Elaine
Kolish

Elaine Kolish, member of the APCO’s International Advisory Council, is the founding director and former vice president of the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI) at the Council of Better Business Bureaus (BBB), a position she held for nearly 10 years. Ms. Kolish joined BBB in 2006 to develop and lead CFBAI, a voluntary, advertising self-regulation program that sets standards for food advertising to children for many of the world’s largest food companies. In this position she elevated self-regulation to a prominent place in the global conversation about childhood obesity and a mechanism for advertisers to be part of the solution.

Before joining BBB, Ms. Kolish was a partner at a national law firm, where she counseled companies on advertising law, FTC compliance issues, and other regulatory and legislative matters. From 1995 until 2005, she served in the Senior Executive Service and headed the FTC’s Enforcement Division in the Bureau of Consumer Protection. She led national advertising cases, rulemakings, regulatory review efforts, and other key policy initiatives. From 1980 until 2005, Ms. Kolish was an advisor to four Directors of the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the FTC and a staff attorney working on advertising cases, rulemakings and policy initiatives.

Ms. Kolish frequently speaks to the media and at conferences about marketing to children, consumer protection issues including truth in advertising, self-regulation and best practices for responsible marketing.