Lynn Appelbaum is a seasoned public relations professional and educator with over 30 years of experience working with national and local corporate, education, arts, and not-for-profit entities. As a professor since 1993 and Program Director from 2000-2016, she built a competitive undergraduate Advertising/PR program at CCNY's Department of Media & Communication Arts. She was instrumental in establishing the Master's in Branding + Integrated Communications program at BIC. Her program graduated over 250 majors who represent outstanding diverse talent, many of whom now have prominent roles in top communication agencies and businesses.

Lynn is an award-winning PR Educator and recipient of numerous awards and recognition, such as the 2016 HPRA Bravo Award for Outstanding Educator and Advocate for Diversity, the PRSA Educator of the Year for 2015, and PRSA NY President's Award for contributions to PRSA NY Chapter. She is a published author with research on multicultural professionals in PR, her work supported by grants from PRSA Foundation.

Lynn's strengths lie in public relations education, strategic planning, corporate communications, media relations, recruiting, and retaining diverse professionals in the Public Relations industry. She has an MA in Arts Administration from Indiana University Bloomington and a BM in Music from Ithaca College. Prior to her career in academia, Lynn held several notable positions in Public Relations, including Director of Public Affairs at The Cooper Union, Marketing Director at Merkin Concert Hall, PR Account Manager at New York University, and Press Manager at NBC.