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Washington Women in Public Relations Announces 2014 Emerging Leaders Awards Honorees

Announcement Culminates Reception Honoring Rising Stars in Communications

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — July 23, 2014 — Washington Women in Public Relations (WWPR) proudly named Alexandra Dickinson, Danielle Hagen, and Sara Neumann the 2014 Emerging Leaders Awards (ELA) honorees at its fifth annual ELA reception on July 22 at Zentan Restaurant. The signature WWPR accolade honors young women (ages 23-30) who have significantly impacted the communications field and show the potential to make their mark on the industry as a whole for many years to come.

WWPR congratulates the 2014 Emerging Leaders Awards honorees:

Alexandra Dickinson, Account Director, Beekeeper Group, LLC

As an Account Director with Beekeeper Group, LLC, Alexandra Dickinson provides strategic guidance, content support, and other services to a wide variety of clients, and through her work has created and managed numerous award-winning digital campaign s and web presences for associations, advocacy groups, coalitions, small businesses, and educational institutions. She has been Alexandria also serves as Deputy Dean for the DC Chapter of the Awesome Foundation, an international micro philanthropy organization that devotes funds to innovative, community-based projects

 

Danielle Hagen, Vice President, Nahigian Strategies

Danielle Hagen leads Nahigian Strategies’ media relations department, serving as an advisor and spokeswoman for private and public-sector clients as well as elected officials. She has designed and implemented award-winning media relations and social media programs for local, regional and national public relations campaigns. In addition to her public relations career, she is an advisor for the Inside Washington Program for Miami University in Oxford, OH, and a national instructor for Elect Her – Campus Women Win – the only program in the country that encourages and trains college women to run for student government and future political office.

Sara Neumann, Senior Director, C Fox Communication

As senior Director at C Fox Communications, Sara works with clients to ensure that their best stories shine through in a saturated, 24-hour news cycle and helped the agency win a 2014 Bronze Anvil award for her work on the Covenant House Washington Executive Sleepout campaign in November 2013. Throughout her career thus far, Sara has worked with clients in a range of sectors, including social entrepreneurs, non-profits, foundations, corporations, and government organizations. She has always prioritized mentoring and coaching others, especially other young women in the public relations field, and regularly advises several former interns and junior staff.

“WWPR is pleased to recognize these exceptional honorees who impressed the judges not only with their professional success and dedication to excellence in public relations, but who also serve as an inspiration to us all through their extensive volunteer work,” said Lauren Smith Dyer, WWPR President. “As the premier organization dedicated to the advancement of D.C. women in public relations, WWPR is honored to celebrate these emerging leaders.”

The honorees were named at a reception held at Zentan Restaurant, and selected from a distinguished group of finalists that included Marcia Newbert, Account Supervisor at Edelman, Christina DiPasquale, Associate Vice President, FitzGibbon Media, and Laura Cilmi, Managing Director, CLS Strategies.

 

 

 

Pictured left to right: Christina DiPasquale, Laura Cilmi, Danielle Hagen, Kim Kingsley, Marcia Newbert, Alex Dickinson, Sara Neumann

The event’s keynote speaker was Kim Kingsley, Chief Operations Officer at POLITICO. Kingsley gave a lively address that focused on pushing through to reach professional goals. She emphasized the importance of having confidence and courage, and urged young professionals to take risks and be willing to make mistakes. Additionally, she said advised the ELA attendees to “follow the people that inspire you,” leaving the audience eager to continue chasing their dreams.

 

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.

 

PR in Politics: Definitions and Candidates

The Role of Public Relations in Politics is a monthly column written by WWPR member Margaret Mulvihill. Her column examines the role of PR in politics through history.

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

DEFINITIONS AND CANDIDATES

This month, while thinking about the role of public relations in politics, I went back to the basics.  I pulled the definitions of public relations, politics and the two largest political parties in the United States.

Public relations (PR) — the practice of managing the spread of information between an individual or an organization and the public (Wikipedia)

Politics — the activities associated with the governance of a country or other area, especially the debate or conflict among individuals or parties having or hoping to achieve power (Google)

Democrat — a person who believes in or supports democracy (Merriam-Webster)

Republican — a person who believes in or supports a republican form of government (Merriam-Webster)

Independent — not subject to control by others, not affiliated with a larger controlling unit (Merriam-Webster)

MAKING A NAME FOR YOURSELF

So, Candidate, congratulations!  The decision has been made, you have decided to run for public office. Whether that’s at the local, state or national level, the first thing you need to do is gain name recognition.  Nobody can vote for you if they don’t know who you are, right?  You may belong to a political party.  You may be an Independent.

If you already identify with a political party, you may be ahead of the curve in that your message has already been crafted for you.  You are now part of that party’s “party machine.”  All you have to do is personalize the message and make it your own.  Easy?  Not so much.  That very same party affiliation of yours is going to cause you many headaches as you launch your campaign.

Your party believes that illegal immigrants should be arrested at the border and returned to their homeland — your position is that each case is different.  Your party believes that everyone is entitled to financial support in time of need — your position is that each case is different.  Well, here you are on day one, already with a messaging dilemma.

GETTING AHEAD OF THE MESSAGE

You can get out there behind the party message, hoping no investigative journalist asks you any really deep questions about your own beliefs. By the way, in political circles, this honest questioning has become known as ‘gotcha’ journalism, and getting through a political campaign at any level without being asked tough questions is very unlikely!  You may survive, Candidate, for some of your campaign, but you know it — at some point, some journalist or voter is going to put you on the spot.

The smartest thing to do, then, is to “get ahead of the message.”  Find a way to lay the groundwork that while yes, you do believe in the basic tenets of your affiliated party, you are also a thinking person who reserves the right to disagree on various issues. You are ‘managing the spread of information’ between your campaign and your public.

MEDIA RELATIONS

It doesn’t stop there, Candidate.  Your public is increasingly politically-aware.  Fox News, MSNBC, CNN, et al, stream live into every home around the clock.  Nobody is in awe of politicians anymore.  Everyone who has a question to ask, will ask it.  As you campaign, you need to answer every question honestly, and yet be aware of the downfalls of honesty!  Someone is going to ask you a hard question as you campaign.

It is a minefield out there, on the campaign trail, in the television studio, sitting with a journalist. What can you do? You do the only thing you can do under the circumstances.  You hire a media relations firm with a specialization in politics, to help you navigate that minefield. With the right person managing the dissemination of information for your campaign, and keeping you “on message,” you will have an easier route to your goal — that coveted public office, at a local, state or national level.

Choose wisely, and good luck!

 

July Member Spotlight

This month’s Member Spotlight interview features WWPR member Tahira L. Christmon of Goodwill Industries International/WWPR Emerging Leaders Awards Committee member.

How did you get started in communications?

My elementary school had a morning telecast that aired all of our school announcements from a makeshift television studio.  In the fourth grade I began volunteering as a camerawoman and producing anchor scripts. The following year I became the lead anchor.  In middle school I wrote feature and news articles for a weekly online publication that centered around educating children and teens on U.S. and world news.

Communicating and telling compelling stories have always come natural to me.  I continued my interest in broadcast journalism at Syracuse University and interned at nearly every local and major news station this side of the Mason Dixon.  When I graduated, I was offered a job at the NBC News Washington bureau as an assignment desk assistant and field producer for “Nightly News with Brian Williams.”  I went on to do general assignment and beat reporting with Verizon FiOs 1 and CTV News, a local news network in Maryland.

Ironically, I lost interest in journalism within a few years and became really interested in building a career in public relations.  I wanted to focus on nonprofit PR because I wanted to tell the compelling human interest stories that rise out of philanthropy and social enterprise.  I landed a job at Goodwill Industries International in their PR department and realized that I had instantly found my dream job.  Not only am I doing what I love, but I’m serving as a voice for individuals and families facing disabilities and disadvantages.

What inspired you to get involved in WWPR?

I had my job at Goodwill® for less than three weeks before my supervisor and past WWPR President and Vice President Lauren Lawson- Zilai told me about the organization and said it would be a great opportunity for me to build upon my existing skill sets.  Lauren is also past chair of the Pro Bono committee and founder of the Emerging Leaders Awards… I literally work for a WWPR All-Star!

Lauren knew that I wanted to build relationships with PR professionals and gain a greater understanding of the industry.  I became an active WWPR member a week later, just in time for the holiday party.  Within a few months I became the sponsorship liaison for the Emerging Leaders Awards Committee and an active member of the Professional Development Committee.  The relationships I’ve built and the industry knowledge I’ve gained is invaluable.

What do you feel is your biggest accomplishment professionally?

My biggest accomplishment is landing a PR job at a leading nonprofit social enterprise.  In just under a year I’ve built my skill set to include strategic planning, media relations, content management, partnership building and crisis communications.  Every day I’m challenged in a new way and I’ve finally found purpose in my career.

Recap of WWPR’s June Professional Development Panel, “Secrets to Planning Perfect Events”

On June 26th, WWPR’s Professional Development Committee in partnership with Pepco Holdings, Inc. hosted an exciting and informative discussion at the Pepco Edison Place Gallery revealing the secrets to planning perfect events.  The sold-out event began with networking, hors d’oeuvres courtesy of Geppetto Catering, and a wine tasting provided by Total Wine & More. Along with sparkling wines, Total Wine provided takeaways, including formulas on how to calculate the number of bottles for an event using the number of guests and duration of the program.

Debbi Jarvis, panel moderator and Group Vice President, Corporate Citizenship and Social Responsibility for Pepco Holdings, opened with a warm welcome and shared several pointers to planning a successful press event.  Regarding developing relationships with reporters she shared, “You have to do the work before the event,” and “Be a source, not a sore.”

The panel included:

Reggie Kouba shared a 10-step process to planning a successful corporate event.  A few of her tips included:

  • Avoid lines by making sure your registration, food and beverage lines are easily accessible and well-staffed.
  • Practice Makes Perfect: If you have speakers, give them an opportunity to practice onstage in advance with the sound and lighting in place.
  • Make sure you wear comfortable shoes…things move fast.

To view Ms. Kouba’s entire slide presentation, click here.

Hilary Howes focused her remarks on her area of expertise, designing events. She shared, “When doing event design you cannot trust advertising; words are spun, and it is best to trust your gut.”  Howes also suggested client and design collaboration in order to increase “client buy and approval.”  She further shared that client collaboration will save time in design execution and create “synergistic original solutions.”  To see Ms. Howes’ slide presentation in its entirety, including samples of her event design work and a list of 20 questions to assist in planning your next event, visit this link.

Josh Carin’s advice on how to plan a successful event is to first determine what it is you’re trying to accomplish with the event and then to “live the goal of the event.”  Carin recommended thinking through all of the details of the event in advance.  For example, if you are hosting a long event with a speaker who will talk for 45 minutes, you better have chairs so your guests can be comfortably seated during that time.  To avoid lines at events and ensure a positive guest experience, Carin’s rule of thumb is to have a bar for every 100 attendees.  A video of Mr. Carin’s presentation can be viewed here.

Elaine Coronado shared the following tips during her presentation:

  • Every event needs to have a “wow” moment
  • Show your sponsors love
  • Be creative—thinking outside the box will get you results

 

NEWSLETTER: June 2014

In This Issue
 

Emerging Leaders Awards 2014: Don’t Miss the Big Reveal!

Learn the Secrets of Planning Perfect Events

Communicating Across Cultures: Best Practices Revealed

PR in Politics: War on Women — Real or Media-Driven?

The B Hive: Summer Reading List

Member Spotlight: Laura Keiter of Media Matters for America

Articles of Interest

Upcoming Events

Jobs

Membership

Sponsor Spotlight: Ogilvy

 

 

 

2014 Emerging Leaders Awards: Get Your Tickets Today; Social Media Survey
All nominations have been submitted, and our esteemed panel of judges is well underway in choosing this year’s Emerging Leaders Awards honorees!  Honorees will be announced at the Emerging Leaders Awards reception on July 22 at Zentan Restaurant. Don’t miss the big reveal! If you have not already, get your tickets today. 

 

We want to hear from you, so please let us know the social media platform you will use most frequently to share your experience at the event by participating in the survey, here, and remember to use the hashtag #ELA2014 when spreading the word on social media!

 

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Professional Development Update: Mark Your Calendars!
 

WWPR, in partnership with Pepco Holdings, Inc., will host a panel presentation, “Secrets of Planning Perfect Events” on Thursday, June 26 from 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. at the Pepco Edison Place Gallery, 702 Eighth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001.  Hear from event planning industry experts about budgeting, creating a project plan, tips on working with caterers and design professionals, how to plan green events, and more.  From 6:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., there will be networking, a wine tasting courtesy of Total Wine & More and light hors d’oeuvres donated by Geppetto Catering, Inc. To learn how to plan flawless business events, register now for this program.

 

Cost: Free to WWPR & PRSA members; $20 for non-members.

 

Join WWPR for a Brown Bag Panel Discussion, “The Best and Worst Advice I Ever Received” on Thursday, July 10, 12:00 noon-1:30 p.m. at the National Education Association, 1201 16th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036.  This intimate conversation will feature some of WWPR’s PR Woman of the Year Award honorees sharing advice they received–good and bad–as they climbed to the top of their profession.  Learn how these bits of wisdom from influential people in their lives motivated and inspired them to succeed. You won’t want to miss a word of the sage advice from these powerful women so register today.

 

Cost: Free to WWPR & PRSA members; $20 for non-members.

 

Save the date for a Brown Bag Panel Discussion, “Tips for Building a Winning Resume, Portfolio and Personal Branding for Career Success” on Thursday, August 14, 12:00 noon-1:30 p.m. at Powell Tate, 733 10th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001.  The panel discussion will be followed by individual resume review appointments for WWPR members only. Registration will open soon.

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Recap: Communicating Across Cultures — May Brown Bag Panel Discussion
By Neveah Bradshaw, WWPR Professional Development Committee Member 

On Thursday, May 15th, WWPR’s Professional Development Committee and Ketchum graciously welcomed a full house for an informed and captivating discussion of culturally sound communications practices.  The awe-inspiring expert panelists included:

  • Mannone Butler, Executive Director, Washington, D.C. Criminal Justice Coordinating Council
  • Dr. Dionne C. Clemons, Division Director, Communications and Community Engagement Division, United Planning Organization
  • Diane R. Johnson, M.P.H., Vice President/Account Supervisor, Health Affairs, Ketchum Washington
  • Moderator: Avelyn Austin, Managing Account Supervisor, Digital Strategy Ketchum Washington

READ MORE

 

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PR in Politics
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

War On Women — Real or Media-Driven?

Why are politics and public relations so closely linked? The roots of this close linkage are grounded in history, and over the decades, have become so interwoven that it is difficult at times to figure out which is which, especially during active mid-term season.  When it comes to the putative “War on Women,” which the Democratic Party has been accusing the Republican party of waging, it is really difficult to figure out which came first — the media or the politics.

 

READ MORE

 

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The B Hive: Summer Reading List
By Beth Stewart, WWPR Marketing Communications Committee Member 

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

 

4 Books to Read this Summer

With summer in full swing hopefully you are getting some much needed R&R.  And if you are one of the lucky ones, you’re ankle deep in the warm sands of the beach.  Besides a tropical, coconut flavored beverage what’s another great companion to have on hand this summer?  That’s right, a book.

 

I’ve gathered just a few books from my summer reading list that I think are entertaining, thoughtful and may inspire any public relations professional.

 

READ MORE

 

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Member Spotlight
This month’s Member Spotlight interview features WWPR member Laura Keiter of Media Matters for America/WWPR Marketing Communications Committee member. 

Q: How did you get started in communications?

A: I spent the summers after my sophomore and junior years of college as the press intern for a U.S. senator from my home state.  Almost instantly, I fell in love with the idea of working at the intersection of the news media and political news-makers.  After graduating with a Master’s in Political Communications from the London School of Economics, I spent more than four years working in media relations and social media on Capitol Hill and political campaigns before landing my current position at Media Matters for America.

Q: What inspired you to get involved with WWPR?

A: After living and working in Washington, D.C. for several years I was looking for ways to expand my professional network.  On a whim, I dragged a friend to the WWPR Holiday Party at CoCo Sala (who can say no to chocolate?) and I’ve never looked back! WWPR events are a great way to stay up-to-date with the latest PR trends, and I’ve enjoyed getting more involved through my work on the Marketing and Communications Committee.

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

A: No matter how often it happens, I always get a kick out of seeing stories that I’ve placed or worked on run in major publications.  But beyond that, I always love learning new skills and seeing the results of my efforts.  For example, when I started on Capitol Hill, I didn’t know the first thing about how to run a website.  I took some HTML training classes to get up to speed and convinced my boss that we needed to do an overhaul of his website.  The resulting website won a Silver Mouse Award (one of 17 awarded to House offices that year) from the Congressional Management Foundation.

 

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Articles of Interest

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Upcoming Events
 

If you have a suggestion for a future program topic, please contact the Professional Development Committee at professionaldevelopment@wwpr.org.

 

 

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Jobs
 

– Assistant, Sunshine Sachs

– Account Manager, Sunshine Sachs

– Digital Social Media Associate, Westat

– Event and Marketing Specialist, Golden Triangle Business Improvement District

– Managing Director of Digital, CLS Strategies

– Public Affairs Associate, Nahigian Strategies

– Senior Public Affairs Manager, Nahigian Strategies

– Media Specialist, Z Communications Company

– Communications Director, SEIU Local 1

– Communications Specialist, The Hannon Group

– Communications Associate, American Society of Hematology

– Senior Account Supervisor, Health Alliance PR, Edelman

– Web and Social Media Graphic Designer, Edelman

– Senior Account Executive, Energy, Digital, Edelman

– Publicist, Broadcast/Online PR, Z Communications Company

– Director, Executive Communications, National Association of Realtors

– Publicity and Promotions Account Executive, Hager Sharp

– Vice President/Senior Project Leader, Hager Sharp

– Account Executive/Senior Account Executive, Hager Sharp

 

Post a Job

 

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Membership  

 

May New Members 

 

Sukyana SenRoom to Read
Michelle SpinnlerAmerican Pharmacists Association
LaWanda StoneConnections Education (Pearson)
Joanna BlonskaOffice of Minority Health Resource Center
Allison SturmaUnited States Institute of Peace
Deborah DanuserJPA Health Communications
Renita Purvis
Chelsie PopeGeorgetown University
Veronica JeonV. Agency, Inc.
Shannon AndreaNational Catholic Educational Association
Jacquelyn BavaroGeorgetown University
Austin HansenKPMG LLP
Maria HolsoppleGeorgetown University
Nasreen HoseinCenter for Democracy and Technology
Charrose KingGeorgetown School of Continuing Studies
Cassidy LawsonRacepoint Global
Tracy MorrisStudent, George Washington University

 

May Renewals

 

Laura CilmiCLS Strategies
Lauren CohenNatural Products Association
Eileen CollinsC.Fox Communications
Grace CourterAtlas Network
La Verne GordonMontgomery College
Emily HugheseGlobalTech
Barbara HydeHyde Communications
Barb Jumpbarbjump.com
Anne KelseySociety for Neuroscience
Kelly MackEnvironics Communications
Sandra Wills HannonThe Hannon Group

 

 

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Sponsor Spotlight
 

 

Ogilvy & Mather is one of the largest marketing communications companies in the world. It was named both the Cannes Lions Network of the Year and the EFFIEs World’s Most Effective Agency Network for two consecutive years, 2012 and 2013. The company is comprised of industry leading units in the following disciplines: advertising; public relations and public affairs; branding and identity; shopper and retail marketing; health care communications; direct, digital, promotion and relationship marketing; consulting, research and analytics; branded content and entertainment; and specialist communications. O&M services Fortune Global 500 companies as well as local businesses through its network of more than 500 offices in 126 countries.  It is a WPP company (NASDAQ: WPPGY).  For more information, visit http://www.ogilvy.com, or follow Ogilvy on Twitter at @Ogilvy and on Facebook.com/Ogilvy.

 

 

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