Seasoned Pros. Mission Driven. No Nonsense.

WJPR is a different kind of public relations firm. We work with a small number of clients at a time who want a comprehensive approach to their communications and advocacy challenges. The people you hire are the people you get—there’s no slick sales pitch followed by handing you off to junior partners. You will see both of us regularly throughout your engagement, and we bring in other members of our talented team when their specific expertise is needed. We believe this hands-on model is the best way to build trusting relationships and partner successfully with mission-driven organizations.

Our Story

Molly and Warner met twenty years ago in New York City while working at a stressful press conference in the Temple of Dendur at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for Mayor Michael Bloomberg. During said press conference, Warner invited Molly to Flacks & Hacks, the happy hour he hosted for New York City government press secretaries and the reporters who covered them. This regular gathering spawned many friendships, including theirs.

Two decades and a few geographic moves later, both now independent consultants, they teamed up on a project and quickly realized—wow, this partnership works!

And thus, WJPR was born.

Illustration of Molly Watkins and Warner Johnston

What We Do

We start with a series of conversations designed to give us a deep understanding of your goals, mission, strategy, audiences, challenges, and reputational risks. We then work that understanding into a comprehensive strategy. Depending on your organization’s size and structure, we can either partner with your team to bring plans to life or take the lead ourselves. We bring hands-on expertise across the full communications spectrum, including:

Media Strategy. Story pitching, interview management, media training, and handling your organization’s media inquiries.
Advocacy. Assessing the political environment, ensuring strategies, messages, and relationships we develop influence the debates you want to shape.
Risk & Reputation. Analyzing the risk environment and proactively addressing it through our strategies, while providing counsel and content in times of crisis.
Social Media. Developing channel strategies, creating content, and providing ongoing assessment of channel performance.
Website Optimization. Crafting content strategy, improving SEO and user experience, analyzing analytics, and integrating with broader campaigns.
Media Buying. Planning and purchasing digital, print, and broadcast media to maximize reach and impact.
Fractional CCO & Interim Leadership. We provide embedded high-level strategic counsel for organizations in transition and offer fractional CCO services to establish your communications infrastructure and lead your team.

Molly Watkins

After serving as the spokesperson for New York City’s campaign finance system, Molly transitioned into public affairs consulting. She helped launch the New York City office of the Glover Park Group (now FGS Global), working on political campaigns and with multiple policy-focused clients across sectors. She then returned to her hometown of Seattle to join the Gates Foundation, contributing to thought leadership efforts for Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. She subsequently led communications for the Raikes Foundation. Her areas of expertise include: racial and gender equity; global health and development; K-12 and higher education; homelessness and housing; and AI and the information environment. She is a skilled strategist, writer, and risk and reputation manager.

Warner Johnston

In addition to being an excellent happy hour host, Warner has more than 20 years of experience supporting national and international companies, nonprofits, and government agencies. He began his career with the NYC Office of the Mayor before moving to the New York State Office of the Governor, serving as chief spokesperson and communications director in a variety of roles. He then led U.S. operations and marketing for an international education organization. Warner has worked extensively with top-tier media outlets and is skilled in crisis communications, campaign strategy, organizational development, and coaching. He has served as a spokesperson, advised executives and founders, and helped mission-driven organizations strengthen their voice. Warner holds several degrees from NYU.