Meet May Robinson, Director of Marketing of Mission Partners
Background
May has more than a decade of experience in public relations, marketing, and event planning within both agencies and in-house for small businesses and large corporations. She is currently the Director of Marketing for Mission Partners, a woman-owned, women-led B Corporation that provides social impact strategic communications for purpose-driven organizations, including nonprofits, associations, boards and social enterprises. She leads their internal marketing strategy and works closely on the growth of leadership development events and programs to encourage people in their community to live and work through an equity lens.
Role at Mission Partners
May is excited about her current role at Mission Partners because it’s an opportunity to merge her marketing, strategic planning, and leadership skills with causes she is passionate about. She loves working toward racial equity and encouraging clients to view their communications through an equity lens. The biggest challenge is finding the time to execute on everything the organization would like to accomplish. As PR professionals, a challenge could be “turning off” work and finding the appropriate work-life balance. As a mom of twins, May simultaneously works on growing her career and her organization.
Why WWPR
May joined WWPR because she felt the need to join a community of like-minded professionals after returning to the D.C. area after 13 years. She wanted to continue to stay abreast of local and national PR and communications trends, seek professional development opportunities all while meeting new friends since she was “new again” to the area. She’s attended dozens of networking events throughout her career, but she found WWPR members to be immediately welcoming. She has already cultivated some genuine connections with people after attending just one event and has been referred to other useful community resources through a member. She’s excited to become more involved in WWPR in the year ahead.
Trends in PR
May keeps a pulse on trends through Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), WWPR professional development events, Social Media Marketing World Conference and LinkedIn articles. She knows there is a lot of intersection between PR, marketing, and advertising, and it’s become important for PR professionals to understand this and utilize digital marketing and social media as major tactics in their strategic planning. May started her career in traditional media relations then went to social media and digital marketing. She has seen the younger generations gain purchasing power and the way they consume messaging is important, therefore it’s important for organizations strategies to incorporate more concise content that is rich with photos and videos.
Community Involvement
May is an adjunct communications professor at her alma mater, Towson University. This role is important to her because as an undergrad, her favorite professors were those that taught from real-world, practical experiences in the field vs. those who only taught theory and from textbooks.
She plans to join Leadership Montgomery and the Black and Brown Coalition for Educational Equity and Excellence. Growing up and currently living in Montgomery County, May also plans to raise her children there. Leadership Montgomery is an excellent organization that will help her get a deeper understanding of her local community and where she can make a big impact. As a multiracial immigrant mother of two multiracial children, she values educational equity and wants to be part of the conversations the Black and Brown Coalition is having with local legislators and Montgomery County Public Schools on their plans for racial equity.
She is a current member of the Montgomery County Parents of Multiples, so she connects with other moms to schedule playdates with her children. Raising twins has been a unique experience, so connecting with other moms of multiples on their struggles and tips has been helpful.
Favorite Things to Do
Outside of organizations, May enjoys spending time with friends and family, reading, listening to podcasts, hiking, working out, trying new restaurants, traveling, going to the beach, and visiting friends and family in San Diego. For 2020, she is prioritizing self-care, family and non-work activities since she is a known workaholic. Being back in the area and “new again” she sees how much it has changed since she left. She is getting to know the area again through local family-friendly events at the Smithsonian museums, National Harbor, Pike and Rose, and the Rio. She enjoys D.C. brunches with girlfriends and exploring new restaurants. When it gets warmer, she’d love to explore more hikes around Great Falls and Rock Creek Park. Learn more about May on Mission Partner’s website and LinkedIn and be sure to welcome her back to the area.