Cheryl McCants

Communication Strategist in East Orange, New Jersey

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Cheryl is a bilingual, award-winning communication professional with more than 25 years of public relations, marketing, media and strategic branding experience. She has created integrated communication initiatives targeting diverse audiences, from employees, C-suite executives, journalists and activists to local residents, women, millennials and ethnically diverse consumers. McCants’ also created the Great Football Sunday™ social media campaign to raise awareness about the changing face of homelessness in the New York Metro region.

She is president and CEO of Impact where she leads the team in managing media relations, strategic communication and branding efforts for several clients including the U.S. Department of Transportation, the City of Newark, NJ's Department of Economic & Housing Development and the Newark Community Economic Development Corporation.

Partnering with the Communication for Social Change Consortium, Cheryl traveled to Manila, Philippines for a large development bank to identify communication positioning statements, social media strategies and tactical plans for member countries throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

Additionally, Cheryl has led her team to implement strategic communications aimed at transforming the work culture at one of the world's largest bio-pharmaceutical firms. She served as a cross-functional liaison to identify, gather and translate complex information from various sources into clear and relevant messages accessible to all employees and key stakeholders.

Her former corporate roles include Global Corporate Responsibility Manager at Nike and Director of Communications for Nike’s Jordan Brand. Before attending graduate school, she spent several years with telecommunications giant, AT&T, rising to Director of Marketing Communications, Public Relations and Advertising for their undersea cable division.

Cheryl is an Executive Member of the United Way of Essex and Hudson County's Women's Leadership Council, a Board Member for the Rutgers Business School Entrepreneurs Pioneer Initiative, an Ambassador for the Newark Regional Business Partnership and a member of the National Association of Black Journalists. She was honored by Time Warner and Essence Magazineas a Power Leader in the African-American community and is a 2012 National Urban Fellows Leader of Change for America.

  • Work
    • CEO, Impact Consulting
  • Education
    • The Montclair Kimberley Academy
    • Brown University
    • George Washington University
    • Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism