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Public Relations

Public RelationsThe Brooklyn Campus Office of Public Relations is part of the Marketing Services and Public Relations unit that reports into University Relations. The Office, which also reports to the provost, develops and implements strategies to sustain positive public awareness of the Brooklyn Campus, helping to support the institution’s enrollment goals and to build pride and loyalty among its alumni and friends.

The Office manages media relations and promotional initiatives at the Campus level, drafting press releases and statements, handling crisis management and maintaining the Brooklyn Campus Experts Guide for journalists. It also is responsible for commencement programs, development communications and the writing of Campus newsletters, in addition to communications materials for the provost.

If you have questions, please call 718-488-1015 or fax 718-780-4046.

Public Relations Staff

Brian Harmon
Director of Public Relations
718-488-1418
fax: 718-780-4046
brian.harmon@liu.edu

Brian Harmon has written for millions of readers at a variety of major daily newspapers and community publications over the past 18 years. He was a reporter at The Detroit News for five years and, during his eight years with the Daily News in New York City, he worked as a reporter, as bureau chief and as assistant metro editor. Brian also worked at newspapers in Port Jefferson, N.Y., and in West Virginia. He joins Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus after a one-year stint with Times/Review Newspapers, where he served as managing editor of the Long Island newspaper chain.

Fatima Kafele
Director of Community Outreach and Arts Promotion; Deputy Director of Public Relations
718-488-1014
fax: 718-780-4046
fatima.kafele@liu.edu

Prior to joining Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus, Fatima Kafele served as the associate director of communications at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). In addition to BAM, she has worked overseas at the London-based public relations firm TSI Communications UK and served as a PR consultant to Ronald K. Brown and Evidence, A Dance Company; Red Clay Arts; and the International Association of Blacks in Dance. Fatima has been profiled in Crain's NY Business and Paper Magazine for her work in arts promotion. She holds an undergraduate degree from the University of the State of New York at Albany.

Alka Gupta
Assistant Director of Public Relations
718-780-4137
alka.gupta@liu.edu

Alka Gupta joined Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus in 1998, bringing with her a range of editorial and communications experiences. She served as associate public information specialist for New York City's Human Resources Administration from 1988 to 1994. Prior to that, she was a writer and an editor for the Hearst home design and architecture magazine, Colonial Homes, and a staff reporter for the business newspaper, The Money Manager. Alka earned a master's degrees in political science and journalism from New York University and an undergraduate degree from Barnard College.

Helen Saffran
Associate Director of Public Relations
718-488-1418
helen.saffran@liu.edu

Helen Saffran joined Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus in 1979. During her tenure, she has served as acting public relations director for the department and as an adjunct professor for the Campus, teaching English and a first-semester course for incoming students. Prior to that, she worked for 11 years as a copy editor for International Universities Press, a publisher of psychological and psychoanalytic books and journals. She holds a master's degree in psychology of school subjects from Columbia University's Teachers College and an undergraduate degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo.