Experience

Allen Caudle, with a BS from the University of Kansas, is a senior strategic communication counselor, specializing in issues management, crisis planning, response and training for the past 25 years. With deep industry experience in the healthcare, education, energy, food & beverage and governmental sectors, he is highly skilled in crisis communications, strategic message development, communication strategy development, communication training, employee engagement, and research data assimilation. He is a graduate of the MIT/Harvard Negotiating with Angry Publics Program and has certification in the FEMA Incident Command Structure (ICS). He is a former Vistage Group Chair, where he provided peer-to-peer group facilitation for CEOs and for HR Directors to address challenges of everyday business as well as counsel on the challenges of fast growth or market downturns.

Allen began his career at Ogilvy where he worked in media and account service on the national Shell account. He moved to Eisaman, Johns & Laws to manage the Pennzoil motor oil account before joining Helen as a partner at Vollmer Public Relations. In addition to acting as the firm’s Chief Operating Officer, Allen formed and led its issues management and training arm, Shelton & Caudle.

At Edelman, from 2010 – 2015, as an Executive Vice President, he led all client crisis response efforts throughout the Southwest and was the region’s senior trainer, executing an average of 40 training sessions per year. On average, he developed a minimum of one comprehensive crisis communication plan per quarter while also leading agency teams on client merger/acquisition communications.

Helen Vollmer, with a BJ and a MA from UT Austin, has deep experience in and a passion for working with higher education on reputation management, branding and development. A visionary, strategic business leader, seasoned by deep and diverse communications experience, Helen is the outgoing Chair of The University of Texas Moody College Advisory Council. She also is a long- standing member of UT Health’s Development Board. She served as an Adjunct professor at Moody College in 2008- 2009. 

Helen founded Vollmer Public Relations and grew it to be the largest independent public relations firm based in the Southwest with offices in Dallas, Austin, Houston and New York. 

Helen’s expertise in branding left an indelible mark on clients including Coca-Cola, Travelocity, Curves/ Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, Denny’s, State of Texas-- Office of the Governor, and Shell, among others. 

She and her partners sold the firm to Edelman in 2010 and she was appointed President of Edelman Southwest, later to become Chair of Edelman South, with offices in Atlanta, Orlando, Houston, Dallas and Austin where she led a staff of more than 200. In addition to acting as the U.S. sector lead for the company’s Family Owned Businesses and Foundations work, she also established Edelman’s U.S. Education sector, and was responsible for building this line of business and acting as a senior strategist internally to counselors and externally to clients.