Matthew Hiltzik (born May 12, 1972) is an American
attorney
Attorney may refer to:
* Lawyer
** Attorney at law, in some jurisdictions
* Attorney, one who has power of attorney
* ''The Attorney'', a 2013 South Korean film
See also
* Attorney general, the principal legal officer of (or advisor to) a gove ...
,
public relations and communications consultant, and the founder of the strategic communications and consulting firm Hiltzik Strategies, which represents high-profile organizations and individuals.
Early life and education
Hiltzik was raised in
Teaneck, New Jersey. During his youth, he attended
Yavneh Academy, where he was classmates with
Naftali Bennett,
Adam Szubin, and
Jeremy Dauber
Jeremy A. Dauber is the Atran Professor of Yiddish Language, Literature, and Culture in the Department of Germanic Languages at Columbia University, specializing in Yiddish and Jewish literature, American Jewish culture, and American studies.
Sin ...
. He graduated from the
Ramaz School. He attended the
Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations and then the
Fordham University School of Law.
He is a member of the
New York State Bar Association
The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of New York. The mission of the association is to cultivate the science of jurisprudence; promote reform in the law; facilitate the administration of justice ...
.
Career
After law school, he worked as press secretary and deputy executive director of the
New York State Democratic Committee
The New York State Democratic Committee is the affiliate of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Its headquarters are in Manhattan, and it has an office in Albany, New York, Alba ...
under Judith Hope, the first woman to head a major political party in New York. While in that role, he worked on the 1998 campaigns of
Chuck Schumer and
Eliot Spitzer
Eliot Laurence Spitzer (born June 10, 1959) is an American politician and attorney. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was the 54th governor of New York from 2007 until his resignation in 2008.
Spitzer was b ...
, and
Hillary Clinton's Listening Tour in July 1999. In December 1999, Hiltzik joined
Miramax
Miramax, LLC, also known as Miramax Films, is an American film and television production and distribution company founded on December 19, 1979, by brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein, and based in Los Angeles, California.
It was initially a leadi ...
as head of corporate communications. He became senior vice president of corporate communications and government relations, and was involved in public relations for Miramax Films,
Miramax Books, Miramax TV, ''
Talk
Talk may refer to:
Communication
* Communication, the encoding and decoding of exchanged messages between people
* Conversation, interactive communication between two or more people
* Lecture, an oral presentation intended to inform or instruct
...
'' magazine, philanthropic and political fundraising and crisis management.
In 2000, Hiltzik took a brief leave from Miramax to re-join Hillary Clinton's senatorial campaign as the director of Jewish relations. Hiltzik worked on outreach in the
Reform,
Conservative and
Orthodox
Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to:
Religion
* Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...
communities for Clinton's campaign, including making inroads with women in the
Hasidic
Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...
community. He met with leaders in New York's Jewish communities, including the
Bobovers Hasidic section.
He then teamed up with the U.K.-based publicity company,
Freud Communications
Freud Communications is a public relations firm based in London. It was founded in 1985 by Matthew Freud. He is the great-grandson of the Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, who himself was the uncle of Edward Bernays, the Austrian-American pion ...
, to start up their U.S. operations. He became
Katie Couric's publicist and spokesman shortly before her move from
NBC to
CBS in 2006. She acknowledged his role in her career in her 2021 memoir ''Going There''.
Hiltzik went out on his own in early 2008 to start up Hiltzik Strategies. He maintained his political roots advising
Jose Antonio Vargas's DefineAmerican campaign to address immigration policy in the United States and pass the
DREAM Act, and
Thomas DiNapoli in his successful bid for
New York State Comptroller. Hiltzik served on New York City Mayor
Bill DeBlasio
Bill de Blasio (; born Warren Wilhelm Jr., May 8, 1961; later Warren de Blasio-Wilhelm) is an American politician who served as the List of mayors of New York City, 109th mayor of New York City, mayor of New York City from 2014 to 2021. A membe ...
's 2014 Inaugural Committee. He also advised
Reshma Saujani, founder of
Girls Who Code, in her primary against Rep.
Carolyn Maloney. Hiltzik advised political strategist
Lis Smith
Lis Smith (born October 15, 1982) is an American political strategist affiliated with the Democratic Party. She is most well known for being the senior advisor for Pete Buttigieg's 2020 presidential campaign and the director of rapid response for ...
on crisis management, and encouraged her to write a book about her experiences, which was published as ''Any Give Tuesday'' in 2022.
In 2017, Hiltzik was listed on ''
Sports Business Journal
American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes The Business Journals, which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States, Hemmings Motor News ...
''s "Power Players" list. In August 2021, ''
Business Insider'' ranked Hiltzik as one of the top public relations people in crisis management, citing his experience working with high-profile clients like
Brad Pitt
William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. ...
,
Eric Schmidt
Eric Emerson Schmidt (born April 27, 1955) is an American businessman and software engineer known for being the CEO of Google from 2001 to 2011, executive chairman of Google from 2011 to 2015, executive chairman of Alphabet Inc. from 2015 to 20 ...
,
Katie Couric and
Kelly Ripa.
Hiltzik and his team were engaged by attorneys to support litigation in the
Johnny Depp
John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Award ...
trial, and Hiltzik played a primary role in rehabilitating the actor's image during his successful defamation case against
Amber Heard. Hiltzik kept a low profile in the media in the aftermath of the trial, while working to encourage support for Depp and revitalize his career.
Film and print media
He was executive producer of the documentary films ''Documented,'' ''The Barn'', the award-winning ''
Paper Clips'' and ''
Holy Land Hardball
''Holy Land Hardball'' (2008) is a documentary film about starting a professional baseball league in Israel. It is the story of the founding of the Israel Baseball League.
Synopsis
Boston bagel maker Larry Baras, who had no sports management exp ...
''; and co-produced the documentary ''
Connected''.
He is also a contributor to the Jewish magazine ''
Tablet
Tablet may refer to:
Medicine
* Tablet (pharmacy), a mixture of pharmacological substances pressed into a small cake or bar, colloquially called a "pill"
Computing
* Tablet computer, a mobile computer that is primarily operated by touching the s ...
''.
Recognition and board memberships
In 2012 Hiltzik was honored by the
New York Board of Rabbis for his work in the Jewish community.
In July 2015, he was the first public relations professional to be named to the board of directors of the
New York City Economic Development Corporation, a not-for-profit corporation that promotes economic growth throughout New York City.
Hiltzik sits on the Board of the Ghetto Film School. In the summer of 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic, Hiltzik suggested that the school's film competition focus on the subject of connection during isolation and lockdown.
Personal life
Hiltzik lives in New York City. He is married to wife Dana and has three children.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hiltzik, Matthew
1972 births
Living people
20th-century American Jews
Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations alumni
Fordham University School of Law alumni
People from Teaneck, New Jersey
Ramaz School alumni
21st-century American Jews
American businesspeople in mass media
American consultants
American consulting businesspeople
Jewish American attorneys
21st-century American lawyers
American public relations people
American publicists
American political consultants
American press secretaries
Political campaign staff
New York (state) Democrats
American nonprofit businesspeople