Cheryl van Landingham Smithem is the Connection Maven. Over the course of her 33 year career as an executive in Charleston, she has directed the marketing, public relations and communications of businesses and non-profit organizations.
Cheryl is an experienced, senior consultant for many firms who find themselves in a crisis. She has consulted with medical firms in crisis as well as educational institutions undergoing child sex abuse charges. She has guided communications strategy in legal situations where class discrimination was the topic and has helped conduct crisis audits.
Her responsibilities for Charleston PR & Design include creative direction, public relations planning, crisis communications consultation, social media messaging development and planning, SEO strategy for client websites, and marketing strategy development.
Cheryl is a community leader, serving on the advisory board of WordCamp Charleston (May 2014) and previously for Carolina Studios. In addition, she serves as a member of the Strategic Posse for Parliament, a creative industries economic development taskforce under the aegis of the Charleston Regional Development Alliance and New Carolina.
Cheryl is an instigator. In 2009 she initiated discussions that led to the development of Charleston’s Restaurant Week and South Carolina’s Restaurant Week.
Cheryl is currently a contributor to About.com’s Food and Beverage channel where her articles focus on marketing for new food and beverage consumer package goods. Her posts on marketing, website development, strategic planning, public relations, and social media can be read on The Connection Maven Writes.
