An award-winning public relations practitioner with a strong background in politics and public affairs, Kathy Barks Hoffman knows the players, the issues and the strategies needed to help clients succeed.
She has worked with clients active in economic development, education, health care, business, manufacturing, public policy and social services.
Kathy has substantial experience in public policy communications, having covered Michigan and national politics for more than two decades as the head of The Associated Press’ Lansing Bureau and as a reporter for The Detroit News and Lansing State Journal. She has an insider’s knowledge of Michigan and national media, and spent many years as a panelist on public television’s “Off the Record” public affairs program. Her peers have honored Kathy for her past work by inducting her into the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame in 2019 and the Ball State Journalism Hall of Fame in 2020.
In the public relations field, she has won numerous awards in the Central Michigan Public Relations Society of America Chapter’s annual PACE Awards, the PRSA East Central District’s regional Diamond Awards and the West Michigan PRSA Chapter’s PRoof Awards. Kathy was a director in the Public Affairs Practice of Lambert, Edwards and Associates (now Lambert) in Lansing for two years before joining Martin Waymire in 2014. She retired from Martin Waymire in June 2022 as a vice president and now is a senior consultant for the company.
Kathy holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Ball State University and a master’s degree in American Studies from Michigan State University.
From May until October, Kathy spends as much time as possible on Lake Michigan with her husband, Brent, and their 34-foot sailboat, “Comes a Time.” They also like to ride on Michigan’s bike trails. She currently serves on the board of directors for the Society of Professional Journalists Mid-Michigan Chapter and is a founding member of the Michigan Coalition for Open Government. She and her husband have two grown sons.
