“PR is an industry that thrives on creative ambition. Professionals from all backgrounds are in PR, and are changing the way we do things and think about things every day. I have the pleasure of both mentoring and learning from each of them.”
Memorable professional moments:
- Hearing Glenn Close deliver an award presentation speech that I wrote, which honored a tremendous documentary about a public figure with behavioral health needs.
- Helping a largely pro forma annual report come alive via a shareable, trackable digital tool that serves knowledge transfer, marketing and recruitment purposes.
- Working with young adults to craft their personal stories of resilience and strength into an audience-accessible format, and then watching them deliver their stories in front of 3,500 people!
People often find it interesting that …
Even though I went to a journalism school that had a PR track, I really sort of stumbled into the industry. I was a Magazines major at UGA who enjoyed creative writing, loved my advertising classes, and happened to have a good eye for typos. One communications job in DC led to another, and I arrived at Vanguard in 2005, not completely sure how I could contribute to a PR firm. And while I had trained in developing longer, feature articles, today my head always goes to the short, pithy copy inherent in advertising!
What does people-first mean to me?
People-first to me is a feeling you get at the end of your work day, and is all about personal integrity. I ask myself, “Did I make decisions today that affected my clients and co-workers in a positive way? Did I make their needs my priorities? Did I make good choices and represent them honorably?” When you see people doing that around you, it is completely motivating, which compels you to pursue that “I did a good job today” feeling every day.
My credentials
- A.B.J., University of Georgia – Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication; concentration: magazines
- Communications Chair, Holy Trinity School Home and School Association Board of Directors, 2014-2016
- Member, Washington Women in PR, Pro Bono Committee