As President of Barbara Meltzer & Associates, a leading Los Angeles-based Public Relations and Marketing firm she founded nearly 25 years ago, Barbara personally directs and actively participates in all aspects of the company’s wide variety of services

In the beginning
Barbara’s career began in her hometown of New York City, where she worked on NBC’s Tonight Show for 10 years as Assistant to the show’s Producer. After then serving as Associate Producer of several ABC-TV comedy specials, she moved to Los Angeles to briefly rejoin Tonight before becoming Director of NBC-TV’s Creative Services Department.

As Director, Barbara supervised various Public Relations campaigns for network programming, as well as developing and overseeing major corporate and affiliate station events for special activities. She also planned and coordinated national public appearance tours for NBC talent. Several years later, Barbara turned her attention from commercial to public broadcasting, joining LA’s PBS station, KCET-TV, as Executive-in-Charge of Talent.

Barbara returned to public relations when she became an Account Executive for Boonshaft-Lewis & Savitch, a public relations and government affairs agency. After several years with the firm, Barbara launched Barbara Meltzer & Associates, which serves a variety of clients, including nonprofits, businesses, authors, and government agencies. Barbara’s ongoing interest and involvement with the 50+ demographic prompted her to form a special division that provides services to clients who are targeting Baby Boomers and older seniors.

Passion with purpose
In 2007, her active civic engagement in matters related to Baby Boomers and seniors led to Barbara's appointment as Commissioner on the Los Angeles County Commission for Older Adults (LACCOA), where she now Chairs the Communications Committee. In 2009, Barbara was awarded LACCOA’s “Link Award,” presented each year to a Commissioner for outstanding volunteer service on behalf of LA County’s senior population.

At the request of a West Hollywood City Councilmember, Barbara produced a half-day symposium for the city. Centered on the theme of creating aging-friendly communities, it was titled Pathways to Positive Aging: Creating Communities for a Lifetime.

In addition
Barbara taught a course, for five years, in “Public Relations for Nonprofit Organizations” for UCLA’s Extension Division. She is a past Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Public Relations Society of America’s LA Chapter, and has led workshops for the Southern California Center for Nonprofit Management. A member of the Advisory Board for Osher Lifelong Learning at UCLA, Barbara also serves on the Boards of Big Thinking Women and Life Planning Network.

In her role as caregiver to her mother, Barbara personally learned about the challenges, and the joy, of caring for an elder parent. Frequently asked to speak about the issue of caregiving, Barbara has appeared on NBC-TV’s Nightly News and Today in LA, and has been interviewed by the Wall Street Journal. She has published several personal stories about her journey as a caregiver.

Barbara wrote a monthly column called "Scene in LA" for Southern California Senior Life (now known as Life After 50). Her current bi-weekly column, "Aging Matters," can be found on WestHollywood.Patch.com. Barbara also serves as an Editorial Advisory Board member for “Aging Today,” the bi-monthly newspaper published by the American Society on Aging.