About
Since our inception, The Celeste Group has been focused on creating responsible solutions for corporations and nonprofit organizations.
The Celeste Group specializes in creating and developing Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategies and measurements for both for-profit and not-for-profit corporations. We also create and execute corporate communications plans, corporate social responsibility programs, and cause marketing initiatives.
Our principal consultants are Timothy J. McClimon, former senior vice president for corporate social responsibility at American Express, and Suzanne Berman, communications strategist and professor of public relations and communications at Hofstra University. Together with our affiliates and associates, we work to find creative solutions to complex problems facing companies and organizations today.
Timothy J. McClimon
Partner
Timothy J. McClimon is a strategic corporate social responsibility and nonprofit executive who aligns organizational interests with stakeholder needs to optimize shared value creation. From 2006-2021, Tim was President of the American Express Foundation and Senior Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility at the American Express Company where he led all of the company’s global responsibility, philanthropy, sustainability, and employee engagement programs and had extensive engagement with the Nominating, Governance, and Public Responsibility Committee of the Board, as well as with senior leaders, investors, and watchdog groups. He is also the former Executive Director of the AT&T Foundation and Second Stage Theater, and practiced law with nonprofit organizations as clients.
Tim is recognized as a subject matter expert in corporate social responsibility, leadership development, management, and cause marketing through numerous publications, speeches, and media interviews. He is a Forbes magazine contributor on leadership and serves as an ESG Fellow at The Conference Board. Tim is an adjunct professor at New York University where he teaches nonprofit management and arts administration, and he previously taught at Johns Hopkins University and Brooklyn College.
Suzanne Berman
Partner
Suzanne Berman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Journalism, Media Studies and Public Relations at Hofstra University where she teaches courses in Public Relations Research and Analytics, Media Relations, Social Responsibility, and Global Communications and International Public Relations.
Prior to joining Hofstra’s faculty, Suzanne worked in the public relations field for over 20 years where she held positions at both multi-national corporations and the nonprofit sector, including International Media Relations Director for AT&T and Director of Public Relations for the Central Park Conservancy. Her research focuses on the impact of digital convergence on the practice of public relations and social responsibility as a change agent in communications and media campaigns.