Steve Caplan
Founder/Principal Strategist
With over two decades at the intersection of public affairs, entertainment, and advertising, Steve Caplan brings a unique perspective to strategic communications.
Prior to launching his own agency in 2012 he was a Partner at GMMB, one of the nation’s leading cause marketing firms, where he headed the firm’s Los Angeles office. In addition to providing strategic counsel and advertising and social media expertise to advocacy organizations, not-for-profits, and major brands, Steve has overseen creative development and strategic efforts for clients including; the California Endowment, the Motion Picture Association of America, Save Darfur Coalition, and the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs widely acclaimed “Me Not Meth” campaign.
He has been on the front lines in shaping communications strategies for a number of complex policy issues, including homelessness, global health, and the environment, having served as a senior advisor during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 15) in Copenhagen.
Steve spent nearly seven years as executive vice president of the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP), where he represented approximately 270 of the nation’s leading commercial production companies, along with hundreds of vendors and suppliers for this $5 billion-a-year industry.
He also has extensive experience in politics at the national, state and local levels. He was a leading player in the 1991 election of Philadelphia Mayor (now Governor) Edward G. Rendell and later served under Mayor Rendell as Assistant Deputy Mayor Intergovernmental Relations. In addition, Steve was liaison for Mayor Rendell to a number of urban policy organizations, including the US Conference of Mayors.
Long active in community and civic affairs, he has served on a number of boards and commissions including Film LA, where he was vice chair, and on the advisory board of the Association of Film Commissioners International (AFCI). He was an appointed member of the City of Los Angeles Business Tax Advisory Commission, which successfully enacted comprehensive business tax reform in Los Angeles in 2004, and in 2006 was invited by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to be a member of a delegation of city officials and other leaders from the private and non-profit sectors for a trade mission to China, Japan and South Korea.
Steve attended the University of California, Santa Barbara as an undergraduate and earned his masters degree from the Fels School of Government at the University of Pennsylvania, focusing on public finance and management.