About

About Us

Since June of 1998, Ruane PR has supported top 20 pharmaceutical companies, Fortune 500 consumer products corporations, high profile sporting events and innovative technology companies. Our work across industries has afforded us an understanding of best practices in each of those business areas, which we have been able to apply to other client programs achieving great success.

Best PR Firm in Atlanta delivers breaking news

Ruane PR was listed as a top 20 PR firm in Atlanta

Major newsroom experience makes the difference for Ruane PR

A dedicated social media professional helps clients extend messaging across all appropriate platforms

Our Story

After working at a major PR agency, Edelman, and then having four agencies report to him at the Upjohn Company, John Ruane realized there was a major need in the public relations industry. Seeing the industry accepted practices, Ruane saw an opportunity to provide experienced service at cost-effective rates.

In June of 1998, the longtime journalist and public relations counselor, founded Ruane Communications offering clients director-level service. Boehringer Ingelheim was the firm's first client, becoming the agency of record for BI's respiratory business. Headquartered in the Atlanta area, Ruane staffed his team with director-level professionals, creating and implementing award-winning programs to promote COPD education and Combivent as a safe and effective treatment. Ruane secured the first celebrity spokesperson, Loni Anderson, followed by Robert Klein and Roger Clemens. Each spokesperson was media trained to deliver their own personal experience with COPD. They were each paired with a physician spokesperson to discuss the medical information for the news media. Each of the three campaigns set media coverage records, drove sales of BI's treatments and won industry awards.

With BI established as the anchor client, the firm added a Chicago office and went on to sign several other new customers including Roxane Labs, Abbott, GSK, Coca-Cola, CSL Behring and Purdue Pharma among others. Ruane Communications wealth of experience with consumer products, sports marketing and technology campaigns enabled the firm to apply cross-industry best practices to health care campaigns. Besides the innovative out-of-the-box strategic thinking, clients were amazed at the relatively low budgets and the ability of Ruane PR to directly secure celebrity spokespeople, which saved money.

The company's success continued until 2020 when COVID severely impacted the firm and Ruane Communications closed the Chicago office. Entering 2022, the firm rebranded under Ruane PR, focusing its service offerings on media relations and writing services, the two areas of expertise that make Ruane PR one of the best public relations firms in United States.

Meet The Founder

John Ruane started his career writing for the Chicago Sun-Times, before being recruited by Edelman in Chicago. He joined the firm, working just down the hall from the legendary founder, Dan Edelman. Managing six clients, Ruane soon found that his newsroom experience enabled him to be very successful gaining media placements for clients.

A few years later, he was recruited by The Upjohn Company managing Rx treatments in five disease areas before being promoted to head the consumer products division’s public relations department. With four major PR agencies reporting to him, he directed the communications for the launch of Luvox for OCD, Rescriptor for HIV-AIDS and Rogaine Extra Strength for hair loss. After Upjohn merged with Pharmacia, a new CEO announced the Kalamazoo-based company would moved to New Jersey. Ruane took the buyout and launched Ruane Communications from Atlanta, offering skilled and experienced service at cost-effective rates.

John Ruane is founder of Ruane PR and brings extensive journalism experience to the firm

After landing Boehringer Ingelheim as an anchor client, Ruane built up his firm hiring several director-level professionals to deliver the experience promised in the company’s mission statement. Over the next decade, the firm created and implemented national campaigns, generating record-setting media coverage for clients and earned ten industry awards. Following COVID, and adjusting to a changing business world, he rebranded his company Ruane PR, headquartered in Atlanta.

In addition to his work in public relations, Ruane is a best-selling author of seven books and five stage plays. He is best known for his critically-acclaimed books, Parish the Thought (Simon & Schuster, 2008) and Parish the Thought Too (Roswell Press, 2023).

On the personal side, John and his wife, Charlotte, are proud parents of four wonderful adult children and four beautiful grandchildren.

The Team

Daniel M. Ruane

Senior Vice President

Dan brings more than three decades of journalism experience to Ruane PR, having written for the Chicago Sun-Times. His news judgment is invaluable developing successful strategies for media outreach and placements. In addition, he is able to turn around content accurately, professionally and quickly, given his many years of meeting tight deadlines. Besides media relations outreach, the firm depends on Dan’s knowledge and experience for strategic counsel on crisis communications projects. He is a graduate of DePaul University and valedictorian at St. Xavier University earning his master’s degree in business.

Jessie Danville

Social Media Director

Jessie is a highly accomplished social media expert with more than a decade of experience in editorial placement, activation planning, social marketing content strategy, and traditional & digital marketing for local, national and global brands. She has a track record of developing and implementing creative digital and social media campaigns, offering successful strategies to clients, helping to drive brand awareness, and build and defend reputations. She is a graduate of Kennesaw State University where she graduated cum laude.

Howard Wolinsky

Senior Consultant - Science/Healthcare Writer

Howard is one of the premiere science and healthcare writers in the United States. He covered health care for the Chicago Sun-Times for more than two decades. He regularly contributes to the top health journals and media outlets in the country, lectures at Northwestern Medill School of Journalism and blogs about health care issues that impact Americans. Whenever a client is in need of a professionally researched and written science report or complex health care story, Howard is called upon to deliver his expertise. He is a great resource for the firm.

Ken Paxson

Senior Content Editor

Ken brings more than 30 years of experience as an editor for two major newspapers, the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune. As an editor, he was responsible for story planning, copy editing and managing of writers. For Ruane PR, he helps plan and edit content for clients. He also works with the media relations team to plan media pitches. His news judgment is an invaluable asset for the firm developing successful story pitches.

Mark Vancil

Senior Vice President, Publications

Mark Vancil became one of the most prominent journalists in the world when he wrote Rare Air with Michael Jordan. He went on to write two more books with Jordan and then several other famous athletes and celebrities. For Ruane PR, Mark produces books for CEOs and top executives as well as corporate history books for companies seeking to educate employees and customers. In addition to his work in journalism, Mark has financial expertise providing Wall Street firms with quarterly reports on trends and anomalies that help guide their investments. Mark is featured on The Last Dance, one of Netflix continually trending shows over the past three years.