Helena Dea Bala
Vice President
EXPERIENCE: Author, lobbyist, lawyer, Capitol Hill staffer
EDUCATION: The George Washington University Law School
HOMETOWN: It’s Complicated. (Ask me about it!)
Helena is a collector. She collects restaurants to try, perfume notes she enjoys, and words she’d like to use in a press release someday (sybaritic, petrichor, avant la lettre…). But her favorite thing to collect is stories.
After graduating from law school cum laude and spending a few years in DC as a lobbyist, Helena took a career detour to research and write a book (check out the CBS Sunday Morning segment on Craigslist Confessional, below.) Through the experience, she learned about humanity in extremis and how to listen to people and tell their stories, faithfully and truthfully – as they would want them told.
At PKPR, Helena does just that: she finds what Flaubert called the mot juste – the exact right words – to tell your story. A perennially dissatisfied perfectionist, she believes in the power of PR, done right, and working with mission-driven individuals and organizations to amplify their stories.
One of Helena’s most re-read books is Stay Up with Me by Tom Barbash, particularly the last story – The Women. This is certainly not an impartial take, but she also really enjoyed writing her own book, Craigslist Confessional. Her comfort watches include Frasier and Golden Girls reruns, and some of her favorite feel-good movies are Moonstruck, The Birdcage, When Harry Met Sally, Turner and Hooch, Landline, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Heartburn, and Bull Durham.
Her travel wishlist includes Greece, Turkey, Switzerland, Denmark, Colombia, Peru, South Africa, Kenya, and Japan.
Her dream client is The ONE Campaign and, predictably, her favorite concert was U2 in 2010, though her most memorable moment was singing along with Dolores O’Riordan in the front row of a Cranberries concert. Other great artists she’s had the privilege of seeing in concert are Muse and Stromae, and she’s looking forward to seeing Andrea Bocelli at Madison Square Garden this December.
Watch Helena’s story on
CBS Sunday Morning