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# Capitol Communicators: Profile of Ben Finzel, President, RENEWPR, Washington, DC
- URL: https://capitolcommunicator.com/capitol-communicators-profile-of-ben-finzel-president-renewpr-washington-dc/
- Published: 2026-04-05T16:06:58.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-08T23:45:31.000Z
- Author: Debra Silimeo
- Tags: People, Profiles, #wp-top-right-sponsored, #Import 2026-10-08 18:56

***Capitol Communicators is a profile series spotlighting the people shaping the present*** 
***and future of advertising, digital, marketing and public relations in the Mid-Atlantic.*** 
***This profile features Ben Finzel.***

**Collaboration is an essential part of Ben Finzel’s story.** As he says, “PR is a team sport.” Finzel is president and founder of [RENEW**PR,**](https://www.renewpr.com/about?ref=capitolcommunicator.com) a DC-based communications agency launched in 2015 that weaves together the expertise of a team of independent PR professionals in key markets across the country. He also co-founded the first national network of multi-cultural and LGBTQ PR firms, The Change Agencies. He’s been honored as one of [50 Legacy Leaders Over 50](https://businessequalitymagazine.com/50%5Fabove%5F50/ben-finzel/?ref=capitolcommunicator.com) by BEQ Pride Magazine and a [Business of Pride honoree](https://www.renewpr.com/single-post/the-business-of-pride-and-the-power-of-recognition?ref=capitolcommunicator.com) by the Washington Business Journal. In 2021, he was inducted into the [PRSA National Capital Chapter Hall of Fame](https://prsancc.org/2021-hall-of-fame/?ref=capitolcommunicator.com). In 2025, RENEW**PR** received an Honorable Mention as LGBTQIA2+ Owned Agency of the Year in the [PR News Platinum Awards](https://www.chiefmarketer.com/event/2025-platinum-pr-awards/?ref=capitolcommunicator.com). When he’s not supporting his clients, he’s likely to be found enjoy the theater – another space where creativity and collaboration make the difference. 

**Ben, please tell us about yourself.**

My entire professional career has been in DC: I started out as a congressional staffer, was a presidential appointee in the Clinton Administration and worked in five PR firms before starting RENEW**PR** in 2015\. I’ve developed and managed a variety of national campaigns and worked on a number of different types of PR programs, but I’m a public affairs guy at heart. RENEW**PR** is focused on energy, environment and equity and that’s where I spend most of my time. 

**What are the things you are most proud of?**

On a professional level, I’d have to say I’m most proud of my service as a congressional staffer and a presidential appointee and my initiative to start my own firm. I didn’t necessarily know what I was doing or have a grand plan when I started, but as I’ve built my career, I have figured it out. From working on the Hill and in the Clinton Administration, I learned about how policy is made and who influences it – and how. That led to building and managing and growing RENEW**PR**. I help clients identify and achieve their communications goals. I can’t imagine doing anything else and I feel very fortunate to have created this opportunity for myself. On a personal level, I’m most proud of my marriage of more than a dozen years. My husband Mark is the best and I’m so grateful to him for his support, encouragement, advice and love. I’m a lucky man. 

**What professional advice do you have for others?**

If you want to have a successful career in public relations, you have to be inquisitive, you have to be flexible and you have to be collaborative. PR is about engaging with others and understanding the world around you so that you can help to influence how a person, group or thing is viewed – you can’t do that without being interested. That means you have to ask questions and listen to the answers. And it means you have to want to learn more and dig deeper. Doing that requires flexibility and a willingness to pivot when needed. And the only way you’ll be successful is to be collaborative. PR is a team sport, and you need to know how to work with others for maximum effect. I’ve also found that collaboration is a lot more fun than going it alone. Team work really does make the dream work. 

**Are you involved in any professional organizations and do you find them to be valuable?**

Yes, and yes. As a public relations professional, I’d say the most valuable membership I have is my membership in the Public Relations Society of America. I’ve been a member of the Counselors Academy section (for independent agency owners and leaders) for nearly ten years and am serving as the Chair-Elect for the section this year. Counselors Academy has taught me how to be a better, more effective leader and it has given me the tools and insights I need to grow my business. I’ve made lifelong friends in my various volunteer positions in the section and it’s how the idea of The Change Agencies came to be. The Change Agencies is the nation’s inclusive communications agency network that I co-founded with **LaTricia Woods** of Mahogany Xan Communications in Phoenix. Together, we are changing the ways businesses and organizations communicate across cultures. That would not have happened if I hadn’t been involved in Counselors and met LaTricia at a spring conference. 

**Many of us recently celebrated new inductees to the PRSA NCC Hall of Fame. You’re now a veteran! What did that recognition mean for you?**

What an inspiring night that was in December 2025 witnessing the induction of my friend **Shonali Burke** and the amazing **Dr. Sheila Brooks.** I’m so grateful I had the opportunity to be there for that well-earned recognition of those two inspiring professionals. As for myself, I’ll add that any positive recognition is meaningful, but being inducted into a Hall of Fame that includes many of the most significant public relations professionals in our industry was incredible. To be honored by your peers as someone worthy of lifetime recognition is not something that I ever imagined happening for me. Shonali nominated me and several members of my Team and Network supported the nomination. That kind of affirmation meant the world to me then and it still does. Awards and honors are a sign that you’re doing something right and that other people think so too. Being a member of the PRSA National Capital Chapter Hall of Fame is one of my proudest achievements. 

**How do you make a collaboration of experts from around the country work?**

With a lot of communication and trust and cooperation! There are several different models for the kind of expert network that I and other agency leaders have developed. In my case, the collaboration works because of the people. My team of independent public relations professionals is comprised only of people I have worked with before, and in some cases, people I have known for decades. So, the trust is already there. The knowledge and insight of each other’s capabilities and work style is already there. And the interest and respect in and for each other is already there. The RENEW**PR** Team is one of the main reasons we are so successful: our firm is not just me, but a group of nearly ten other professionals with their own insights, experiences and skills. I so enjoy working with and learning from each one of them and I know how fortunate I am to call them colleagues and friends. 

**You once worked on Capitol Hill. Would you do it again? Would you recommend it to a young person now?**

My service on Capitol Hill was so long ago – a generation, really. And so much has changed in the intervening years. For me, working on Capitol Hill was a life-changing experience that set me on the path that I’m on now. I wouldn’t change it for anything. I learned so much, met so many great people and accomplished so much too. I would do it again then, but not now. Working on the Hill requires a great deal of energy, an endless supply of patience and a willingness to sacrifice. It’s not always as glamorous as it may seem and it’s not easy. I would recommend it to a young person now if that person was open and willing to go in eyes wide open about the sacrifices required to have the awesome experience you get from working on the Hill. It’s not for everyone, but it’s an important job and one that contributes so much to our society. 

**What do you like to do in your spare time?** 

If you’ve ever been on a Zoom call with me when I’m in my home office, you already know this: I’m a huge theater fan. My home office has 29 framed Broadway “window card” posters from shows my husband Mark and I have seen over the years. Because most of them are on the wall behind me, they show up as a wall of theater on every Zoom call, and they always invite conversation and questions. We love theater and it’s fun to help share our support for the arts in this way. 

**Capitol Communicators** [**profiles**](https://capitolcommunicator.com/tag/profiles/) **allow you to meet** 
**some of the most interesting and insightful pros in our region, and** 
**learn how they stay ahead during a time of constant change.**