Jackie Aker
Account Director

Jackie Aker has more than 22 years of experience in healthcare public relations and multicultural marketing, and she’s worked with Merryman Communications since 2017. Jackie is bilingual in Spanish and supports clients with corporate communications, traditional/social media campaigns and rebranding efforts. She is a reputation management expert, providing counsel on crisis communications and advocacy engagement. She has coached C-suite executives to prepare for interviews, communicate during times of crisis, and present in corporate and sales meetings. She has also worked with influencers and celebrities to prepare them to become brand ambassadors. In addition, she provides media training and issues management services in both Spanish and English.

Jackie’s clients have included: Boston Scientific, Cardinal Health, Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Shire Pharmaceuticals, as well as several of Johnson & Johnson’s medical device brands, such as Biosense Webster, Advanced Sterilization Products, Mentor and Acclarent. She has also worked with nonprofit organizations such as the Epilepsy Foundation, the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association and First 5 LA, as well as government agencies including the California Department of Public Health, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services.

Previously, Jackie was a senior vice president at Edelman where she helped expand the Health Practice’s capabilities to multicultural, public health and early childhood education. She also served as a group leader and managed the P&L for the Consumer Multicultural Practice, overseeing a team of 10 bilingual specialists. During her tenure at Edelman, Jackie led million-dollar campaigns in a variety of sectors, including healthcare, early-childhood education, government, consumer, as well as food and wellness. She managed clients’ advertising/ creative agencies and multi-office Edelman teams, including a team of 32 Edelman offices globally on behalf of Advanced Medical Optics (now Abbott Medical Optics) to mitigate negative news and issues surrounding a product recall in the U.S., APAC, Europe and the Middle East.

Jackie served as chair of the American Diabetes Association’s Los Angeles Chapter World Diabetes Day Task Force and as vice president/president-elect of the Hispanic Public Relations Association’s Los Angeles chapter. Jackie received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from California State University, Long Beach.