Lorraine Howell started Media Skills Training in 1998 after 12 years as a television news and talk show producer in the San Francisco Bay Area. She coaches top executives and professionals on how to be more effective speakers for speeches, presentations, and media interviews. Since January 2011 she has been an instructor at the UW Foster School of Business in the Technology Management, the Executive and the Global Executive MBA programs. From 2007 through 2009, Lorraine 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! is a step-by-step guide through her proven process for creating a winning elevator speech, personal branding, and social media. As the Senior Segment Producer on the top rated news show at KTVU, the Fox affiliate in Oakland, she specialized in booking exclusive, live interviews with top names in the news, public figures and celebrities. She produced live broadcasts from the White House and from the Capitol in Washington, D.C., from the 1996 Republican & Democratic National Conventions, and from “Camp O.J.” during the Simpson murder trial in Los Angeles. At KPIX, the CBS affiliate, she produced live, one-hour programs featuring breaking news stories, controversial issues and emerging trends, and a long list of celebrities on the number-one morning talk show. She speaks on media relations and presentation skills at conferences and seminars. Her clients include Starbucks Coffee Company, the UW, Microsoft, Group Health Cooperative, Seattle Children’s, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seneca Group, The Mountaineers Books, 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 also a member of Women in Communications, Women Business Owners, Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, Public Relations Society of America, and a Washington State Certified OMWBE. Lorraine received the national AWC Headliner Award for 2009 from the Association for Women in Communications. She was the first Washington state candidate for the National Organization for Women. She ran for office while a student at UW in 1979.