Mary Ellen Keating joined Barnes & Noble in 1998 as a senior vice president of corporate communications and public affairs. She is responsible for internal and external communications, media relations and public affairs for the corporation. Previously, Ms. Keating was executive vice president and general manager of the New York office of Hill and Knowlton. During her seven years there, she worked with a wide range of clients in developing corporate and marketing communications programs. Her experience includes corporate reputation management, brand management, internal communications, media relations, special events, speaker training, speech writing, community relations and crisis communications. Prior to joining Hill and Knowlton, Ms. Keating served the late Pennsylvania Governor Robert P. Casey as his chief spokesperson on economic development and tourism activities. John Cardinal O’Connor of New York, when Bishop of Scranton, appointed Ms. Keating executive director of communications for the Diocese of Scranton. She was the first woman to hold such a position. Ms. Keating began her career as a television reporter and later anchored the evening news at two local affiliates (NBC and CBS) in Pennsylvania. Her exclusive interview with one of the Iranian hostages received national media attention when it aired on the CBS Evening News.
