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Member Spotlight: Rachelina Bonacci, Public Information Officer, Maryland Stadium Authority

Rachelina Bonacci, Public Information Officer, Maryland Stadium Authority

Tell us a little bit about your background and your work with the Maryland Stadium Authority.  What has it been like for you during COVID-19?   

Rachelina is passionate about the transformative power of experiential tourism, especially cultural and sports travel, on people and places. At UMBC, she received her B.A. in Philosophy, which provides a foundation for critical thinking, public speaking and persuasive writing. She treasures her career experience with Southwest Airlines which included growing the customer service department at BWI Marshall Airport, and participated in the management program at headquarters and embracing the company culture to this day. While at Visit Howard County, she quadrupled their budget by advocating for dedicated public funding and enhancing the private sector investment opportunities. 

As a storyteller, converting the post office in Ellicott City into a welcome center was an opportunity to create space for informing and entertaining residents and visitors.  In 2017, she was honored to join the Maryland Stadium Authority (MSA) as a Public Information Officer. The volume and variety of the work by this stellar organization inspires her. In addition to managing and maintaining the Camden Yards Sports Complex, home of the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, MSA oversees very visible and time sensitive construction projects and feasibility studies across the state.

While Major League Baseball (MLB) is delayed and the National Football League scheduled to begin in the fall, MSA still operates and secures the iconic Warehouse as commercial real estate. Even in the required telework environment, MSA’s projects and studies are being delivered on time and on budget.

During the pandemic, MSA has repurposed portions of the 85 acre Camden Yards Sports Complex to assist our neighbors in need by inviting World Central Kitchen for weekly meal distribution, welcoming the Salvation Army of Central Maryland for daily meal delivery to seniors and hosting the Maryland National Guard for humanitarian aid throughout the region.

What do you enjoy most about your job?
Every day, Rachelina is surrounded by highly successful yet extraordinarily humble economists, engineers, project managers and sports enthusiasts in a mission-driven work environment. MSA’s sports commission positions the state’s venues as a top destination for youth, amateur and professional sports.

She enjoys partnering on the ground-breakings and ribbon-cuttings for the 21st Century School Buildings program, M&T Bank Stadium’s renovations and MARC Camden Station’s replacement. Announcements of new sports events and completion of feasibility studies are welcomed by the communities that request MSA’s services.

MSA’s commitment to sustainability is commendable. Planning the on-field pregame Earth Day 2018 announcement for Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the oldest ballpark in MLB to receive the LEED Gold certification, was especially exciting.

Why did you join WWPR?  
Rachelina was introduced to WWPR by the Capitol Communicator newsletter, and attended her first event in which she recalls a warm welcome by so many smart, successful, and sharply dressed women. The genuine camaraderie amongst WWPR’s members, at every career stage, creates environments where ideas and insights are generously exchanged, with smiles and laughter.

How do you keep up with the latest trends in PR and how has the industry changed in the last 5 years?
Over the past five years, the speed of the 24-hour news cycle and the need to generate meaningful multi-media content requires marketing and communications teams to merge and converge. While roles are blurred, goals are focused and data driven. Reading voraciously, consuming content, attending workshops and webinars to further one’s skills and connections in this ever-evolving industry is a must. Rachelina recently earned professional certificates in Social Media Management and Digital Marketing at the Georgetown School of Continuing Studies and invests in courses at General Assembly. In addition, she volunteers with the Public Relations Society of America’s (PRSA’s) professional development committee, enjoys her American Marketing Association (AMA) membership and indulges in Smithsonian Associates programs.

Written by Florence Sumaray, WWPR Content Committee Member, Director of Marketing & Communications, Ethics & Compliance Initiative and Realtor for The Nellis Group.

What other organizations are you involved with outside the office?    
As her schedule permits, Rachelina is an advocate for the National Brain Tumor Society and the Beagle Freedom Project. Helping navigate the halls, tunnels and protocols of Capitol Hill and Annapolis with first-time volunteers to tell their story to elected officials and staff that localizes proposed legislation is rewarding.

What are some of your favorite things to do in the DMV area?
The DMV has so many parks, trails and gardens to explore and experience the seasons. Rachelina loves daily sunrise and sunset walks with her beagles. On weekends, dining al fresco, whether it’s a picnic at a winery or waterside seafood shack is her chosen treat. Summertime concerts, under the stars, with family and friends is also a favorite.

After years of dreaming and watching too much HGTV, she and her boyfriend bought a fixer-upper cottage near the Chesapeake Bay. Working together on DIY projects, planting the gardens and upcycling décor has been their happy place during the pandemic.

What have you learned about yourself during this pandemic and how do you stay positive? 
The Italian culture celebrates “il dolce far niente”, the joy of doing nothing and embracing the sweet simplicity of life. Throughout their careers and after working with people all day, Rachelina and her boyfriend unwind by cooking dinner together at night.

Rachelina has a small, but sunny home office, so transitioning to required telework was smooth and MSA workflow steady. When asked how she’s fared during the pandemic, the quote that comes to her mind is Cicero’s “If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”

WWPR Members In Action: Raising Funds for the Homeless During COVID-19

Written by Florence Sumaray, WWPR Content Committee Member, Director of Marketing & Communications, Ethics & Compliance Initiative and Realtor for The Nellis Group.

In February, I made a plan with my neighbors, Katherine and Scott, who live directly across the street. We started planning a fundraiser for Christ House, a 24-hour medical facility for the homeless in Adams Morgan. We envisioned hosting it outside in Meridian Hill Park or the Adams Morgan Community Center, but then COVID-19 happened.

What do you do when your original plan to help the homeless gets halted, but your passion to support is still there and the need becomes even greater? You partner with Christ House’s Doris Warrell, Director of Engagement and Resource Development to find out their immediate needs. We sprung into action; we created flyers and had big boxes in the lobby of our buildings to collect toilet paper, paper towels and cleaning supplies.  The fastest way to get to our communities was to send emails, post on our internal building social media pages and our own personal social media accounts.  

Once we did this, the donations of supplies started to come in the door—it was like we had won the lottery. I offered to go shopping for people who were open to sending monetary contributions and then the cash application mobile alerts on my phone started to go off. Our neighbors and friends started sending money. The original goal we had established was $500, but after surpassing this in a few short days, we upped our goal to $1,000.

After only a week of fundraising, we are now at $1,280 and will continue to collect supplies and donations from family, friends and supporters. Being a 24-hour medical facility, Christ House’s needs are constant. 

We will continue to collect monetary donations here and anyone who donates will receive a tax deduction receipt. Christ House will use the funds to buy supplies needed by the facility in bulk. 

 

About Christ House from their website: Christ House opened in December 1985 as the first 24-hour residential medical facility for homeless persons in the United States. Today, Christ House is still the only facility of its kind in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, where over 6,000 people experience homelessness every day. To the best of our knowledge, there are only 22 stand-alone residential medical facilities for the homeless like Christ House in all of the U.S. Since our inception, we have had over 9,100 admissions.

Patients are admitted to Christ House from area hospitals, shelters, clinics, and medical outreach projects. They suffer from a variety of illnesses and injuries including cancer, hypertension and stroke, liver disease, kidney failure, diabetes and related amputations, HIV/AIDS, respiratory disease, major lacerations, fractures, and ulcerations of the skin. Many are malnourished, anemic, depressed, and desperately disconnected from healthy sources of support.

In 2019, Christ House provided health care for 223 patient admissions and 9,228 patient-days of care. There were 150 participants in the 9-week New Day addictions recovery program. 67% of patients were discharged to more stable housing than before coming to Christ House.

WWPR Members: we want to hear from you! Send us your stories about how you are giving back to the community. Email the Content Committee. 

As D.C. Wrestles with Pandemic & Unrest, Academy of Hope Pushes Forward

Marja Hilfiker founded Academy of Hope Adult Public Charter School (AoH) on the principles of literacy and justice for all. Thirty-five years later, as the country grapples with the killings of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Breonna Taylor in Kentucky and Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia, those principles continue to anchor AoH’s work and are as critical now as they were then. 

“We know that the American education system has long been plagued by discrimination, homophobia/transphobia, classism, and racism,” says Joy Bentley Phillips, chief advancement officer at AoH. “There are still policies, procedures, and practices that negatively impact members of these communities. Part of our mission is to create an inclusive environment where everyone is valued and adds value.”

LeAnne-DeFrancesco Headshot
LeAnne DeFrancesco, Vice President, Vanguard Communications, WWPR Pro Bono Committee Member

The organization’s leadership, staff and learners are once again proving what a community can do when they pull together, despite the grief, despair, anger, exhaustion, anxiety and at times deep fear that many in the organization and learners are all feeling.  

“Our direct work with learners helps individuals, and our more recent work in diversity, equity, and inclusion is aimed at effecting change within our own organization where admittedly white supremacist ideas and ways of being also exist,” says AoH CEO Lecester Johnson. “But we are also committed to working to effect change beyond our doors on the external systems and policies that impact the broader community. Now more than ever, it is important that we continue our work and our commitment to Black lives.”

These events are compounding an already difficult time for AoH. In March, the school was forced to take its learning environment online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The experience has been a mixed bag, but both students and teachers have been making the best of a challenging situation.

“AoH learners have always impressed me with their resilience, and they continue to do so during the pandemic,” says Director of Advocacy and Communications Jamie Fragale. “We’ve even had four students earn their diploma while in quarantine!”

As much as 75% of learners don’t have a computer or Internet at home. AoH started a digital access fund to raise money to provide the necessary equipment. The more than $20,000 that has been raised to date is making a real difference in how people can access learning opportunities.

Beyond the learning needs, there is a personal toll. Several learners have lost family members and loved ones to COVID-19. And the racial breakdown of D.C.’s infection and death rates clearly shows that black and brown communities are suffering at disturbingly disproportionate rates, and that Wards 5, 7 and 8 are most deeply impacted—exactly the locations and demographics of AoH learners. 

AOH has stepped in in several ways beyond the school day, posting content on its social media platforms addressing social isolation, ways adult learners can keep their children engaged in learning while in quarantine, and information on how to get food assistance, to name a few.

“There isn’t a playbook for any of this,” says Fragale. “But our teachers have done an amazing job of re-designing lesson plans. Our Student Support Team is checking in on learners, and our Workforce Team is connecting learners—many of whom are heads of households—to job openings and the necessary income supports. We’re managing the best we can, knowing that our learners have been dealing with quite a lot this year.” 

A few weeks ago, Johnson and Fragale hosted student town halls to hear directly from learners about their experience thus far. 

“Roughly 100 learners joined the conversations, and for the most part, they shared that remote learning is working, despite the hurdles. For some learners, the town hall was their first Zoom call ever. One learner—who prior to the COVID crisis did not use email or a computer—logged herself on, turned on her camera, and muted/unmuted herself at all the right times! For most of us, that seems minor. For her, it was huge!”

Looking ahead, AoH is preparing for a new class of learners; registration for the fall semester opens on June 15. Classes will be available both virtually and in-person. And in just a couple of weeks, AoH staff will hand deliver diplomas to 32 graduates at their homes. 

“Graduation is one of my favorite days of the year,” Johnson says. “And while it will look a little different this year, we know that for many graduates and their families, it’s a day they’ve dreamed of for many years and one we’re deeply honored to share with them.”

WWPR’s Community Commitment

To our WWPR Community:

As communicators, we use our voice every day to enact change, inspire a community, persuade audiences and storytell with purpose. Great communicators know when to speak and when to listen.

For many of us, now is the time to listen. For others, especially our Black female communicators, it’s a time to speak out. We encourage our entire community to lean on one another during this time, and to take this opportunity to listen, learn, and educate each other about these experiences – experiences that matter.

As our country leaps past its breaking point, WWPR stands firm in its support of the Black women in and beyond our network and commits to:

  • Instituting a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Board Chairperson.
  • Building and providing programming that represents diverse topics, perspectives and voices that cultivates the conversation and grows our knowledge.
  • Continuing our own learning journeys to become more effective champions and leaders of reform.
  • Expanding our network of speakers and panelists by deepening our partnerships with organizations that authentically reflect the voices of Black women and women of color.
  • Supporting local and national non-profit organizations that share these values. This includes amplifying our pro bono efforts, especially with our current client, Academy of Hope, as they work tirelessly to provide a path forward for a diverse group of women and their families.

Lastly, we commit to elevating your voices. We want to hear from you. What additional support can WWPR provide?

We are here to listen and make an impact.

Your WWPR Board

President’s Note: May 2020

Sarah Beth Cloar, President, WWPR

I have been truly inspired by the power of connection this past month – from the overly used neighborhood listserv seeking lawn care and babysitting recommendations to the steady stream of email introductions between job seekers and employers. I love it when a successful connection sparks and a long-term relationship unfolds.

This is just one reason why I cannot quit the WWPR community – COVID or not – it has proven to be one of the best connection resources for me and my career. The women and opportunities that have come my way since joining some 7 years ago have been tremendously rewarding.

As we continue to find ourselves bobbing and weaving through our new circumstances, I hope you’ll pause and think about how you can make a connection for someone. Whether that be pairing a mentor with someone needing guidance; providing counsel for a new grad who isn’t sure where to go from here; hitting send on a dozen emails to your network and championing a colleague or friend who has lost their job; or simply dropping a hello and reconnecting with someone you haven’t heard from in a while.

Connections are powerful. And you might not know what kind of “power” you hold! Keep your spirits up and try out some new connects this month. 

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