Crisis & Strategic Communications

When it counts,
every word
is a decision.

Tailwind Communications offers customized strategic and crisis communications planning, rapid response, and reputational risk management — for clients who cannot afford to leave it to chance. Supporting private and public sector, NGO, and individual clients in navigating public relations challenges, and in seizing opportunities.

01 — Services

Tailored counsel
for high-stakes moments

01
Crisis Communications Consulting

Expert guidance when the situation is urgent, the stakes are high, and the margin for error is zero. Structured response, clear messaging, coordinated execution.

02
Reputational Risk Management

Identifying, mapping, and mitigating the threats to your or your organization's standing. Protecting what took years to build.

03
Rapid Response

When each minute matters. Immediate deployment of communications strategy, messaging, and stakeholder management.

04
Media Relations

Building and managing relationships with journalists, shaping and owning narratives, and ensuring your voice is heard accurately across the media landscape.

05
Media Interview Training

Preparing spokespeople to perform under pressure — on camera, on record, and on message. Practical, scenario-based coaching for executives and public figures.

06
Scenario Planning & Risk Mapping

Anticipating the crises that haven't yet emerged. Structured scenario exercises, threat mapping, and response frameworks. Preparation as prevention.

07
Writing & Editorial Support

From talking points, briefs, and press releases to op-eds, blog posts, and speeches — clear, credible, and calibrated for audience and moment.

08
Strictly Confidential

Trust is the prerequisite for effective counsel. Every engagement — the details, the stakes, the identity of the client — is held in strict and permanent confidence. Discretion is not a policy. It is a foundational value.

Turning headwinds into tailwinds

Every engagement is bespoke. The right response to your situation — not a template.

02 — Expertise

Deep fluency in
complex terrain

Effective crisis communications requires more than communications expertise. Tailwind brings deep, earned expertise across numerous sectors and issues in identifying and seizing communications opportunities, and in managing the challenges and crises that can carry a high cost.

Geopolitical Risk Crisis & Humanitarian Affairs NGO & Non-profit International Relations Public Health Emergencies Epidemic Preparedness Population Displacement Global Health Food Security Energy Security Mis / Disinformation Security Incidents Advocacy Campaigns Reputational Risk Private Sector Public Sector
03 — About

Principled.
Prepared.
Proven.

Guidance marked by discretion; anchored in honesty, accountability, integrity, and ethical values.
Discretion as a first principle
Honesty over comfort
Empathy in every stakeholder interaction
Accountability without equivocation
Ethical values as a non-negotiable foundation

Michael R. Goldfarb, Tailwind's founder and principal, brings more than 25 years of experience in crisis and strategic communications — forged primarily in the most demanding environments of the non-governmental sector.

For more than 15 years, Michael worked in humanitarian aid. He built a track record of success in earned media coverage, advocacy campaign communications, reputational risk management and mitigation, combatting mis- and disinformation, and managing public communications during critical security incidents, armed conflict, and public health emergencies. As a co-founder and board officer of BlueCheck Ukraine, which supports grass-roots Ukrainian aid organizations, he has helped raise public awareness around the humanitarian impact of Russia's war in Ukraine.

He possesses deep expertise in media relations, rapid response, and public engagement, grounded in international relations, geopolitical trends and risk, humanitarian affairs, and public and global health.

Clients include a major global NGO, an energy security think tank, and individuals confronted with public relations challenges.

Experience 25+ years in crisis & strategic communications
Médecins Sans Frontières Senior Communications — 15+ years
Tailwind Communications Founder & Principal
Sector Coverage Private, Public, NGO & Individual clients
04 — Contact

Let's talk about
what's at stake.

Whether a crisis is imminent, already unfolding, or something you want to prepare for — the conversation starts here.