Who We Are
Leslie Kerns
Principal + Chief Strategist
From Leslie: I’m a senior communications executive, campaign strategist, and social change advisor with more than 20 years of experience creating impact for mission-driven ventures.
My work has helped change policy, transform systems, move the needle of public opinion, shift narratives, and strengthen brands. Along the way, I've created two successful businesses, built and led winning teams, practiced law, advised foundations, and learned a thing or two about what makes people, movements, and organizations tick.
Leslie’s Bio:
Leslie has more than 20 years of experience using communications, advocacy, narrative, and creative campaigns to create impact.
Since launching 1235 Strategies in 2019, Leslie has helped the Vera Institute of Justice lift the 26-year-old ban on Pell grants for incarcerated students and the EITC Funders Network make sure young workers get paid at tax time. She has also partnered with the FrameWorks Institute to create a new safety and justice narrative playbook using persuasion testing and digital ads. Other clients include the Public Welfare Foundation, Bail Project, CUNY Institute of State and Local Governance, FSG Consulting, STRIPED Initiative at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston Athenaeum, and Tax Law Center at NYU Law.
Leslie is also a member of the advisory council for the MacArthur Foundation’s Safety and Justice Challenge, its big bet to change how we think about and invest in local justice systems in the U.S.
Previously, Leslie was an Executive Vice President at M+R, a national digital marketing and PR firm. During her tenure, Leslie advanced transportation reform with Smart Growth America, changed how young people in the justice system are treated and talked about with the MacArthur Foundation, and elevated international family planning in the 2016 election with Population Connection. She also advised the Rockefeller Foundation, Humanity United, GlobalGiving, Pew Charitable Trusts, American Lung Association, 350.org, and other leading philanthropic and nonprofit organizations. Along the way, she turned a team of four into a thriving division of 25 earned media, social media, and campaign strategists. Leslie started her career as an attorney in Ohio.
When she is not working with organizations she cares about, you can find Leslie performing with Improv for the People, watching basketball, and reveling in her luck to live in downtown Los Angeles.
Our Trusted Partners
We promise to deliver senior attention, strategic integration, and maximum impact. That means when meeting your needs requires additional skills or brainpower, we assemble an experienced team, turning to one or more partners whom we trust and admire. Our partners are former colleagues and collaborators we’ve maintained relationships with over the last 20 years by showing up and being good people.
Here is a sampling:
