Eric Friedenwald-Fishman
Creative Director/President
Eric is widely recognized as one of the nation’s most effective experts in developing and implementing community-sector communication and resource development campaigns. He specializes in creating major social purpose brands, public-private partnerships and public will building strategies, and has led the company in raising more than $1 billion in support of client projects.
Since Metropolitan Group’s founding in 1989, Eric has served as the key strategist and campaign counsel on hundreds of international, national and regional projects, and has developed extensive relationships with nonprofit, corporate, public sector and philanthropic decision-makers. His expertise in social marketing, attitudinal and behavioral change campaigns, socially responsible branding, fundraising strategy, and public policy and issues management creates sustainable results and social impact.
Eric has worked with organizations engaged in a wide range of issues, policies and programs, including community and economic development; libraries and literacy; public health; environmental conservation and sustainability; arts, culture and heritage; children, youth and family services; social justice and human rights. He has worked extensively with nonprofits, foundations, public agencies and socially responsible businesses. Past and current clients include ShoreBank Corporation, Ford Foundation, TransFair USA, American Library Association, National Children’s Museum, YMCA of the USA, Land Trust Alliance, RugMark Foundation, Calvert, Oregon Department of Human Services, National Council of La Raza, Enterprise, National Trust for Historic Preservation, World Agroforestry Centre, National Council of the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial, The Saint Paul Foundation, Folger Shakespeare Library and many others.
Eric is the principal author of Metropolitan Group’s Public Will Framework, a model that builds public demand for lasting social change in a process that connects an issue to existing, closely held values of individuals and groups and leverages grassroots and traditional media strategies. He is co-author of Marketing That Matters, a book on marketing practices that benefit businesses and change the world, published by Berrett-Koehler and translated into Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Portuguese. He is also co-author of “Increasing Relevance, Relationships and Results: Principles & Practices for Effective Multicultural Communication,” an article released by MG in 2008.
Eric has worked throughout North America and in Europe, New Zealand and Africa and has developed campaigns that included Latin American and Asian markets. He has served as a member of the adjunct faculty at the Hatfield School of Government’s Institute for Nonprofit Management in the College of Urban and Public Affairs at Portland State University, and is in frequent demand at regional, national and international symposia as a speaker, presenter and teacher.
Eric is deeply involved in his community. He serves on the boards of Willamette University and The Library Foundation and was co-chair of Multnomah County Library’s literacy and endowment campaign. He is co-chair of his children’s public school foundation and is the 2008 recipient of the Exemplary Business Volunteer for the Arts award from Northwest Business for Arts and Culture. Eric is also a winner of The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest. He enjoys travel, theater, cooking with lots of garlic, studying history, and reading stories with his two young children.
Touch me with madness, that I might dance out this frenzy of reason.—James DePreist
