In this issue: Staying in Touch with WWPR WWPR Blog Rock Recovery Screening WWPR and Women in Technology Pro Bono Profile: Thrive DC Upcoming Events Get Involved! Member Spotlight Articles of Interest Membership News Sponsor Spotlight Stay in Touch with WWPR and the Industry Digitally Washington Women in Public Relations (WWPR) is the first and only D.C. based professional organization advancing women in the communications industry. WWPR is committed to delivering outstanding professional development, networking, marketplace positioning and leadership opportunities to area communicators. Follow and learn more about WWPR leadership:
President -
Tina McCormack Beaty, Porter Novelli
Vice President -
Margie Newman, Pew Center on the States
Past President -
Kendra Kojcsich, Porter Novelli
Treasurer -
Sherri Core, Core Association Services, Inc.
Secretary -
Veronica Brown, Gibraltar Assoc. LLC
Membership Chair -
Leslie Rutledge, RedEgg
Pro Bono Co-Chair -
Kate Barrett, NEA
Pro Bono Co-Chair -
Maria Ibañez, NASHP
PR Woman of the Year Co-Chair -
Susie Tappouni, ASCO
PR Woman of the Year Co-Chair -
Amy Malerba Hemingway, Edelman
Emerging Leaders Award Co-Chair -
Helen Mitternight, Vanguard Communications
Emerging Leaders Award Co-Chair -
Lauren Smith, Jones Public Affairs
Sponsorship/Partnership Chair -
Season Solorio, National Cattleman's Beef Assoc.
Marketing Communications Co-Chair -
Jennifer Dunn, Business Wire
Marketing Communications Co-Chair -
Kristen Hostetter, Rock Recovery
Professional Development Chair -
Kari Hudnell, CommunicationWorks
Website Chair -
Janiré Hopkins, CareMetx
Top WWPR Blog Have you checked out the
WWPR Blog?
It's a great resource to find recaps of our monthly professional development seminars, news about upcoming events and insights on communications trends and issues.
Here's a preview of what you'll find:
Be a TRUTH TELLER to Your Girlfriends - Help Them Be Their Own SUPERHEROES:
The first of three blog postings recapping Kiki McLean's WWPR annual meeting keynote
- 'BE TRUTH TELLERS' - Kiki suggested we help the women we know be the best they can be. Share motivating feedback with peers after a big presentation. Show friends how others see them in professional situations to boost confidence, provide opportunities, create alliances and support networks to enable success. Very powerful ideas READ MORE
Guest bloggers welcome! WWPR members interested in contributing to our blog are encouraged to email
web@wwpr.org for more information.
Top Event Overview: Rock Recovery Screening Breaking the Media Myths of Women with the Award Winning Documentary, Miss Representation On the evening of March 1, 2012, DC area non-profit, Rock Recovery, in association with WWPR, presented an exclusive screening of Sundance award winning documentary,
Miss Representation. Written, directed, and produced by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the documentary exposes how mainstream media contributes to the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in America. Its aim is to challenge the media’s message that a woman’s value lies in youth, beauty, and sexuality, which makes it difficult for women to achieve leadership positions and for the average woman to feel powerful herself. These messages are shown to greatly contribute to body image issues and the development of eating disorders. Rock Recovery, a non-profit that was established to support the journey to freedom from eating disorders, created the event to encourage viewers to explore such media messages more deeply. The event, held during National Eating Disorders Week, included opening and closing remarks by Rock Recovery Board President, Christine Dondero, and Executive Director, Cary Larson, both of who have struggled and recovered from eating disorders in the past. The women opened by posing the question of
where do eating disorders come from? Both women stressed that viewers need to recognize the triggering media messages that can contribute to the development of eating disorders. Dondero and Larson asked the audience to consider the mental and emotional drain that comes with body image issues, urging the audience to think of the accomplishments they could achieve if that energy was put toward encouraging positive media messages. Learn more about
Rock Recovery Host your own screening of Miss Representation Top WWPR and Women in Technology Partner Event Recap veryone has a variety of networks, both personal and professional, but knowing how to leverage those networks isn't always intuitive. That's where Terri Nimmons, founder of Stone Lake Leadership Group and leadership consultant to Fortune 100 companies, start-ups and technology leaders, and a recent Women in Technology (WIT) event come in. On February 16, WIT hosted a 90-minute strategic networking session where attendees learned to develop a plan of attack for building, expanding, and strengthening their networks.
Attendees started by mapping their web of contacts and analyzing how supportive and diverse that network is. Particularly intrigued by the cross-generational dynamics that come into play, Nimmons reminded participants of the unique hourglass demographics of the country and most workplaces. Through looking at the characteristics, stereotypes, and values of each group: Boomers, Generation X, and Millenials, Nimmons discussed how to reach "generational fusion" - her term for an environment where all three groups are speaking the same language and sharing their expertise for the benefit of the others. These conversations helped participants to develop a personal networking point-of-view (POV) statement - a brief, conversation starter that includes a future vision for the issue identified. In the end, Nimmons encouraged attendees to refine personal POVs and peer into the future to see what their networks will be in six months. Learn more about
WIT Top Pro Bono Profile: Thrive DC WWPR's Pro Bono Committee, established in 1992 as a means to give back to the community, provides communications and marketing support to a local nonprofit focused on women's and family issues. Over a two year period, WWPR provides communications counsel including, branding, marketing and public relations expertise, media training and other support to help raise awareness and promote the pro bono client.
Our pro bono client for the remainder of 2012 is
Thrive DC. Originally founded in 1979 as the Dinner Program for Homeless Women, Thrive DC is an independent, 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that works to prevent and end homelessness by providing vulnerable individuals with a comprehensive range of services to help stabilize their lives. Thrive DC works to prevent and end homelessness by providing vulnerable individuals with a comprehensive range of services to help stabilize their lives.
Save the Date: Thrive DC FUNraiser March 30 Thrive DC is hosting a FUNraiser on Friday, March 30 from 5-9pm at
The Town Tavern DC, 2323 18th St. NW, Washington, DC 20009. Your $10 ticket includes one beverage from a special events menu and one raffle ticket. Additional raffle tickets available for $1. All drink and raffle sales will benefit the homeless community members that Thrive DC supports daily.
Register today! Upcoming Events For the latest information about our exciting events and programs, please visit our
Events page.
WWPR members receive member rates for PRSA-NCC and AWC events.
Top Get Involved Joining a committee in 2012 is a great way to get involved. Whether you help plan an event, offer your
expertise to our pro bono client, or help create our outreach strategy via social media - join one of
WWPR's committees today!
Top Member Spotlight: Rebecca Geraghty by Kristen Hostetter This month’s member being profiled is WWPR’s Professional Development Committee Manager, Rebecca Geraghty. Geraghty, who has always had a love for public speaking and writing, was unsure about how to turn these passions into a career. A graduate of New York University, she received her BA in History and Spanish in 2009, and MA in World History in 2010. It’s during this time that she interned in online marketing and publicity departments at various publishing and media companies. After completing her MA, Geraghty was referred to a position at SELEX Galileo Inc., an aerospace and defense company. She was drawn to the position after interviewing with her now boss and mentor, Clio Timmerman. Timmerman stressed that Geraghty would gain hands on experience in marketing and communications as part of a two person team in the company’s US corporate headquarters in Arlington, VA. She now works on corporate communications, trade show and events coordination, and production of marketing materials. Most recently, she was chosen to travel to the company’s UK offices and assist in redesign of the company’s website. Geraghty is able to use her marcomm expertise outside of her job through work with the Lupus Foundation of America’s DC/MD/VA chapter. Her mother, Mary, had Lupus and unfortunately passed away from the disease two years ago. Since then, Geraghty has become more involved with lupus advocacy and was asked to co-chair this year’s Lupus Walk in DC on April 21, 2012. She has worked to bring more awareness to the Lupus Foundation of America’s DC/MD/VA chapter by assisting with creation and implementation of a social media plan around the walk.
Geraghty’s advice for anyone interested in communications is simple- networking. Her motto is the more people you know, the more perspective you have. To network with Geraghty, you can find her on
LinkedIn or follow her on
Twitter.
Articles of Interest Top Membership News New Members January -Maureen Pratt -
Bechtel Corporation -Season Solorio -
National Cattlemen's Beef Association -Isabel Lara -
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum -Beth Stewart -
Vorsight -Kristen Hostetter -
FierceMarkets -Kelsey Flora -
National Geographic Society -Amy Malerba -
Edelman -Nyree Wright -
MSL Washington -Kati Rutherford -
Venn² Communications -Susie Tappouni -
ASCO -Tracy Mason
-Michelle Reilly -
GTT -Mary El Pearce -
Jane Mobley Associates -Kezmiché Atterbury -
U.S. Congress -Amanda Marr -
Hager Sharp -Mahogany Jones -
Mahogany Jones Entertainment Group LLC -Sandra Marquardt -
On the Mark Public Relations February -Megan Bloomgren -
DCI Group -Chelsey Hathaway -
West Virginia University -Lorna Schmidt -
National Cancer Institute -Karen Nussle -
Ripple Communications -Tabatha Thompson -
The Matthews Group -Marichelli Hughes -
Epstein Becker Green -Gwen McKinney -
McKinney & Associates -Rosanna Wayshner -
Rosanna Wayshner -Molly Poarch -
Edelman Public Relations -Tracy Sarria-
Edelman Public Relations Renewals January -Veronica Brown -
Gibraltar Associates -Hillarie Turner -
Environics Communications -Kimberly Ash -
Plan A Marketing Solutions -Theresa Oland -
Consultant -Kate Perrin -
Professional Solutions, LLC -Jennifer Dunn -
Business Wire -Heather Curry -
American College of Radiology -Susan Apgood -
News Generation, Inc. -Melanie Jordan -
Professional Solutions, LLC -Colleen Fogarty -
American Diabetes Association -Rachel Henderson -
Ogilvy Public Relations -Kelly Mack -
Environics Communications -Lizabeth Wagger -
NAPS -Margie Newman -
Pew Center on the States February -Alexa Vogel -
The George Washington University -Leslie Rutledge -
MyMediaInfo -Amanda Moss -
Edelman Public Relations -Maria James -
Ogilvy Public Relations -Kristen Youngblood -
Bread for the World -Micah Azzano -
Kratos Learning Interested in joining or renewed your membership? Simply complete the online membership
form. To learn more, please contact Leslie Rutledge, Membership Chair, at
membership@wwpr.org.
Top Sponsor Spotlight NAPS, or
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