After 22 years, Lorraine Howell closed her business at the end of 2020 and transitioned to new adventures, volunteering for a national non-profit called Braver Angels and expanding her interest in abstract painting. Recently she adapted her Elevator Speech Workshop into an online training sessions for Braver Angels volunteers across the country. It is her unique way of helping people on opposite sides of the political divide come together so they can listen to and understand each other with respect and empathy.

 

Her professional career included her business, Media Skills Training, which she started in 1998 after 12 years as a television news and talk show producer in the San Francisco Bay Area. She coached top executives and professionals on how to be more effective speakers for speeches, presentations, and media interviews.From 2011-2015 she was an instructor at the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business in three of the Executive MBA programs. From 2007 - -2009 she coached the five finalists in the Forbes.com national Boost Your Business Contest in New York City.

 

Her book Give Your Elevator Speech a Lift! (Book Publishers Network, August, 2010 Second Edition) is a step-by-step guide through her proven process for creating a winning elevator speech, including content on personal branding and social media. Lorraine’s method helps eliminate the verbal clutter when answering the question “What do you do?”

 

Her client list included Starbucks Coffee Company, University of Washington, Cascadia College, Microsoft, City of Seattle, City of Bellevue, AAA Washington, Group Health Cooperative, Seattle Children’s and Research Center, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, NetHope, Seneca Group, The Mountaineers Books, Seattle Genetics, ZymoGenetics, Kibble & Prentice, U.S. Small Business Administration, Edelman Public Relations Worldwide.

 

She is a Cum Laude graduate from the University of Washington, Phi Beta Kappa. Lorraine is a member of the Association for Women in Communications, National Women’s Political Caucus of Washington, and a Washington State Certified OMWBE.

 

Lorraine received the national Headliner Award in 2009 from the Association for Women in Communications. In October 2012, she was inducted into the UW Department of Communication’s Alumni Hall of Fame.

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