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Strategic Matchmakers
Meet Hope and Jason Brown of PublicCity PR.
Vivian Henoch | Special to the Jewish News
John Hardwick
I
n 2008, Jason Brown took a leap of
faith and left a steady job to start his
own Metro Detroit-based PR firm. It
was a bold move at a time of economic
uncertainty where every move in business
signaled caution if not crisis.
But, at 37, Jason was confident he had
the expertise gained through more than a
decade of PR agency experience. He had
the vision and spirit of an entrepreneur.
He had a strong work ethic, a passion for
the business and a desire to provide ser-
vice to deserving small businesses in his
community.
And best of all, he had Hope, his wife,
whose professional background and tal-
ents complemented his own skill set in
strategic communications and planning.
“It was Hope — being Hope — who
gave me the motivation and the go-ahead
to start PublicCity PR,” he says.
Hope admits, “I was not on board at
first. I was terrified and Jason was brave.
I’m the natural worrier, but Jason —
always the negotiator — convinced me to
give him six months to find enough pay-
ing clients to make a living for our family.
And since then, we’ve never looked back.”
With more than 14 years of experi-
ence working in several PR agencies,
Hope joined the firm as a principal
in 2012. Together, they have moved
PublicCity from the homefront to offices
in Southfield. As their client roster has
grown, so, too, has their commitment
to pro bono work and volunteer service
to the community through organiza-
tions including the Crohn’s and Colitis
Foundation of American (CCFA) –
Michigan Chapter, Yad Ezra, Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Detroit and
Congregation Shir Tikvah.
The community work ethic Jason and
Hope have established in their business
is a strongly held value that they have
instilled in their children, Eliza, 9, and
Libby, 5. Eliza already has established
herself as a top fundraiser for her school’s
American Heart Association event.
“It’s always been a focus of ours to help
others,” Jason says. “We all need help at
some point in life. Now we are fortunate
enough to have the opportunity to live in
Jewish Detroit and give back to our com-
munity as a family.”
Spartans and Tigers fans forever, the Browns live in Beverly Hills.
ON FAMILY AND EARLY
INFLUENCES
Q: Tell us a little about each of your Jewish
backgrounds and how they have shaped
your family life and business
Jason: I have a diverse Jewish back-
ground, to say the least. I grew up in
Southfield for most of my childhood.
My grandfather, Sam Hornung, was a
Holocaust survivor who was born and
raised in Auschwitz. Yes, he actually lived
there, that was his city of origin. We’ve
recently added his story to the Holocaust
Memorial Center as a tribute to his life.
For nearly 40 years, he was an Orthodox
Jewish barber for the Detroit community.
My grandfather thought it would be a
good idea for me to go to Yeshiva Beth
Yehudah (YBY); so from kindergarten
through eighth grade, I had an Orthodox
Jewish education. At that point, I lived a
dual Jewish life. I played with my friends
who were in public school around the
block and did all the things that typical
suburban Jewish kids do; and yet, out of
respect for my grandparents, on most
Friday nights, I stayed with them in their
home in Southfield and walked with them
to shul on Saturday. At sundown, I would
come home again.
I believe that experience helped shape
the person I am today. My mother, too,
had the insight that YBY would provide
the structure, role models and Jewish val-
ues that I would carry through life. And
she was right.
From ninth grade through high school
graduation, I attended Akiva Hebrew Day
School. Akiva was a bridge to a more tra-
ditional high school and college education
that included girls in my classes for the
first time since kindergarten.
When I went off to college at Michigan
State, I lived in the Hillel House for a por-
tion of my off-campus housing. So I’d say,
throughout my education and on through
everything I do today, I have kept Judaism
as a close part of my life.
Hope: In contrast to Jason, I had a
very secular Jewish upbringing. I grew
up in Huntington Woods and attended
the Birmingham Temple, where I was
raised in the Humanistic style of Judaism
and celebrated my bat mitzvah. I was a
Tamarack kid and attended camp every
summer from second grade through the
start of high school. My parents gave
me the Jewish background and all the
opportunities they felt I needed, but they
allowed me to determine how I wanted to
be Jewish.
When Jason and I first got together,
we were a combination of all streams
of Judaism. I used to joke that Sam the
Barber was probably rolling in his grave
when Jason married a Humanistic girl.
Today, we’re more of a blend of the knowl-
edge that Jason brings from his experienc-
es and some of the more cultural aspects
of Judaism that always have been impor-
tant to my family. As a result, we both
stand solidly behind the Jewish values of
family, education, tzedakah, helping oth-
ers and hard work.
Q: You met early in your careers at Marx
Layne & Company. What drew you
together?
Jason: It was Rent. Hope was 22, I was
27. A few months after I joined the com-
pany, I asked Hope if she wanted to see
the play Rent.
Hope: I tell this story all the time.
Dating Jason was the furthest thing from
my mind, but I did want to see Rent. In
fact, I was so insistent that we weren’t on
a date that I forced him to let me pay for
the ticket. It was not exactly love at first
sight. It was something we grew into.
ON COMMUNITY WORK AND
NEVER SAYING NO
Q: How has volunteering and pro bono
work been an important part of your con-
tribution to the Jewish community?
Jason: It’s always been a focus of ours
to help others. We consider ourselves stra-
tegic matchmakers, meaning we’re always
on the lookout for ways to help people
connect. That’s something we learned
from the late Fred Marx who was always
one to meet people and get to know them.
In terms of our “pro bono work,” cli-
ents will often have a certain budget that
normally might not carry the distance
we’d like it to go, but we always find a way
to work with it to provide a real value for
what they can pay us. PublicCity also has
a range of nonprofit clients. We’re current-
ly proud to serve — as well as to support
— Covenant House for homeless teens,
continued on page 20
18 September 1 • 2016