James Shackelford, APR

James Shackelford is the vice president and director of public information at amfAR, the foundation for AIDS research. James leads engagement with amfAR’s external stakeholders overseeing communications, media relations, editorial, digital content and creative for the foundation. Before joining amfAR, he led global communications and content for Aon, a professional services firm with 50,000 colleagues across 120 countries. Earlier in his career, James founded a public relations and marketing consultancy that served clients including Microsoft, Walmart, Sam’s Club, Honeywell, UNICEF, Be the Match, and AARP. He served on the national board of directors of the Public Relations Society of America from 2020-2022 and is a member of the National Press Club of D.C., the Chartered Institute for Public Relations (United Kingdom), the Institute of Internal Communications, and the World Communications Forum Association Davos.