Describe yourself: background, company you work at, area of PR you work in, hobbies, etc.

 

I have five years of experience in public relations, spending the majority of my time at Edelman. I’m currently working as a Manager at Golin on the Walmart team and also have experience in the food and CPG industry. When I’m not working in PR, I’m playing softball around Chicago or exercising.

 

What are you passionate about and how do you hope to imPRint your passion into your PR career?

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I’m passionate about helping brands connect with their stakeholders in meaningful ways. I believe PR is one of the few specialties that allows brands to make these meaningful connections with their customers. These connections are the most important ones for brands to foster and maintain, and I enjoy helping brands accomplish that. Whether it’s creating an event to bring to life a campaign or working with reporters to craft an in-depth story, there are so many ways for brands to connect with their target audience. 

 

Why do you think the PR industry needs diversity and inclusion?

 

Our world is becoming more diverse every day, and brands need to have teams with a holistic viewpoint of the world. It is no longer optional for companies to employ multicultural communications professionals - it’s a requirement. If brands don’t pressure test their campaigns or messaging, they run the risk of displeasing some of their consumers. Multicultural PR pros also bring a lot of value to the ideation phase of campaigns and can strengthen the final creative that goes to market.

 

What has been one of your most rewarding experiences in your career so far?

 

Working on the Kellogg’s Winter Olympics program in 2018. There are few times in your career when you have the opportunity to work on something with as many eyeballs as an Olympic campaign. We were tasked with generating awareness for the importance of eating breakfast by tapping into the stories of our Olympic athletes who each shared their daily routines and how they integrated breakfast into their training regime. It was amazing to see months of work come to life during the world’s games in February and to see our work be so well received by clients and customers.

 

Do you have any advice for future multicultural PR professionals?

 

Stick to the grind and pay it forward. There’s going to be a lot of moments when you may feel like the work you’re putting in isn’t returning any rewards or results. Don’t get discouraged by the long road careers take to get you where you want to go. Multicultural communications professionals are the future of this industry and need to be involved in how brands interact with our ever-changing world.