Debra Vilchis

Debra Vilchis is President & Chief Operating Officer of Fishman Public Relations, the nation’s premiere agency offering integrated PR, content marketing and digital services for franchised brands. Fishman PR was recently ranked by Entrepreneur Magazine as the No. 1 PR agency in franchising, for the ninth consecutive year.

Debra is also a partner at Franchise Elevator PR, a subsidiary agency under the Fishman umbrella that support the growth of emerging and re-emerging franchise brands.

Loyal to franchising, and to the company that helped get her started in the industry, Debra will soon celebrate 27 years with Fishman PR. She started at Fishman PR as an account executive in 1999, and gradually worked her way up through multiple positions through the years, serving clients and leading internal operations at the company.

Debra’s career journey has taken her from newspaper reporter to magazine editor to PR professional and now leader of – one that is able to see news angles from the lens of a journalist, giving her and the clients an edge in getting them the media attention they deserved.

Debra served a decade on the International Franchising Association’s (IFA) Women’s Franchise Committee, and, in 2024 received the IFA’s prestigious Crystal Compass Award for her contributions through leadership in franchising. She currently serves on the IFA Supplier Forum Advisory Board, and is an active partner of the Worldcom Public Relations Group.

Debra is the proud mother of 3 adult children. She lives in the Chicago area, where she teaches Sunday School and performs local standup comedy.