About Lee
Hi, I’m Lee Caraher.
I’m an entrepreneur, author, and speaker; everything I do is about helping people, teams, and organizations be great and make a positive impact in the world through radical clarity - communication.
I lead Double Forte, a fiercely national strategic communications and public relations agency with a 20+ year track record of helping clients achieve their business goals with strong communication programs that engage clients with the people who matter to them—from customers to employers, clients to shareholders, communities to consumers, users to partners. We only work with people, companies and organizations focused on succeeding by making a positive difference in the world.
I’m also the author of two books based on my experience leading a dynamic agency through four economic downturns, two dramatic generational changes in the workforce, and three seismic cultural and business shifts in communication. In the end, it turns out that if you listen, you can communicate, and if you can communicate, you can lead through anything and make a lasting difference. If you’re clear.
A great idea untold doesn’t matter. Worse, a great idea misunderstood creates negative energy. Nothing happens without communication. Great communication makes everything better. Being heard and understood requires clarity, context, listening, and repetition. Rinse. Repeat.
I speak with audiences across the country about how anyone can improve their careers, their team dynamics, and their company performance by being clear.
I am pragmatically optimistic, and have a big laugh that gets me out of more trouble than it gets me into.
Bio
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.
Lee In The Press
How Mutual Mentorship Can Change Your Career. Mentoring younger colleagues can benefit both sides. Here’s how to get the most out of your mentor-mentee relationship.
Caraher’s compilation of best practices will help organizations make the most of a cross-generational workforce and build a more productive and positive workplace.
Even if you leave a company feeling that you absolutely never want to return, you do not know what will happen in the future. The graceful exit is its own art form, and one that will pay off in spades over the life of your career. The last impression you make is the one people will remember.