Kelly O'Hanlon

Kelly has worked in the public relations industry for more than 20 years, both agency and in-house, consumer and B2B. A former BCU student herself, Kelly graduated in 2005 with a BA in Media and Communications, in 2017 with a PGCE in Higher Education, and again in 2018 with an MA in Public Relations.

She started her PR career at the multi award-winning WPR Agency and went on to lead its successful home and lifestyle team, before moving on over a decade later to establish a PR division for One Black Bear. Kelly then joined BCU as Senior Lecturer in PR and Media in 2016.

Kelly is an active member and former Co-Chair of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) Midlands Committee, a co-organiser of the Midlands PR Conference, and a CIPR Accredited Practitioner. She is also an external examiner at both University of Hertfordshire and University of Westminster.

A regular contributor to industry debates, Kelly has been interviewed by national and local media on a variety of topics, including issues around social media, celebrity profiles, brand reputation, crisis and representation. She also appeared in a talking head role as a 'PR expert' on Channel 5's Greatest Christmas Ads Ever programme in 2023.

Kelly is keen to give students real insight into the ways in which the media world is changing and how this is creating new and exciting pathways for public relations professionals. Passionate about the important role PR has to play and the creative opportunities this career provides, Kelly wants to ensure students become thinking practitioners who actively seek new ways to tell stories. She is well connected and is continuously creating new links and opportunities to link the courses she teaches on with the PR and communications industries, for the benefit of her students.