- Former Washington Post Columnist to Offer Strategic Counsel for the

             Firm's Large Roster of Food and Beverage Clients -



    WASHINGTON, July 29 /EMWNews/ -- Award-winning journalist Sally

Squires has joined Weber Shandwick as senior vice president, director of

health and wellness. After more than two decades with the Washington Post,

including seven as the nationally syndicated nutrition columnist, Squires

joins one of the country's largest and most established food and nutrition

practices in public relations. Weber Shandwick's food and nutrition

practice represents a diverse group of food companies and food industry

organizations.



    "Sally brings a tremendous set of skills that will be incredibly

valuable in helping us address today's increasingly complex food issues,"

said Cathy Calhoun, president, Weber Shandwick Chicago. "She understands

nutrition science, is brilliant at communicating to consumers and, of

course, knows what it takes to appeal to both traditional and digital

media."



    Squires will split her time between the firm's Washington, D.C. and

Chicago offices and dually report to Cathy Calhoun and Pam Jenkins,

president of Powell Tate, Weber Shandwick's public affairs arm.



    "Sally is one of the most-respected journalists in Washington - and

beyond. We are delighted to bring her insights and energy to our growing

roster of clients in the food industry as well as clients interested in

overall health and wellness," said Pam Jenkins, president of Powell Tate.



    Squires created the Lean Plate Club multimedia franchise, which

includes a nationally syndicated newspaper column (circulation 6 million

weekly), an email newsletter (300,000 circulation), weekly web chat and

social network (http://www.leanplateclub.com). She is the author of two books,

including "Secrets of the Lean Plate Club," and has contributed articles to

a wide range of publications, including Reader's Digest, Parade, Family

Circle, Cooking Light, Self, Good Housekeeping and Parents. A sought-after

speaker on issues ranging from obesity to overall health and wellness

trends, Squires is also a frequent guest on television and radio, including

NPR and XM. She holds two master's degrees in both human nutrition and

journalism and is an outgoing board member of the National Association of

Science Writers and a member of the Association of Health Care Journalists.

Squires is the first journalist to be named an honorary fellow of the

Society for Public Health Education, joining the ranks of former U.S.

Surgeons General C. Everett Koop and David Satcher and former first lady

Rosalyn Carter.



    Squires joins a growing group of food and nutrition specialists at

Weber Shandwick, including Chicago-based Janet Helm, MS, RD, director of

food and nutrition, and Susan Ruland, who heads up the food issues practice

in Washington, D.C.



    The experienced team of food and nutrition strategists at Weber

Shandwick includes four registered dietitians, two certified chefs, two

Ph.D. nutrition scientists and two former public relations staffers for the

American Dietetic Association.

    About Weber Shandwick



    Weber Shandwick is one of the world's leading global public relations

firms with offices in major media, business and government capitals around

the world. The firm specializes in strategic marketing communications,

media relations, public affairs, reputation management, and crisis and

issues management. It also offers corporate communications counseling

services. The firm provides specialized integrated services including Web

relations, advocacy advertising, market research and visual communications.

Weber Shandwick received the highest client-satisfaction honors in the 2007

Agency Excellence Survey by PRWeek U.S. and in 2006, was named Large PR

Firm of the Year (PR News U.S.), European Consultancy of the Year (The

Holmes Report) and Network of the Year (Asia Pacific PR Awards). The firm

also won the 2005, 2006 and 2007 United Nations Grand Award for Outstanding

Achievement in Public Relations. To learn more, please visit

http://www.webershandwick.com.



    Weber Shandwick is a unit of The Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG), which

is one of the world's leading organizations of advertising agencies and

marketing services companies.






    Contact:

    Jennifer Norton

    Weber Shandwick

    212-445-8314

    [email protected]