Elyse Yates is a lifelong Austinite with over 20 years of experience in: 

• Public relations and community outreach

• Media relations

• Digital strategic planning

• Social media outreach

• Data analytics

• Strategic planning and

• Digital and social media strategy

Yates is the President of Digital Advance (D|A) and offers more than two decades of experience and expertise in arenas as diverse as politics, tech, public affairs, nonprofits, and entertainment. She started her professional career working for the Texas Consumer Association and Governor Ann Richards, while public clients in recent years have included the office of Mayor Steve Adler, the two most recent and successful housing bonds, and the successful transportation bond of 2016. Her team won a Reed Award for their work on the 2018 Austin housing bond.

Prior to launching D|A, Elyse was a managing director for Public Strategies, Inc., the recognized leader in public perception management for Fortune 500 companies. During her tenure there, Elyse built an interactive business unit and a media relations division, managed the firm’s marketing and branding, and led teams consulting for a broad spectrum of clients, including Perot Systems, the San Antonio Spurs, Seton Healthcare Family and Bank of America. Previously, Elyse was a media relations specialist at IBM, where she worked with broadcast media nationwide, specializing in the use of technology to distribute content. Among her earlier political credentials, Yates served as deputy spokesperson for then-Governor Ann Richards.

Yates started integrating digital media into public affairs campaigns for key stakeholder outreach early. After a tenure at IBM, Yates founded the Digital Team at Public Strategies, and the focus continued when she established her own company.  

Yates’ vast experience in how technology changes communication has evolved into her current expertise – creating campaigns and research methodology in the political/public-policy arena.

Elyse currently serves as a board member for The University of Texas’ School of Natural Science and the Wittliff Collection at Texas State.