Our Commitment to Sustainability

At the core of our values is a commitment to serving our clients. This commitment stems from a philosophy deeply rooted in our team: “we help because we can.” A touchstone for this belief is our founder Maril MacDonald’s own family’s values. From the time she was a young girl, she witnessed and participated in the kindness and selfless generosity given to others by her parents, making them cherished members of their community and even to strangers. This is what it means to be “Gagen.” Our commitment to helping others extends beyond our clients to our broader community. From our backyards to our profession, we make involvement in the community part of our lives every day.

Developing the Communications Profession

Gagen MacDonald believes in developing talent as a sustainable resource, promoting long-term, comprehensive strategic training, networking and leadership development to up-and-coming communications leaders. In our deep engagement and leadership to the Arthur W. Page Society, we are supporting the launch and development of the pioneer program, Future Leaders Experience, a two-year program to prepare high-potential communications executives to assume the chief communications officer role at a major corporation. In addition to the Arthur W. Page Society we also actively participate in and provide leadership to the Council of Communication Management, Institute for Public Relations, Commission on Global Public Relations Research, and ACEJMC (Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications). Various staff also volunteer their time to lecture at universities and industry conferences around the country.

Supporting our Communities

In our communities we support various non-profits with pro-bono and discounted services, volunteerism and financial giving. As individuals, many of our people are members of boards of various foundations and charities, and we volunteer within our communities.

Gagen MacDonald is a member of Business for Social Responsibility.