United Way of the Columbia-Willamette engaged Amico to strengthen its social media strategy to reflect leadership’s vision for building a stronger, more connected community. Working closely with United Way, Amico refined key messages to highlight the agency’s regional impact in early learning, housing stability, disaster resilience and volunteerism. Through an integrated digital strategy, Amico elevated community stories, expanded reach across platforms and deepened engagement with donors and partners, advancing United Way’s mission of equity and opportunity.

We hit the ground running with MHAAO after they’d received negative media coverage targeting one of their programs. As one of the state’s largest providers of peer-centered outreach fostering recovery through peer mentorship, training and collaboration, MHAAO went from being the focus of negative attention to a sought-after and trusted media source. Within months, we had shifted the narrative, securing multiple TV stories, radio interviews, a front-page Sunday Oregonian feature and international coverage highlighting MHAAO’s positive impact and leadership in the recovery community.

Public Relations Society of America Bronze Anvil Award of Commendation

The Shadow Project teams with teachers to make school a place where children who learn differently can thrive. Their mission is to make school more accessible and engaging for K-8 students with learning challenges like dyslexia, ADHD, autism and trauma. Amico provided pro bono services to highlight their efforts to foster an education system that normalizes and celebrates learning differences and supports every student, no matter how they learn.

In 2013, Maitripa College, the only Tibetan Buddhist college in the region, engaged Amico to lead media for The Dalai Lama Environmental Summit in Portland. Recognizing Oregon’s largely secular population, our strategy was to position the event as a universal call to climate action rather than a religious gathering. Over 150 media stories drew sold-out crowds, generating $300,000 in proceeds His Holiness dedicated to public service organizations – advancing dialogue on collective responsibility for the planet.

Public Relations Society of America Silver Anvil Award

Team member Greg Robeson was part of the group of marketing professionals that banded together to throw a bash for the grand opening of SEI’s campus in north Portland. That event evolved into “Soul of the City” which, three decades later, continues to raise millions of dollars each year to support the organization’s programming that empowers youth, supports families and builds community in this historically underserved part of Portland.

From a gathering among wine-loving friends that raised $35,000 in its early years to over $3 million annually, Classic Wines Auction set the standard for fundraisers in Portland. Greg Robeson served as chair, marketing committee head, culinary director and was part of a core group that built the soiree into a must-be-there event, raising well over $50 million family and children charities during its 30+ year history.

From 2004-2008, Amico supported the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center’s Mt. Hood Climb to Fight Breast Cancer. Kelliann led participants – some survivors, others with loved ones affected by the disease – in becoming a community built on trust and fully embedded herself among them through recruitment, training, team building, fundraising and midnight climb send-offs. She also led media storytelling that amplified their journeys and inspired public support. Her leadership helped raise more than $100,000 annually for research.

Since 1933, Catholic Charities of Oregon has served as the Church’s domestic relief agency. In 2009, amid a recession and Church abuse scandals, the organization sought to unite six programs under one roof. Amico countered negative narratives by highlighting the humanity of Catholic Charities through stories of caseworkers and the lives they transformed – immigrants seeking asylum, families in transition, and birth mothers and adoptive parents. Media storytelling helped rebuild trust and inspire donors to establish the Clark Family Center.

Seasonal employees are the backbone of Oregon’s wine industry, and ¡Salud! was created to provide healthcare services for this vital agricultural workforce. Greg Robeson led the branding process and served on the steering committee during the event’s formative years. Working with Oregon’s top Pinot Noir producers, his volunteerism helped lay the groundwork for what today is a year-long series of festivities that raise millions to bring health services directly to vineyard workers.

Early in her career, Kelliann led a pro bono public service campaign for Burnside Community Council amid a sharp rise in homelessness among women and children, a trend that continues today. She guided her team to humanize their stories through TV, radio and print advertising, documentaries and earned media, highlighting the stigma and daily struggles of unsheltered families. The campaign became Portland’s first to spotlight this crisis, inspiring public awareness and policy attention that reshaped local advocacy for homeless families.

American Advertising Federation G.D. Crain, Jr. for Public Service Advertising