The Message Engineers

Biography of Jonathan Lehrer

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Jonathan Lehrer, co-founder and president of The Message Engineers, is a marketing communications expert, with special focus on transportation, traffic safety, gasoline prices and the environment. He specializes in Internet sites, strategic planning and message development. His experience includes assignments in telecommunications, healthcare and non-profit organizations. He recently served as co-president of the Publicity Club of Chicago.

Jonathan Lehrer leads a media training session.

Along with Louis Pukelis, Lehrer  was a consultant to E. Morris Communications, the public relations contractor for the Illinois Department of Transportation’s massive Dan Ryan and Kingery expressway reconstruction projects in Chicago. Pukelis and Lehrer also were consultants to HNTB Corporation, project manager for the Illinois Tollway.

Lehrer is a frequent public speaker and workshop leader on topics including public relations and Web site strategy and design. Growing up in Chicago's north suburbs, Lehrer holds a B.S., Speech from Northwestern University, where he later chaired the Speech Alumni Board.

He worked for many years as vice president of public affairs for the AAA-Chicago Motor Club, where he was the chief media spokesman and editor of the membership magazine, Home & Away.

Jonathan Lehrer conducts a workshop on Web design for the Community Media Workshop. (Photo by Karen Kring, CMW)

Lehrer has won awards for Web site planning and design and while at AAA-CMC, Lehrer was recognized for excellence in public affairs programming. Before leaving AAA-CMC to establish his own consulting practice, he led the initial development of the club’s Internet site.

At AAA, he was responsible for numerous transportation-related accomplishments:

• Establishment of "Ice Pack," an award-winning coalition of government and private-sector agencies dedicated to winter driving safety;
• Organized major road construction news conference at which representatives of IDOT, Wisconsin DOT, Indiana DOT and the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority presented their summer construction plans to the new media at a single event;
• Developed "Traffic Tracker" program, volunteer call-in traffic tipsters, in conjunction with Roz Varon, WLS-TV Traffic Reporter;
• Organized tire-changing demonstration day, jointly with IDOT Minutemen;
• Created and coordinated area-wide pre-winter car inspection program, co-sponsored by Jiffy Lube and Chicago Tribune;
• Created weekly road construction update, distributed to news media in Illinois and Indiana;

  During a brainstorming session, Jonathan Lehrer organizes ideas.

• Appeared weekly on WGN Radio to discuss how road construction projects would affect Midwest travel;
• Hired and managed on-air traffic reporters at WBBM Newsradio;
• Conceived "Crisis Ahead," a national cooperative public affairs program among all AAA-affiliated motor clubs, calling attention to the nation’s crumbling highway infrastructure and working for passage of increased highway funding; and
• Brought the national office of AAA in as major partner in Project Advance the IDOT-FHwA intelligent vehicle project in the mid-1990s; also served as internal public relations advisor to the ADVANCE steering committee.

While working at AAA, he served on numerous government commissions and task forces focusing on the environment, traffic congestion, highway safety, insurance and travel, including:

• Illinois Highway Users Conference (chairman)
• Secretary of State Traffic Safety Advisory Council
• Secretary of State License Plate Task Force
• Roadway Operations Task Force (CATS)
• Kennedy Expressway Reconstruction Task Force
• Transportation Task Force, World Cup Soccer & Democratic National Convention
• Steering Committee, Project ADVANCE (IDOT)
• Truck Safety Task Force (Secretary of State)
• Partners for Clean Air steering committee (CATS & Ill. EPA)
• Downtown Parking Task Force – author of final report (Chicago Association of Commerce and Industry, now known as Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce)
• White House Tourism Conference
• ITS Midwest

Updated April 2008

Learn about Jonathan Lehrer's recent appearances and presentations