Where do you work and what is your title?
I am SVP and Head of PR at A&G (Allen & Gerritsen)
Where can people connect with you on social media?
Briefly summarize your professional background/experience. What kind of industries/clients do you work with, etc.?
I’ve spent 15+ years building brands through PR, social media, and creator relations, and have had the fortune of working with every type of brand from start-up to Fortune 100, CPG to corporate, regional to global, and everything in between. I’ve also had the opportunity to learn all facets of PR, starting my career in NYC at a boutique agency, shifting to a global holding company in Los Angeles, to now leading the PR practice at an advertising agency in Boston and Philadelphia.
Describe what you do for the PR Club.
I serve on the Bell Ringers Awards committee.
What are your top 3 favorite things about working in PR?
- First and foremost, PR is a relationship business. My favorite part of the work is building genuine, human-first relationships with colleagues, clients, media, & creators.
- The hourly need for big idea creativity that has the ability to connect to, and ultimately lead, culture.
- The variety — truly, everyday is different and usually just as thrilling and unexpected as the day before.
What’s the best piece of leadership advice you’ve ever received?
Always be relevant.
What is the biggest misconception about PR from your perspective?
That “PR” stands for “press release,” and that the time to bring us into the fold is at the end, simply to promote the work. That approach robs teams of the ability to build campaigns that are truly newsworthy and that have the power to earn attention and to create real audience & business impact.
What’s a book/podcast that has influenced your career?
While I genuinely do enjoy and learn from marketing industry books, I find the greatest inspiration comes from books outside of the category, from TV shows, and from film. PR people are creative storytellers, and I love to learn through example from content that wasn’t necessarily designed to teach about our craft, but rather was designed to entertain, inspire, and move audiences through persuasive writing and video.
For an example of an industry-relevant book: shameless plug. Jeremy, my former chief creative officer and one of my long-term mentors and friends, co-wrote the book The Book We Wish We Had: Barstool revelations for building a career in creative marketing. It’s a great summarization of the lessons I’ve learned from him throughout my career.
What’s your prediction for the future of public relations?
I like to say that PR is finally getting its flowers. With the exponential growth of GEO and AI discoverability, earned authority has never been more important. Even marketers who didn’t have previous experience in PR are now asking what their earned strategy should be, and investing their dollars in the teams and resources that have that expertise.
I also love seeing the rise of “creator journalism” and new roles like “social video journalist” being created in newsrooms. At A&G, our PR team has always lived at the intersection of earned media, social media, and creator relations — prioritizing an earned-first approach regardless if the work is organic or paid — knowing consumers’ attention doesn’t operate in silos, and our capabilities can’t either.
What’s a favorite PR or marketing campaign of yours? (recent or of all time)
It’s only right that I highlight a recent example that was just awarded twice at the PR Club Bell Ringer Awards! Last summer, the A&G team, in partnership with Dunkin’, launched a new location in Stow, Massachusetts — by changing the name of the town to Dunkin’. To me, it’s a best-in-class example of what’s possible when you bring together the right capabilities, the most creative teams, and you always say, “yes &”. It was a full-court press effort leveraging multiple Dunkin’ partners, agencies, and the dream of a media partner — WBZ NewsRadio’s Matt Shearer — that not only showed off the brand’s personality, but showed what magic (and business results) can happen when you listen to your community and build authentic connections to them.
Do you have a childhood moment when everyone knew you’d be a communications specialist?
My answer is equal parts yes and no. Throughout my childhood and up until my college graduation, I knew I wanted to be an actor. I studied theatre and film in high school and college, and spent my teen years auditioning and performing. As I ultimately shifted my career to PR, I quickly realized that I wasn’t necessarily pivoting career aspirations, I was merely pivoting the way in which I tell stories.
If you could instantly master any new skill what would it be?
I’m trying to learn French. My pronunciation is the worst. Guess I’m just going to have to fulfill my dream of moving to Paris and opening a bed & breakfast to learn the language!
What’s one of your favorite hobbies?
I’m obsessed with movies and have a goal every year of watching films nominated in the top 8 categories of the Academy Awards. It’s one of the few goals I succeed at every single year.
If your life had a theme song, what would it be?
“Diva” by Beyoncé, because I like to swap out “Eva” for “Diva”.
What’s your coffee order?
It would be sacrilegious of me to not say Dunkin’ 🙂