About Steady Hand PR
Oliver bernstein: Founder & Principal
My life has been a constant reminder of the power of language, and I will bring my skills and experience to help you and your organization.
As Director of Communications for Every Texan (formerly CPPP — the Center for Public Policy Priorities), I pioneered proactive marketing and communications strategies to cut through the noise, reach key audiences and improve the lives of Texans. I spearheaded the transformational effort to rename and rebrand the 35-year-old think tank to be social justice-driven, welcoming and inclusive.
Through three successful Texas legislative sessions, I guided Every Texan to use language, video, images and pressure to expand health coverage and education across the state. I catalyzed our social media presence, introducing the use of live video and making our graphics more compelling. As a member of Every Texan’s executive leadership team, I advised the CEO on tricky media opportunities, challenging organizational changes and everything in between.
I have guided executives, board chairs, foundation presidents and communications directors through good times and bad. From preparing executives for interviews on 60 Minutes to organizing press conferences at the U.S. and Texas capitols and on the National Mall, I have a proven track record that will help your organization.
As communications strategist and press secretary for the national Sierra Club, America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, I chose language and strategies that compelled action to boost clean energy and fight the climate crisis. From shining media coverage on the push to close El Paso's dirty copper smelter to training communities in the Lower Rio Grande Valley on how to protect their neighborhoods from toxic chemicals, I helped Texans harness the power of language.
From commissioning a 20-foot-tall inflatable inhaler prop to get TV coverage of asthma and air pollution to turning tax analysts into football broadcasters to make a budget hearing exciting, I know what is newsworthy and how to be creative to get strategic news coverage.
My steadiness under pressure makes me a trusted senior adviser to non-profit and foundation executives. Whether it’s handling last-minute changes to a bill at the Texas Capitol or crisis communications after the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, I have the instincts to make critical decisions quickly.
As a champion coxswain (the person in the back of a rowing boat who coaches the rowers, steers with a steady hand, and executes race strategy) I realized the right words at the right time with the right emphasis can win it all.
As a fluent Spanish speaker, I’ve lived in Mexico City, conducted research in the Ecuadorian jungle, camped my way across Bolivia, and served as a spokesman on Univision TV.
Along the way I have given media and communications trainings to Texas Capitol lobbyists, nonprofit executives, environmental activists in Honduras, campaign staffers across Texas, Appalachian activists fighting for clean water and more.
As a former board president of American Gateways, which assists immigrants and refugees in Texas, I corrected misperceptions about immigrants and worked to ensure they had the legal and educational services they needed. I used my communications skills to help plan and promote successful fundraising events and guide the organization – formerly known as the Political Asylum Project of Austin – through a successful rebranding.
As a father, I teach my kids that language can help or harm, heal the world or divide it.