Beth Silverman walks fast, talks fast and some say she's on the fast track to becoming Chicago's next public relations maven.

Beth Silverman, 46, is the founder and president of The Silverman Group, Inc., a prominent Chicago-centric public relations boutique specializing in the arts and leisure fields, from theater, dance and music, to film, visual arts and hospitality.

Following two valuable college internships, Ms. Silverman's career in public relations officially began in Chicago in 1986 at Kurman Communications, where she promoted a diverse roster of consumer accounts, including automobiles, gourmet coffee, and nightclubs.  In 1988, pursuing her lifelong passion for the arts, she joined the staff of Margie Korshak, Inc. where she rose through the ranks over 12 years (ultimately serving as Vice President of the Entertainment Division).  Through this experience, she not only honed her public relations skills, but also gained an incredible range of contacts throughout the city and beyond.  Eventually realizing that among her contemporaries in the business community were the next wave of theater producers, marketing directors and non-profit executives, Ms. Silverman left MKI in 1999 to parlay her connections and launch the Silverman/LaCorte Group, a boutique firm specializing in public relations and promotions services for arts and entertainment clientele.  She subsequently bought out partner Marlo LaCorte in 2001, becoming the sole proprietor of The Silverman Group, Inc.  Now in its 10th year, The Silverman Group currently has four amazing employees, and a distinguished client list of top non-profit cultural organizations and commercial entities.

Ms. Silverman, herself, has become a Chicago connector in the truest sense of The Tipping Point author Malcolm Gladwell's words, i.e. "The kind of people who know everyone, with a truly extraordinary knack of making friends and acquaintances."” Having resided and worked in the Chicago area her entire life (not to mention possessing an uncanny knack for not forgetting a face), Ms. Silverman is one of the city's biggest proponents and is proud to claim an extensive and valuable network of friends, former colleagues and business contacts. She rarely goes anywhere without recognizing someone, and has encountered familiar Chicago faces in airports, on a street corner in New York, and on the islands of Turks & Caicos, along with nearly every restaurant, cultural venue or retailer she frequents. 

Throughout her career, Ms. Silverman has relished her role as connector to her peers, and counselor to the next generation of publicists. Given her passion for public relations, she is proud to serve as a mentor both officially, via her work with the national Step Up Women's Network, and informally, via the lessons imparted to her staff.  Ms. Silverman is proud to have trained some of Chicago's most polished publicists, and she is frequently sought out by public relations professionals throughout the city who want an expert, experienced second opinion. She has served on panels promoting public relations and entrepreneurship for the Arts & Business Council of Chicago, Step-Up Women's Network, and the Commercial Theater Institute.   

As personable as she is professional, Ms. Silverman was named one of Chicago Magazine's "25 Most Eligible Singles" in 2000, while the Chicago Sun-Times proclaimed her to be "One of Ten Stars that will Shine Brightly" and New City designated the Silverman/LaCorte Group one of Chicago Theater's 50 Leading Characters. 

Ms. Silverman is a 1986 graduate of the University of Illinois at Champaign/Urbana.

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