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Member Spotlight: Christin Lewis’ Commitment to Pro Bono Work

This month’s WWPR Member Spotlight features Christin Lewis, senior manager of account and brand strategy at the American Diabetes Association and co-founder of The Luv u Project.

Her Day Job

Currently, Christin spends her days at the American Diabetes Association where her focus is on the overall marketing and communications strategy for several the association’s national initiatives. The vast scope of the projects allows her to continue to expand her expertise and learn new skill-sets she hasn’t been able to dive into before.

Before entering the nonprofit realm, Christin had the opportunity to work in several other different industries, including government contracting, intellectual property, and financial services. She has continued to learn and find mentors throughout her career and learn a few lessons along the way, including:

  • Don’t get too comfortable – it’s important to continue learning
  • Embrace failure by taking risks
  • The best lessons can come from the unexpected

Founding A Nonprofit Organization

Christin, along with her father and husband, founded The Luv u Project in 2014 in her mother’s memory following her passing. She described the organization’s mission as turning a tragedy into a quantifiable agenda and responsible actions that advance issues surrounding mental health, and in a short time has supported projects ranging from a national symposium and advisory board on workplace mental health and prevention with Johns Hopkins to an award with the National Press Foundation for excellence in mental health reporting.

While Christin describes founding and managing her organization as a lot of time and hard work, she also has found it to be tremendously rewarding. In her current role as director for the all-volunteer organization, she finds herself operating in multiple functions including marketing, communications, strategy and development.

Work on WWPR’s Pro Bono Committee

Christin was introduced to WWPR by her friend and colleague, Danielle Veira, and immediately jumped at the opportunity to lend her expertise to a good cause on the Pro Bono Committee. As a member of the committee, she has enjoyed meeting other professionals in the area and learning from their strengths, as well as practice other skills she may not get to focus on at her day job.

Her Secret to Being a Well-Rounded Person

Outside of the office and her pro bono work, Christin describes being active as key to her success – she runs half marathons and has introduced distance biking into her routine as well. She also attributes spending time with her husband, friends and dog as helping her stay balanced.

As a native of the Washington region, Christin emphasized that it’s hard to beat a city like D.C. She likes to spend her time in the summers taking in games at Nationals stadium and experiencing the diverse cuisine in the city.

In The Morning…

How Christin spends her mornings:

  • Seeing her husband off (he leaves before she does)
  • Walking, feeding and playing with her dog
  • Getting an early workout in, if she’s lucky
  • Taking a quick shower, then heading off to work!

Article by Melinda Tolliver, a digital communications specialist who has worked in a variety of settings throughout her career. She loves the thrill of stringing together powerful, eloquent messages in under 140 characters, and creating thoughtful visuals to go with it. Her current position is with the Association of American Law Schools as a digitally-focused communications coordinator. Follow her tweets and ‘grams at @mmptolliver.

Member Spotlights: WWPR Vice President Danielle Veira Chats About Passion for Nonprofit Advocacy

WWPR Vice President Danielle Veira, Senior Manager, Public Relations and Advocacy Communications at the American Diabetes Association, has found her passion combining her PR skills with nonprofit advocacy. WWPR talked with Danielle about her advocacy work and career, and her advice for WWPR members wanting to get involved in PR for a nonprofit or association.

Her Unique Journey to Advocacy Communications

Danielle’s journey to finding the right career path began with a passion for policy. The initial plan was to be a health or education policy expert with her background in political science and sociology, but while getting her start on Capitol Hill working for an Ohio Senator she found helping the press secretary draft content turned out to be her true passion.

After deciding to make the career change to communications, joining WWPR was one of her first moves, ultimately leading to her first job in PR through a WWPR connection. Her first full-time job in communications was with a strategic communications firm, which eventually led to her current role.

Once she found her stride in nonprofit communications, Danielle knew it was where she wanted to be. She says her favorite part about her advocacy role is finding a way to tell a story in a way that influences people to take action. She also loves the richness of stories that can be found working at a mission-driven organization, and that the end goal is to improve people’s lives.

Advocating for People with Diabetes

At the American Diabetes Association, Danielle works directly with the government affairs and advocacy department to support the organization’s policy and advocacy efforts. She helps share the stories of the millions of people affected by diabetes to stress the urgency of the diabetes epidemic, with the goal of creating awareness among our nation’s leaders and affecting policy.

In her day-to-day efforts, she’s usually involved in a combination of several activities. These range from publicly urging Congress to protect access to care for people living with diabetes; collecting stories from patients, caregivers, and health care providers affected by diabetes; building relationships with key reporters; prepping spokespeople for interviews; and supporting the organization’s advocacy initiatives.

In addition to her work, Danielle has a personal connection to diabetes. She was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes almost 20 years ago, and counts herself as truly blessed to be doing work that directly affects herself, her family and nearly 116 million other people each day.

Volunteering with WWPR

Shortly after Danielle joined WWPR, she got involved with the 2012 PR Woman of the Year committee. She has continued being involved in the organization and is currently serving for her fourth year on the WWPR Board.

Danielle’s passion for WWPR is rooted in her belief that WWPR not only provides female communicators with a network of support and professional development, but it is also a place where women can cultivate life-long friendships. By being so much more than a professional society, WWPR is committed to helping women in the communications field reach their career goals and find inspiration.

Advice for WWPR Members Wanting to Advocate for a Good Cause

Danielle believes that communicators have a unique skill set that makes us so valuable to nonprofit and advocacy organizations – especially those that can’t afford PR services. She encourages members to make a significant impact by volunteering time and skills to organizations like these, and help provide the critical strategic support that many nonprofits may not have access to.

In The Morning…

Danielle’s morning routine:

  • First thing – read a daily devotional (right now it’s a compilation of daily devotionals that President Obama’s faith advisor authored)
  • A quick 30-45 minute workout and shower, if she can avoid the dreaded snooze
  • Then a green smoothie to help her take on the day


Article by Melinda Tolliver, a digital communications specialist who has worked in a variety of settings throughout her career. She loves the thrill of stringing together powerful, eloquent messages in under 140 characters, and creating thoughtful visuals to go with it. Her current position is with the Association of American Law Schools as a digitally-focused communications coordinator. Follow her tweets and ‘grams at @mmptolliver.

Member Spotlight: WWPR President Kelly Mack Shares Vision for WWPR & Communicates About Needs of People with Disabilities

Get to know WWPR President Kelly Mack’s passions, goals and successes! WWPR caught up with Kelly for a discussion on her new role as president, her passion within DC’s public relations community, and her morning routine.

Vision for WWPR

Kelly believes WWPR has a unique role in DC’s PR community because of the abundant professional development opportunities provided, coupled with the camaraderie and support among members.

As president, one of Kelly’s major goals is to grow the membership of WWPR. She hopes to do this by demonstrating the value of WWPR for its members, through networking, professional development, and recognition of industry leaders.

Kelly herself joined because she wanted to learn more about communications, but stayed because she found it to be an excellent network for making friends and connections. After attending a number of professional development events, Kelly decided to throw her hat in the ring and volunteered to help plan these events.

She served several years in that capacity on the board of WWPR before transitioning to the Executive Committee to help shape the ongoing strategic growth of WWPR.

Serving Individuals with Disabilities

In addition to her role at WWPR, Kelly is a public affairs specialist for the U.S. Department of Health & Services. In her current role, Kelly supports communications for the Administration for Community Living (ACL), an agency devoted to supporting older adults and people with disabilities – a cause that hits close to home for her.

Kelly’s passion for issues affecting people with disabilities is grounded in her own experience living with disabilities. She was diagnosed at age two with an aggressive form of rheumatoid arthritis, but she has never let it hold her back from her goals.

While the condition causes her to face challenges related to accessibility, Kelly considers her stubbornness an asset since she doesn’t let anything stop her. She also counts herself as fortunate to have a substantial support system with the help of her husband, family and friends in navigating the challenges of living with a disability.

However, she is quick to point out that not all people with disabilities have the same supports as she does. That’s why she is thrilled to work for an agency that supports this population and the full integration of people with disabilities in society.

A Bit of Background

Kelly began her career at a small nonprofit before discovering her true passion for communications. To develop her skills, she pursued a master’s degree in communications while concurrently working in an association environment. She later worked for a mid-size firm on a variety of issues and explored many different communications tactics.

Her current work at ACL helps to inform the public and stakeholders about the organization’s activities and accomplishments towards its mission. Her day is a mix of meetings, strategy planning, writing, absorbing news, and tactical execution, such as with media relations and social media.

Kelly cites the overall diversity of her work with many causes and clients as her biggest professional accomplishment throughout her career.

Advice for WWPR Members

 Kelly encourages members to volunteer on a committee – or several – to get to know the various moving parts of WWPR. Once members discover what they most enjoy, they can contribute their skills toward supporting the organization and its mission.

For general advice aimed at younger women, Kelly suggests saying “yes” and asking for more! Kelly believes taking on challenges will help women stand out early in their careers, and accelerate career growth and learning.

In The Morning…

 Everyone has one – here’s Kelly’s morning routine:

  • First, hit the snooze!
  • Some light stretching or exercise
  • A good breakfast to start the day
  • Monitoring NPR and the morning’s news headlines
  • Catching up on emails

WWPR Member Spotlight: Anna Stallmann

Anna Stallmann headshot
Anna Stallmann

By Melinda Price, Member of WWPR and WWPR’s Marketing Communications Committee

WWPR’s August Member Spotlight features Anna Stallmann, director of communications at Nahigian Strategies and active member of the Woman of the Year (WOY) Committee.

Stallmann shared her journey as a communications professional and her role as a committee member with WWPR.

Why did you decide to pursue a career in communications?

I have always been an inquisitive person and have enjoyed opportunities to learn as much as possible about the situations around me. I’ve always been intrigued by the various manners audiences absorb and process information and how some messages are “stickier” and more memorable than others. Communications at its core is about collecting information, then sharing a story in a strategic manner to solve a problem, drive a perception or influence an outcome.

My career in communications allows me to learn something new each day – and then spread that information through a variety of manners, with written, vocal and even visual cues. I believe the tactics and techniques to communicate messages will constantly be changing as we continue to embrace new digital and social media platforms – and this aspect excites me. I love being able to constantly learn in my career and tell stories in a manner that is memorable and translatable to diverse audiences regardless of the communication medium (print, television, social media, blogs, etc).

What do you feel is your biggest professional accomplishment?

That’s a tough one! I think my answer has to include something that could also be viewed as a personal accomplishment. While working full-time at Atlantic Media, I was simultaneously pursuing a Masters degree in political communication at American University full time. This meant I would leave work at 6:00 PM and head up Massachusetts Avenue three to four times a week for classes often lasting past 10:30 PM. I did this for two years, with a plethora of support from family and friends along the way. Juggling both was certainly an accomplishment and taught me the importance of prioritization and balance.

Why did you choose to be a part of the WOY Committee and why do you think WOY is so important to WWPR’s mission?

The WOY Committee has an incredibly important task of planning for one of our biggest tentpole events of the year. The WOY luncheon is a great community-building event where our members and guests across diverse fields in public relations come together to celebrate our peers and colleagues’ accomplishments. Moreover, it is a great reminder for us to all take a pause in our busy days to remember the importance of this community and how we can all help each other, both professionally and personally. I’ve had experience planning a variety of events in my career – and jumped at the chance to join the WOY Committee.

What advice do you have for members wanting to get more involved in the organization or WOY specifically?

Your involvement can come through a variety of manners. Most of the women in WWPR have incredibly busy days and we all know public relations is not always a 9-5 job. If you feel you can only dedicate a few hours each month – those few hours collectively make a big impact and can be made to fit within your own schedule. Additionally, instead of only getting involved with areas of WWPR that best fit your current skill set, I’d encourage members to use WWPR as an opportunity to learn about other skills and areas of PR that they would not naturally be able to do in their job.

For WOY, the easiest way to get involved is by doing what we all do best – spreading the word! Invite your colleagues, share the invitation on social media and drive awareness of the event.

What is your favorite way to unwind?

A few years ago I became hooked on heated yoga sculpt classes. It’s a great workout, brings instant endorphins, warms me up in the colder winter months and forces 60 minutes of time away from my phone and laptop, to just work hard for me.  Also, a glass of pinot noir is a favorite, too!

WWPR Member Spotlight: Hillarie Turner

By Melinda Price

This month’s Member Spotlight features an interview with WWPR Member and Past President Hillarie Turner, Vice President of Van Eperen.

hillarieheadshot
Hillarie Turner, Van Eperen

Here is her insight on how WWPR impacted her career and her advice for WWPR members.

How did you become involved in the field of communications, specifically health communications?

I have a psychology degree, so I entered the workforce already with an interest in health and science.  I ended up in the communications department at a trade association and started to learn about PR. I left there and started at the American Chemical Society (ACS) with Denise Graveline (a past WWPR WOY). 

I remember very clearly one of my first days there she brought me a stack of abstracts to read – their national meeting was in one month – and together we ended up arranging a press conference at the meeting. The result was an “above the fold” story in the Boston Globe! Being in the press room at that first meeting was like a media boot camp and I was hooked.

That was the first in a long line of medical and scientific meetings during my career. Reading abstracts is still one of my favorite things to do, in addition to working with the researchers behind the science – telling not only the research story but the researcher’s as well is truly rewarding.

How has being involved in WWPR impacted your career?

I first heard about WWPR while at ACS, way back when there was no website and no social media. Instead, the WWPR newsletter was printed, on pink paper from what I recall. Mind you, those were the days when we faxed our press releases and thought that was high tech. 

I joined the pro bono committee first, then joined the board and was president for two years. It was a great experience and I am still involved to this day.  There is not just one thing that WWPR did to enhance my career: it combined networking, friendships, professional growth opportunities, and more, right from the start.

What advice do you have for members wanting to get more involved in the organization?

I always tell people to at least join a committee and, if they can, be on the board. While going to a few events throughout the year is great, nothing compares to volunteering with the organization.

Bonus: you get to know all of the amazing people so well!

What do you feel is your biggest professional accomplishment?

I think it is my desire and ability to work as a team with my colleagues or clients. While one person may have a great idea or strategy, I have found that your greatest success is when everyone is working together to reach the goal.

My latest adventure in communications is with a fantastic team at Van Eperen, including getting to work again with Karen Addis.

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