Rebecca Skipper adds to the Concepts Communications team more than 25 years of experience in strategic communications and outreach for governmental, non-profit and academic institutions and has expertise in crafting messaging for effective public outreach campaigns around issues related to disability equity and inclusion.

As one example, Rebecca helped conceptualize and launch the Campaign for Disability Employment (CDE), a multi-organization initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy that encourages employers and others to recognize the skills and talent people with disabilities bring to America’s workplaces and economy. As part of this, she has co-produced a series of nationally distributed public service announcements (PSAs). For one of these, “Who I Am,” Rebecca was instrumental in securing the participation of RJ Mitte, a film and television actor well known for his role as Walt, Jr. in AMC’s “Breaking Bad.” The CDE’s most recent PSA, released fall 2021, addresses mental health in the workplace, a topic of increased importance in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2020, Rebecca also helped conceive and produce the “What’s Your Vision?” campaign for the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind (MCB). This campaign features a PSA as well as print ads and video interviews illustrating how MCB’s vocational rehabilitation (VR) services have helped people achieve their employment or workforce goals. The “What’s Your Vision?” PSA was filmed on the campus of the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts in July 2020, following safety and health protocols related to COVID-19. It then launched in October 2020 in honor of National Disability Employment Awareness Month. As part of this launch, campaign billboards appeared on buses, trains and transit stations throughout the month.

Rebecca has helped produce a variety of long-form videos, including a three-part series for the Mid-Atlantic Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Center on disability-inclusive recruiting and hiring and two videos about disability inclusion in registered apprenticeship programs.

Video is just one dimension of Rebecca’s work, however. A writer at heart, she has been the voice behind hundreds of articles, newsletters, speeches, PSAs, social media content and other materials published by federal agencies and non-profit organizations operating in the disability space. She has also drafted op-eds for influential leaders in the disability community for placement in national publications. Reflecting this, Rebecca has significant subject matter expertise in federal disability non-discrimination laws and is respected for her ability to translate “policy speak” into clear, concise and compelling messaging tailored for different audiences.

An avid reader herself, Rebecca was pleased to help conceive and execute the U.S. Department of Labor’s highly successful “Books that Changed Work in America” initiative in 2013 in honor of its Centennial. Through this initiative, she helped draft or edit submission from a wide range of authorities, including former Secretaries of Labor, academics, historians, authors and others with expertise on work and the workforce.

Prior to joining Concepts Communications, Rebecca spent several years helping American institutions overseas fulfill their communications needs, working at both Richmond American University in London and the American University in Cairo, Egypt. She also served as the director of communications for her hometown Chamber of Commerce in Coral Springs, Fla., and freelanced for the city’s weekly newspaper.

Rebecca holds a master’s and bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications.