WVB Award Winner 2020 - Shara Clark, APR

PRSA Cincinnati Chapter is proud to announce our 2020 Werner-VonderHaar-Bogart Award recipient: Shara Clark, APR. Congratulations, Shara! Often considered a lifetime achievement, the WVB Award is the highest honor offered by the Cincinnati Chapter of PRSA. It recognizes a public relations professional who has made significant contributions in four key areas: the community, chapter, profession and PRSA.

Shara is an award-winning communication professional with more than 20 years of experience in financial services, nonprofit, education, and healthcare. Her current role is with MedVet, a national group of 30 specialty and emergency veterinary hospitals, where she helps lead their digital media, strategic communication planning, reputation management, and content marketing efforts. Previously, Shara spent more than seven years teaching at Miami University and mentoring the next generation of communication professionals. Prior to that, Shara served in PR roles at Great American Insurance Group, The American Diabetes Association, and United Way of Greater Cincinnati. 

Shara has been actively involved with the Public Relations Society of America for her entire career. She served as the president of the Cincinnati Chapter in 2015 and currently serves as the Ethics Director. She has served in a variety of other roles for the local leadership team and represented the chapter at National Assembly on multiple occasions. She’s taught many APR classes and served as a judge for countless awards programs including the national Bronze Anvil Awards. She also served as Miami’s PRSSA faculty advisor and mentored the program’s Bateman Case Study Competition Team which received national recognition.  

She holds a M.A. in biology from Miami University’s Project Dragonfly program where she focused her study on conservation communication and had the opportunity to study in Namibia at the Cheetah Conservation Fund. She also holds a B.A. in speech communication and public relations from Miami University and a certificate in social media from Cincinnati State. 

Outside of PRSA, Shara is the vice president of the Harrison Athletic Boosters, treasurer of the Harrison Football Mom’s Club, and a founding member of Engaging for Climate in Oxford (ECO).