By Maria McLean, Marketing Associate at Academy of Hope PCS, and Jamie Fragale, Director of Advocacy and Communications at Academy of Hope Adult PCS
Each year, the halls of Academy of Hope Adult Public Charter School (AoH) brim with excitement as students return to school. For some learners—all of whom are DC residents over the age of 18, it would be a return after a short summer break. For others, it would be their first time setting foot in a classroom in several years—maybe even decades. After spending the summer preparing lesson plans, teachers would be cheering as students entered in the morning and volunteers would be making their way to classrooms ready to assist. After all, a new school year means a fresh opportunity for students to reach their goals of earning a high school diploma, high-demand job certifications, college credits or higher reading and numeracy skills.
But this is not any other year. Similar to schools around the world, instead of walking through the AoH doors, students, teachers and volunteers are opening their browsers to connect over Zoom, Google Hangouts and even Instagram Live. Returning to school has never been easy for adult learners, and this year is certainly no exception. Many AoH learners are parents and caregivers. They are frontline and essential workers. In fact, their family and work responsibilities are often what bring them to AoH in the first place. Roughly 75% of AoH learners lacked the digital tools needed for distance learning when the COVID-19 crisis hit, and even those who had the equipment needed to build their digital literacy skills before they could truly plug in.
And yet, despite the many and often changing obstacles in front of us, one thing at AoH remains as strong and consistent as ever: persistence. Look no further than the 11 graduates who earned their high school diploma through the GED Exam and National External Diploma Program since March 15. You can see it during device distribution days, as each learner picks up their AoH-provided laptop. You can see it when a learner, who prior to the pandemic simply did not use a computer, logs on to Zoom, turns on the camera and mutes/unmutes at all the right times. You can see it in the monthly FaceTime book club meetings when a volunteer and learner discuss what they’re reading. And finally, it’s clear in the many new and innovative lessons teachers created this summer so that this time next year, we’re celebrating—in whatever way we can—a truly successful school year.
AoH was founded as a volunteer-powered organization and still relies on those willing to give their time and talent in service of supporting learners as they achieve their goals. If you’re interested in supporting AoH, here are a few ways to get involved:
WWPR Content Committee member, Florence Sumaray had an opportunity to connect with WWPR member, LeAnne DeFrancesco to learn more about her role as Vice President at Vanguard Communications and how she got involved with WWPR.
Tell me a little bit about your background and your current position at Vanguard Communications.
I was a journalism major at the University of Georgia and after a few jobs in DC, found my way to public relations. I lead Vanguard Communications’ Design and Editorial practice where I contribute to client campaigns, event production, corporate initiatives and business development. Working in a small firm like Vanguard means there is never a dull day! And I love that we focus exclusively on social change communications for some of the country’s most progressive organizations.
How has COVID-19 affected the way your organization functions and your interaction with your clients?
Vanguard got to test the remote work environment waters when our office space underwent a renovation in late 2019. We were back in our spot on K Street for about 6 weeks when the pandemic hit. While it has been hard to be away from co-workers, who are really like family, we were completely prepared to continue to thrive in this teleworking environment. I certainly miss doing the office jigsaw puzzle at lunchtime, but we have gotten really creative with our social activities to stay connected (Zoom trivia, Bingo, Quiplash…we even made a baby book related to travel for one of our colleagues who is due this month!). These activities have helped us maintain our organizational culture and stay healthy mentally.
From a work standpoint, I don’t think we’ve missed a beat. We are engaging with our clients and providing great customer service using virtual platforms and tools. People are still bringing the same passion and dedication to their jobs every day and the extended time at home seems to be translating into even more productivity, which I didn’t think was possible from our small but mighty team!
How has the PR industry changed in the last five years and what are you doing differently that seems to work in your industry?
Well obviously digital strategies have been transformative. Especially for our small clients, being able to reach audiences even with modest budgets is huge. Video is another area where we have been watching trends and building our internal competencies. We used to have to partner for most video work but now we can do a tremendous amount in-house. And of course Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Although this has gained traction in recent years, for our firm, it’s always been part of how we approach communications. We take it extremely seriously and lately have seen a major uptick in the number of organizations who need this type of strategic counsel. Personally, I have learned a lot from our DEI experts.
Why did you join WWPR, how has the experience been and what advice would you give to someone wanting to join the organization?
I joined because I wanted a slightly broader horizon. I wanted to meet people who had other kinds of PR expertise and other types of clients and challenges, and share ideas. Working as part of the Pro Bono Committee has been so gratifying. I have met wonderful women on the committee, and wonderful people in the organizations we support.
Written by Florence Sumaray, WWPR Content Committee Member, Director of Marketing and Communications, Ethics & Compliance Initiative (ECI).
During this time, was there any hobby you picked up or spent more time doing that you have enjoyed?
I learned how to make homemade biscuits! As a southerner, this was huge for me. I got up early on Saturdays for about a month trying different recipes with my daughter, until we settled on a favorite and perfected our technique. (Using a cheese grater for the butter made all the difference.) Now I’m always on the lookout for markets that carry buttermilk. I also did my first Netflix binge: The Umbrella Academy. So good!
What are some of your favorite things to do in the DMV area and how have you adjusted since COVID-19?
A co-worker signed up for a nationwide miles challenge (run, walk, swim, bike) for the month of August and invited us to participate. 19 “Vanguardians” participated as a team and logged nearly 2,000 miles! I’m really proud of that. Now I’m trying to stay in the biking habit because it makes me feel stronger physically, and it helps reduce stress. I also discovered a wonderful author, Yangszee Choo. I read The Night Tiger first and am just digging into The Ghost Bride. Highly recommended for a little escape at the end of a hectic day.
Without right or regard, I’m dedicating this month to moms. Yes, I realize Mother’s Day was in May. And no, I’m not seeking praise or playing my tiny violin. Instead, I stand and applaud the women in our industry who are working around the clock and hardly stopping to take a breath between managing their career and childcare.
It was during last month’s board meeting when a few of our board members – caught on camera – were dutifully giving their all to our one-hour discussion and caring for children simultaneously. While my kid was in the bath, quieted with the iPad (the shame), and far away from video shot, I was moved by my fellow board members who could have very easily sat this one out.
A board member freshly returning from maternity leave, a veteran mom of twin boys, a few moms with toddlers – this job is no doubt the hardest, and yet, they still carve out time for other women. And for themselves.
We’ve all seen the stories of how working moms are carrying the weight of serving asemotional barometers for the household or how countless others have had tochoose childcare over their careers amid this pandemic. In this back to school season, as our social feeds are an equal balance of first day of school photos or virtual homeschool set-ups, I hope we can give some well-deserved applause and love to our mom community.
While it feels impossible to juggle on some days, it is moments like these where I remember I am not alone. Community is everything.
Ianthe Metzger, Deputy Director of Campaign Communications for State & Local Campaigns, EMILY’s List
WWPR Content Committee member, Florence Sumaray had an opportunity to connect with WWPR member, Ianthe Metzger to learn more about her role as Deputy Director of Campaign Communications for State & Local Campaigns at EMILY’s List and how she got involved with WWPR.
Tell me about your background and your work with EMILY’s List. Perhaps share how COVID-19 has upended traditional campaign events and the challenges and rewards of generating attention for down-ballot races.
From working to change hearts and minds on marriage equality and LGBTQ protections with the Human Rights Campaign, to my current role at EMILY’s List where I help elect women up and down the ballot, I’ve always been interested in political communications and advocating for a particular issue or candidate through the media.
At EMILY’s List, I work solely with women who are running down-ballot on their media strategies, message development, and media training, and also elevate the work of EMILY’s List’s state and local campaigns team more broadly. While there’s always more focus on the White House and federal races, state and local races are incredibly important. I seriously can’t make that point enough. Our city councils and state legislatures have an enormous impact on our day-to-day lives and are increasingly getting the attention they deserve from voters and the media, given the harmful bills these legislative bodies have passed in recent years and the fact that it’s a redistricting cycle. The women in these offices are just awesome and do a fantastic job!
As with everything, the way we do our work and support our candidates has changed so much over the past few months. Last fall, I was in Virginia doing in-person GOTV events with our organization’s president, Stephanie Schriock and our candidates. We door-knocked in key districts as part of our successful effort to flip the Virginia General Assembly. This cycle is totally different as we work with our candidates on how to reach voters on the virtual campaign trail. Thankfully EMILY’s List was already equipped to help candidates through our robust training center that offers sessions on hosting virtual events, rapid response and crisis management, digital organizing and ads, and so much more.
Many of our endorsed women were already running on a message of expanding access to health care and creating sustainable job opportunities, so we’ve worked with them on how to incorporate COVID-19 into their existing messaging and make clear to voters and to the media that they are best suited to represent their district. It’s timely, it’s authentic, and it’s what reporters are interested in. Also, a lot of our candidates are educators, small business owners, or health care professionals who can speak to the issues that the country is facing firsthand, so we’ve worked hard to elevate their stories in the press. While nothing can replace a face to face conversation at the door, a positive of the virtual campaign trail is being able to easily reach more people all over the state and doing virtual events featuring high profile surrogates, who are typically incredibly busy. They may not have been able to stop by your in-person campaign event in a different city or state, but they can certainly pop into a Zoom townhall for 20 minutes to talk about why you’re a great candidate.
Why did you join WWPR? How has the experience been and what advice would you give to someone wanting to join WWPR?
For anyone who’s on the fence about joining WWPR, you should definitely do it! It’s always been a great community of women, but that’s even more true as we collectively learn how to navigate COVID-19 and write new rules as we go.
WWPR’s webinars and trainings over the past few months have been invaluable and it’s been great to hear from so many experts on what’s working at their organizations, best practices, and innovative solutions for how to get your message out and breakthrough in a media landscape that continues to become more and more challenging.
I joined this community because I wanted to connect with a group of like-minded women who were committed to learning from each other and growing in their fields, and I’ve definitely gotten that as a member of WWPR.
Written by Florence Sumaray, WWPR Content Committee Member, Director of Marketing & Communications, Ethics & Compliance Initiative and Realtor for The Nellis Group.
How has the PR industry changed in the last five years and what are you doing differently that seems to work in your industry?
From The Lily to The 19th to The Fuller Project, I’ve loved seeing all the new outlets that have emerged in recent years that target women and focus solely on their stories and experiences at the intersection of politics and policy. I also think that in recent years, organizations have been putting forward more diverse spokespeople and newsrooms are finally beginning to elevate more diverse voices on the air which is critical, long overdue, and a trend that I hope continues.
Through our work at EMILY’s List, every day we prove that women can win tough races, all across the country and storytelling continues to be a key part of that. It’s clear, not only from the sheer volume of women candidates running this year (a record 584 in Congress alone!) but also by the diversity of these women, that the political environment is ripe for women’s leadership. They all come from different backgrounds and prove that despite conventional wisdom, there’s no one way to be “the woman candidate.” It’s about being brave enough to tell your story authentically and put your name on the ballot.
During this time, was there any hobby you picked up or spent more time doing that you have enjoyed?
I used to read quite a bit before, but I’ve gone through so many books during quarantine. I’d recommend The Great Alone, Saving Ruby King, and The Last Flight if you’re looking for something to dive into. I’ve also been baking a lot of new treats, most recently cinnamon roll cheesecake, making new cocktails with my husband, and finally getting around to using all the appliances that we got as wedding gifts two years ago! My sisters live in Philadelphia and Milwaukee so we’ve been scheduling virtual workouts that we do together over Google Hangouts. It’s been a really great way to stay connected and something that we probably would not have started doing had it not been for COVID-19, even though we’ve always lived in different cities.
What are some of your favorite things to do in the DMV area and how have you adjusted since COVID-19?
There’s something for everyone in the DMV; it’s my favorite thing about living here. Typically, I love brunching, going to festivals and concerts, and exploring our many museums –– it was devastating when the Newseum closed in December! I will say that I’m definitely more of a homebody so I wasn’t too put out in the first few months of quarantine, but that’s definitely changed as it’s dragged on.
I live in Pentagon City and used to find all my entertainment in DC proper, but have been making more of an effort to explore my neighborhood and get to know Arlington, which I’ve really enjoyed so far. In the next couple of weeks, we also plan on checking out the drive-in movie theatre at Union Market and heading out to Prince William County for some hiking.
Hear more from Ianthe about her involvement in WWPR and why joining the WWPR community is so valuable, especially as we navigate the new normal of COVID-19:
Oftentimes, our job descriptions and office responsibilities have us thinking about everything else BUT ourselves.
I recently joined a new workstream and as part of the introductory kick-off, our team lead circulated a “user guide” for each of us to complete on how we like to work. The goal of the exercise is to get to know our new (virtual) colleagues but also to understand what they value and their operational preferences on a deeper level.
It’s safe to say that very few people in PR struggle with talking about themselves – but I found this challenge so very different. I paused to really think about this in a meaningful way: what do I truly value, what motivates me to do my best, where do I lack patience and what endears people to me? I’ll be excited to learn more about my new colleagues next week and watch how these insights we’ve gained will help us drive bigger, better results.
Whether you lead a team or need to take a pause yourself, I’m sharing the questionnaire with you below. Has your organization done something similar? If you have some results, will you share them with us? Send us a note via email.
As always, thanks for being a part of the WWPR community. Happy Summer!
What I value
What I need to be successful
The best way to motivate me to do something
What I don’t have patience for
How to best communicate with me
How do you prefer to give and receive feedback?
When do you like people to approach you and how?
Which communication medium is best for what type of message(s); frequency and granularity?
Your “operating approach”
How frequently do you like to meet and how should meetings be scheduled and organized?
How do you stay organized?
How to earn a “gold star” with me
What endears people to you?
What people misunderstand about me
What do people misunderstand about you, and why?
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