About
CRC Advisors is a public relations firm founded in 1989 by Leif E. Noren, who originally named it CRC Public Relations. According to Politico, CRC “has long been the go-to communications firm for conservative organizations in Washington and across the country.”
In 2020, Trump’s far-right “court whisperer” Leonard Leo worked with CRC Strategies President Greg Mueller to create a new conservative funding network. As part of this network, CRC Strategies rebranded itself as “CRC Advisors” to “funnel big money and expertise across the conservative movement.” It planned to spend a “minimum of $10 million [on an] issue advocacy campaign focusing on judges in the 2020 cycle.”
Corporate clients of CRC Advisors include many in the fossil fuel industry. CRC emailed journalists with an anti-climate change mitigation campaign on behalf of Chevron Corp. during the 2020 national protests about police brutality and racial injustice after the murder of George Floyd. The email from John Gage of CRC suggested that “despite [their] claimed solidarity, environmental organizations, composed of predominantly white members, are backing radical policies like the Green New Deal which would bring particular harm to minority communities.”
CRC Advisors and Leo’s Marble Freedom Trust “are leading the anti-ESG push and have spent more than $10 million on the effort so far,” The Wall Street Journal reported.
“The ESG movement is polluting our culture and assaulting the dignity and worth of people,” Leo told the Journal. “Our enterprise stands with a growing group of Americans who are fighting to crush leftist dominance in this arena.”
CRC Advisors is deeply engaged in the fight against “woke capitalism.” The group works closely with the State Financial Officers Foundation (SFOF), its members, and allies, records obtained and examined by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) show.
SFOF CEO Derek Kreifels consults with the “CRC folks” on op-eds.
At SFOF’s 2022 Fall National Meeting, CRC Advisors sent the largest number of staffers of any organization, with at least nine identified by CMD, and an agenda prepared for Louisiana Treasurer and 2023 SFOF National Chair John Schroder obtained by CMD shows that CRC was coordinating media interviews for the chair on the topic of “anti-ESG.”
CRC’s Mike Martin holds weekly meetings with SFOF members and staff, like this issues meeting in September 2022 or this leadership meeting in April 2022.
CRC’s Mike Thompson holds ESG Coalition calls that Nebraska Treasurer John Murante has attended at least once.
CRC Advisors also handles media outreach and inquiries for SFOF members, including the treasurers’ offices in Louisiana, Nebraska, and Utah.
In addition to working for SFOF, CRC Advisors has consulting contracts with a number of allied organizations in the fight against woke capitalism, including Consumers’ Research, the Foundation for Government Accountability, Heritage Action for America, and the Republican Attorneys General Association.
Through its CRC Research arm, CRC Advisors also produces misleading public polls on ESG paid for by Leo’s group, The 85 Fund, and promoted by its allies and clients, the SFOF and Consumers’ Research.
Operatives
- Vice President Cale Brown
- Account Associate John Hasson
- Senior Account Manager Jay Hopkins
- Chairman Leonard Leo
- Mike Martin
- Drew Mueller
- Account Executive Anna Pusey
- Vice President Laura Schlapp
- Senior Vice President Mike Thompson
- Account Executive Lauren Timmermann
Top Funders
Unknown
Core Financials
Unknown
For more information, visit the CRC Advisors page on SourceWatch.