WWPR Honors Rising Communications Leaders

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 17, 2015) – Washington Women in Public Relations (WWPR) proudly announced three inspiring communications professionals as the 2015 Emerging Leaders Awards honorees: Sarah Coppersmith, Emily Rasowsky and Shannon Toher. The Emerging Leaders Awards is an annual awards and cocktail reception that recognizes leaders in public relations and communications, among young women (aged 23-30) who have significantly impacted the communications field and DC community.

The honorees were named at a reception held at Ketchum, and selected from a distinguished group of finalists that also included Cecily Naron, Account Supervisor at Hager Sharp, Elaine Seward, Video Producer at the American Chemical Society, and Jamie Nolan, Communications Director at Stratacomm. The awards ceremony featured keynote speaker Laura Howe, North America Vice President of Media and Communities at Pearson Education.

Learn more about the 2015 Emerging Leaders Awards Honorees below.

Sarah Coppersmith, Vice President, Scott Circle Communications

Sarah Coppersmith is an award-winning communications professional. She worked for the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), an independent non-profit created in conjunction with, but independent from, First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! campaign. Sarah also served as press secretary for Rep. Harry Mitchell (D-Ariz.) and assisted Women’s Campaign International with work in emerging democracies and post-conflict regions that advanced opportunities for women to actively participate in public advocacy and political processes.

Emily Rasowsky, Managing Strategist, Social Driver

Emily Rasowsky is a leading presenter, digital strategist and trainer. She leads full-scale, integrated digital and social media campaigns for Fortune 100 companies, nonprofits and associations. She is also the Founder of the Women in Tech Campaign, which uses storytelling and community building events to expand the definition of women in tech to be more inclusive of all roles that make up the industry.

Shannon Toher, Communications and Digital Strategist, The Yu Crew, LLC

Shannon leads efforts on a global health awareness campaign involving more than 200 organizations in 60 countries. She also provides communications counsel for the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Foundation, All Points North Foundation and the National Guard Youth Foundation’s ChalleNGe Program. Shannon has participated in several award-winning campaigns and received several honors. The Public Relations Society of America selected her as a finalist for the Silver Anvil Award, and the American Society of Association Executives honored her with a Gold Circle Award.

“WWPR is proud to recognize the accomplishments of these extraordinary young women,” said Avelyn Austin, WWPR president. “Their excellent work within the communications industry and commitment to helping women truly reflects the goal of our organization, which is to inspire women to reach their full potential. These emerging young leaders are an inspiration to all of us.”

About Washington Women in Public Relations

Washington Women in Public Relations (WWPR) is a member-based professional society cultivating and inspiring female communicators to reach their full potential in the DC market and beyond. The organization is committed to providing leadership opportunities, professional development, mentorship, and industry networking.

Visit us at wwpr.org and find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn

ELA 2015 – Win a free ticket! 

What’s Your Superpower? Tell Us and Win!

You could win a FREE ticket to the 2015 Emerging Leaders Awards new-tab .  To enter, please tweet a video, image or quote describing your superpower and use the hashtag #ELA2015 in your tweet. One entry per person. The winner will be selected at random on June 15. The user will be notified via Twitter and the ticket can be redeemed in person at the cocktail reception on June 16. For more information, please email ela@wwpr.org new-tab .

May Member Spotlight

This montLauren Lawson-Zilai 2014 head_ shot (1)h’s Member Spotlight interview features WWPR Member and Woman of the Year honoree Lauren Lawson-Zilai, Director of Public Relations and National Spokesperson, Goodwill Industries International.

Q: How did you get started in communications?

A: I started off as a publicity assistant at Penguin Putnam after an internship at Simon & Schuster. I had just graduated from the Denver Publishing Institute in an intensive graduate level course focused on all aspects of book publishing. I had taken on a minor in communications after quickly realizing my initial career decision as a high school English teacher wasn’t the right career for me. My love of reading plus my interest in PR led me to my first career. As a publicity assistant (Think of Bridget Jones in the Bridget Jones’ Diary), I was responsible for writing press materials, preparing press kits, coordinating author mailings, executing launch parties and book lectures, and facilitating author tours and book signings. This was in the days before social media. I was there for six months before finding a better opportunity at Time Warner Books (now Hachette Book Group). I had the opportunity to meet and work with numerous celebrities and authors including, David Baldacci, Charlotte Church, Don Knotts, Robert Kiyoski, Cybil Shepherd and others.
Q: What inspired you to get involved with WWPR?

A: I joined WWPR after moving here from NYC. I had an interest in transferring to the nonprofit sector and thought WWPR would provide me with the right opportunities to expand my skill sets and introduce me to people with relevant expertise. The WWPR community is intimate, so there are many ways to build your network and find colleagues to brainstorm with as well as build your friend base. My first assignment with WWPR was as chair of the pro bono committee, providing strategic communications counsel to two local nonprofits, Safe Shores and Doorways for Women and Families. My team provided public relations services valued at nearly $290,000 to Doorways, enabling women and their families to create pathways out of homelessness and domestic abuse. I then served as vice president, president and past president. It was during my tenure as WWPR’s past president that I launched the Emerging Leaders Awards, a program specifically designed to recognize up-and-coming women in the PR field.

I am very appreciative to the role WWPR played in my life as it was the stepping stone to garnering a PR job at the Children’s Defense Fund and beginning my nonprofit career path. It was also an honor to be recognized as a finalist for WWPR’s 2014 PR Woman of the Year award.

Q: What do you feel is your biggest accomplishment professionally?

A: The ability to align my calling with a cause and serve as a voice for people with disabilities and disadvantages in order to enhance their quality of life has been my biggest accomplishment. For instance, in my role at Goodwill Industries International, I worked on the launch of an initiative to serve women veterans, which was both a timely and critical effort, as the number of women in our armed forces is increasing, and they face challenges such as homelessness, abuse, and lack of credentialing and childcare. As part of this, I had the opportunity to sit in the First Lady’s office and strategically plan with members of her Joining Forces team. While the goal of our initiative was to serve 3,000 women veterans in two years; we tripled it in the first year by serving 4,700 women veterans, and that number is still growing. I’ve also been part of a collaboration called MyFreeTaxes, a joint initiative of Goodwill, National Disability Institute and United Way, and funded by the Walmart Foundation. That initiative provides free tax filing, both online and in-person, for people in a certain income bracket. Last year, more than 1.5 million people were able to get their taxes done in-person for free, enabling them to use that money to invest in their families’ future.

However, my biggest accomplishment has been receiving the following awards: the 2014 PR News PR People Awards: PR Professional of the Year: Nonprofit/Association and the PR News’ 2014 Top Women in PR. Work is an important part of human identity and knowing that my colleagues in the PR industry are inspired by my work, passion and engagement is a true honor, and has been the biggest accomplishment of all.

PR’s Role in Politics – Rolling with the Punches

Margaret-Mulvihill1By Margaret Mulvihill

The Role of Public Relations in Politics is a monthly column written by WWPR member Margaret Mulvihill, examining the role of PR in politics.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of Washington Women in Public Relations

Porter Novelli helps Indiana roll with the punches

PR’s role in politics is changing in step with global and domestic social and political changes. Who would have thought a year ago, that a state like Indiana would need PR help? Yet that is the case. After a disastrous series of misspoken missteps, the state of Indiana brought in a top PR group – Porter Novelli – to help improve its image.

As states become highlighted in the ongoing battles for equality, not to mention the 2016 Presidential onslaught, I suspect that this is just the beginning of a welcome trend. Welcome, because it’s so wrong to tar everyone in one state or region with the same brush. Welcome, because, come on now, everyone benefits from a good PR campaign!

President Hopeful

We are also seeing more and more Presidential hopefuls declare their candidacy. For some reason, the media is focused on the candidates much earlier this cycle than in any other I can remember. As mentioned in last month’s blog, the candidates have been carefully choosing their PR people, all of whom are big names, all people with excellent pedigrees in the world of PR.

Back in August of 2014, Bob Cusack wrote in The Hill about ‘The 65 people who might run for President in 2016.’ Where are they now? Certainly not declaring their candidacies, and many of them not even in the running anymore. In case nobody noticed, two years is a very long time in politics!

Rolling with the Most Punches

Hillary Clinton is, of course, running. She is the candidate who will have to roll with the most punches. She announced her candidacy on April 11. It is difficult to imagine Vice President Joe Biden running against her. It is even more difficult to see Al Gore making a return to the down and dirty of presidential politics. Joe Manchin, perhaps, of West Virginia, who is a centrist, would arguably make a good Commander in Chief.

Ticket Punched Already

Martin O’Malley, former two-term Governor of Maryland, stands little chance – he failed to earn the respect of his constituents, and the recent civil unrest in Baltimore following the police homicide of Freddy Gray is O’Malley’s legacy.

Deval Patrick has disappeared into the woodwork – is he honing a Presidential bid, quietly and out of the media glare?

538 days to the next Presidential election. In those 538 days, many of our colleagues will forge ahead and either add to the luster of their careers, or make their names known front and center. Long live Presidential politics and its necessary side-kick, Public Relations!

RECAP: A Path With A Purpose: CSR and Social Impact Communications  

By Dinesha Rogers

On Tuesday, May 19th, the Professional Development Committee and representatives from Powell Tate, welcomed a room full of attendees for an extremely knowledgeable and captivating discussion of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as well as Social Impact Communications.   The amazing expert panelists included:

After a great introduction by WWPR’s President, Avelyn Austin, the panelists began to discuss emerging issues. Moderator, Victoria Baxter, Senior Vice President/Management Supervisor at Powell Tate, commenced the discussion by first posing the question of how CSR is defined. Each panelist gave their own take on what CSR both encompasses and proposes.   Catie de Montille stated, “In a corporate space, CSR has seen a lot of evolution overtime. There’s been a big shift towards making sure your CSR investments are integrated into business practices and strategies. This is how we judge and move strategically with our campaigns.” On the contrary, when looking at CSR through a different lens, Jade Floyd focuses more on philanthropy investments. “Millennials, especially, want to work for companies that have philanthropy and business. When we look at the intent of companies we invest in, we want to make sure these companies are focusing on the people, profit, and purpose/planning.”

The next topic of discussion shifted to the impact of social purpose, or storytelling communications, when discovering the intent of a company through using content from a consumer’s viewpoint. The panelists expressed how the various avenues we talk to consumers through, including media content, social channels, and employees, have shown their value of social platform trends when transferring direct to consumer messages. Social media is the biggest platform for digital planning and audience engagement in products and companies. Developing content and connecting with multiple audiences can be challenging. Samantha Lasky communicated how, “There is a limited amount of content. Think of ways to repurpose content to reach different audiences. Make it personal!”

Along with understanding that defining a target audience is key before any social engagement, another essential mechanism was geared towards reporting and transparency in companies. Although reporting social engagement is not always easy and understandable to the broader audience, measuring the success of programs and campaigns is imperative when developing future pitches or topics. Catie de Montille noted, “…with transparency comes more risk. We do a lot of scenario planning to prep for what people might say. So, have a plan in place to rationalize any backlash from a certain audience.”

In an effort to maximize skills and best practices for effective social impact communications, the panelists offered a few pointers:

  • Value your audience and be willing to constantly learn.
  • Be flexible, adapt and quickly learn new tools and techniques.
  • Be a bridge builder and connector.
  • Be able to multitask and understand the importance of communicating within and externally.

With CSR’s goal to aid an organization’s mission as well as serve as a guide to what the company stands for to its consumers, the panelists shared a great deal of knowledge on ways to be adaptable and look across the board at all the different ways you can make an impact within your organization. They also instilled the importance of having conversations across different sectors to learn and share best practices among organizations. Samantha Lasky shared, “There are a lot of ways to make an impact. It’s important to have people who believe in CSR in different fields and disciplines.”

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