Director of Public Relations

Director of Public Relations - ABA Centers of America (Corporate HQ)
Downtown Fort Lauderdale, FL HQ – In-Office

Who We Are

We are the nation’s fastest-growing provider of autism care, delivering high-quality Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy across a rapidly expanding footprint. Since our founding in 2020, we’ve scaled from a single clinic to nearly 70 operating areas in more than a dozen states, supported by a high-performance corporate infrastructure and data-driven decision-making.

Recognized as the #5 fastest-growing private company in America by Inc. magazine, ABA Centers of America is a self-funded, founder-led organization—a rarity in today’s healthcare landscape. We’ve achieved this growth without private equity, relying instead on operational discipline, smart capital allocation, and a relentless focus on outcomes.

Our corporate team plays a mission-critical role in this success—developing scalable systems, managing risk, and driving the analytics that power our growth. If you’re a strategic thinker who thrives in a fast-paced, purpose-driven environment, we offer a unique opportunity to help shape the future of autism care—while building on a legacy of operational excellence.

Our Origin Story

ABA Centers of America was founded by a father whose personal journey navigating autism care for his daughter revealed deep gaps in access, consistency, and quality across the system. Determined to disrupt the status quo in the autism care field and eliminate the unacceptably long wait lists for treatment, he built a company rooted in compassion, clinical excellence, and a relentless commitment to care that makes a difference.

Recognition & Awards

Our commitment to operational excellence, ethical leadership, and transformative care has earned our company and leadership national recognition from trusted sources, including:

• Inc. 5000 – 5th Fastest-Growing Private Company in America
• Financial Times – #1 on "The Americas' Fastest Growing Companies"
• EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® U.S. Overall
• South Florida Business Journal’s Top 100 Companies
• Florida Trend Magazine's 500 Most Influential Business Leaders
• Inc. Best in Business, Health Services

About the Role

ABA Centers is seeking a strategic, mission-driven Director of Public Relations to lead and elevate the organization’s national visibility, reputation, and thought leadership. This role will drive proactive media strategy, position the company as a leading voice in healthcare, and improve its online reputation. The ideal candidate is both a strategist and a hands-on communicator who thrives in a high-growth environment and is passionate about expanding awareness, access, and understanding of autism services.

Key Responsibilities:

Media Relations

• Develop and implement comprehensive public relations strategies to enhance the company's brand awareness and reputation, aligned with business growth priorities.
• Position the organization and its executives as thought leaders in autism care, healthcare access, behavioral health, business, and finance.
• Secure “best in business” awards and list placements in such top-tier business publications as Forbes, Fortune, Bloomberg Businessweek, Financial Times, Inc., Entrepreneur, and Fast Company, etc.
• Identify and capitalize on proactive media opportunities tied to special interest months, research, community impact, company milestones, client success stories, and clinic-based events.
• Collaborate with regional teams to generate local media coverage in key growth markets
• Partner with executive leadership to shape messaging that supports growth, recruitment, and market expansion.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with both national and regional media contacts in relevant beats.
• Draft and distribute press releases, media pitches, op-eds, and executive commentary.
• Secure high-impact earned media placements throughout broadcast, print, digital, and podcast platforms.
• Prepare executives leaders for media interviews, including talking points, briefing materials, and media training.
• Support events, conferences, and workshops to represent ABA Centers and engage with the autism community.
• Manage crisis communications planning and response.
• Monitor media coverage, industry trends, and public sentiment.
• Track and report PR performance metrics, including media reach, share of voice, sentiment, and business impact.
• Manage PR tools, media databases, and agency relationships.

Executive Communications

• Maintain LinkedIn profiles of the company’s Chairman and CEO.
• Assist in coordinating details of public appearances.
• Draft speeches as needed.
• Online Reputation Management
• Monitor and manage the organization’s online presence across the primary review platforms (Google, Indeed, and Glassdoor).
• Develop and implement a comprehensive online reputation strategy aligned with brand, growth, and recruitment goals.
• Respond promptly and professionally to reviews, maintaining HIPAA compliance and brand voice standards.
• Partner with clinical, operations, HR, and recruiting teams to address concerns raised in reviews and identify opportunities for systemic improvement.
• Identify recurring themes in feedback and translate insights into actionable recommendations for operations, patient experience, and employee experience improvements.
• Establish protocols for escalating sensitive, negative, or high-risk feedback to appropriate internal stakeholders.
• Proactively increase positive reviews by implementing employee feedback campaigns.
• Track and analyze reputation metrics (ratings, sentiment, response times, review volume, and trends) and provide regular reporting to leadership.
• Support employer brand reputation by collaborating with Talent Acquisition and HR to strengthen ratings and messaging on career platforms.

Requirements

Education, Work Experience, and Other Requirements

Required

• 10+ years of experience in public relations, corporate communications, or media relations.
• Strong understanding of media landscape and experience in building relationships with key media contacts.
• Proven success securing national and regional earned media coverage.
• Experience developing and executing strategic PR plans in a high-growth organization.
• Exceptional writing, editing, and storytelling skills with the ability to tailor messages for diverse audiences.
• Experience supporting executive communications and media training.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and work effectively in a fast-paced environment.
• Bachelor’s degree in public relations, communications, journalism, or related field.

Preferred

Experience in healthcare, behavioral health, autism services, or multi-site healthcare organizations.

• Business/finance PR experience to be better equipped to tell our stratospheric de novo growth story.
• Agency management experience.
• Bi-lingual in Spanish.

Key Competencies

• Strategic thinker with strong business acumen
• Proactive, resourceful, and results-oriented
• Excellent relationship builder with media and internal stakeholders
• High emotional intelligence and mission alignment
• Ability to translate complex clinical topics into clear, compelling stories

Benefits

• 21 paid days off (15 days of PTO, which increases with tenure, plus 6 holidays).
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA) and Health Savings Account (HSA) options.
• Medical, dental, vision, long-term disability, and life insurance.
• Generous 401(k) with up to 6% employer match.