Michael Bsharah possesses nearly 25 years of experience in public relations and communications, working productively and successfully with employers and clients, alike.  After spending time as an Account Executive and Account Supervisor with two other public relations firms, he was appointed as Director, Department of Public Information and press secretary to then-Dearborn, Michigan Mayor Michael A. Guido

in July, 1998.

While with the City of Dearborn, Bsharah exceeded the Mayor’s charge for modernizing and energizing the Department.  He helped establish the City of Dearborn as a constructive force for change, growth and diversity through local, regional, and national electronic and print media and community word-of-mouth.

Due to several crises that confronted the City early on his watch, Bsharah established an expertise in successfully managing crisis communications and situations.  He helped direct communications

and community outreach following the July 21, 1998 storm which resulted in one-third of Dearborn homes losing power for up to five days; a Dearborn neighborhood mercury spill; and, the Ford Rouge Powerplant explosion of February 1, 1999.

He identified and synchronized – among the Mayor’s office and all Departments – core messages and operating procedures which further enhanced the City’s reputation for offering stellar public services, vibrant neighborhoods,
and for being a great place to do business.  He frequently advised and collaborated with Mayor Guido and senior staff on a range of issues, often preparing the Mayor for local, regional and national media opportunities, while regularly representing the City on television, radio and in print as spokesperson.

Bsharah established an unprecedented list of media targets in the Greater Detroit market that enriched the City’s stature.  With this, he created one of the first-ever electronic media directories for use by any municipality for the purposes of distributing news releases and photographs to news outlets capable of electronically receiving them.

Understanding how to blend emerging media tools with traditional ones, Bsharah co-chaired construction of the City’s first website, while conceptualizing and developing the City of Dearborn’s first-ever community newsletter, “The Back Fence”, and a series of informational brochures on various civic responsibilities and city services, entitled, “A Guide To…”

Throughout his nearly 25 years in the field, Bsharah has provided communication counsel and services to a variety
of Michigan and West Virginia organizations and industries, including those in:  waste management, law, faith-based, environmental/ brownfield redevelopment, higher education, organized labor and labor-management coalitions, as well as municipal, county and federal government.  He has been often called upon by a Washington, D.C. consulting firm to conduct grassroots and “grasstops” issue campaigns in Michigan and in West Virginia on federal legislation impacting excise taxation, nutrition and AMTRAK, to name a few.

In September, 2010, he was honored by the United States Census Bureau, Detroit Regional Office, with two Awards of Recognition, “As a team leader and partnership specialist, Mr. Bsharah has made a huge contribution to the Detroit Regional Census Center Partnership Program. His work was crucial in helping us connect to the hard-to-count and increase participation and response rates in his area of consideration.  His work with local government officials and community groups solidified partners for the current Census and likely for the next 10 years.”

In January 2011, Bsharah was invited by the White House Office on Public Engagement to participate in a series of issue-oriented conference calls with national community leaders; included among them, were discussions on sustaining landmark American health care reform and United States economic aid to developing nations.

He has served as President of the Michigan Municipal Communicators, an affiliate of the Michigan Municipal League; Board Member and Committee chair of the Public Relations Society of America, Detroit chapter as well as the International Association of Business Communicators of Detroit. Bsharah is currently a Board Member of Calvary House, http://www.calvaryhouseusa.org, an organization dedicated to serving the needs of military veterans and their families.  He also serves as an Advisory Board member of the Michigan American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee,http://www.adc.org.  Bsharah is also a member of and Ambassador for the Dearborn Area Chamber of Commerce.  A native of Charleston, West Virginia, he is married with two children.