Heather LaMarre, Ph.D.
Heather LaMarre, Ph.D. is an author, speaker, executive advisor and professor with over 25 years in public affairs and strategic communications. She co-authored Raising Social Capital and co-founded the Communications Conner™ Substack channel. Heather works with senior leaders and organizations on issues related to trust, legitimacy, reputation through her executive advisory firm, HBM Strategies, Dr. LaMarre is particularly interested in elevating governance, strategy and leadership in business and politics.
Early in her career, Dr. LaMarre held appointed and elected positions within local government and was heavily involved in public affairs. After working in government relations within the insurance and finance services sector, LaMarre earned her doctorate in media and communication with specializations in political communication, public opinion and strategic communications. Over the past 30 years, Dr. LaMarre has partnered with governments, businesses and NGOs helping organizations build soft infrastructure, improve strategic communications, strengthen public engagement and modernize governance.
She serves on the boards for Mission to Change and the Social Entrepreneurship Academy at Temple University and Co-Founded the Counter Point Collective platform for leadership, strategy innovation in Washington, D.C. Dr. LaMarre speaks regularly at national and international conferences. Heather also serves as an advocate for female founders and women in leadership. In 2023, she co-led a U.S. delegation to the 5th Eurasian Women’s Empowerment conference in Kazakhstan and co-organized the 2025 inaugural Japan WING conference for social entrepreneurs.
As a thought leader, she has co-authored over 30 peer reviewed publications for scientific journals. Her work has been covered in leading media outlets, including National Public Radio, MSNBC, ABC, Fox News, The Colbert Report, Winnipeg Free Press, The Guardian, The Conversation, Bloomberg News, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Time magazine, Huffington Post, LA Times, Rolling Stone, Sky News and The Atlantic Monthly among others. Heather serves as a subject matter expert for several media outlets including NPR and The Conversation.