Chernoff Newman names Erin Culbert Vice President of Public Relations
January 26, 2026
Chernoff Newman, a leading integrated marketing and communications agency in the Southeast, has named Erin Culbert, APR, as the firm’s vice president of public relations and general manager of the Charlotte office. Culbert will lead the agency’s public relations and social media teams across Columbia, Charleston and Charlotte, oversee the Charlotte office and support continued growth across North Carolina.
Culbert is an accomplished communications strategist with more than 20 years of experience leading mission-driven, high-impact communications and brand reputation initiatives in Charlotte. She joins Chernoff Newman from Duke Energy, where she most recently served as managing director of enterprise communications and digital media. In her time with the company, she led teams supporting the company’s top executives and overseeing strategic and crisis communications, issues management, media relations, internal communications, stakeholder engagement and public affairs.
“Erin brings deep experience and strong leadership to Chernoff Newman,” said Peter LaMotte, president of strategic communications at Chernoff Newman. “Her work across multiple industries, leading large teams and navigating complex communications challenges, reflects our commitment to hiring top talent who truly understand the issues our clients face, because she has addressed them firsthand.”
Prior to Duke Energy, Culbert served as environmental outreach coordinator for Charlotte Water at the City of Charlotte, where she led public relations efforts for water and wastewater infrastructure initiatives and managed a community education program focused on water resources. Earlier in her career, she was communications director for Catawba Lands Conservancy and a newspaper reporter in Virginia and Ohio, covering government, environmental, health and education issues.
Culbert holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master’s degree in environmental studies from Ohio University and earned the Public Relations Society of America’s (PRSA) Accreditation in Public Relations in 2008. She received PRSA Charlotte’s Infinity Award, its highest award for character, career and service, in 2025.
She is actively engaged in the Charlotte community, serving on the board of directors of Digi-Bridge, a nonprofit focused on expanding STEAM education opportunities for students in underrepresented communities, and on the board of directors of Leadership Charlotte, from which she graduated as a member of Class 44.
About Chernoff Newman
Chernoff Newman is a fully integrated marketing communications firm with deep category experience in agriculture, food and beverage, education and workforce development, energy, economic development, financial/insurance, healthcare and infrastructure. In-house disciplines include advertising, marketing, branding, research, public relations and crisis management. Offices are in Columbia and Charleston, S.C.; Charlotte, N.C.; Orlando, Fla.; and Washington, D.C. We design communications that are impactful, thought-provoking and influential. We marry ingenuity with business know-how to influence beliefs and behaviors, opinion and outcomes, and to quell contention. Learn more at chernoffnewman.com.
