Lee Caraher
PR/Communications Pro
CEO, Double Forte
Lee Caraher, CEO of Double Forte, is a widely acclaimed communication strategist known for her practical solutions to big problems. Her company works with some of the top consumer lifestyle, digital life, and wine and spirits brands in the country at many stages, from startups to mid-cap public, private and B-Corp companies. She is a straight-talker who doesn't hold too many punches, although she does her best to be pleasant about it. Her big laugh and sense of humor have gotten her out of a lot of trouble.
She’s also known as the “team-whisperer” for her practical approach to building great, positive, high producing work teams. Lee’s the author of Millennials & Management, based on her experience with failing and then succeeding at retaining Millennials, and The Boomerang Principle about building lifetime employee loyalty.
Lee started her career in communications in Boston and then moved to California, working with high-profile and groundbreaking companies along the way. She moved to the San Francisco Bay Area to serve as the Vice President of Corporate and Consumer Communications at the $1.6 billion SEGA of America. She then served as Executive Vice President of The Weber Group and Founder and President of Red Whistle Communications, both Interpublic companies. Lee founded Double Forte in 2002.
Lee is active in the community and has served on many boards of directors for organizations making a positive difference in their communities, including as: Executive Committee Member for Wisconsin Farm Technology Days, Secretary of the Public Relations Council Board of Directors, on the Public Advocates Board of Governors, vice chair of the Board of KQED Public Media, Executive Committee for the Grace Cathedral Board of Trustees, Chair of the Board for Community Gatepath, Menlo College’s Board of Trustees, The Board of Directors for The Marine Mammal Center, and as founding Chair of the Board for the St. Paul’s Choir School. She consults with other non-profits on effective board organization and practices.
A graduate of Carleton College with a degree in medieval history, which has been eminently useful since 2020, Lee lives in Northwestern Wisconsin with her husband, has two grown sons, an energetic dog, and a big horse. She splits her time between San Francisco, New York, and Eau Claire, Wisconsin.