, she broke new ground on numerous occasions through her bold leadership and tireless service to others.

Plank rose to the highest level of the field’s national association at a time when its leadership and membership were predominantly male. This book explores how she managed to navigate the very real barriers of gender-based discrimination that existed in public relations at least through the 1970s, and how she ultimately became devoted to public relations education.