Podcasts about public relations society

In this episode of Confessions of a Higher Ed CMO, Jaime Hunt sits down with leadership coach, author, and longtime friend Melissa Farmer Richards to unpack her new book, The 30-60-90 Day Handbook. The conversation dives deep into how new and seasoned leaders alike can thrive in higher ed by mastering the fundamentals of trust, credibility, and commitment—while navigating modern leadership challenges like burnout, crises, and emerging AI tools. Whether you're stepping into a VP role or eyeing leadership from your current position, this episode offers actionable strategies to lead with authenticity and resilience.The 30-60-90-Day Handbook: Checklists for Communications and Marketing Leaders in Higher EducationGuest Name: Melissa Richards, Founder and Principal, iMarketingMixGuest Socials: LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/melissafarmerrichardsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/imarketingmix/Bluesky Social: https://bsky.app/profile/melissarichards.bsky.socialGuest Bio: Principal and founder of iMarketingMix LLC, Melissa Farmer Richards, MPA, APR is an author, teacher, consultant, facilitator, and leadership coach. Dubbed The Checklist Guru™, she authors The Weekly Leadership Checklist™ and designed The Three Fundamentals of Leadership™ proprietary coaching curriculum.Melissa's 32-year career spans corporate industry, technology, small business start-ups, nonprofits, and higher education administration. She has held senior positions at start-up software companies and global technology organizations, and later led in such roles as chief of staff and vice president for communications, marketing, and enrollment, serving liberal arts colleges and a large public university. She also has founded two small businesses and co-founded two nonprofits, a children's museum and a genetics research foundation.Melissa earned a Master of Public Administration at Virginia Tech and a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Virginia. She also achieved the Accreditation in Public Relations credential and the Association of Governing Boards Board Professional Certificate. Having led award-winning creative teams, she was nominated for the American Marketing Association Nonprofit Marketer of the Year 2022 and named one of 30 Vice Presidents to Follow in 2018 by Leadership in the Digital Age.A natural public speaker and experienced writer, Melissa has spoken at dozens of national conferences and authored more than 100 papers and articles. Her first book, “The 30-60-90 Day Handbook: Checklists for Communications and Marketing Leaders in Higher Education,” is now available from the Council of Advancement and Support of Education. She has collaborated to organize four major TEDx events — including pitching the event and mentoring dozens of speakers —and led numerous conference planning committees. Throughout her three decades of leading internal teams, she developed many small and large professional development events, including a 10-course brand ambassador certificate program. She has contributed her leadership of communications strategy to significant fundraising campaigns, the largest of which was $400 million.Melissa serves as chair of the Public Relations Society of America Northeast District and immediate past president of the Central New York Chapter. She is a part-time adjunct instructor at Aurora University and previously taught at Utica University and the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.iMarketingMix LLC is a CASE Educational Partner, a Rising Team Channel Partner, and a CenterState CEO Member. As an entrepreneur, Melissa is a member of The Upside and the Central New York Women's Network. As an adjunct teacher, Melissa is a member of UPCEA, the online and professional education association.Author of The 30-60-90-Day Handbook: Checklists for Communications and Marketing Leaders in Higher Education (Council for Advancement and Support of Higher Education, 2025). - - - -Connect With Our Host:Jaime Hunthttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jaimehunt/https://twitter.com/JaimeHuntIMCAbout The Enrollify Podcast Network:Confessions of a Higher Ed CMO is a part of the Enrollify Podcast Network. If you like this podcast, chances are you'll like other Enrollify shows too! Enrollify is made possible by Element451 — the next-generation AI student engagement platform helping institutions create meaningful and personalized interactions with students. Learn more at element451.com.Attend the 2025 Engage Summit! The Engage Summit is the premier conference for forward-thinking leaders and practitioners dedicated to exploring the transformative power of AI in education. Explore the strategies and tools to step into the next generation of student engagement, supercharged by AI. You'll leave ready to deliver the most personalized digital engagement experience every step of the way.Register now to secure your spot in Charlotte, NC, on June 24-25, 2025! Early bird registration ends February 1st -- https://engage.element451.com/register

In this episode of The Association Insights Podcast, we sit down with Matt Marcial, CAE, CMP, newly named Chief Executive Officer of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). With a deep background in association leadership and a passion for building stronger communities, Matt shares how he's approaching his first months at the helm of PRSA—and what's ahead for one of the industry's most important professional organizations.From aligning diverse stakeholders to elevating the role of ethical communication, Matt offers a transparent look into his leadership philosophy, the strategic vision guiding PRSA's next chapter, and the responsibility associations have in shaping the future of the profession.Key Highlights:A Leader's Journey – How Matt's experience across diverse associations shaped his collaborative, stakeholder-first approach.Strategic Momentum – Why PRSA's new strategic plan was a major draw and how it's driving early priorities.Listening First – Matt's “open door” mindset in his first 30 days and what he's hearing from members, volunteers, and staff.Actionable Support for Members – A look at how PRSA is responding to today's challenges with nimble, practical resources.Growing Community, Broadening Impact – How PRSA plans to expand its reach and redefine what it means to be a communications professional.Elevating Ethics and the APR – Why ethics education and industry credentials remain core to PRSA's mission.Doubling Down on DEI – How PRSA is reaffirming its values and supporting professionals amid a complex policy environment.Defining Success – Matt's vision for what success looks like—and how PRSA can be the professional home for all communicators.

L'après-visite de Modi : la Public Relations Society of India s'installe à Maurice by TOPFM MAURITIUS

The Internet today is flooded with low-quality content, so it's critical to produce targeted, impactful writing that can cut through the noise.In this episode, Ann Smith talks about the evolution of thought leadership content and the importance of crafting genuine, strategic narratives. She explains that simply churning out words isn't enough. The focus should be on impactful, well-researched pieces that that resonate with audiences in 2025, Ann also discusses the role of AI in content generation, highlighting both its potential benefits and the inherent risks of losing the human touch. Overall, she stresses the need for a thoughtful approach to content strategy, ensuring that it aligns with organizational goals while engaging target audiences effectively.Key Takeaways Thought leadership is a critical strategy that goes beyond simple content creation and requires careful planning and execution. Thought leadership should be strategically integrated into communications campaigns, encompassing varied content types such as white papers, long-form articles, and social media. Creating content should focus on quality over quantity, especially in an environment flooded with mediocre writing. AI has a role in content curation and trend analysis, but human input is essential for creating authentic, nuanced, and personalized content. About the Guest Ann Smith is founder and president of A.wordsmith, a boutique Portland-based firm specializing in writing services, public relations, branding and communications strategy. She is passionate about a lot of things, including her family, live country music and 49ers football. At work this energy centers on building strong partnerships with her clients, connecting them with their target audiences and delivering exceptional results. With more than two decades worth of strategic communications experience Ann has worked in both agency and corporate settings, providing a broad range of support to clients. Prior to founding A.wordsmith, Ann worked at PR agencies Weber Shandwick Worldwide and Standing Partnership—managing accounts for large global companies—and served as an internal marketing manager for an international consultancy. Yet it wasn't until starting A.wordsmith that she realized her true passion in collaborating with successful growing businesses and serving as an extension of their team. Ann holds a bachelor's degree in journalism with an emphasis in public relations from the University of Oregon. She has served on the board of directors for Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center, Portland's iconic Hollywood Theatre, Girls on the Run of Portland Metro, Willowbrook Arts Camp, Business for Culture & the Arts and Abilities at Work. In addition to PRGN, Ann is an active member of Public Relations Society of America's Counselors Academy and PDX Leadership Assembly. She founded and hosted the podcast "All Shine, No Flash®" and "Shine On!" a group of talented, fierce and fun women in Portland. She is a graduate of the Portland Business Alliance's Leadership Portland program and the author of the first and second editions of the book "100 Things to Do in Portland Before You Die." About the Host Abbie Fink is president of HMA Public Relations in Phoenix, Arizona and a founding member of PRGN. Her marketing communications background includes skills in media relations, digital communications, social media strategies, special event management, crisis communications, community...

A local Hoosier has made history as the first African-American man to lead the Public Relations Society of America Hoosier Chapter.Indy native LaMar Holliday's leadership comes at a crucial time as the industry pushes for more diversity and inclusion.Holliday's journey to public relations started after a six-year career as a television journalist. He joined the PRSA Hoosier Chapter, which he says has been crucial in teaching him everything he knows about public relations.The president-elect says he wants to take on his new role by continuing diversity, equity, and inclusion within Indiana's PR industry by creating more opportunities for diverse talent. Holliday has the support of the national chapter.One of the biggest challenges Holliday sees in the public relations industry is the lack of Black men. He is hoping his leadership can set the precedent for a more inclusive industry.Holliday founded his business, The Holliday Collaborative Agency in 2021.Holliday's term as president of the organization starts in 2026. Until then, he plans to talk with each member of the organization throughout the year to find out what their needs and goals are.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ask Jac & Ben A Question!In this exciting episode of Wedding Empires, we're joined by the incredible Meghan Ely, owner of OFD Consulting and one of the most influential voices in the wedding industry. Meghan combines her in-the-trenches event experience with her PR expertise to help wedding professionals get the recognition they deserve. With accolades from the Public Relations Society of America and Eventex, Meghan has a proven track record of elevating brands through media exposure. Her clients have been featured in prestigious outlets like The Knot, Martha Stewart Weddings, Brides, Architectural Digest, and Style Me Pretty.During our conversation, Meghan shares actionable tips and strategies for wedding pros looking to break into top-tier publications and grow their businesses. Whether you're a planner, photographer, florist, or another wedding vendor, you'll learn:How to craft compelling pitches that editors can't resist.The must-have elements of a successful submission.How to build and maintain strong relationships with editors and media outlets.The secret to standing out in a crowded and competitive market.Ways to leverage your media features to attract more clients and grow your brand.As a WeddingPro educator and an experienced speaker at major conferences, Meghan has a unique ability to make PR approachable and achievable for everyone. Tune in for a deep dive into the world of wedding publicity and learn how to take your business to new heights by sharing your story with the world. The Wedding AcademyThe Wedding Academy is an industry certification body & recognised globally.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the showJOIN THE CONVERSATION IN OUR FACEBOOK GROUPAsk questions ahead of interviews, view video interviews and discuss!www.facebook.com/groups/weddingempirespodcast Want to share your thoughts and connect with fellow wedding enthusiasts? Website: www.weddingempires.com Instagram @weddingacademylive TikTok @weddingacademylive PODCAST TEAM Host & Producer: @msjacbowie Co-Host: @ben_connolly_photographer

I had a blast chatting with Jennifer before, during, and after our recording! I have known her for years, but this is the first time we got to sit and chat live! I guarantee we will have a part II to our conversation! I hope you enjoy this episode! And be sure to check out all of Pando PR's services. About Jennifer, APRFounder & CEO of Pando Public Relations Jennifer has worked in education technology since the early days when teachers were first learning how to use PowerPoint in the classroom. Back then, she drove the highways of California in a modified bus stocked with hardware and software from dozens of companies. That's where she learned the ins and outs of education and gained first-hand experience working with teachers. From there, she took over as public relations manager for PowerSchool, which was a darling of its time and has since grown to be one the largest and most respected companies in education. Jennifer launched her consulting business with her first major education client, Holt McDougal, and a handful of government agencies needing help with public outreach, CEQA, and rate hikes. Today, Pando PR has grown to be a full-service agency specializing in public relations for companies in the K-12 and higher education space. Pando's staff also works with companies, institutions, and organizations engaged in workforce development and training, particularly in healthcare and technology. Jennifer holds a B.S. in animal science and reproductive physiology from the University of California, Davis, and an M.A. in public affairs and issues management from California State University, Sacramento. The Public Relations Society of America honored her with a coveted and difficult to earn credential recognizing her expertise in the public relations field: the Accreditation in Public Relations (APR). Learn more about Pando PR ⁠here.⁠ Connect with ⁠Jennifer on LinkedIn⁠ Be sure to subscribe to my podcast and ⁠newsletter⁠ to keep on learning! Need a speaker for your event or consultant? ⁠Contact me ⁠for more information.

Welcome to Chatter with BNC, Business North Carolina's weekly podcast, serving up interviews with some of the Tar Heel State's most interesting people. Today's episode features an interview with Jessica Graham, CEO of Fionix Consulting. Graham is a leader in her profession and her community. She received her accreditation in public relations in 2003 and was named to the Public Relations Society of America College of Fellows in 2019. Jessica has been an active volunteer in the Public Relations Society of America Charlotte Chapter, Southeast District, and nationally. Locally, she's served on the boards of and volunteered with organizations like Dress for Success Charlotte, Charlotte's Trail of History, American Lung Association NC, Women Executives of Charlotte, JDRF, Classroom Central,  Leadership North Carolina and Leadership Charlotte.

Welcome to Chatter with BNC, Business North Carolina's weekly podcast, serving up interviews with some of the Tar Heel State's most interesting people. Today's episode features an interview with Jessica Graham, CEO of Fionix Consulting. Graham is a leader in her profession and her community. She received her accreditation in public relations in 2003 and was named to the Public Relations Society of America College of Fellows in 2019. Jessica has been an active volunteer in the Public Relations Society of America Charlotte Chapter, Southeast District, and nationally. Locally, she's served on the boards of and volunteered with organizations like Dress for Success Charlotte, Charlotte's Trail of History, American Lung Association NC, Women Executives of Charlotte, JDRF, Classroom Central,  Leadership North Carolina and Leadership Charlotte.

On this week's episode of the Women In Industry Podcast, we're excited to feature a special conversation between our Senior Producer Jacq LaBeff and our very own Lisa Van Hook. Recently promoted to President of The Communications Group, Lisa shares her inspiring journey from her early days in the industry to her current role as Madam President. She reflects on the challenges, triumphs, and lessons learned along the way. In addition to her new leadership role, Lisa was recently honored with the prestigious Crystal award from the Arkansas chapter of the Public Relations Society of America. She offers a personal take on what this award means to her, the impact it has on her career, and its significance for the broader public relations community. Don't miss this insightful and empowering conversation as Lisa delves into leadership, perseverance, and her vision for the future.  Stay updated with our latest episodes by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform.

Culturally relevant communication is powerful, especially when it's created with knowledge, empathy, and solidarity. In this episode, Melissa talks to Gabriel Reyes, the president and founder of Reyes Entertainment about his new book and efforts to inform and educate the industry pros about the need for cultural competence.About Gabriel:Gabriel Reyes is considered one of the pioneers of Hispanic marketing in the Entertainment Industry. He has led Reyes Entertainment, a boutique PR agency based in Hollywood for over two decades. In 2023, Reyes was honored by the Public Relations Society of America L.A. Chapter (PRSA-LA) with its Sunrise Honors Award in recognition of his work promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Public Relations field.Follow Reyes Entertainment on Facebook.Follow Reyes Entertainment on Instagram.Follow Reyes Entertainment on X.Follow Gabriel on TikTok.Topics covered:- The importance of cultural competence for communicators- The state of U.S. media- Defining implicit bias- How PR pros can elevate marginalized communities- How communication professionals can make a positive differenceResources mentioned: - Reyes Entertainment- "WOKE: A Cultural Competence Guide for Communicators"- "The Bronze Screen: 100 Years of the Latino Image in American Cinema"- Race Forward- "The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together"- “Smart Talk: Public Relations Essentials All Pros Should Know”- MVW Communications

On a first date, it's a good idea to avoid talking about money, religion, and politics. While avoiding money talk with a client is an impossibility, it's still a good idea to keep religion and politics out of the conversation.This week on Framework, Ana Trujillo Limón, Director, Coaching and Advisor Content, welcomes Megan Belt, Director of Public Relations at Carson Group, to discuss some of the best practices for communicating with clients during heated discussions, particularly surrounding election years.Megan starts by describing how to create a comprehensive communication plan for yourself and your employees in order to cover the grounds of what is appropriate to talk about, and what should be kept as inside thoughts. Ana and Megan then discuss the different ways you can discuss the current political and economic climate with your clients, while avoiding creating any uncomfortable situations. Tune into this episode for insights and professional advice if you have ever wondered where to draw the line between personal and professional conversations.Megan discusses: How to establish a clear communications policy with employeesThe importance of staying informed with current events in order to discuss how they affect your clients' financial plansStaying calm and taking time to reflect personally on any thoughts or opinions before you put them online for everyone to seeHaving a firm, but still empathetic tone when speaking with a client who is getting heated about certain topicsRemaining politically neutral when working with clients and making sure to always be doing what is best for them, regardless of their political viewsAnd moreResources: Carson Group Insights BlogPublic Relations Society of AmericaConnect with Ana Trujillo Limón: Carson Group LLCLinkedIn: Ana Trujillo LimónConnect with Megan Belt:LinkedIn: Megan BeltTwitter (X): @meganbeltAbout Our Guest: Megan Belt is the Director of Public Relations at Carson Group. As a results-driven leader, Megan has experience developing strategic communications plans for organizations ranging from small startups to Fortune 500 brands.Megan has held roles on both corporate communications and agency teams and has a proven track record of establishing executive thought leadership programs and developing integrated communications strategies. Megan's passion for public relations extends far outside of her agency role. She enjoys volunteering her time to help local nonprofits and small businesses tell their stories. She also had an active role in the Omaha PR community, having served on the board of directors for the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Nebraska Chapter and mentoring young professionals in her role as professional advisor for the University of Nebraska Omaha's PRSSA student chapter and its student-run PR Firm, MavPR.Send us your questions, we'd love to hear from you! Email us at framework@carsongroup.com.

Send us a Text Message.Scott Thomsen has served on the board of the NAGC for eight years, including previous roles as president-elect and communications director. He is the director of communications and public affairs for the Ventura County (California) Fire Department, overseeing the public information officers, community education, and community engagement. Previously, he served in various communications roles, including director, for Seattle City Light, a municipally owned electric utility, after a 20-year career in journalism as a reporter and editor for multiple news organizations, including The Orange County Register and The Associated Press.Lawrence J. Parnell, M.B.A., is an award-winning Public Relations professional and academic who is an Associate Professor and Director of the George Washington University Master's in Strategic Public Relations program. He has served in this role for 14 years, and the GWU Master's is now one of the best-known and most admired programs in the US.He holds a BS in Journalism from Boston University and an MBA from the University of New Haven. He is pursuing an advanced Strategic Management and Public Policy degree from the GW School of Business. He also operates Parnell Communications, a strategic communications and leadership training firm. He advises government, corporate, and non-profit organizations on executive development and strategic communications.  Prior to coming to GW, he had a 32-year career in the private and public sectors. He has worked in corporate, agency, and government settings globally and in national and statewide political campaigns. PR Week recognized him as PR Professional of the Year (2003) and named him to the PR News Hall of Fame in 2009. He is a frequent author and speaker on communications strategy, crisis and issues management, and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at industry conferences and universities worldwide. He is the co-author of a top-selling public relations textbook, Introduction to Public Relations, published by Sage Publishing. The text, now in its second edition, is used by over 35 undergraduate Mass Communications and Public Relations programs in North America.He is a member of the Page Society and serves on the Board of the National Capital Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). Parnell is active on Twitter (@gwprmasters) and LinkedIn, posting commentary and sharing research and his insights on current issues in communications and politics.To read the study (Click HerThis Is PropagandaChallenging marketers' delusions about the cultural impact of our work. A WEBBY winner!Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify The Brandon T. Adams Audio ExperienceWelcome to The Brandon T. Adams Audio Experience, hosted by entrepreneur, investor,...Listen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifySupport the Show.This episode is sponsored by John Guilfoil Public Relations. From crisis communications to website development; visit our website JGPR.net or call 617.993.0003

The Cognitive Crucible is a forum that presents different perspectives and emerging thought leadership related to the information environment. The opinions expressed by guests are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of or endorsement by the Information Professionals Association. During this episode, US Air Force Captain Jose Davis discusses his paper, which is entitled: "Leveraging AI for Operations in the Information Environment: 3 Demonstrations in Disinformation, Social Media, and Entropy." The paper focuses on the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the realm of Operations in the Information Environment (OIE), particularly for the Air Force. The paper presents three case studies demonstrating how AI can positively impact OIE and advocates for direct AI research in this area. Additionally, he'll recap an information campaign that US Air Forces in Europe conducted to assure Baltic NATO Allies, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Recording Date: 24 April 2024 Research Questions: Jose Davis suggests as interested student examine:  What other common metrics can be developed or researched for assessing the Information Environment, tailor-made for the national security needs and useful for IO and PA operators? What are the practical outcomes in the Information Environment (a complex system) when entropy is influenced, pushed either higher or lower? e.g. Hypothetically, when high entropy is present, humans deploy simplifying heuristics, so this should help improve Key Leader Engagements' (KLE) timing and improve KLE dossiers. Or with PA/IO, high entropy hypothetically may demand a simplified messaging campaign. In what other ways can AI be leveraged to combat nefarious AI use for disinformation? The ideas of watermarking or safeguarding content from manipulation from nefarious Generative AI are a form of  immunization, advancing Inoculation Theory as a whole. What other preventative measures along the lines of immunization can be taken to combat disinformation? Resources: Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned #46 Pat Ryder on Public Affairs and Strategic Communications #174 Kara Masick on Assessment Insights from Program Evaluation #183 Julie Janson on Air Force IO Talent and Strategy Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence Universal adversarial perturbations by Seyed-Mohsen Moosavi-Dezfooli, Alhussein Fawzi, Omar Fawzi, and Pascal Frossard Pre-trained Adversarial Perturbations by Yuanhao Ban, Yinpeng Dong Automating OIE with Large Language Models by Cpt Alexander Sferrella, Cpt Joseph Conger, and Maj Kara Masick Claude Shannon AI 2041: Ten Visions for Our Future by former Google technologist Kai-Fu Lee and science fiction writer Chen Qiufan. I'm a huge advocate of using story to educate. For those new to AI or wanting to understand AI's societal impact, this is my go-to book. Written in a series of fictional short stories with in-depth essay analysis at the end of each, the book teaches AI while making it entertaining. A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age by Jimmy Soni and Rob Goodman. I think every Information Warfare professional should know who Claude Shannon is and read his “magna carta” of the Information Age, The  Mathematical Theory of Communication.  My intellectual hero, this exceptional biography brings the man to life — a polymath, a tinkerer, an innovator. “Attention is all You Need” by Ashish Vaswani et al. This is the seminal paper advancing the Transformer architecture which made Generative AI like ChatGPT possible. Liken this paper to Einstein's book on Relativity or Newton's Principia. Information Theory: Structural Models for Qualitative Data by Klaus Krippendorff Link to full show notes and resources Guest Bio:  Jose is a Public Affairs Officer for Headquarters U.S. Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. He has over 14 years of experience in integrated communications, both in the public and private sectors. He is accredited in Public Relations and Military Communications through the Public Relations Society of America. In his current role, he ensures the strategic communication of accurate and timely information about the command's 104-country area of operations. He played a pivotal role at NATO in combating misinformation before, during and after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. He just finished a rigorous six-month fellowship at a DoD-sponsored AI Accelerator at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, gaining exposure to some of the brightest and best minds in AI and Machine Learning technologies. As part of his fellowship, Jose was required to apply his newly acquired AI foundational knowledge to produce a research paper addressing a problem or issue facing the U.S. Air Force. The paper is slated for publication in the U.S. Air Force's Air and Space Operations Review journal. About: The Information Professionals Association (IPA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to exploring the role of information activities, such as influence and cognitive security, within the national security sector and helping to bridge the divide between operations and research. Its goal is to increase interdisciplinary collaboration between scholars and practitioners and policymakers with an interest in this domain. For more information, please contact us at communications@information-professionals.org. Or, connect directly with The Cognitive Crucible podcast host, John Bicknell, on LinkedIn. Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

In this episode of the SCBWI Podcast, we are joined by Tracy van Straaten!TRACY VAN STRAATEN, Founder and PresidentFounded in 2019, TvS Media Group LLC  is an award-winning boutique public relations and consulting firm specializing in book publishing, entertainment, and brand management, with particular expertise in children's and young adult media. Founder and President Tracy van Straaten has more than 30 years of publicity, communications, and marketing experience, and she has created hundreds of campaigns for bestselling, award-winning, and debut authors, as well as beloved characters, celebrities, and brands.Over the course of her career, she has directed media campaigns and strategy for more than 200 New York Times bestsellers, including Suzanne Collins's bestselling The Hunger Games series; He's Just Not That Into You by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo; Olivia by Ian Falconer; and the re-launch of the Eloise series by Kay Thompson and Hilary Knight, for which van Straaten received a Literary Marketplace (LMP) Award for publicity campaign. Her longstanding media and industry relationships and vast network of national contacts across all media platforms have resulted in an impressive track record of high-profile placements. In 2023, TvS Media Group was awarded a Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Chicago Skyline Award of Excellence and a Publicity Club of Chicago Golden Trumpet Award for the media campaign for the 30th Anniversary of Goosebumps by R.L. Stine.Tracy van Straaten has held publicity and marketing positions at Little, Brown and Company, HarperCollins, William Morrow, Simon & Schuster, and, from 2006-2019, Vice President of Communications, Publicity, and Educational Marketing for the Scholastic Trade publishing division. She served on the board of the Children's Book Council, holds a B.A. in English and Art History from Hamilton College, and earned a master's degree in Children's Literature from Simmons University in Boston. In 2017, she received the Simmons University Alumni Achievement Award for Excellence in Children's Literature. She currently serves on the board of The Carol Shields Prize for Fiction.Check out their services here: https://www.tvsmediagroup.com/servicesSupport the Show.

The Public Relations Society of America has united communication professionals across industries to combat misinformation. It's a critical challenge and a battle we need to be honest about… we're losing.At the end of 2023, PRSA assembled a group of 25 senior communicators from a wide range of industries, in-house and firms, for an additional meeting, with several follow-up meetings with subject matter experts, all spearheaded by Ray Day, 2024 PRSA Chair-elect. Three main actions emerged:We need to champion honesty and transparency, recognizing the need to enhance message strategies to outpace misleading information (which will always exist)We need to emphasize the importance of community-based listening and education, advocating for civil discussion to foster a more informed and respectful publicThe PR industry needs to become a trusted entity by reinforcing integrity and reliability across all communication channelsListen For3:54 A Stakeholder Engagement Process for Addressing Misinformation10:04 Community Level Education Strategies13:56 Focus on Building Trust18:26 Civility and Constructive DiscourseGuest: Ray DayLinkedIn PRSA News ReleaseDownload the Guidebook Rate this podcast with just one click Leave us a voice message we can share on the podcast  https://www.speakpipe.com/StoriesandStrategiesStories and Strategies WebsiteDo you want to podcast? Book a meeting with Doug Downs to talk about it.Apply to be a guest on the podcastConnect with usLinkedIn | X | Instagram | You Tube | Facebook | ThreadsRequest a transcript of this episodeSupport the Show.

As Co-chair of the Symposium for the Marketing of Higher ed, Teresa Valerio Parrot has judged a lot of presentation proposals. She unlocks the secrets of what makes a proposal stand out in the crowded landscape of academic presentations. Teresa gives us insights on how to write a proposal, prepare for a presentation, and level-up to a featured or keynote spot. Teresa's insider tips will transform your next pitch from standard to standout. If you're itching to make your mark and lead the conversation at the next big conference, this episode is your golden ticket!Guest Name: Teresa Valerio Parrot, Principal of TVP CommunicationsGuest Social: LinkedInGuest Bio: Teresa Valerio Parrot often says that while her husband is her true love, her alma mater, the University of Colorado, was her first love. Higher education, however, is her home. She is known for honesty juxtaposed with optimism; the two combine to provide communications counsel focused on transparent leadership and relationship building. Teresa helps higher education executives truthfully share excellence and genuinely own mistakes through their communications and actions because she knows honesty is present in all sound proactive and crisis outreach. Previously, Teresa served as senior vice president for Widmeyer Communications and vice president for SimpsonScarborough. She counts almost 10 years of service with the University of Colorado, including an officer-level appointment as assistant secretary of the University. She is co-host of the “Trusted Voices Podcast,” co-editor of Call to Action for Inside Higher Ed, and has numerous bylines with national and higher education media. Teresa earned a bachelor's degree in communications from the University of Colorado Boulder, a master's degree in public administration from the University of Colorado Denver, and a doctoral degree in higher education policy and leadership from Southern Methodist University. She holds an accreditation in public relations from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). She lives in Longmont, Colorado, with her husband and dogs. Each year she threatens to become a runner and instead spends her time traveling with her family. Don't get her started on how amazing her college-aged daughter is unless you have a spare hour or two. Or three. She serves on the boards of PRSA, the Colorado-based Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD), and KUNC public radio and the Colorado Sound. She is a member of the Denver Ballet Guild. - - - -Connect With Our Host:Jenny Li Fowlerhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jennylifowler/https://twitter.com/TheJennyLiAbout The Enrollify Podcast Network:Confessions of a Higher Ed Social Media Manager is a part of the Enrollify Podcast Network. If you like this podcast, chances are you'll like other Enrollify shows too! Some of our favorites include Higher Ed Pulse and Confessions of a Higher Ed CMO.Enrollify is made possible by Element451 — the next-generation AI student engagement platform helping institutions create meaningful and personalized interactions with students. Learn more at element451.com.Connect with Us at the Engage Summit:Exciting news — Jenny will be at the 2024 Engage Summit in Raleigh, NC, on June 25 and 26, and we'd love to meet you there! Sessions will focus on cutting-edge AI applications that are reshaping student outreach, enhancing staff productivity, and offering deep insights into ROI. Use the discount code Enrollify50 at checkout, and you can register for just $200! Learn more and register at engage.element451.com — we can't wait to see you there!

Effective communication is crucial for success in mergers and acquisitions, as it helps to build trust, transparency, and alignment between the parties involved. Brad Kostka of RoopCo discusses the importance of communication strategies during the M&A process. He emphasizes the need for sellers to market their businesses effectively to attract potential buyers, and advises on the timing and audience for communication at different stages of the process. Brad also stresses the importance of collaboration between communication teams on both sides of the deal.Key TakeawaysEffective communication is crucial in mergers and acquisitions, as it can contribute to the success or failure of the deal.Sellers need to package and market their businesses to make them attractive to potential buyers, considering the target audience and the value they bring.The M&A process involves different phases, including deal sourcing, due diligence, and the announcement of the transaction. Communication efforts should be tailored to each phase and involve key stakeholders such as employees and customers.Collaboration and alignment between the communication teams of the acquirer and the acquiree are essential to ensure a smooth and successful M&A process.Communication advisors should be included in the list of advisors for M&A deals, as their expertise can help navigate the complexities of communication strategies during the transaction.About the Guest Brad Kostka is president of Roopco, a strategic content marketing agency serving B2B manufacturers and financial services firms by amplifying their communications. The agency specializes in crafting and disseminating compelling content that drives measurable business impact. Roopco helps its clients increase awareness, generate qualified leads and close sales. Brad is responsible for ensuring that Roopco delivers results-oriented communications programs for its clients and a culture where its associates grow and thrive. Over the course of his nearly 30-year career, he has provided strategic communication counsel to organizations ranging from global, publicly traded corporations to local startups. His background includes communications strategy, branding, content marketing, media relations, digital marketing, investor relations and event management. Brad earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from Ohio University and an MBA from Baldwin Wallace University. He has earned numerous industry awards, including six Silver Anvils from the Public Relations Society of America, the industry's highest honor.About the Host Abbie Fink is president of HMA Public Relations in Phoenix, Arizona and a founding member of PRGN. Her marketing communications background includes skills in media relations, digital communications, social media strategies, special event management, crisis communications, community relations, issues management, and marketing promotions for both the private and public sectors, including such industries as healthcare, financial services, professional services, government affairs and tribal affairs, as well as not-for-profit organizations. PRGN Presents is brought to you by Public Relations Global Network, the world's local public relations agency. Our executive producer is Adrian McIntyre....

In this episode, we sit down with Taya Jarman, a communications professional at The Institute for Public Health Innovation, to explore the nuances of strategic communication. Taya shares her journey of conducting an initial communications audit at her organization, highlighting the importance of understanding and effectively using various communication channels to reach and engage diverse audiences. Through her insights, listeners will learn about the challenges and opportunities in crafting messages that resonate, the critical role of strategic planning in nonprofit communications, and how to ensure their efforts align with their organization's mission and goals. About the guest Taya M. Jarman, MS, APR is an award-winning and accomplished Communications Director at the Institute for Public Health Innovation (IPHI). At IPHI, she has refreshed the organization's brand to include a robust DE&I and ADA-compliant website, social media ecosystem, and marketing materials to improve health and wellness in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia region. Before IPHI, she served in the state government for 16 years as the Population Health Communications Director for the Virginia Department of Health (VDH).  Throughout her career, Taya has won over a dozen local and national awards. She was recognized twice as Top 40 under 40 in Richmond's Style Weekly and nationally in PRWeek. She graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a Master of Science in strategic public relations and studied abroad in China (Beijing and Shanghai). She also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication and leadership from Christopher Newport University (CNU) and a graduate certification in general management public relations from the University of Maryland Global Campus. When she's not working, she enjoys traveling and spending time with her husband, two sons Tripp and Tyler, and a pandemic puppy – Uno the Schnoodle. Resources Axios: https://www.axios.com/American Marketing Association: https://www.ama.org/Public Relations Society of America: https://www.prsa.org/ Navigating the Nonprofit Landscape with AI – George Weiner of Whole Whale: https://brooks.digital/health-nonprofit-digital-marketing/navigating-nonprofit-landscape-ai/ Contact Taya LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tayajarman/Institute for Public Health Innovation: https://www.institutephi.org/

About Our Guest:   Theresa Carpenter is an active-duty Navy Commander, with 10 years of enlisted time and where she has served for 28 years. Her passions include helping people succeed, protecting animals, moving past traumatic experiences, speaking up for positive change, and the professional development of the craft of public relations. As a reflective writer, she discusses the human experience for her blog, Theresa's Tapestries. She has published in several media outlets and trade press, notably the War Horse and the Public Relations Society of America. Tapping into her love of storytelling through the visual medium, she shares her life journey and the stories of others in a raw, vulnerable, and always honest format. Her podcast S.O.S (Stories of Service), which she started in April 2020 and now has more than 100 episodes, features ordinary people from all walks of life who show up in service to their respective communities and are beacons of change. She is a co-author of the book Complicated Alliances, an anthology that tells the stories and struggles of women who serve in the military and those married to one who serves. She lives in the United Kingdom and is the Chief Public Affairs Officer for NATO's Allied Maritime Command.     About The Episode:   Theresa Carpenter joins the podcast this week and the conversation starts about work. She talks about her NATO job and what motivated her to take this job outside of America. She discusses dealing with adult bullies at the workplace. She remembers what made her join the Navy. LCDR gives her opinion on GEDs and diplomas. How do Public Affairs Officers and Mass Communications Specialists interact? Damo has smoke for someone. Theresa and Damo talk shop and discuss podcasting. they talk about the importance of long-form unregulated content. Theresa discusses what she believes are the issues that the Navy is currently facing. The two discuss if the military cares about suicide. Can people be overly possessive about their relationships with their junior Sailors? Do policies and politics allow truth in reporting? Theresa discusses her best and worst military experiences. The conversation gets personal as Theresa speaks about her husband and her relationship with her mother.   Remember to follow the ‘Permission to Speak Freely' podcast on TikTok, Facebook, Discord, Instagram, and Twitter, and subscribe on YouTube.     Keep up with the ‘Permission to Speak Freely' podcast on our social media and YouTube - https://linktr.ee/Ptsfpodcast   Keep up with Theresa Carpenter and all her links: https://beacons.ai/theresacarpenter       Additional Credits: PTSF “Theme Music” - Produced by Lim0

In this insightful episode, Jaime sits down with Teresa Valerio Parrot, a seasoned expert in higher education communications to discuss the ways higher education marcom leaders can best support presidents in the highly divisive and politicized world of 2024. Given the current stressful and often unpopular role of college presidents, Jaime and Teresa provide insight into effective communication and leadership in such volatile environments. Takeaways include:Insight into the stressors that colleges presidents face – and the ways marcom leaders can best support them.Tips for engaging presidents to provide advice and guidance amid PR crises.Conversation around the media's portrayal of college presidents – and the way that portrayal can derail a presidency.Tips for setting up your president for success.This episode is a treasure trove of wisdom for current and aspiring leaders in higher education, offering practical advice and thought-provoking insights into the complex world of higher education communication and leadership.Guest Name: Teresa Valerio Parrot, Principal, TVP Communications and host of Trusted VoicesGuest Social: https://www.linkedin.com/in/teresavalerioparrot/Guest Bio: Teresa Valerio Parrot is the founder and principal of TVP Communications, a public relations agency solely focused on higher education. Valerio Parrot helps higher education executives connect with new audiences, manage a crisis situation, build thought leadership awareness, and communicate institutional values. She is co-host of the Trusted Voices Podcast, co-editor of Call to Action for Inside Higher Ed, and has numerous bylines with national and higher education media.Previously, Valerio Parrot served as senior vice president for Widmeyer Communications, vice president for Simpson Scarborough, and numerous positions with the University of Colorado. She earned a bachelor's degree in communications from the University of Colorado Boulder, a master's degree in public administration from the University of Colorado Denver, and a PhD in higher education policy and leadership from Southern Methodist University. She holds an accreditation in public relations from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). - - - -Connect With Our Host:Jaime Hunthttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jaimehunt/https://twitter.com/JaimeHuntIMCAbout The Enrollify Podcast Network:Confessions of a Higher Ed CMO is a part of the Enrollify Podcast Network. If you like this podcast, chances are you'll like other Enrollify shows too! Some of our favorites include Talking Tactics and Higher Ed Pulse. Enrollify is made possible by Element451 — the next-generation AI student engagement platform helping institutions create meaningful and personalized interactions with students. Learn more at element451.com. Connect with Us at the Engage Summit:Exciting news — Jaime will be at the 2024 Engage Summit in Raleigh, NC, on June 25 and 26, and we'd love to meet you there! Sessions will focus on cutting-edge AI applications that are reshaping student outreach, enhancing staff productivity, and offering deep insights into ROI. Use the discount code Enrollify50 at checkout, and you can register for just $99! This early bird pricing lasts until March 31. Learn more and register at engage.element451.com — we can't wait to see you there!

Jay Ell Alexander is motivated by her passion for sparking a change in the minds and bodies of others through her entrepreneurial spirit. As owner and CEO of The Vaughn Strategy, a branding and public relations firm and Black Girls RUN!, a national running organization, she leads a powerful movement that has resonated with a huge audience. Over the last decade, she has established herself as a communications professional with a true commitment to community engagement through her passion for health and fitness. She is also the Founder/Executive Director of the BGR! Foundation and the co-owner with her husband of C+J Alexander Investments. Black Girls RUN! has helped shift the consciousness of culture for over 250,000 African American women, encouraging them to adopt a healthy, active lifestyle through running, movement and community. It has also transformed the running community and aided in the diversification and increased participation in the sport of endurance distance running. Alexander has received national and international notoriety since the start of her tenure including partnerships with Saucony, Ford, Facebook, Brooks Running, REI, Fleet Feet and media coverage on NBC News, Good Morning America, ESSENCE, The O (Oprah Winfrey) Magazine and Ebony Magazine.A native of Norfolk, Va., Mrs. Alexander received her Communications degree from George Mason University and her Master's degree in Strategic Public Relations from Virginia Commonwealth University. She is also a graduate of the University of Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business Nonprofit Executive Leadership program and a Certified Run Coach.She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. (Spring 2007) and the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). She serves a variety of community boards and has completed numerous half marathons, 10Ks and 5Ks and two marathons. She has been recognized by iPower Richmond 30 under 30, George Mason University Black Alumni's 40 Under 40 and the Rising Star Award by PRSA Richmond.Jay Ell and her husband Christopher are the proud parents of 4-year-old, Chris, Jr. and 2 year old daughter, Jaycee. They are also proud pup parents to an 8-year-old black Lab, named Luna.

Meritus Media based in Clearwater, FL, announces winning the PRestige Award for Social Media from the Public Relations Society of America, Tampa Bay. The agency was honored for their Facebook page for Ulan Nutritional Systems Inc. For more information visit https://www.meritusmedia.com or https://www.nutritionresponsetesting.com or https://www.facebook.com/nutritionresponsetestingnews Meritus Media City: Clearwater Address: 1245 Seminole Street Website: https://www.meritusmedia.com

Want to Speak at the Big Conferences? Here's What It Really Takes Whether you're an aspiring speaker or just curious about the truth vs. the illusion of success, this episode is for you. If you're feeling the pressure to achieve overnight success in your career, and the thought of never reaching that level is weighing you down, then you are not alone! The constant pursuit of big opportunities and recognition can be overwhelming, especially when you see others achieving it “effortlessly.” It's time to address the myths of overnight success and develop a resilient mindset to seize business opportunities. Debunking the Myths of Overnight Success in Business Success, especially in public speaking, doesn't happen overnight. The journey to achieve it is characterized by countless hours of practice, continuous learning, and resilience. Thus, the idea of instant success, often propagated by social media, is misleading and should be countered with a realistic perspective that acknowledges the time and effort required to excel. My special guest is Meghan Ely OFD Consulting owner Meghan Ely combines in-the-trenches event experience with a love of wedding PR to empower her clients to take their businesses to new heights. The Public Relations Society of America regularly honors her team's publicity efforts, and more recently, Eventex named her one of the most influential Wedding Professionals in the Industry. A long-time industry speaker and writer, she is a WeddingPro educator with The Knot + WeddingWire, as well as a regular contributor to Wedding Planner Magazine, Catersource, and SpecialEvents.com. Meghan is an International Past President of WIPA and a member of the Allied Council for the National Society of Black Wedding and Event Professionals. In this episode, you will learn how to: Master the art of becoming a keynote speaker: Unlock the secrets to landing prestigious speaking opportunities and captivating your audience. Debunk the myths of overnight success in business: Discover the truth behind building a successful speaking career and the real work it takes to achieve it. Navigate the wedding industry speaking circuit: Uncover the strategies for establishing yourself as a sought-after speaker in the wedding industry. Cultivate personal development through public speaking: Harness the power of public speaking to grow personally and professionally and make a lasting impact on your audience. Thrive in high-stakes speaking engagements: Learn how to prepare and excel in high-pressure speaking situations, leaving a lasting impression on your audience. Go grab your coffee or your tea, and let's talk it out.  Connect with Meghan Ely Website Instagram What Renee's Obsessed With This Week

In this episode, Jaime sits down with Rachel Reuben Senor, a 25-year veteran of higher education marketing now serving as the VP of Account Strategy for OHO Interactive. The conversation centers around a shared frustration: the challenges posed by silos in higher education – and offers insight into the ways marketing and communications offices can bust those silos.Takeaways include:Insight into organizational models, such as centralized, center-led, and decentralized structures, dissecting why each model may or may not work in certain contexts. Practical advice on how to determine the best organizational model for a specific institution and strategies to break down silos beyond just structural changes.Ideas around how schools can effectively leverage storytelling to create impactful narratives.Insight into the key roles that higher ed CMOs should focus on developing over the next 2-5 years.Tips for fostering a culture of teamwork and collaboration. Guest Name: Rachel Reuben Senor, Vice President of Account Strategy, OHO InteractiveGuest Social: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelreuben/Guest Bio:  Rachel Reuben Senor is a seasoned veteran in marketing and communications in the higher education industry. She has worked on staff in leadership positions in both public and private institutions. She fuses her experience into a comprehensive, strategic approach to marketing that identifies challenges and develops creative solutions to improve marketing processes. As VP of Account Strategy at OHO Interactive, Rachel brings new perspectives to clients on long-term strategy, organizational design, and enrollment marketing. She leads and hosts monthly OHO U webinars, the annual OHO U Online Conference and Senior Marketing Leadership Summit, and monthly Brain Trusts with current clients.Prior to joining OHO, Rachel ran her own senior marketing leadership consultancy for higher education for nearly five years. Before consulting she was the vice president of communication at Colgate University, associate vice president for marketing communications at Ithaca College, and the director of web communication and strategic projects at the State University of New York at New Paltz. During her consultancy, she served as interim vice president for marketing and communications at California College of the Arts, as well as interim executive director of marketing for the San Francisco Art Institute.Rachel has been a speaker at a variety of higher education events over the past couple of decades, among them the American Marketing Association's Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education, the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), eduWeb, HighEdWeb, the University and College Designers Association (UCDA), the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), and the State University of New York Council for University Advancement (SUNY CUAD).Rachel's insights have been featured in The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, University Business, CASE Currents, Campus Technology, and on many blogs. She was an early adopter of social media, and pioneered its use in marketing higher education. - - - -Connect With Our Host:Jaime Hunthttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jaimehunt/https://twitter.com/JaimeHuntIMCAbout The Enrollify Podcast Network:Confessions of a Higher Ed CMO is a part of the Enrollify Podcast Network. If you like this podcast, chances are you'll like other Enrollify shows too! Some of our favorites include Talking Tactics and Higher Ed Pulse. Enrollify is made possible by Element451 — the next-generation AI student engagement platform helping institutions create meaningful and personalized interactions with students. Learn more at element451.com. Connect with Us at the Engage Summit:Exciting news — Jaime will be at the 2024 Engage Summit in Raleigh, NC, on June 25 and 26, and we'd love to meet you there! Sessions will focus on cutting-edge AI applications that are reshaping student outreach, enhancing staff productivity, and offering deep insights into ROI. Use the discount code Enrollify50 at checkout, and you can register for just $99! This early bird pricing lasts until March 31. Learn more and register at engage.element451.com — we can't wait to see you there!

We're diving deep into the realms of self-discovery and growth with the co-creators of Resilience In Words, a book that serves as a journal and a planner. Josefina Loza and Olabanji Stephen chat with Naeemah about their creative process and how life experiences inspired them to collaborate on this book. Josefina Loza is a serial entrepreneur, and founder and CEO of Lozafina, a Latina-owned branding, marketing, and public relations firm rooted in Omaha, Nebraska. The firm offers a wide range of services, including communication strategy, brand messaging, media relations, social media marketing, and multimedia storytelling. Lozafina prides itself on the ability to connect brands with people, help businesses and organizations tell their unique stories, and reach their target audiences effectively. A journalist with more than 20 years of experience, Loza worked for the Omaha World-Herald, Associated Press, Colorado Springs Gazette, Omaha Magazine, Huffington Post, National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and Momaha.com, a parenting site operated by the World-Herald. She was recently honored as the Midlands Business Journal's 40 Under 40, the Omaha Jaycees Ten Outstanding Young Omahans, and named one of Omaha's most influential Latinas in Media gracing the cover of the 2020 Directorio. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Public Relations Society of American – Nebraska Chapter and is the founding board member of the Midlands African Chamber which leads in economic equity and business development in black and brown communities, the Vice President of Marketing and Communications for TAWI Development Organization, Fitucate Foundation, and CuraVida nonprofits. Olabanji Stephen is a Creative Director and Designer with over 6 years of experience. He helps brands gain clarity, communicate magically, and deliver meaningful experiences. His work has been in Brand Ideology, Design, Messaging, Advertising, Communication Strategy, and Product Design. Fascinated by (actually obsessed with) human behavior and potential. He helps others become better, smarter, more relevant, and irresistible. He founded Jorney, a community that helps people unlock incredible results, make progress and do their best work through the 100-day of shipping, productivity, and learning program. 300 people out of 2K+ applications were selected to participate in the first edition. You can purchase Resilience In Words on Amazon To learn more about Lozafina, visit their website https://www.lozafina.com Follow us on Social Media! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/organizemeradio⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/OrganizeMeRadio⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ For more information about Naeemah, visit her ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://naeemahfordgoldson.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/naeemah-ford-goldson/message

[00:00:00] Larry Lincoln: And I had some good mentors along the way. My very first supervisor in the military, his name was Charles Benton. I'll never forget him. He told me, he said, look - there are keys to success. You want to be professional. You don't have to know everything, but if you don't know it, be willing to find out and always be available, turn situations into not a no, but try to find win situations for people. [00:00:24] Larry Lincoln: And those are the things that have always stuck with me. +++++++++++++++++++++= Tommy Thomas: My guest today is Larry Lincoln. Larry and I have been friends for, I don't know, 15-20 years.  Larry, do you recall our first meeting? [00:00:35] Larry Lincoln: Yeah, I think it was back when I was still in Colorado Springs at one of the ministries there. So yeah, it's been about that length of time. [00:00:44] Tommy Thomas: And I remember when we had dinner, you and I, and your wife, and like my friend Bo Patton, the football player at Vanderbilt told me when he met me and my wife, he said, Tommy, you out kicked your coverage. And so, I'm going to say having had dinner with Dixie, you definitely out kicked your coverage in that merger. [00:01:03] Larry Lincoln: Amen, brother. So true. So true. [00:01:06] Tommy Thomas: Larry's been into the Communications and Public Relations field I guess his entire adult life. And that's one of the reasons I wanted to get him on the call. We'd say we've known each other a long time. I've watched his career. He is currently working with Compassion International. He'll tell us a little bit about his work there, but Larry, take me back to your early days.  What two or three experiences do you remember from childhood that made you into the man you are today? [00:01:32] Larry Lincoln: Wow. Yeah, my childhood was a little atypical, Tommy, not the standard one. As a kid my parents weren't together. They split up when I was a young age, and they did one thing other than having us, but what they decided is they knew that things weren't going to work, and they wanted the kids, there were three of us at the time, to be in more stable homes. I was born in Martinsburg, West Virginia, and my folks sent me up to live with grandparents in Newcastle, Pennsylvania, a little town outside of Pittsburgh. And growing up there, man, it was so special because my grandmother was a God-fearing woman. We called her Mother Mary, but she was the one who just embraced me. [00:02:14] Larry Lincoln: I'll never forget as a three-year-old, I remember sitting on the floor learning to read with blocks. She was just so invested in my life. And so, growing up together in that home and having her just pour into me was something I'll never forget. She was just a godsend. She was ahead of her time. She was very into trying to shape and mold me into being a godly man. She always used to tell me, I'd ask her as a young kid, Mother Mary, what do you want me to be? And she said, son, love the Lord and be a good man. And that was all that she ever asked of me. So, remembering growing up in that home, growing up in our neighborhood, the church was called St. John's United Holy Church. And she made sure that as a youngster, I was in that church and that was like an extended family for me, they were so close and so nurturing and loving and then finally entering the military. I think the military was easy compared to growing up in Mother Mary's house. [00:03:10] Larry Lincoln: The military that esprit de corps, that structure, that being a part of something bigger than yourself, that really appealed to me. So those are a few experiences, I believe, shaped who I am today. [00:03:24] Tommy Thomas: How'd you get from high school to the military? Was there a big decision mark there? [00:03:29] Larry Lincoln: No what it was I went off to college following high school for a brief period of time, about a year, but my grandmother was ill during my college, my high school time. And so, I finished school and was taking care of her. And I wanted to stay nearby. I was a baseball player for a time, and I really wanted to play baseball in college. I had a brother at that time who was in the Air Force over in Hawaii and he was doing well, but I couldn't leave her. So, I decided to stay close to home and take care of her and go to a local college there, West Minister College, in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania. [00:04:05] Larry Lincoln: But then she passed. And then, as a youngster with all that stuff going on, and then of course, college getting expensive and stuff, I said, I wanted to take a break. And my brother was doing well in the military. And I said, oh, let me give that a try. So that's how I got into the military. [00:04:21] Tommy Thomas: Is that how you got into public relations and communications in the military? [00:04:25] Larry Lincoln: Yes, absolutely. I spent 22 years total in the Air Force and for the lion's share at that time, I was in public affairs, which was public affairs is the military version of public relations, I went to journalism school, and learned to write. I went all the way up through the ranks and held every job in communications, in media relations, community relations, planning, crisis communication, all that great stuff. And so, they give you a well-rounded education. That's how I got my start and I've been doing it ever since. [00:04:56] Tommy Thomas: So, what do you remember about the first time you had to manage people? [00:05:00] Larry Lincoln: Wow. I'll tell you in the Air Force, one thing about it is they send you, they give you a lot of training. So, you go to leadership school and all these things. I went to all those. They give you the theory of what you should do as a leader and how you should lead people. But when you step into that role for the first time, and sometimes some of the people around the same age as you. And you're being called to have responsibility and lead. It was terrifying at first because, wow, can I do this? But then at the same time, knowing that they had prepared you well, they trained you well, it was a matter of just stepping into that role with confidence and learning along the way. [00:05:40] Larry Lincoln: And I had some good mentors along the way. My very first supervisor in the military, his name was Charles Benton. I'll never forget him. He told me, he said, look - there are keys to success. He said, you want to be professional. He said, you don't have to know everything, but if you don't know it, be willing to find out and always be available, turn situations into not a no, but try to find win situations for people. And those are the things that's always stuck with me. [00:06:08] Tommy Thomas: Of course, I know a lot of the stuff you did in the military might be classified, but are there any crisis management stories you could tell that that turned out well? [00:06:18] Larry Lincoln: Do we have time? Tell me, one of the things is, yeah, I've been involved in enumerable crisis situations in the military and out of the military, and I think that they provided a tremendous platform for understanding what happens and how to respond. I learned early on that you are either in a crisis, getting ready to go into one, or you're coming out of one.  So, planning and preparation are key! [00:06:31] Larry Lincoln: Things like that. I've been involved in everything from plane crashes, the bombings, the Khobar Tower bombings, the Payne Stewart plane crash. A lot of different crisis situations, natural disasters, hurricanes, and things don't just happen. One of the things that I learned in that situation is that you're either in a crisis, you're getting ready to go into one, or you're coming out of one. [00:06:54] Larry Lincoln: And so, preparation and planning becomes really key. [00:06:57] Tommy Thomas: I remember the Payne Stewart crash and, knew a little bit about his family. What do you remember about that? [00:07:05] Larry Lincoln: I remember it was a national media situation where, if you recall, that plane was just drifting out there, and it was all over the television.  It was a very tense situation, and we didn't have a lot of answers because, at that point in time, we had to wait for some things to happen. But I remember just being captivated just like the rest of the world with that situation and being intimately involved in responding. I was at NORAD Space Command there in Colorado Springs at the time, and NORAD had those jets that were actually tracking and tracking that and were sent up to intercept that and let it play out. So, it was a really interesting situation. It was heartbreaking, but that's the level of crisis and things that we became used to in the military career. ++++++++++++++++++ [00:07:51] Tommy Thomas: Let's go to the nonprofit sector. Because you've spent some time with some good organizations in the nonprofit world. How does a nonprofit preparedness compare with the military level of preparedness for emergencies or crisis? [00:08:04] Larry Lincoln: Generally speaking, I think that the federal government and the military, of course, it's very institutionalized and sometimes in the nonprofit community we don't know what we don't know. And many times, organizations get caught flat-footed, but I think there's a lesson to be learned there that, like I said, if you go back to what I said earlier, that cycle, you're preparing to enter a crisis. You're in a crisis or you're coming out of one.  If you look at that, and that as a constant, it allows you to look at situations that you can prepare for. [00:08:35] Larry Lincoln: You can think about your vulnerabilities, and that's one of the things senior communications folks have a role, especially in PR being able to look out and forecast for an organization, what the environment looks like, what some of the risks and threats. I think we all have the ability to do that. [00:08:52] Larry Lincoln: It's just the consciousness and the intentionality of being able to plan. Nobody likes to be in that situation, but I think during those times when we're not, we should use those as opportunities to really look and get a good sense of our environment that we're operating in threats, risks, et cetera. [00:09:13] Tommy Thomas: In an ideal world, what's the role of the Chief Communications Officer? The Chief Communications Officer serves as a trusted advisor to the CEO in addition to serving as a brand ambassador and guardian of the organization's reputation. [00:09:18] Larry Lincoln: The Chief Communications Officer serves as a trusted advisor. They're responsible for key functions, such as advising your CEO, upper leadership on communication, engagement, goals, strategies, and issues. Coaching for top executives, strategic communication, engagement, planning, serving as a brand ambassador and guardian of organizational reputation. A lot of times I'd like to say that the individual who holds that role is also the conscience of an organization. They also foster visibility, and understanding of the operational objectives. One of the things that I think is really key to anyone in a communication role is understanding the business, and that's chief communication officer needs to understand the business, how it works, and the objectives in order to effectively communicate to external and internal audiences. [00:10:07] Larry Lincoln: And so bottom line, you'll want to serve to ensure organizational messaging, consistency to all of an organization's audiences, and that can be an umbrella function that covers things like corporate communications, media, relations, issues, crisis, reputation, and reputational, internal communications, things like that. [00:10:28] Tommy Thomas: What do you mean by the conscience of the organization? [00:10:32] Larry Lincoln: Many times, communicators, if you're really looking out at the landscape and understand your stakeholders, your publics, the people that you're working with. I like to take an attitude of if I'm a community serving in the senior communication function, and a lot of time operational decisions are made, I like to point out to senior leaders, you think about having an empty chair in that boardroom where you are and consider that empty chair being occupied by some of your stakeholders, be it the public, be it a donor. Be it an advocate. How would they feel? How would they react to what decision you're making? And many times, organizations think about how they operate, but they don't think about pulling the curtain back and having other people who are not in the organization understand how they operate. [00:11:21] Larry Lincoln: They take it for granted sometimes. So, if you use that approach and think about that empty chair and put a key audience there, how would they react? That's being a conscience and really thinking through the decisions and the postures that we're going to take because ultimately at the end of the line, those are the people that we're impacting. So that's what I mean by being a conscience and I think I'm a firm believer that organizations pretty much communicate how they operate. It just happens naturally. So, if you don't really think about those things, you're going to communicate in a vacuum and then try to play catch up to help key audiences understand what you really mean, what your heart is. [00:12:00] Tommy Thomas: Here again, in an ideal world, should the Chief Communications Officer sit on the cabinet, be on the same level as a CFO, Chief Information, or Chief Marketing Officer? [00:12:10] Larry Lincoln: Absolutely. It's vitally important that the Chief Communication Officer have that same type of relationship, a very close relationship at the top of the business, such as the CFO, the Chief Marketing Officer, and I'll tell you why. The CCO has to ensure continuously open and timely communications channels. There are a lot of things that impact an organization these days. A 24/7 news cycle that requires immediate response. The importance of reputational management and organizational branding. The need for alignment and integration of messaging throughout the organization. You talked earlier about crisis situations, the need for proactive and immediate crisis communication response. There are a lot of studies out there about chief communication officers. But there's one that talks about organizations with CCOs reporting directly to the CEO has the greatest alignment between corporate objectives, communications, and all activities. [00:13:10] Larry Lincoln: That involves engaging key stakeholders. Yeah, it's vitally important to have that direct peer relationship with some of those other C-Suite executives. [00:13:20] Tommy Thomas: You've done the communications piece and you've been Director of Public Relations. In broad terms, what's the difference between those two functions? I'll give you the definition of what PR is. It's the management function that establishes and maintains mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and the public on whom its success or failure depends. [00:13:27] Larry Lincoln: In broad terms, there's a lot of overlap, and think about the Chief Communications function, corporate communications, things like that as the umbrella. Typically, in the world that we live in now, public relations and I'll give you the definition of what PR is. It's the management function that establishes and maintains mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and the public on whom its success or failure depends. In our current framework of things, typically PR folks deal mostly with media engagement, and things like that. But they also reach beyond that to work with publics and organizations, publics and develop and maintain those key relationships. [00:14:08] Larry Lincoln: Think of the Chief Communications Officer who is developing the strategy. About how an organization communicates with all of its stakeholders and the PR function as executing that strategy for some specific audiences. [00:14:21] Tommy Thomas: Okay. I guess when you started, we didn't have a 24-hour news cycle or if we did, it was young.  How have you seen that impact communications, in general, and the effectiveness of corporate communications? [00:14:40] Larry Lincoln: It's definitely a challenge because there are a couple of challenges related to that. You're right in the past we did not have that 24/7, but with the proliferation of social media, it becomes an even greater challenge because now you have unvetted unfiltered experts on social media. One of the challenges of social media is that you now have unvetted, unfiltered experts who, on occasion, are sowing disinformation or misinformation.  That presents a challenge to the audience. [00:14:57] Larry Lincoln: Who rightfully in some cases maybe get it wrong, but in other cases are sowing disinformation or misinformation and so that becomes a challenge for our audiences because they're consuming this and some of them are very selective on what they consume. So, we have to really understand our audiences in many cases. We develop personas of different folks that we want to reach and understand where they get their information so we can tailor communications to get to them in a timely fashion. It's a huge challenge now because way back when we had three major networks, and they were respected. The news was then broadcast in a certain way, and now today with the proliferation of mass media, and social media, it's a huge challenge. [00:15:42] Larry Lincoln: And it makes us be able to want to be able to respond much more rapidly and be prepared. And that's why preparation and understanding audiences become so much more important. [00:15:53] Tommy Thomas: What is the biggest trouble a CEO can get into using social media? What are the downsides, maybe? [00:16:00] Larry Lincoln: Not understanding social media. And I think social media is a ripple. It should not be seen as something to avoid. Not at all. And there are some CEOs who just, I've heard of some who just refuse to engage in that. And they have to think of that as another key communication channel. They, just like you'd use media, just like you use internal, you have to plan for it. And so not having a plan, not understanding who the audience is, not really mapping out and being clear what you want to say and what you want them to do. Ultimately, everything that we do with communication, we want to move people. I tell people we want to move them along a continuum of awareness. Understanding acceptance and then commitment, and that's especially true in the nonprofit realm. You want to make people aware of what you do and why you make a difference in this cluttered world with all these different agencies that are doing many the same thing. And competing for the same audiences. why are we different? What's unique about us? Maybe we need to help you understand more about what we do and why it matters to you. Then you move them along that continuum to understand how it impacts them. What's in it for them? And then get them to accept and then commit once you can get them to that stage, then you can move them along and you can get them to do pretty much anything. But social media, I think you have to look at it as another channel that needs attention. It needs constant feeding of the beast, so to speak. You can't go dark. You can't start it and then just go dark and let weeks go by. You have to continue to talk. And it's like having a conversation at a dinner party. [00:17:36] Larry Lincoln: How many people would talk to you if you had something boring to say or nothing really meaty to say, and you just stop talking? They'd find somebody else to talk to. So, it's just another channel that needs to be harvested, invested in really intentionally worked with. +++++++++++++++= [00:17:54] Tommy Thomas: Oh, what kind of counsel are you giving young people today who think they might want a career in communications? [00:18:00] Larry Lincoln: I think the traditional liberal arts is always good. English, journalism, things like that, but also supplemented by finance and organizational management courses. The reason being it goes back to what I said earlier. The Chief Communications Officer must know the business – they must know what keeps the CEO up at night. [00:18:12] Larry Lincoln: I really think to be truly effective communicators have to know the business. They have to be able to know what keeps the CEO up at night. They need to be able to read the balance sheet. They need to know how we operate, because if you don't understand those things, how can you effectively communicate to key stakeholders? And so, I think those are key things, and I think to start out to begin their career, it's always helpful to start out in some writing capacity, I believe. Writing is the foundation of all communication, to be able to present ideas in a logical manner that's easy, that's understood to your audiences. I believe that to be the foundation. And then just moving through, like I said earlier, getting your experience in a lot of different areas. But I think those are some of the foundational elements for someone who desires to enter this field. [00:19:02] Tommy Thomas: Let's move over to team leadership a little bit, because most everything gets done in the context of a team.  Tell me what's the most ambitious project you've ever tackled with a team and how did it come out? [00:19:14] Larry Lincoln: I think that would be at an organization later in my career, a ministry organization. And this organization was a long-standing one that had a lot of different members for a long period of time. And over time, the members had started feeling like the organization had fallen behind and wasn't as relevant. And we had just built a communication and engagement department, and our job was to help communicate the new changes and new strategic direction to really make a difference to those key stakeholders. And so that was very ambitious because it had never been done before, because they had been so used to doing business the way that they've always done it.  It required some rebranding, reinventing the organization, and really modernizing it, and helping to show that it had value to to a newer audience. And so, rallying the team around that was easy because as a newly formed department, it was our opportunity to show what we could do and the value we could bring to the organization. So, we developed a strategic communication plan, a change communication plan for the organization internally, as well as an external plan that had a lot of different milestones to show people that how we were changing and what value we brought and so it turned out very well. [00:20:35] Larry Lincoln: We did some surveys after the fact. We had worked with another marketing company that assisted us and we found that the change in positive sentiment over that time from the time we started that campaign had really significantly increased. So, it was really, it turned out well for us. It proved the value that a strategic communication and engagement approach can have for any organization. [00:20:58] Tommy Thomas: If I could have sat down with your team, I guess during that or after that, and I asked them two questions, I said, first question. What is the most rewarding thing about working with Larry Lincoln? What would they say? And then if I said, what's the toughest thing about working with Larry, what would they say? [00:21:16] Larry Lincoln: I would hope they'd say the most rewarding thing is giving them the room to grow and to do whatever it is that they've been asked to do. I think a key recipe for success is not simply giving people responsibility, but giving them support, the resources, and authority to get done what they need to get done. And I try to do that. I try to empower folks. I think probably the toughest thing that they'd probably say about me is, and I think I learned this from the military too, is I will ask questions. And if I hear an answer that I don't think was well thought out. I'll continue to ask more and more questions and dig and drill down to the root cause. And I think sometimes that could be a little uncomfortable, but I think it's necessary so that we can really get to the bottom of what we need to do. [00:22:04] Tommy Thomas: You've served under a lot of good leaders and certainly currently now are serving in a great organization. As you look back over these leaders including the military people, what's the most defining leadership behavior? [00:22:18] Larry Lincoln: Oh, being accountable, being open, being transparent. I'll never forget. I was at one ministry in particular, that focused on senior leaders in the business world, CEOs. And this one CEO in particular told me, he gave me this story about how he was faced with some layoffs at a plant, I believe it was back in the Northeast. And he was the CEO, and he could have sent his senior HR folks to do that. But first of all, he felt that he needed to own it. So, this guy got on a train and went to that business location and personally met with every individual and thanked them for their service while he was giving them their severance packages, things like that. Whatever you must do eventually – Do it now! He owned it. But he also told me, he said, that whatever you've got to do eventually, do it now. And so that type of behavior was very much appreciated. He stepped into the problem, he owned it, he didn't delegate it to somebody else, the tough stuff. I have a tremendous amount of admiration for leaders who own that and realize it, and step up, and don't shirk or shy away from the moment. A leader must be willing to lean into the tough times and own them. [00:23:26] Larry Lincoln: There are a lot of tough calls in leadership, you know that. But I think as leaders, we've got to be willing to lean into the tough times and also to own it. And so that's a really good leadership example that I've seen. And then other leaders who give you the opportunity to grow and aren't afraid to be challenged and ask questions, things like that. [00:23:50] Tommy Thomas: What is the most dangerous behavior that you've seen to derail some leader's careers? [00:23:56] Larry Lincoln: Personally, I think I've seen some who want to be the smartest person in the room and don't want to take advice. And I think the perfect example of leadership is servant leadership. We're humble. We're placed in positions not because of how special we are, but because that's where we've been assigned at that moment in time. That's by the grace of God. And so leadership is something to be held and cherished and to nurture and not to be taken too seriously, in my opinion. And so I think sometimes the traps and leadership can be that we think that we've got it, we'll make the decision and we may tune out some really good advice because we think we may know better, I think being flexible, being adaptable, being open to feedback, and sometimes even criticism is the way to go because you want to surround yourself with wise counsel. [00:24:45] Larry Lincoln: And maybe not listening to that wise counsel. Having said that, if I may say for a moment, you were talking about communications thing. And that's 1 of the things I think that in leading communication and having the place of communication in any large organization, sometimes leaders make the mistake. I've seen it in the past of not listening necessarily to their communications folks. Not really involving them early in the process more so like a break-the-glass moment when something goes badly. If you involve the communicators early in the process, they can help develop a really good operating and communications plan. [00:25:26] Larry Lincoln: And then in the Bible, I think it's in Matthew, we talk about where a prophet has no honor in his own country. Sometimes the same holds true for folks inside the organization, not listening to them and being more prone to listen to consultants and things who may come in, but when there are people who are close by who know the operation inside and out and are closer to it. [00:25:51] Tommy Thomas: I was on the phone earlier today with a guy from the Barna organization. And we were talking about generational differences. We have a podcast coming up on that topic. And have you noticed any as it relates to communications, how you communicate with different generations in the workforce? [00:26:08] Larry Lincoln: Absolutely. Absolutely. And I think paying close attention to those differences will help you understand because one size does not fit all just like one size does not fit all for separate audiences that you want to communicate with. You have to understand that the internal force represents an audience as well. There are different people that are in different stages of their lives. They come in with different opinions, different wants, and desires. And I think it's helpful to understand how best to motivate and lead them. You have to know those differences and know how people want information presented to them, how they want tasks assigned, how they want opportunities to grow, and it's going to be different along generational lines. [00:26:51] Larry Lincoln: Some people will need more instruction and more by the book. Some people just say, give me a problem, and let me figure it out. And you've got to be willing and comfortable with that because that's how you can get the best out of the different generations working together and playing on their strengths. +++++++++++++++++= [00:27:10] Tommy Thomas: I'd like you to respond to a few quotes here. The first one, Ross Hoskins of, I  forget the ministry, he leads some down in South Florida says “Surround yourself with people who know you better than you know yourself and will tell you the truth out of love. This is how we grow.” [00:27:30] Larry Lincoln: I agree. 100%. I think that goes back to what I said a few moments ago. We all have blind spots. We all have weak spots. And those people that you trust, that know you well, can speak into your life and pull you aside and say, hey, I think you might have got this a little wrong. [00:27:47] Larry Lincoln: You have to be willing to take that feedback, because they're speaking in love. People who love you and know you are going to be able to have that open dialogue with you and you benefit you only grow from that. And yes, I would definitely want to surround myself and I try to do that with people who know me well, and I can go to in a tough time and say, hey, what do you think? And sometimes I don't like what they say, but I accept what they say, because I know that they've got the right spirit, the right heart. And they're going to tell me exactly what I need to hear at that moment in time.  [00:28:20] Tommy Thomas: Here's one back to our topic of communications from Peter Drucker. “The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn't being said”. [00:28:30] Larry Lincoln: Yeah, most communication takes place on the nonverbal plane. I think studies show it's an alarming percent, probably more so like 67% I think it is, of communication is nonverbal. And so that's very clear. It's very true. That's one thing, for instance, when we're doing media training that comes out, that's one of the places that it really comes out. [00:28:52] Larry Lincoln: If you're media training someone, there are certain nonverbals that will contradict what you're saying. And so, you have to be very keen and understand that for instance, if someone's asking a question that you don't agree with and you're nodding your head, yes, but you're thinking, no, what's going to be communicated is the action. [00:29:11] Larry Lincoln: Yeah, that's very true. And another important thing about communication, I'll go a little bit further than Drucker's quote is assuming that it's actually taking place is a two-way street. And communication doesn't really take place until someone takes an action based on the information or message that you've shared. [00:29:30] Tommy Thomas: One from Booker T. Washington, “Success is to be measured not so much by the position one is reached in life as by the obstacles he has overcome”. [00:29:40] Larry Lincoln: Yes, I would agree with that as well. I think when you look back to my own personal story, humbly, like I said, it all comes back to that three-year-old kid who was sent to live with grandparents. When I look back, my wife and I were talking one day and I said, I felt like I could be doing so much more. This was a time when I was just sitting around and thinking about things that I wish I'd done or wanted to do. And she said, oh no, she said, look at and think about where you've come from. Think about where you started and think about some of the things that you've had to overcome. That's the success. The success comes in the journey, not the position that you end up in, but what you've had to overcome. And by the grace of God alone, there are many things that I can look back and call them successful simply by enduring. [00:30:28] Tommy Thomas: This quote from Dr. King probably parallels that. “The ultimate measure of a person is not where they stand in moments of convenience, but where they stand in moments of challenge, moments of great crisis and controversy.” [00:30:42] Larry Lincoln: I think that echoes something that my grandma used to tell me. She would always say that you can tell what's in a person and how they respond to when things are going badly. Everybody can respond well to good times. But what do you show forth when you're going through the tough times? What's inside of you is going to come out. And so if we have something that shows forth in us it should be the love of Christ. It should be that character that's imbued within us from having a walk with him. And so, understanding that's what should come forth in times of crisis and in times of difficulty, it doesn't mean that we enjoy them, but we know that we can get through the other side. [00:31:22] Tommy Thomas: Here's one from General George Patton. “Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity”. [00:31:32] Larry Lincoln: Amen. That goes back to the example of the different generations. I've always believed that, and I think that's something that was echoed and taught to me early on. That's one thing that I've tried to model is not trying to tell folks what to do or how to do it, rather give them a problem that needs to be solved and they will surprise you with their talent and ingenuity. People don't want to be micromanaged. People don't want you looking over their shoulder. They want to be given the freedom to grow and to express themselves. And so I believe in that as well, giving people an opportunity and encouraging them along the way. Really speaking life into that situation, they will surprise you. They'll probably come up with a better solution. And then when, especially in a group setting, all of us are so much better than just one of us. Think about all the different experiences, and the different talents that we bring to a group situation, and think about all the different options. So you have to be willing to encourage that and listen and put the best of us forth. [00:32:32] Larry Lincoln: So yeah, I think that's a great quote. [00:32:35] Tommy Thomas: This is a kind of a funny one, but I think it has a lot of truth. “The only person who likes change is a baby with a wet diaper”. [00:32:47] Larry Lincoln: That's a good one. I've never heard that one. I think you're right. I think change is hard. We get comfortable situations. People hate change. And I think sometimes organizations resist change. [00:32:59] Larry Lincoln: We've all seen organizations who will hire consultants to come in and give us their best guess and we'll get a binder and it'll sit on that desk somewhere in order to gather dust because nobody really wants to put the energy and into change. But change is necessary. Change happens all the time and every situation is changing around us. [00:33:19] Larry Lincoln: I find that it's best to embrace change. It's best to look for change. Not just change for change's sake but realizing that the landscape can never be constant. It's not going to stay the same. So, if we can anticipate change and then use it to our advantage, I think it doesn't have to be dreaded. [00:33:37] Tommy Thomas: Yeah, staying with change for a minute and thinking of technology and your profession, what technological advancement has, impacted the field of communications, either for better or for worse? [00:33:50] Larry Lincoln: It's happening right now with AI. The advances in AI are staggering. There's a tremendous opportunity, but there's also tremendous risk. One of the things for communicators is developing ethics on how AI is used because there are some downfalls with regards to bias with things like that, because it encompasses a lot of existing knowledge. It's not necessarily creating knowledge. It's synthesizing, and then it's learning. [00:34:19] Larry Lincoln: And the information that's come before, there has to be an ethical framework in how we use it. That is probably the largest challenge, the biggest, most significant challenge that communicators have, is the use of AI. You look around us right now, we're seeing examples of deepfakes, things like that, that are popping up. And those things, especially when you're using them in a social media context, it's hard to tell the difference. And so, it can have the ability to change perceptions of right and wrong. Communicators and corporations must understand AI. They must understand the ethical challenges and must develop frameworks and how we're going to use the tool. [00:34:59] Larry Lincoln: It's like any other tool that can be used correctly, and it can be used incorrectly. [00:35:04] Tommy Thomas: AI, I guess we referenced a little bit earlier that corporate CEOs shouldn't be afraid of social media because it's here to stay. I think the AI piece is already out of the genie's bottle. [00:35:18] Larry Lincoln: I will tell you that is correct, but there are those that are doing things about it. For instance, the Public Relations Society of America, an organization that I belonged to for many years, recently came out with an ethical guideline for AI for public relations practitioners, and it closely aligns with their ethics guidelines. [00:35:38] Larry Lincoln: You can't put your head in the sand. You do have to realize that it's here to stay, but you have to, again, we talked earlier in our conversation about the crisis situation. You're either entering into one, you're in one, or you're exiting one. So, if you take that approach and look ahead each company, each organization should be leaning forward into how AI may impact them and how they want to use it. [00:36:03] Tommy Thomas: Let me ask you a couple of closing questions. And this first one, I take from Alan Alda in his podcast, Clear and Vivid, one of his closing questions is, if you were sitting at a dinner party next to a person that you didn't know, how would you engage them in a meaningful conversation? [00:36:22] Larry Lincoln: I think that there are things that everybody resonates with. You talk about their childhood, where they're from, tell me a little bit about what interests you, what brought you here. But I think there are opportunities in our world to find things that we have in common. There are so many things out there that are being evidenced as differences to drive people apart, but there are basic things that bring people together, and I think trying to find those conversational topics about what brings people together. Tell me about your kids. Tell me about your family. [00:36:54] Larry Lincoln: Tell me about your hobbies. What do you enjoy? How do you spend a Saturday? And everybody has a different answer, but those are topics that create a natural flow and conversation. And I think after that you start to realize that we're much more alike than we understand, and we even realize. Because we all have things that are so important to us, family things, hobbies, down times, those are the things that I would probably start discussing to try and get a better understanding of that individual next to me. [00:37:23] Tommy Thomas: If you could tell a younger version of yourself one thing, what would it be? [00:37:27] Larry Lincoln: Oh, wow.  One thing I think I'd have a lot to tell my younger self. I think I would probably tell myself not to take myself too seriously. When you're much younger, you have goals, and you have things and sometimes you can be laser-focused to your detriment and not really take the time to enjoy life. It's a journey. And as you look back over the years, nobody's really going to remember how many hours you spent at work. They're going to remember the quality relationships that you built, the time spent with family. So, focus more on those things and the rest will come. [00:38:03] Tommy Thomas: This has been fun, Larry. I've always valued your friendship and I just was so glad when we were able to get together and get this on the calendar. So, thank you so much for taking some time with us today and just wish you the best there at Compassion. [00:38:19] Larry Lincoln: Thank you so much, Tommy. We appreciate you. I appreciate your friendship and what you do as well. And so again, thank you for the opportunity. [00:38:28] Tommy Thomas: Thank you for joining us today. If you are a first-time listener, I hope you will subscribe and become a regular. You can find links to all the episodes on our website www.jobfitmatters.com/podcast. [00:38:52] Tommy Thomas: If there are topics you'd like for me to explore, my email address is tthomas@jobfitmatters.com. Word of mouth has been identified as the most valuable form of marketing. Surveys tell us that consumers believe recommendations from friends and family over all other forms of advertising. [00:39:16] Tommy Thomas: If you've heard something today that's worth passing on, please share it with others. You're already helping me make something special for the next generation of nonprofit leaders. I'll be back next week with a new episode. Until then, stay the course on our journey to help make the nonprofit sector more effective and sustainable.   Links & Resources JobfitMatters Website Next Gen Nonprofit Leadership with Tommy Thomas The Perfect Search – What every board needs to know about hiring their next CEO   Connect tthomas@jobfitmatters.com Follow Tommy on LinkedIn   Listen to Next Gen Nonprofit Leadership with Tommy Thomas on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts    

If you're an American working at an American college or university, you're most likely comfortable with many of life's events as we know them–football season, Thanksgiving, “Bowl Season,” the holiday break with holiday parties, the big basketball conference and national tournaments, Easter break, baseball, and lots of happy hours in between. But what about your colleagues from outside of the U.S., especially those from the other side of the world with different social and faith practices? Kinnari “Kin” Sejpal knows what it's like to live life differently as an international employee. While enjoying her work experience, sometimes it can actually be a little lonely. Kin visited “I Wanna Work There!” to discuss the world of the international employee and how they can be supported. To boost the talent experience for international employees, here are our three takeaways for this episode:Understand the presence of international employees on your campus,How to be mindful of what international employees' normal looks like, andLearn how international employees can enhance your campus culture.Guest Name: Kinnari “Kin” SejpalGuest Social Handles: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kinsejpal/       Guest Bio: Kinnari "Kin" Sejpal is the vice president of marketing and communications and chief marketing officer at University of Redlands, overseeing brand, digital marketing, web, and content strategy. With progressively responsible roles at Rochester Institute of Technology and Purdue University prior to Redlands, Kin is a seasoned higher education professional who believes in its power for social, economic, and national mobility. Beyond her duties, Kin actively volunteers for her work in organizations such as the American Marketing Association, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, the Council of Independent Colleges, and the Public Relations Society of America. In her spare time, Kin mentors international students, demonstrating her commitment to nurturing the next generation of global leaders. - - - -Connect With Our Host:Eddie Francishttps://www.linkedin.com/in/eddiefrancis/https://twitter.com/eddiefrancisAbout The Enrollify Podcast Network:I Wanna Work There is a part of the Enrollify Podcast Network. If you like this podcast, chances are you'll like other Enrollify shows too! Some of our favorites include Confessions of a Higher Ed Social Media Manager and Talking Tactics. Enrollify is made possible by Element451 — the next-generation AI student engagement platform helping institutions create meaningful and personalized interactions with students. Learn more at element451.com.Connect with Us at the Engage Summit:Exciting news — many of your favorite Enrollify creators will be at the 2024 Engage Summit in Raleigh, NC, on June 25 and 26, and we'd love to meet you there! Sessions will focus on cutting-edge AI applications that are reshaping student outreach, enhancing staff productivity, and offering deep insights into ROI. Use the discount code Enrollify50 at checkout, and you can register for just $200! Learn more and register at engage.element451.com — we can't wait to see you there!

This Rural Health Leadership Radio episode features a conversation with Dr. Matt Seeger,  Distinguished University Professor at Wayne State University, who has extensively studied organizational behavior, communication, and crisis management and response. Dr. Seeger shares his unique story as an undergraduate student deeply affected by a tragedy and how that led him to become a leading expert in crisis communication. We discuss the critical role of leadership in navigating crises, especially in rural communities. If you want to learn more about crisis and emergency communication check this website out: https://emergency.cdc.gov/cerc/ “It's really the whole community that is going to facilitate an effective crisis response” -Matthew W. Seeger, Ph.D.  Matthew W. Seeger, Ph.D., a Distinguished University Professor of Communication and Dean Emeritus, is renowned for his expertise in crisis and emergency risk communication, particularly in the context of infectious disease outbreaks, health promotion, and resilience and renewal post-crisis. His significant contributions include working closely with the CDC, the National Center for Food Protection and Defense, and being a part of the WHO Guidelines Development Group for Emergency Risk Communication. Dr. Seeger's research, supported by the CDC, NSF, NIH, and the State of Michigan, has led to over 200 publications, including the CDC's Handbook for Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication.  He has also authored several influential books on crisis communication and risk management. A founding editor of The Journal of International Crisis and Risk Communication Research, Seeger's insights have been featured in major media outlets. He is a Fellow of the International Communication Association, and a member of the Wayne State University Academy of Scholars. He has received numerous awards for his service and scholarship in communication, including induction into the Public Relations Society of America, Detroit Chapter, and Hall of Fame.

I could not be more thrilled to have Sabrina Browne on the podcast for Day 12 of #29DaysofMagic! She is a PR professional and an amazing influencer. Sabrina shares about her journey to getting to where she is now, and how life is full of rollercoaster highs and lows. She shares about how Public Relations Student Society of America and Public Relations Society of America has helped her with networking. She shares about how important connecting with people is and building your own brand is. She shares she launched a successful effort to eradicate period poverty in her home state of New Jersey.   Sabrina shares so many great one liners and powerful statements about how you can live the experiences you want to. She would also like you to give yourself agency and  shares the 5 Cs of media training: Clear Concise Confident Collected Calm Check out these links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sabrinabrowne/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetasteofs/  PRSSA: https://www.prsa.org/prssa  PRSA: https://www.prsa.org/  The Flow Initiative: https://theflowinitiativefoundation.org/ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-reset-podcast/support

Communication Is Key To Success In Business, Relationships, and More: Gary Ross works with everyone from the C-Suite to the production line to be a better communicator. As a former FORTUNE 500 corporate communications executive, Emmy-nominated broadcast journalist and current stadium and arena public address announcer, Gary knows you don't always need a booming sound system to get your message across. He provides actionable tips and advice that people can use to enhance their careers and build credibility and influence.Prior to his training, coaching, and consulting work, Gary led communications departments at CDW, Hyatt Hotels, and Fortune Brands. Before joining the corporate communications profession, he worked as a reporter and anchor for WCBD-TV in Charleston, SC, where he was nominated for an Emmy Award in investigative journalism, traveled overseas with the U.S. military and reported from the eye of Category Four Hurricane Hugo.Quote "Everything Communicates."Gary has been interviewed for several communications publications and podcasts and has spoken on communications and change for leading organizations and universities.Gary is a member of the Public Relations Society of America, the International Association of Business Communicators, the Association of Change Management Professionals and the National Speakers Association (Illinois Chapter). He holds a Bachelor of Science in Journalism degree from the Medill School at Northwestern University. Today's Top 3 Takeaways: Everything CommunicatesStorytelling For SuccessCommunicate For Growth Today's Guest & Resource Links: www.insidecomms.comhttps://plus.insidecomms.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/garymross/ Watch us on YouTube: https://youtu.be/FIYpTfRkZF8 Timestamped Show Notes: 08:50 – I have three number one rules of communication, and they're all tied for number one. That's why they're all number one. One of them is, Everything Communicates and that's one of the things that communicates. I'll tell you kind of the converse of the story...19:00 – Well, so we need to be strategic absolutely about communication, because, you know, how many times have you been there whether you're in communications or not. You're at work and somebody comes to you and says, oh, you know, we need to send out an email about XYZ. People's minds, especially when it goes to communication, a lot of times just go to the tactic, we need an email, we need a meeting, we need a town hall, we need a video. 23:25 - Tell them a story! That's my third number one rule of communication, is to tell them a story. Why is that? Go back to caveman drawings. That's just the natural way for humans to communicate and to relate to one another and to move one another, to action. Frankly, it's not that tough, because there's a very simple structure. 29:20 – Regarding the e-Learning we've got, it's all about the video success. So you got the visual and the audio, but then we also have little exercises that reinforce a lot of the points that we talked about in the videos. Then we also added in each of the courses, we have these downloadable tools and templates that you can take and keep. If you want you want to go old school, you print it out and you stick it up next to your desk and you can consult it regularly. One of the things I've got is on the corporate narrative course in there, but it is the storytelling template that I...

How can we build audiences in our secondary social channels in a meaningful way? That's what Andrew Cassel, Senior Social Strategist at Middlebury College sought out to answer. He engaged his community in submitting prompts which he then used to generate beautiful AI images. He posted the images on Pinterest, LinkedIn, and other secondary platforms. His results? On the form, 53 prompts were submitted, surpassing his 30 prompt goal. On Pinterest, a 50% audience increase. On LinkedIn, incredibly meaningful engagement with an alumna. While he's holding on rolling this out more broadly, it's a great example of how we can do social listening, co-create content with community, and meaningfully grow audiences with one simple tactic.Follow Middlebury College on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/middleburycollege/ Today's Guest: Andrew Cassel - https://www.linkedin.com/in/abcassel/ Guest Bio: Andrew Cassel has been creating and curating social media content for higher ed since 2011. Cassel speaks regularly about social media content including appearances at ContentEd 2021, HigherEd Experts 2018, 2019 and 2020, the American Geophysical Union 2022 annual fall meeting. Cassel was awarded a best in track Red Stapler at the 2017 High Ed Web annual conference and is a five-time winner of Aurora Awards of Excellence from the Public Relations Society of America - Alaska including the 2018 Grand Award of Excellence. In 2019 he was a host for Higher Ed Live - Marketing Live. He is the sole author of the paper “Divesting from Facebook and Instagram”, based on a HEWeb 2022 session, which will be published in the winter 2023 peer reviewed Journal of Education Advancement & Marketing. He is a regular contributor to Volt.edu. Cassel is currently the Senior Social Strategist and Content Producer at Middlebury College. - - - -Connect With Our Host:Dayana Kibildshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/dayanakibilds/About The Enrollify Podcast Network:Talking Tactics is a part of the Enrollify Podcast Network. If you like this podcast, chances are you'll like other Enrollify shows too! Some of our favorites include Mission Admissions and Higher Ed Pulse.Enrollify is made possible by Element451 — the next-generation AI student engagement platform helping institutions create meaningful and personalized interactions with students. Learn more at element451.com. Connect with Us at the Engage Summit:Exciting news — many of your favorite Enrollify creators will be at the 2024 Engage Summit in Raleigh, NC, on June 25 and 26, and we'd love to meet you there! Sessions will focus on cutting-edge AI applications that are reshaping student outreach, enhancing staff productivity, and offering deep insights into ROI. Use the discount code Enrollify50 at checkout, and you can register for just $200! Learn more and register at engage.element451.com — we can't wait to see you there!

As a public relations man, Steve Turnbo was a fixture in local Tulsa business and civics for more than five decades, helping clients and nonprofits tell their stories in the media, at community gatherings, and wherever decision-makers congregated. His behind-the-scenes work over the years helped build toll roads, construct stadiums and arenas, pass bond elections, and manage crises. He established Turnbo and Associates and, after a year, he joined his mentor Chuck Schnake to form Schnake Turnbo & Associates, which in time became Schnake Turnbo & Frank. His many recognitions include: The University of Tulsa College of Business Hall of Fame, The Public Relations Society of America's Paul M. Lund Public Service award, and he was named to the prestigious College of Fellows of the Public Relations Society of America.In his oral history interview, Steve will tell you about his love for baseball, people he knew in the community, and Will Rogers' quotes -- on VoicesOfOklahoma.com.

An amazing chat with Navy Commander Theresa Carpenter, a dedicated officer with 27 years of service. Passionate about empowering individuals, advocating for animals, and promoting positive change, Theresa's journey is nothing short of inspiring. As a prolific writer, she delves into the intricacies of the human experience through her blog, Theresa's Tapestries, and has contributed to esteemed outlets like the War Horse and the Public Relations Society of America. Theresa's storytelling prowess extends to her podcast, S.O.S (Stories of Service), where she highlights the stories of everyday heroes serving their communities. Her impactful work also includes co-authoring the book "Complicated Alliances," which sheds light on the experiences and challenges faced by women in the military and those connected to them. Currently based in the United Kingdom, Theresa serves as the Chief Public Affairs Officer for NATO's Allied Maritime Command. Don't miss this chance to gain insight into Theresa's remarkable journey, her dedication to public relations, and her unwavering commitment to service. YouTube @The_MisFitNation. #NavyCommander #ServiceJourney #PublicRelations #StoriesofService #ComplicatedAlliances #NATO #InspiringWomen #MisFitNationInterview #TheresasTapestries #NavyCommanderStories #MilitaryService #PublicRelationsProfessional #SOSPodcast #StoriesOfService#MilitaryLifeUK #VeteransInService #CommanderPerspective#ServiceAndSacrifice #MilitaryLeadership #WomenInUniform#PRSAContributor #WarHorsePublication #NATOAlliedMaritimeCommand #MilitaryCareerJourney #NavyOfficerInsights #VeteransPodcast #AlumniOfTheLastDecade #InfluentialYoungProfessional #TopBusinessLeaders#MilitaryAndMedia #VeteranEntrepreneurship #LeadershipInService#MilitaryServiceInUK #PRSAWriter #NavigatingTheMilitary#TheresasTales #NavigatingNavyLife #ServiceToCommunity Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

# Blaise talks about his time at the Public Relations Society of America Northeast conference, early voting, and more. What do you think? Let Blaise know, subscribe, and share! Follow the show on social media: @blaisinshows on Facebook and Twitter.Read transcript

The title above does not do justice to today's guest, Alex Achten. Alex is from Kansas City where he grew up. After college he spent time in Texas where he worked as a news reporter for several years. We talk quite a bit about news reporting and what makes a good reporter.   As Alex explains, he finally felt that the stress of the reporting job caused him to want to go more into the communications and public relations aspects of media and media relations. His parents had moved to San Diego several years ago and so Alex decided to moved to San Diego as well. He joined the staff of the national nonprofit agency, Identity Theft Resource Center, where he directs media relations.   Alex tells us some about identity theft although he says he is not an expert. Even so, he has some excellent ideas about identity protection he passes along.   I asked him about his college minor in Leadership Studies and a certificate he recently earned in “Coaching as a Leadership Tool.” As you will hear, he is quite passionate about this topic and offers some great ideas about good leaders and quality leadership.   In all, no doubt that Alex is quite an unstoppable person. I am sure you will see why by the end of our conversation.     About the Guest:   Alex Achten is the Director of Communications & Media Relations for the Identity Theft Resource Center. Alex oversees the Communications Department of the ITRC and all of the company's Communications initiatives. He specializes in public relations and media relations. At the ITRC, Alex has helped secure media coverage with programs like CBS This Morning, NBC Nightly News, CNBC's American Greed, NPR, The New York Times, The Washington Post and Red Table Talk, and many others.   Previously, Alex was a TV Reporter at KAUZ-TV News Channel 6 in Wichita Falls, Texas. While at News Channel 6, Alex covered the political beat and interviewed Governor Greg Abbott, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, U.S. Congressman Pat Fallon, former U.S. Congressman Mac Thornberry, and many others. He also worked the city beat and covered breaking news ranging from plane crashes and fires to shootings and stabbings.   Alex is a graduate of Kansas State University, where he earned his Bachelor of Science with a Major in Broadcast Journalism and a Minor in Leadership Studies. While at K-State, Alex was involved with Channel 8 News, The Collegian, and The Wildcat 91.9. Alex won First Place in the Kansas Association of Broadcasters Student Awards for Complete Sports Feature and Sportscast, as well as Honorable Mention for Entertainment Programming and DJ Personality. His radio show was also a finalist in the South Central Competition for Audio Talent.   Alex recently completed and received a certificate for his participation in Fieldstone Leadership Network's Course titled “Coaching as a Leadership Tool.” His passion for leadership dates back to his involvement in Student Leadership Institute in high school. He has taken part in numerous leadership projects, most notably a service project that consisted of gathering and manipulating data to figure out better and more efficient ways of advertising for the Flint Hills Discovery Center in Manhattan, Kansas. Alex was born and raised in Kansas City and is a huge Chiefs and Royals fan! There is a good chance you will find him in San Diego wearing either blue, red, or purple!     Ways to connect with Alex:   Alex Achten LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-achten-27a9002b/ Alex Achten Twitter: @Alex_ITRC https://twitter.com/Alex_ITRC Alex Achten Facebook: @Alex-Achten-Identity-Theft-Resource-Center https://www.facebook.com/people/Alex-Achten-Identity-Theft-Resource-Center     About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app.   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.     Transcription Notes      Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i  capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:21 Well, hi, yep, it is Mike Hingson Once again, and welcome to another episode of unstoppable mindset. Today, we get to chat with Alex Achten and Alex and I have had some wonderful discussions ahead of this podcast and just to help you out and get you hungry. Since he spent a lot of his life in Kansas, we talk about ribs and shrimp. And we're now both very hungry, but we are going to resist on the podcast we're going to just chat and not eat in front of all of you. And we we do have the willpower at least for one episode to resist. Alex, welcome to unstoppable mindset.   Alex Achten ** 02:02 Thank you I'm so so happy to be here and appreciate the the invite to be on. And I have to say saying no to ribs as someone from Kansas City that that's just wrong. Like I you know, I should not be saying no to ribs or rib talk or anything barbecue related or shrimp related. But here I am saying let's talk about something more important. So people listening to this against that. You might say Alex, what are you doing? Why are you giving up an opportunity to talk about ribs? But But hey, you know, you mentioned it we talked a lot about in our political.   Michael Hingson ** 02:38 I want to say that we're going to talk about something more important what we're going to talk about something else. But we could always talk about ribs, you know that's   Alex Achten ** 02:44 true. Ribs is an evergreen topic. You can talk about a whenever, wherever,   Michael Hingson ** 02:48 right? And eat them wherever and whenever you can just to say,   Alex Achten ** 02:54 just don't wear a white shirt. Like I'm like, I'm   Michael Hingson ** 02:56 right now. Right? Yeah, we're at least wear a bib. Yes, I've   Alex Achten ** 03:00 been at the minimum. Yeah, federal. Well, I   Michael Hingson ** 03:03 really am glad you're here. We had a fun time when we chatted last time. So why don't we start by maybe you telling me a little bit about you growing up and a younger Alex and all that kind of stuff?   Alex Achten ** 03:15 Yeah, absolutely. So I started I suppose I told you. I grew up in Kansas City. That's where I was born and raised. That's where my roots are. That is, that's where a lot of my family is. And and it's still home. You know, it is absolutely still home at my core. But yeah, that's where it that's where I grew up. I went to Kansas State University. So I am a Wildcat. Through and Through. I graduated there in 2015. I got a Bachelors of Science and I majored in broadcast journalism, and I minored in Leadership Studies and and from there, I went and pursued a TV career. And I went down to Texas, and was a TV reporter and multimedia journalist for about three to three and a half years down at KU Zee TV NewsChannel, six, and had a really good time there did a lot of a lot of interesting, interesting things that you wouldn't get to do it. Many other jobs, covered tons of different stories there. But even after three, three and a half years, I made the decision that I wanted to get into communications and public relations and also wanted to have the opportunity to get closer to home. And as I told you, in the past, my parents actually moved to San Diego in 2011, which is when I went to Kansas State so they had been there for a while I come out here and I knew I loved it. And I knew that ultimately, you know with my brother in Los Angeles as well, you know, it gave me an opportunity to get closer to home. So I went ahead and moved out here and I was able to land a job with the identity that The Resource Center where I'm at now and I've been here for four years working in communications and public relations. I'm our Director of Communications and Media Relations at the identity theft Resource Center now, and it's just really worked out. It's been a it's been a great, a great experience and opportunity for me. So that is kind of be in a nutshell on my background. But again, my roots, my roots are in Kansas. That's there's no doubt about that. But, but you know, you can't be living in America's Finest City there.   Michael Hingson ** 05:33 Well, having lived in Vista for six years, I can very well appreciate what you're saying. And we love the San Diego area. I still think it's the best weather in the country.   Alex Achten ** 05:44 I will not debate you on that. I will not debate you on I was telling I literally like the 10 day forecast for the next 10 days it is sunny and either 7374 75 or 76. That 10 day so yeah, doesn't get much better than that. It does it.   Michael Hingson ** 06:00 Next Friday, I fly to the National Federation of the Blind Convention, which this year is in Houston. Oh, one that's gonna weather Yeah, well be nice and toasty. That'll be nice and toasty there. You're wearing your clothes. Yeah, there is something to be said for air conditioning.   Alex Achten ** 06:22 But I've been down there to the   Michael Hingson ** 06:24 humidity in Houston is no fun either. been there before. That's okay. I can cope. Well. So when you were a news broadcaster, that must have been pretty interesting. Did you find it interesting and fun. And you must have introduced interviewed lots of people like the governor of Texas and people like that. Did you get a chance to talk to people like that?   Alex Achten ** 06:46 Absolutely. I did. I did interview the governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, three or four different times, in my stint there at Channel six. And I actually worked the political beat. So I interviewed a lot of political figures in the state of Texas. So I interviewed Governor Greg Abbott, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick. I also interviewed Beto O'Rourke a handful of times when I was there, and then pat Fallon, who is in the he is in the US House. Now. I interviewed him a handful of times, former congressman Mac Thornberry was was one of them. So a lot of a lot of political figures. I interviewed in my time there and I also had the, the city beat so that actual Wichita Falls that he beat. So I've covered all the the government related things going on in the city of Wichita Falls. And, you know, really what was kind of the, the wildcard was was really the breaking news that you've covered. I think, you know, I think every reporter will tell you that's one of the probably one of the most exciting parts of the job is the breaking news that you cover. And unfortunately, you know, not not all breaking news is good news. But as a reporter, you know, that's that's, that's what you go to school for, you know, you go to school for opportunities to be able to tell the public, you know, do your service tell the public what is going on and, and while it is something that you know, a lot of it is stuff you never want to see happen. You want to do to the best your ability, and it is a thrill to be in a situation now it can be a moment, don't get me wrong, it is emotionally draining. It is physically draining, mentally draining, it is draining in every sense of that word, but but your passion, your passion is what drives drives you and I tell everybody you know what my passion and my core is journalist I'm a I'm a I'm a journalist, at my core, even though I work in public relations, and Media Relations and Communications now and I love it. At my core, I'm a journalist and I am telling story. So in Wichita Falls, you know, I was able to, to cover so many stories that impacted my life in so many different ways and stories they'll carry with me forever. And I met people that I will remember and carry with me forever. You know, you talk with so many people every single day. When you when you're doing so many different stories and you hear so many stories from so many different people. It is just a very rewarding job and it can be very exhausting job. So it was it was something that again, I covered everything from you know, amazing story. I covered one guy who had like, multiple heart surgeries, didn't know if he was going to live and then he ended up a few months later being able to come out and ride in the Hunterdon hell bike race, which is a really really popular bike race Wichita County. I got to interview him. That was a great story. I got to do stories like that I got to ride To be 25 Bomber for one particular story, which was something that was actually really near and dear to my heart because my grandma was actually a Rosie the Riveter. So that was really, really cool opportunity for me. But on the flip side of that, you know, I covered a handful of stories and breaking news that didn't end well, that things that you won't forget. And, you know, those are the things that stick with you. But you know, I know, as a reporter, something that I was passionate about was telling these people, some of these people that may have been gone too soon telling their story, and telling their story in a way that that really highlighted them and showed them in the best light possible, so people could really get to know who they were in some of the tragic events that happen. And so that was something I took very seriously. And those are some of the things that I'll definitely remember. So, again, I could go on for days, about everything I got in that, in that in that role. But ultimately, what it just came down to was, it was a position where sustainability, you know, I just didn't think it was something that I could sustain long term going through that, again, that that mental, emotional, psychological, physical strain, needed some better work, some better work life balance, that was something that was really important. And then look, you know, I'm honest with people about it, you know, TV reporters, it's not the biggest salary in the world. It's not a and, you know, you also got to worry about you being able to support yourself financially. So you know, that's another piece of it, too. And again, not that you don't make a livable wage. But that, you know, I know a ton of people who have made the jump to communications PR for that reason, as well. So, but don't get it all.   Michael Hingson ** 11:47 As a speaker. I know that when I go somewhere to speak, from the time the airplane lands until I take off, I have to be on. Oh, yeah. And so I appreciate what you're saying about the whole emotional aspect of it, then sometimes you go on well, I went, I've gone to places where it was very interesting. And certainly the the tenor and tone of people and some of their views. Were not the views that I had. But I can't ever let that get in the way. And I'm there to do something. And I'm there to inspire. And I learn as much as I can about how to inspire every audience when I go. So it is different for different kinds of audiences. And for you, it must have been a challenge. I mean, going from beta O'Rourke to Greg Abbott, talk about two different ends of the spectrum. And that kind of thing has to be a real challenge for you, as a reporter, and if you are working to represent the story and talk to the people, then you have to do it without getting emotionally involved in and letting your biases and show on show and that has to be emotionally draining   Alex Achten ** 13:01 it 100% It absolutely is emotionally draining. I don't think people understand, understand how many aspects of that job, are emotionally draining. And, you know, not just that, but there's, you know, there's a lot of people out there that, that don't love what you do, and that, that you have to deal with when you're on the public as well. And unfortunately, I have stories about things that have happened to me, just trying to do stories and cover stories. And unfortunately, too many reporters do have stories like that. And it just kind of comes with the territory. But you're right, getting back to what you were saying, working that political beat in particular. When you're covering, you know, politicians from these, you know, complete opposite sides of the spectrum. You do, you have to let your biases, you have to leave your rises at the door, and you have to come in and you have to do your job, which is strictly to report, report what this person is saying, and then report what the other person is saying. And then you let the viewer come to the conclusion of whatever conclusion they're going to come to but your job is to report the facts. Your job is not to apply any, you know, any sort of speculation or any sort of any sort of leanings one way or the other. There's just something that you can't do. And I think I always told people that I thought the ultimate compliment was not when a when a when a politician told me that I did a good story. It was when they told me that I did a fair story, that that was what I really took as the ultimate cost. Because if I did a fair story, it meant they respected what I did, but you know, understood that, you know, I was tough, you know, and but I was but I wasn't disrespectful. You know, I did, I did my job. And so that was really kind of what I strive for in that in that position. So that was one piece that was really important. And then as you mentioned when you're getting a lot of these other stories that are emotional like Again, you know, I, you know, one story, did a touched on a girl who unfortunately was murdered walking home from school and her friend was with her and shot as well. And that was a story that really captivated kind of the way it happened really captivated the entire community. And it was really hard to leave your emotions out, you know, at the door on this particular piece, he was only 14 years old. It was a really sad backstory to it. And I was reported it was live on the scene, I was the reporter that was at her memorial, and I was the reporter that was speaking with her family, and that was just super emotionally draining. And there's multiple times stories like this, where you're trying to talk about someone's life. And you're also trying to report about the breaking news that might be happening, and maybe also about that trial, you know, I was part of the trial coverage do? How do you leave your emotions out of that when there's so much heavy emotion in it. But you have to find a way to leave it at the door. And that is really difficult to do, and it takes a toll on you. But you have to do it to be able to do the job to the best of your ability   Michael Hingson ** 16:07 I listened to from a standpoint of collecting old radio shows some interesting news reports through the years, I think the probably one of the most dramatic ones is when the Hindenburg exploded, and there was one reporter on the scene everybody else had left because it was late coming in. And he was there reported the whole thing herb Morrison did and did an incredible job. Although his emotions came through some there was no way not to. But yeah, but the point is that he was able to report the whole thing. And even through the emotion, he reported everything. I've heard reports, because I was alive then about JFK getting shot. And I heard the Columbia challenger or the Columbia space shuttle thing. And, you know, other things. What amazes me today is how many people when we see some reporters reporting on stories, and clearly being very bias and not just reporting, which we see a lot, and to all too many people won't hold them accountable and say that's not your job, your job is to report the news. And it's really scary. And so unfortunate that we see all too often today where people don't leave their biases at the door. And they portray things as facts that aren't. And that's too that's too bad too, because that gives the whole industry a very bad name.   Alex Achten ** 17:43 Exactly. You nailed it right there. At the end, it gives the industry a bad name. And it really damages the credibility of good reporters and a majority. And we say this best so many different fields of work, but you know, there's always a few bad apples that seemed it can ruin it for everybody. And in the news, everybody sees what to do. So if those few bad apples are going to be directly seen what what they're doing, and I used to tell some of the new reporters that came in, that I would train, you know, don't you know, don't take, you can't take some of this, you know, stuff that you're going to hear some stuff you're going to encounter, you can't take it too hard. You can't take it too personal. Yeah. And you can't you have to let it go if you have a bad day, because the reality of the fact, you know, the reality is, when you have a bad day, unfortunately, everybody's gonna see it, because you're on TV every day. And, you know, people aren't gonna see my bad days. Now, you know, when I'm when I'm working at the CRC, but they did when I was on TV, and there was no way to get around that and it's in the public eye. But you have to find a way to let that go. Getting to these kind of these bad apples that really kind of paint media in a bad light. It's the same thing, you know, they're being seen. And then, you know, people think, well, that's what all journalists and all media are like, and I think that's what's most disappointing to me is that there are so many good journalists out there, and they get overshadowed by some bad apples that ruin it. And I'm very clear with people that, you know, those that are inserting their opinions into things. That's not news. I mean, that that is entertainment programs and entertainment. Right? That is entertainment, that is not news. Entertainment, but no, I agree. And I've had people come up to me and say, you know, well, you know, I don't watch the news because of this person. And I think that's not like I don't even consider that a news program, whatever. They whatever. They came to me, and I'll tell them, you know, some of some of the some of the places that I think do have good news, but again, I you know, I got to know a ton of reporters when I worked in the industry. I know a ton now for my current role and working in media relations. And again, there's just so many good reporters out there. Air. And you know, I will say that the line, it's thinner now than it's been in a long time with within certain opinion in the news. And that is kind of a, you know, scary thing a little bit. But, you know, when you, you know, they teach you these things in school, how to handle these situations, and there's a lot of really good reporters who do good work. And it's hard work work that requires tons of research and education, and being able to be impartial and ask good questions. And not even just that, you have to, after you ask the question, do you have to tell the story and you have to be a good storyteller. There's so many pieces of that. And there's so many good reporters that doing that, and getting messages out that needed need to get out there. But unfortunately, not enough people. Read the news, watch the news, hear the news, because they just associate some of those bad apples in the opinion with it. So it's disappointing to hear kind of that misconception. And again, I, as a former reporter, I will obviously stand up for many reporters, and believing that it is it is still a good industry. But I will admit at the same time that there are some some some bad apples out there. But I definitely encourage people to if you hear opinion, you see opinion, there is a differentiator between what I would consider news and entertainment program. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 21:22 yeah. Well, for me, I was so impressed, watching a lot of the news once I got home on September 11, having gotten on at the tower and all that, but people like Aaron Brown on CNN, who all day stayed and covered it. Of course, they were across the river. I think he was in New Jersey, I believe, but he, he did the reporting for hours and hours. And I finally got to meet him. And just anyone who could do that, and Peter Jennings did the same thing on ABC, and just being able to do that. And I think with Peter Jennings Finally, there was some emotion, but but still ropey, how can there not be on the next Monday? Dan, rather, was interviewed on Letterman, and and he broke up on the Letterman Show. And yeah, how could you not and why shouldn't you? Yeah, because you're doing Yeah, they're human, they should you be able to react?   Alex Achten ** 22:26 Exactly. I, you know, I, I, I haven't met a reporter that hasn't had a broker who has not had a breakdown, I'll be honest and honest, I, every single reporter that I've worked with had a breakdown at one point or another, I've had breakdowns before as a reporter. It's going to happen, it comes with the territory. And when you're covering something like, like, September 11, I can't even imagine how difficult that had to be. And again, you're only human, you only can take so much. And, and that that is just a incredibly tough job to do. But I'm glad that you mentioned that is because that's that's a great example, and a perfect example. But you know, I think that you mentioned in there human. I mean, I think that that is kind of when I would remind people of you know, these reports are human. And, you know, they they're out here trying to do the best job that they can. Yeah, sure, there are again, there are some bad apples out there. And they're gonna, you know, you know, you need to be able to decipher news from non news. That's deaf, right thing. But But I again, I think that there's just a lot of lack of respect for for some media out there. And I don't think people understand how hard they work and what they go through. And so, you know, hopefully, that's something that, you know, I've been an advocate, again, that a lot for a long time, I'll continue to advocate for that. Because it's like I said, I'm a journalist at my core. Those are my people always advocate for them. But, but just again, you know, you're human, you will and go through so much. And I can't even imagine what it was like this 911 coverage, but I will say I have watched, I have gone back again, news junkie, I've just pronounced surprised anybody. I've gone back and watched to the coverage, one of the coverage from September 11. And it was, it was some very, very good coverage that day.   Michael Hingson ** 24:14 There was some some really good coverage that day. And it was very amazing that people held it together as much as they did. And it's a testimony to them and to their character that they did and they didn't go off and try to go off on deal with diatribes and lecturing people and so on but reported the business which is what they should have done.   Alex Achten ** 24:34 Exactly. And I'll say just one thing with that, too, that's so hard because you don't know they didn't know initially what was going on? No, and you have to have essentially wall to wall coverage of what's going on and you have to fill that time was something so you have to fill it and it's hard not to go to those places on well, they could have been this or it could have been that right it's that is that is so hard when you don't have a script, there's there's not a playbook for that. There's not there's not a playbook for that. That is so hard. You're going wall to wall all day long covering this event where you're learning what's going on. But you don't fully know, I mean that there's no job more difficult.   Michael Hingson ** 25:13 And one of the things that I realized pretty early on, and I'm not sure it was said, as much as it should have been, is that this was not an attack by Islam, this was attacked by a fringe group that wanted to have their way. But that's not the representation of the Muslim church. Yeah. And and I think that not nearly enough people understood that. And again, it's all too often that we, as the public haven't learned to step back and truly analyze, we listen, and we hear somebody, Oh, I agree with that. And then we just go on, and we don't analyze for ourselves. And we really need to do that. I'm not a great fan of Fox, but I watch Fox to hear what they say, as long as I can, can take it, and then I will go back and listen to other news, but I do like to watch a variety of different kinds of newscasts. And I could also go off and say things like, watching the BBC, or news from Europe and so on is really fascinating, because the way they report a lot of stuff is totally different, compelling way we do it here. And there's a lot of value in what they do.   Alex Achten ** 26:29 Oh, yeah, absolutely. Did you write I would encourage someone go go watch a BBC broadcast and see what the way that it did. It is much different than the way than the way and that's not a bad thing. No, no, not a bad thing at all. And, but But I will say, you know, you're right. I think that it is important for people to again, be able to watch different different news outlets and be able to get news from different places. And because, you know, again, I just think it's good to be hearing what everybody's saying and thinking and then I think if you can come to more of an educated opinion, on whatever it is that that that's going on. But if you're only watching the news that plays into the narrative that you want to believe I mean, how much are you really, you know, learning or to the flip side of that, if you're only watching news that goes against what you believe in, they're there to just, you know, mock what they're saying, again, I'll say the same thing. What are you what are you really gaining from that? I my default is always tell people that I go back to you know, I like to watch. You know, I like to watch a galley i I'm, I worked at CBS affiliate, I think CBS news is, is pretty good. I work with the investigate TV team, for television a lot. I actually used to be in a great, great TV employee. But I think investigate TV has an has an incredible team of people there. And I think that NBC is not not MSNBC, just NBC MVCs investigative team is tremendous. I think that there's some tremendous reporters on their investigative team. So again, I think it's about you know, figuring out being able to sift out you know, who's, you know, who's going to really tell this, you know, who tells stories from an impartial standpoint,   Michael Hingson ** 28:28 given my age. I'm a relative late comer to 60 minutes. I love watching 60 minutes, but I had a radio program on our college radio station K UCI at 9.9 on your dial on every Sunday night, I played old radio shows for three hours. And I learned along the way when somebody called from the Orange County Jail in California, that half the people in the jail wanted to listen to our show on Sunday nights and roughly half of the people wanted to listen and watch 60 minutes. And ultimately we beat out Wallace so I'm really glad that we'd be Wow, look at that. And you know, of course what I say to everybody is that Wallace was really just kind of a guy with criminal tendencies if you listen to him when he did old radio shows. What did he announce the Green Hornet What's that all about? Crime and Sky King you know, what's that all about crime? So we know what we don't what kind of mic well, it says I never got to meet him and say that a person who would have been great to do   Alex Achten ** 29:29 Mike Well, that is true. But it was it   Michael Hingson ** 29:33 was really funny that we we we beat out 60 minutes and so they wanted more entertainment the news that's okay.   Alex Achten ** 29:40 Hey, you know what? There's so many there's so many things that are coming into my mind right now but it's it's what was it I you know, if it bleeds it leads like that was one that I remember being like a really popular saying yeah, and then there I there was another one that rhymed at sales, and I'm pretty sure I'm forgetting what it was but but You're right. I mean, you know a lot of these news producers, I mean, they're stalking their shows know what what people are gonna be most interested in here and are seeing at the beginning of a show.   Michael Hingson ** 30:09 My favorite, my favorite 60 minutes is still the one where Morley Safer interviewed Miss Piggy. And she had him on the ropes. It was so funny. I'd love to get a copy of that. She kept calling him Morty and all sorts of stuff that is still my favorite 60 minutes episode.   Alex Achten ** 30:29 Well, I'll say this. I do like some good news mixed in with that. Yeah. I hear people talk about you know, I hate how much bad news is the beginning. And I get it why people say that. I also understand why is it the beginning of shows and why it's so prevalent, but I think it is important to sprinkle some things in. And yeah, I watched CBS Sunday Morning, every morning because I love their feature stories. And I at the station that I worked at, we had a good news segment at the end of every show. So I'm sure it's something that we that we'd like to mix in, I think it's important to be able to get that in. So again, you know, you have to hear the people and there's a lot of people want some more good   Michael Hingson ** 31:05 news. Yeah. And sometimes I don't think we get as much of it as we could, and probably should. There's so much bad stuff. And that's what seems to get a lot of the headlines, I understand it. But and the other part of it is there always seems to be something that is dramatic enough that we do have to get those headlines. So you know, that's the other part about it. We there's there's hardly a slow news day anymore. No, no. Which is, which is too bad. Well, you know, but we cope. So how did you then I understand why you decided that you wanted to leave actually doing real reporting? How did you end up at the identity theft Resource Center?   Alex Achten ** 31:47 Yeah, well, you know, getting back to, you know, you count what I said a little bit earlier in the podcast, you know, it was kind of a situation where, you know, okay, and do you want to sign on it, you know, sign a contract with your, you know, with your current employer and, you know, stay longer? Do you want to look to go to a new station and a bigger market? You know, what do you want to do, and I was kind of at the crossroads, they were, you know, it was time to make a decision one way or the other. And I've been mulling it over for a while, you know, again, I was like, This is not something that's not sustainable. It's really a stressful job. I love what I'm doing. But it's super stressful. And, you know, again, I wanted a little bit of more financial stability, my life, I wanted a little more work life balance, and I wanted to be ultimately be, you know, a little bit closer to family. That was something that would that I wanted as well. So I moved to San Diego, and said, You know what, I'm going to go after this communications thing and see what happens. So I came out to San Diego, I got involved in prsa, which is the Public Relations Society of America, the San Diego chapter in particular, and took part in a mentorship program actually, there. And that was an amazing experience, I was able to work with somebody who at the time was with VA II, out here in San Diego. And they helped me with with a ton, you know, with prep on the industry, interview PrEP. PrEP on the resume, refining the resume. And they really helped me with a lot of that. And I'll say this is a very common jump. And I don't know how many of you will know this very common jump for people and news to jump to communications and PR, I would say, I mean, I don't know if 50% of the people who work in PR are former news people but it, it feels like it well, I'm meeting with them all the time. And it feels like half the time they're like, Yeah, I used to be a reporter as well or used to work in the news as well. And I have a ton of friends that have made the jump since me even from news to PR. So it's a really, really common jump. There's a lot of parallels there. But I ended up you know, the mentorship program was great, it helped me learn a lot. And then I landed a position with the identity theft Resource Center is a communication specialist with a focus on PR. And after about a year, a little over a year, year and a half, I got a promotion to earn an own media specialist. So it was more really focused on media relations. In particular, which is more what I wanted to do. And then from there, I got a promotion to head of earned and owned media relations, which really kind of allowed me to kind of begin to run the show on that side of things. And then the way things ended up shaking out I got another promotion to Director of Communications and Media Relations. So now I'm running an overseeing the communications team for the identity theft Resource Center. And it is a position that that I Love, you know, I love the company, I love the people that I work with. And I love that, you know, I have an executive that we have an executive team there that is so supportive of me and supportive of the work that I do, and they give me the freedom to go out and, and do what I think needs to be done to put the ITRC in the best light publicly, to get us media coverage, to execute successful communications campaigns. And it is something that I really do enjoy, we got a great team. I'm in a managerial role now, which is something that that I said I would never do. I was like, I'll never I'm never I'm never gonna be be a manager, I'm never going to manage people. That's not something I'm going to do. Here I am 31. And now I'm a director, so, so much for that. But, but that's what I said, But you know, I really do enjoy it. I better work life balance. Closer my parents, I get to see them more often. And I've built a community of friends out here that that I really enjoy. And, again, you can't beat San Diego, but but I really I really do. I really do love it. And I think what is something that has really helped me is being a former reporter. Being able to speak with people who work in the media, I feel like it's so much easier for me to speak with them. And so yours didn't say easier. But it's so easy for me to speak with them. Because I feel like I know how to talk to them. How would I know? How to myself back when I was sitting at my news desk? What would I tell? What would I tell Alex like, that's what I think when I'm when I'm writing a press release, or I'm right, you know, I'm I'm personally pitching somebody, or if I'm about to send out a media alert, you know what, what I want to hear and then I think of it just about how people will have it I want people to communicate with me, so much of it is about building relationships. And I put a ton of stock and building relationships with with these people in the media, and it goes beyond just hey, I've got a story for you, or, Hey, I'll scratch your back here, if you scratch our back there, you know, it goes further than that. It's about you know, taking genuine interest in these people. Because again, you know, these amateurs, good journalists, I mean, they're good people, and being able to build those relationships with them. And getting to know them is something that I think is really important. And when I was a reporter, it was the same, you know, I kind of had the same approach, I wanted to get to know the PR people that I was working with, and I took a lot of stock and building those relationships. So I that's something that's really important to me, kind of with where I'm at right now with the with the communications team, at the ITRC is our executive team knows that media relations and public relations is really kind of my my bread and butter. So they let me really stay in the weeds and kind of do all of that. But, but I delegate for the most part, a good chunk of the the other stuff that we do marketing stuff, project management stuff, I'll delegate that to other to other people on the team. But, but I really do stay in the weeds with the media relations stuff, because I love it, I mean that I really am passionate about that. And I love to see the ITRC highlighted on these programs. And and now that I've worked in a space for four years, I didn't I am really passionate about helping these victims because I see the the way that these victims of identity crimes are impacted. And I always I you know, one of the things I wanted to do, and I moved into communications, I wanted to take take a role, where I felt like I would make a difference. You know, I didn't want to take a role to take a role, you know, I wanted to take a role or I could make a difference. And I feel like you know, being able to get media coverage of the ITRC and our services and our reports and our data and all this stuff in return helps get more, you know, help to these victims who need it again, whether or not that means it leads to more government assistance, government programs, whether it means that they find the ITRC and we're able to help them whatever it might be they know that's something that I'm that I'm definitely passionate about. So it has been it has been a great four years working with the communications team at the ICRC   Michael Hingson ** 39:23 well tell me a little bit more about what the ITRC is what it does and and all that kind of stuff. Yeah, the   Alex Achten ** 39:29 I didn't have resource center there. It's a national nonprofit. And it really is and I won't sit here and you know, read off I'm not gonna I won't go into Mr. PR and read off the mission statement and do all that. I'll say the thought of that. But I but I will say it's a national nonprofit that works in the in the identity crime space. The only national nonprofit that has free remediation services for for victims of victims can call us or live chat with us for free and we can help I help them with their identity crime case. Or we can help. Even if you're not a, you know, a victim of identity theft, you know, you can always message us if you have a question or you know, something that's preventative, you can message us about anything. And we are advisors will, will work with people on whatever the issue is toll free. And it's not like you just call one time or message one time, and then we're like, well, there's a fee, the second or third time No, it's, you know, you can, however, many times you need to reach out to us however long you need to talk to us, we'll do it, we'll do it. And that is something that we do. And we also work with, we also work a lot in the research side of things, we do a lot of research. When it comes to identity crimes, right now we're doing a lot of research in the identity crime landscape, in particular in the black communities, and how they're impacted by any crime. So that's something that we're working on right now. We track data breaches, and we report our findings and our trends and what they mean and, and we do things to try to see, you know, try to get additional support for victims. So you know, we'll work we'll work with the, with other organizations, and you know, the government, we have a lot of federal federal grants, and we'll we'll work to try to get more resources for victims add that as part of it as well. And then, you know, we obviously provide education, we'll provide education to businesses, and things of that nature. So there's a lot of different things that we do. But ultimately, you know, the goal is to, is to help reduce identity crime, and, and really to be able to educate people on what's going on in cybersecurity,   Michael Hingson ** 41:36 privacy. So somebody, so somebody calls and says, you know, my identity has been stolen, I've had 10,000 or $50,000, in lost credit card charges, and so on. How do you guys help? What is it that the senator does?   Alex Achten ** 41:51 Yeah, so the senator, what we do is we ultimately can help somebody create a resolution plan with, okay, you know, here's what you need to do next. In regards to steps, who, here's who you need to call, here's what you need to tell them. Here's what you need to get from them. And then here's the steps that you need to take to protect yourself. So we're not there actually doing all of these things for the victims, but we are there to help provide them a resolution plan. And to really guide them through this process that is so tricky, and so difficult, especially people are so vulnerable at those moments. And it's hard. I mean, look, I mean, I mean, a lot of us are the victims of identity crimes, and we know how it can play on your emotions. And you may not be thinking in your proper state of mind at that time, you know, well, we can we can help you in that moment. Walk you walk you through that process, and make sure that you're able to take the appropriate steps to keep yourself as as safe as possible. So that's really, really our role in that. And again, you know, we're there to always provide support.   Michael Hingson ** 42:58 One of the things that we did I have a niece who had she and her family had their identity stolen, gosh, it's gotta be close to 10 years now. And one of the things that we did was we signed up with LifeLock obviously gives some protection and so on. But that's a different kind of an entity that does sort of different things than what you do, right.   Alex Achten ** 43:24 Yeah, yeah, exactly. You're You're right that there, that's more identity theft, protection. Talking about that, and look, you know, I Norton, Norton LifeLock is one of our is one of our supporters. So we work with them on certain things, but But you're right, that that is that is more service based. And we, you know, we're really, we're really not service based, you know, we're just some things in the works that that will roll out at a later time, but, but we're really not.   Michael Hingson ** 43:54 You help people and you help give people perspective and you help give guidance in some way.   Alex Achten ** 43:59 Exactly. We're there to provide guidance for people that help help victims and, and be able to help businesses and and again, get and do the research and figure out what's going on what are the trends and that really could help guide us and what needs to be done next in the space to to help reduce the number of data breaches or identity crimes or whatever it may be. And so again, there's so many layers to what we do, but at the core, again, it comes back to the victims and being able to help those help those victims and provide them the best resources that we can.   Michael Hingson ** 44:38 And really, again, help them get back to having some perspective because you are in a very traumatized situation when you discover something like this has happened. And sample. Generally, it's like being a reporter. They don't know how to step back like most reporters can do and you're probably in theory, a little bit better position. Shouldn't if identity were to be stolen from you, because you can learn to step back, but I'll bet even then you are going to have to deal with it with the emotions. And so it's a challenge for you to.   Alex Achten ** 45:09 I'm glad you brought that up. Because recently that did happen to be where I was targeted, I won't get into the details of it, but I was targeted with with a particular scam, and even knowing exactly what scam there, I could I could have told you the name of the scam, I could have told you what exactly their tactics were, I could have told you everything. But when you hear it, it's still scary. And it still can, you know, make you paranoid, and you can freeze and you know, I froze for a brief, you know, brief minute in that situation. And again, that's with a background is being a reporter and working in this space and all these different things and knowing what scams are talking about and knowing that they're they're literally following a playbook knowing all this, it's still hard for me to pull myself back. So I can't even imagine someone who may not have that type of knowledge. And you know, it can there's so many identity criminals out there. And it's really, it can just be really difficult. And I think the emotional impacts is again, you know, people talk about identity crimes and financial losses. And yeah, you know, financial losses are really, really sad seeing some of them. But I think one of the things that people don't talk about enough as the the emotional impacts of those crying, we ever we do a report that's strictly on that, because it's such a such an important piece. But, um, but it's just, you know, that's something that I don't think people think about is just that, you know, yeah, physical physical abuse, you can see, right, you can you can see the marks from the emotional abuse, you can't, you can't see it. And so, you know, it's harder sometimes to to get people to take it seriously, they can't actually see the, you know, the physical marks of what you've gone through, you know, because it's something that's emotional.   Michael Hingson ** 47:05 One of the challenges that happened with my niece was, for a while even law enforcement was not convinced that she wasn't doing this to herself, or perpetrating and in some way, and she said, look, here's all the evidence, and it was still hard for people to accept that this really occurred, which is so unfortunate   Alex Achten ** 47:29 why and unfortunately, it's not surprising. Yeah, I've heard that story so many times, too. And the crazy thing is, I've had, again, working in media relations. I've had reporters who I'll work with who work, maybe a cybersecurity beat, or a consumer reporter beat reach out to me and say, Oh, my gosh, I'm a victim. Can I talk with one of your advisors like that? Or, you know, this horrible thing is happening to me, I need your help. That is absolutely, I've had a handful reach out like that. It is just so hard to to escape it. I really, really is. And I tell people I said I think this just made me a little more of a cynic now because I feel like I'm questioning everything. My mom will it's funny. I'll use this example. She so I'm still on my parents family plan for our phone because we're all on the family plan together. But my brother and I, we have to pay right? You know, so yeah, Your Honor family pay up you have to pay. So we Venmo my mom every month she'll sit she'll send us like the transaction saying this is how much you owe. And you know, we'll we'll pay through Venmo I am such a cynic. Now that I text my mom every time even though I know it's coming. And it says it says the amount it says it's from her it says what it's for, but I'll still text her and say did you just spend money for this this much money for the phone bill? Then yeah, she'll say yep. And I'll be I'll go, Okay, I'll pay it now. I mean, that is like, that is where my brain is, because of where I work, but, but they're just they're just, you know, there's so many, again, identity criminals out there and, and you have to you have to keep an eye on them. But the good news is, the good news is there are things you can do to protect yourself. And that's the great thing. And, you know, again, we're about education. So you know, we'll try to educate people the best we can, so they can be as safe as possible. So hopefully they don't fall victim.   Michael Hingson ** 49:17 Yeah, and it is it is so easy. I've seen some really good email scams that I almost fell for until I really looked carefully at where the mail came from and all the stuff in the header. I went Wait a minute and chose correctly I know not to do anything with it, but you've got to watch 24 hours a day. Because it is so scary that they're they're getting so clever about what they do much less all the robo calls on the scams that come from that   Alex Achten ** 49:53 100% and and you know, again, this gets back to BBA probably being a little bit of a cynic, but this is this is it definitely something that we put in all of our content. We always tell people, if you get a message or someone you're not expecting, don't respond to it, you know, reach out directly to the person they claimed to be, or the sword, you know, the company they claimed to be from and say, did you send this? And if they did, then you're going to respond? And if they didn't, you know, that it's a scam? And, and again, it's crazy that it's like, oh, I have to I really have to, like, go to the source every time I receive a message where Yep, for somebody I didn't, didn't expect. And I'm gonna say, Yeah, I mean, that that would be my that would be what I would encourage you to do.   Michael Hingson ** 50:32 I do it from people where I'm expecting a message. And this is this comes through. And I haven't had a problem that is I haven't, like you with Venmo haven't had one where it wasn't true. But I still check. Because I've seen some really good texts, too. I got a message about a month ago, from Walmart. And it said that there was a charge for $124 or $184, or something like that. And I forget what it wanted me to do to verify it or whatever. But Amelia, I'm going, Wait a minute. First of all, I didn't spend any money at Walmart. Yeah, of course, the scammer wouldn't know that. But you know, I wasn't even going to respond to the message because of that kind of thing. I didn't expect it. It couldn't have possibly been true. But unfortunately, things happen. I've done credit card charges somewhere, like buying gas. And a day or so later, suddenly, the bank calls and said, we've got these other charges that we don't know about how in the heck, they got the credit card. Info. I mean, this is a long time ago. So I don't think that they even had the ways of sticking the credit card tracker inside of the reader. But nevertheless, somehow people got charged information and used it. And you got to watch everything that goes on. You've got to monitor it all.   Alex Achten ** 52:01 Yeah, it's a scary world. It's a scary world. And unfortunately, people are going to continue to try to find ways to to get Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 52:08 yeah, it is. It is really too bad. Well, what are some things that you would advise people to do to protect themselves?   Alex Achten ** 52:19 I, you know, yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 52:21 Obviously, one is, is what we just talked about, what kinds of things would you advise people?   Alex Achten ** 52:27 Yeah, you know, I'll go back to our default messaging that we have at the ITRC, which really is gets back to kind of what we would call I know, we, you know, preventative tips, some of you could call it cyber hygiene. But really, it gets back down to not over sharing information. I think that's yeah, that's one we always talk about, you know, not over sharing personal information, using unique passwords on all your accounts. So essentially, using a different password on every account, in particular passphrase is that's actually something that's more effective passphrase is that we say, are usually at least 12 characters long. So some sort of saying that you'll remember. So that way, if somebody may get into one account, they won't get into all your accounts. So that's, that's one of the common ones we give. And then we always encourage people to use multi factor authentication with an app if possible, because text messages can get spoofed. But But user acquisition is an added layer of security that people have to go through to get into an account. So if you have that, that's just going to, you know, make it make your accounts that much safer. So those are some of the basics. And we always tell people freeze their credit, if you there's no reason for your, you know, if you don't have, you know, a loan out or anything like that, you know, we always tell people that or I shouldn't say tell we don't tell people anything, we encourage people to freeze your credit, if it's something that they may not need at that time, because, again, you know, a criminal can't access credit that's frozen. So that what does that mean, exactly? Here? You know, I have to be 100% honest, it's hard for me to get into the specifics, because I tell people all the time, I'm not going to act like I'm an expert in identity theft.   Michael Hingson ** 54:10 But if you talk about freezing freezing credit, what does that mean?   Alex Achten ** 54:14 Yeah, so freezing credit, essentially, that means that you can't have your credit taken by somebody else. I mean, that that you can do there's you can get your credit frozen by the credit reporting agencies. And essentially, they can't, uh, you know, they can't happen to that they can't get that credit and use it against you and commit identity crimes. That is because that's again, you can there's credit monitoring, right that we were you can monitor your credit, but it's just, you know, it's something that we always tell people it's not necessarily as effective because you can monitor it but once something happens to us, something happened to it. If your credit if your credit is frozen, you know, nothing. Again, nothing can happen to it because it is frozen, and then you can unfreeze it. We especially tell people who have who have children to freeze their credit, reduces child identity theft, because a child's not going to be using their credit, no, that's not you, they don't, they're not going to have their child's not going to go get an apartment tomorrow, you know, go buy a car and get a loan. That's not something that's going to happen. So that's something that we encourage, too. But, but yeah, so that's just a good universal tip. But again, you just take those tips, typically, it it does indeed, help bring someone   Michael Hingson ** 55:25 at risk. If someone freezes their credit, does that mean then that nothing can be charged, or you have to verify it before a charge can be made?   Alex Achten ** 55:33 Well, essentially, freezing the credit. So do that you can't do again, like if you've got a loan out or something like that, that's not something that you can that you can do, I that more really applies to and again, I won't get too too much in the weeds, you don't want to act like I'm the expert on it. But, um, but that is something that it can't be you, right? You can't like if your credit is frozen, you can't necessarily use that if you need to use it for something you will have to go thaw that credit or unfreeze it. And then you can use that credit again, if you want again, you go in, I'm ready to go buy a car, you know, how to get a loan? Well, you can unfreeze that credit, and then you can use it for for that purpose.   Michael Hingson ** 56:13 Freeze credit again, so that nothing else can be done.   Alex Achten ** 56:16 Exactly that you can think of when you're when you're not using it again. So that is it. And I think there's a misconception people think if I freeze it, I can't unfreeze it when you can't, I   Michael Hingson ** 56:23 am That was why I was asking. Well, you minored in Leadership Studies and you just got a certificate. Tell us about that?   Alex Achten ** 56:32 Yes, I did. So I am a Leadership Studies minor. And you know, my passion for leadership studies, actually, I think came in high school, where I was involved in the Student Leadership Institute at Kansas Christian, where I, where I graduated high school. And I actually got a scholarship to leadership, the School of Leadership Studies at Kent State. And so, you know, I was I can't, you know, this is this is interesting. And let me let me, you know, obviously, what this is about, and I got into it, and, you know, I was captivated. I was captivated immediately, in my introduction class. And, and we learned about so many different things. So many different leadership styles, you know, culture and context, adaptive leadership, a bunch of different types of leadership practices that can be implemented. And by the way, people, people think about leadership, and they think, oh, you know, that just means you're a good leader here. You're a good leader there. But there are so many, I mean, there's so much, there's so much leaders that people don't understand. But it really hooked me and, and I learned a ton about being a good leader, being an effective leader. And our, our mission statement, which is something that I really believed was becoming, I'm gonna blank on it now that I'm on the spot, but it was becoming more it was becoming. I see I rattle off time all i rattle it off all the time. And now I'm on here, and I'm freezing when I'm trying to think of it, but the crux of it is to become knowledgeable, ethical, caring, inclusive leaders for a diverse and changing world. knowledgeable and knowledgeable, ethical, knowledgeable, ethical, caring, inclusive. I'm missing one, I'm missing one or two. But everywhere people get the point of that. So the cool, knowledgeable, ethical, caring, caring giver, yes. And in inclusive. Yeah, exactly. Because you haven't. And I think it is something that is really, really true. Because, you know, the world is constantly changing. And to be a good leader, you have to be able to evolve and adapt with what is changing in the world. And so it's something that has been really helpful to me, I've been able to apply it to my jobs, I was able to, again, apply a lot of that a lot of those things as a reporter. And then in the role now I'm able to apply it as a manager as a director as a leader. And you mentioned that I just got done. Taking a about a four month course, that on coaching, coaching as a leadership tool, and it was through the fieldstone fields Student Leadership Network, in San Diego, through the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance. And it was really, really a beneficial course and it really kind of reinforced kind of reinforced a lot of the things that I really tried to implement, which is the first thing you have to do as a leader is you have to look at yourself and who like who are you what are your values, what do you stand for, and we talk about being like the self aware leader, you know, you have to be a self aware of the type of leader that you are. Once you're aware of that then you can dive into you know, the other aspects of being able to be a good coach. And, you know, we talk about one thing we talked about a lot was was, was these different models that you can use, and one is the is the GROW Model, which can apply to many different leadership, leadership situations where you're able to kind of objectively look at these situations and say, you know, what's the goal, you know, what are some realistic opportunities here. And, you know, what's next, and when, and, and it's really, really an impactful model, that that you can apply. So I, that was a very, very helpful course and being able to look at that, you know, being able to be a good leader includes so many things, and you have to be authentic, you have to be empathetic, you have t

Event Pros, and even couples, dream about getting their wedding published.  Either online or in-print.  Prestige, PR, Marketing, SEO's - Being published covers them all.  But how?Our guest today is Meghan Ely, considered by many to be the guru of PR for the wedding and event business.OFD Consulting owner, Meghan Ely, combines in-the-trenches event experience with a love of wedding PR to empower her clients to take their businesses to new heights. A long-time industry speaker and writer, she is a Wedding Pro educator with The Knot + WeddingWire, as well as a regular contributor to Wedding Planner Magazine, Catersource and Special Events.com. Meghan represents clients globally and has earned them overage with the New York Times, Martha Stewart Weddings, The Knot, Refinery 29, Domino, Forbes and Real Simple, among other outlets. Her team's publicity efforts are regularly honored by the Public Relations Society of America. The National Association of Catering and Events just named her Speaker of The Year for 2023. She is one of the few that will give you exact and tangible steps to get your event published today!  She is directly responsible for getting businesses quoted or featured in the NY Times, Parade Magazine, People Magazine, Martha Stewart Weddings, Bridal Guide, and Modern Luxury Magazine just to name a fraction of the publications.For a hands-free experience, ask Alexa to play the latest podcast episode of Behind The Veil with Keith Willard.The BEHIND THE VEIL Show is the winner of the 2021, 2022, and 2023 Telly Awards for best online unscripted series and the NACE One Award for Innovator of The Year.Support the showBehind The Veil Crew:Host: Keith Willard www.keithwillardevents.com www.instagram.com/keithwillard Co- Host: Marci Guttenberg www.anaffairtorememberbymarci.com www.instagram.com/anaffairtorememberbymarci

Welcome back to another episode of Wine After Work. Today, we have a very special guest with us, someone who has a wealth of experience in the world of communication, from corporate boardrooms to the bright lights of broadcast journalism. Join us in welcoming Gary Ross. Gary is a communication expert who works with individuals at every level of organizations to help them become better communicators. With a background that spans the corporate world, journalism, and even the role of a stadium and arena public address announcer, Gary understands that effective communication is a key driver of success. Key Discussion Points: From Newsroom to Boardroom: Gary shares his journey from being an Emmy-nominated broadcast journalist to a corporate communications executive. How did his journalism background influence his approach to corporate communication? The Power of Effective Communication: We dive deep into the importance of communication in today's fast-paced, interconnected world. Gary provides insights into how improving communication can enhance careers, build credibility, and increase influence. Actionable Communication Tips: Gary offers practical advice and actionable tips for our listeners to become better communicators. Whether you're in the C-suite or on the production line, these insights can benefit everyone. Lessons from the Corporate World: What were Gary's experiences like leading communications departments at companies like CDW, Hyatt Hotels, and Fortune Brands? How did these roles shape his perspective on communication? Journalism Adventures: We hear some fascinating stories from Gary's time as a reporter and anchor, including traveling with the U.S. military and reporting from the eye of Category Four Hurricane Hugo. Navigating Change: Gary discusses the role of communication in managing change within organizations. How can effective communication ease transitions and drive positive outcomes? Professional Organizations: Gary is an active member of the Public Relations Society of America and the National Speakers Association (Illinois Chapter). He shares the value of these organizations in his career. Advice for Aspiring Communicators: For those looking to excel in the field of communication, Gary provides valuable advice and recommends strategies to continuously improve your communication skills. Join us for an enlightening and informative conversation with Gary Ross, a true expert in the field of communication. Whether you're seeking to enhance your career, build credibility, or simply become a better communicator in your daily life, Gary's insights are sure to leave a lasting impact. Connect with Gary Ross: Gary's Website: https://www.insidecomms.com/ Linkedin Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garymross/ Don't forget to subscribe to [Your Podcast Name] and share this episode with your friends and colleagues. We'll be back with more inspiring conversations in the future. Thanks for tuning in!

Description: In this enlightening episode, we delve into the enigmatic world of Public Relations with the seasoned PR maven, Stephen Reiff. With a rich history rooted in corporate strategy and management consulting, Stephen's journey into the PR realm has been nothing short of remarkable. His knack for melding corporate strategy with Public Relations and Investor Relations has not only seen him soar to reputable heights but also earned him a prestigious recognition by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) as one of the top-40 under-40. Now at the helm of his own firm, Stephen is redefining PR by adopting a unique business strategy-led approach to Executive Communications and PR, aiding companies in enhancing their perception across diverse stakeholder groups. His expertise doesn't end there; as a dedicated community member, Stephen, alongside his wife, is actively involved in various charitable causes in Dallas, TX, also finding time to serve on SMU's Alumni Board and co-founding a faith-based organization aimed at fostering stewardship among young professionals. In our engaging discussion, we will uncover the top-5 PR priorities that are pivotal in deciding where to play and how to win, the magic behind crafting a messaging framework that harmonizes communication across internal and external stakeholders, and the essence of a robust board-level PR strategy. We'll also delve into the critical reporting and metrics that are indispensable in measuring PR success. Join us, as we explore the synergies between corporate strategy and PR with Stephen Reiff, and learn how to propel your organization into a realm of unrivaled success and acclaim. To connect with Stephen, visit his website: https://www.arvopr.com/ – where value-driven messaging and strategic PR are at the heart of elevating companies and their leadership above the fray. Disclaimer: Not advice. Educational purposes only. Not an endorsement for or against. Results not vetted. Views of the guests do not represent those of the host or show. Do your due diligence. Click here to join PodMatch (the "AirBNB" of Podcasting): https://www.joinpodmatch.com/drchrisloomdphd We couldn't do it without the support of our listeners. To help support the show: CashApp- https://cash.app/$drchrisloomdphd Venmo- https://account.venmo.com/u/Chris-Loo-4 Buy Me a Coffee- https://www.buymeacoffee.com/chrisJx Thank you to our sponsor, CityVest: https://bit.ly/37AOgkp Click here to schedule a 1-on-1 private coaching call: https://www.drchrisloomdphd.com/book-online Click here to purchase my books on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2PaQn4p Follow our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/chL1357 Follow us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/drchrisloomdphd Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thereal_drchrisloo Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@drchrisloomddphd Follow the podcast on Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/christopher-loo Thank you to our advertisers on Spotify. Financial Freedom for Physicians, Copyright 2023

Nicole Morgan is the CEO of Resolute PR, a full-service integrated public relations and marketing agency focused on driving and commanding results. As Resolute PR's CEO, Nicole works to utilize Resolute's people, processes, services, and technology, ensuring quality service to their clients. She is known as an expert at keeping complex projects on task and within budget while clearly communicating her clients' brands, having led several large-scale projects, including events drawing more than 60,000 people, product launches, and rebranding initiatives. With more than 14 years of public relations and marketing experience, Nicole has advised various industries, including social services, healthcare, transportation, retail, technology, and finance. Furthermore, she leverages her experience and skills in public service and marketing in the academe, serving as an Adjunct Professor at Oklahoma State University since 2018. Nicole has earned several awards stemming from her work and community involvement, which include being named as Tulsa Regional Chamber's Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Tulsa 40 from the Tulsa Business & Legal News, Professional of the Year, and Young Professional of the Year from the Public Relations Society of America Tulsa chapter. She received numerous PRSA Silver Link and IABC Bronze Quill awards too. Her efforts have also earned her an Accreditation in Public Relations from the Public Relations Society of America. Her work has been featured in the Washington Post, Baltimore Sun, and the Los Angeles Business Journal. In addition, she publishes a monthly newsletter providing the latest trends in public relations, marketing, and advertising. With her extensive work and experience, Nicole brings a unique, integrated perspective to meeting today's business and organizational challenges.  Connect with Jon Dwoskin: Twitter: @jdwoskin Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jonathan.dwoskin Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thejondwoskinexperience/ Website: https://jondwoskin.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jondwoskin/ Email: jon@jondwoskin.com Get Jon's Book: The Think Big Movement: Grow your business big. Very Big!   Connect with Nicole Morgan: Guest Website: https://www.resolutepr.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/PR_Resolute LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolemorganapr/ and https://www.linkedin.com/company/resolute-pr/

Josh Greene, CEO of The Mather Group, a digital agency that solves online reputation management challenges for companies of all sizes, speaks on Wikipedia, Google, and online author branding in this episode of All Things Book Marketing. Tune in to learn about how to navigate your digital presence and build up your reputation and credibility virtually.Josh Greene is the CEO for The Mather Group, a digital agency that solves online reputation management challenges for companies of all sizes. With over twenty years of experience creating and implementing digital strategies, he empowers top brands and individuals to shape their online presence to support their bottom line. The Mather Group has worked with some of the largest Fortune 1000 companies, five of the largest nonprofits in the U.S., popular media channels, the third largest network provider in the U.S., two of the largest manufacturing companies in the U.S., and many software companies. He is a frequent speaker at conferences and industry events, including the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), the AAF, ad:tech, SES, and the PR Summit.Before The Mather Group, Greene managed online marketing for industry leaders such as Discovery Channel, Time Warner Cable, 1-800-PACK-RAT, and Zippy Shell. Learn more about Josh and The Mather Group at themathergroupllc.com and follow them on Facebook and LinkedIn.Discover more about Smith Publicity at www.smithpublicity.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, & LinkedIn.

We are joined on the second of our special three-part Journey Unseen series by Vera Bothner.  As she shares with us her unique career journey as a woman in business, she reflects with host Don Sherman on the pivots and changes she has made each step of the way and what she has learned from those.  On this episode we discuss: Initially wanting to get into clinical psychology serving children Finding the unexpected path A passion for working with people Being an expert in communicating with people Being able to look back on Old Town as an idea coming to fruition Struggling to say “no” How the Kansas Health Foundation gave Vera a chance to pivot Creating more margin in your life Not waiting for someone else Clearing obstacles to allow others to reach their vision Dealing with imposter syndrome Recharging by carving out alone time Learning from the next generation of leaders Carrying a torch for your clients and the community You might say, Vera Bothner likes to get inside peoples' heads. That's what happens when you make a long and successful career out of a dual major in psychology and public relations at Kansas State University.It also helps explain her interest in truly understanding people, and her desire to champion causes and clients that can make her small corner of the world just a bit better.Her experiences in communications at a non-profit, as a senior leader at the state's largest advertising and public relations firm and as a consultant to the Kansas Health Foundation gave her the experience and insight to launch a communication and consulting firm with friend and colleague Tami Bradley.Through 17 years of business, the partners have worked side-by-side with great leaders and teams on important and complicated issues, opportunities and projects. Throughout her career she has counseled dozens of organizations on branding, issues management, community relations and through crisis.The commitment to people and community service doesn't stop with clients. Throughout her career, Vera has served on numerous non-profit boards. Early in her career, Vera was a lead volunteer in helping pass the first school bond issue in decades for Wichita Public Schools In addition to her bachelor's degree from Kansas State University in journalism/public relations and psychology, Vera is an accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America and member of the Counselor's Academy.Additional Resources:Women in Business - Vera Bothner (article)40 Under 40 - Vera Bothner (article)Solutions Needed to Fix Perception of Cuts at Wichita State Sunflower (article)Thanks for listening, be sure to subscribe and leave us a review! Join the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce! This podcast is brought to you by the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce and is powered by Evergy.  To send feedback on this show and/or send suggestions for future guests or topics please e-mail communications@wichitachamber.org. This show is part of the ICT Podcast Network.  For more information visit ictpod.net

Lisa is joined by Paula RIzzo,who talks with Lisa about her book, Listful Living: A List-Making Journey to a Less Stressed YouPaula Rizzo is an Emmy-award winning TV producer, bestselling author, media trainer and strategist. She trains authors and experts to perform better on camera and produce their own videos. She is the author of Listful Thinking: Using Lists to be More Productive, Highly Successful and Less Stressed and her most recent book, Listful Living: A List-Making Journey to a Less Stressed You. Paula is also a LinkedIn Learning instructor, a frequent speaker and media contributor. She's also the creator of Media-Ready Author and the host of Inside Scoop. For more go to PaulaRizzo.com/lists.For nearly 20 years, Paula produced health, wellness, and lifestyle content with a range of top experts, including JJ Virgin, Jillian Michaels, and Deepak Chopra. Most recently she served as the senior health producer for Fox News Channel in New York City for more than a decade. She now coaches authors, experts and entrepreneurs to perform better on camera and produce their own videos. She's personally media trained executives from Fortune 200 companies and privately-owned organizations as well. She's the founder of the productivity site ListProducer.com and best-selling author of Listful Thinking: Using Lists to be More Productive, Highly Successful and Less Stressed, which has been translated into 15 languages and was featured as one Oprah.com's “Self Help Books That Actually Help.” She's also the author of Listful Living: A List-Making Journey to a Less Stressed You.Paula is also a LinkedIn Learning instructor with several courses about productivity and optimizing work from home remote offices. Paula's work has been featured on TV, print, radio and around the web. She's also a keynote speaker and has presented at Toyota, HOW Design Live, MA Conference for Women, New York Women in Communications, Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), American Society of Association Executives and many others.Book description: What do Madonna, Martha Stewart, John Lennon, Ellen DeGeneres, Ben Franklin, Ronald Reagan, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Edison, and Johnny Cash have in common? Each is (or was) a list maker. These successful people all use lists to keep track of their ideas, thoughts, and tasks. Finding enough hours in the day to get everything accomplished and allow for some downtime can be a struggle. It's no wonder so many of us are stressed, overextended, and exhausted. For the 54 percent of us who feel like we're chasing our own tails, Listful Thinking is here to prove that it doesn't have to be that way. You can still find time to relax, read a good book, and do the things you love.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5948889/advertisement

Faithe Colas, who is president of VonCommunications and a seasoned communications professional, explores the profound impact of stories and how they connect us all, including across different lived experiences. Faithe discusses her multifaceted career and how her early involvement in photojournalism shaped her path and delves into the legacy of her late husband Eric Von, a veteran broadcaster who dedicated his life to supporting community leaders and fostering dialogue. Gain a deeper understanding of the need for authentic and transparent conversations about diverse perspectives in this inspirational episode. Episode Highlights04:55 - When someone comes to you with a question, with a challenge, with an idea, they're sharing a part of you, of themselves rather, that they've been inspired some kind of way to do this. This is their gift. My gift is to connect them and if they're coming to me, they have confidence that somehow I can help them along their journey.07:44 - I think as a human race, we are connected by stories because it reminds us of the commonality that we have. That's the first thing. The second thing is it can make you feel comfortable with someone that you don't know. Why I'm so passionate about telling stories of African-American people is because there's always this perception that we have to explain our humanness. So, we're constantly having to show people that we're positive, that we want the same things that you want out of life, that we're good people, that we're talented, that we're intelligent, that we're educated.17:31 - These voices, they not only shape the news that we hear and see, but they help to shape those conversations that happen in the editorial spaces, in staff meetings. Sometimes you might be the only African-American voice in the room. Connect with Becky Dubin JenkinsLinkedInConnect with Faithe ColasFaithe Colas has a 33-year career in media and community engagement. Her sweet spot is connecting people and growing the community through public and community relations. She's passionate about empowering women, supporting Black businesses and changing the narrative about Milwaukee.Colas is the host and producer of “I'm Every Woman” and “There's Always Something Good to Talk About,” which air on 860Today.com. She's a member of the National Council of Negro Women-Milwaukee Section, NAACP Milwaukee Chapter, Wisconsin Black Media Association, Milwaukee Press Club, Public Relations Society of America-Milwaukee Chapter and WUWM Advisory Board. She's also a lead fundraiser for the WUWM Eric Von Broadcast Fellowship, which honors her late husband's legacy by fostering the next generation of broadcast journalists.Colas was born and raised in Milwaukee. She is a John Marshall High School graduate and holds a bachelor's degree in Biblical Studies from Midwest Bible College.In another life, Colas would have been a professor of African-American studies and the history of the Black press. If she ever gets free time, she'd fill it with reading books, going to lectures, attending author readings and watching documentaries.LinkedInEric Von Broadcast Fellowship

Episode Description: Domestic abuse does not discriminate and the stats show us that it occurs to 20 women every minute. AND it is the number one most under reported crime. Why? Women don't want to come forward because of the shame. Brielle Cotterman survived attempted murder, intimate partner domestic abuse and emotional abuse. We're talking with her about why survivors are still not getting the empathy and understanding they deserve, why leaving an abuser is not as easy as we think, and the misconceptions about domestic abuse. Are you holding women in judgment who are in abusive relationships? Educate yourself on what it really takes to stop domestic abuse from happening and the warning signs that you or the women in your life may be missing. Are you in the 4%? Take Liz's FREE Limiting Beliefs Quiz and find out what's holding you back! www.lizsvatek.com/quiz Be a Podcast VIP! Get your Podcast up and running in 1 week! Schedule a call to learn more: https://calendly.com/lizsvatek/whiteglovelaunch-session Connect with: Brielle! National DomesticViolence Hotline: Make a safe plan 800-799-SAFE (7233) https://www.thehotline.org/ Website: https://www.briellecotterman.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/briellecotterman/ Guest Bio: Brielle Cotterman is a TEDx Speaker, Contributor at Entrepreneur, Activist Against Domestic Violence, Publicity Expert, and Celebrity-Maker. She has spent the last decade helping clients to craft and scale Dream careers to 7 figures and beyond by leveraging their personal stories and passions in order to create speaking tours, author award-winning books, procure media placements, and inspire the millions of people that need to hear their story. She is a survivor of attempted murder and domestic violence and an advocate for a world where intimate partner abuse is not tolerated and survivors are met with empathy. Her clients are regularly featured in Entrepreneur, Forbes, Fast Company, Martha Stewart Living, Cosmopolitan, NBC, CBS, and many more! She is a graduate of Indiana University in Bloomington, a World's Grand Champion Equestrian, former National Spokesperson for multiple charitable organizations, Former Title Holder and Director within the Miss America Organization, Member of The Public Relations Society of America, Member of the Association of Image Consultants International and 2019 Epic Award Nominee from the National Association of Women Business Owners. Brielle has been married for nearly 4 years to the love of her life and owns & operates a show horse breeding farm, where she lives with her husband, three children and many, many animals!

​Gary M. Ross is president of INSIDE COMMS, a training, coaching and consulting firm focused on internal communication. Over his 30+ year career, Gary has worked as a consultant, corporate executive and Emmy-nominated broadcast journalist. With INSIDE COMMS, Gary works to make corporate life better by advancing the way organizations and their people communicate with one another. Gary's recent engagements have included consulting and coaching CEOs, C-level executives and internal communications teams on corporate transformations and integrations, M&A and change. His experience reaches from the upper ranks of the FORTUNE 500 to small non-profits and academia. Gary is also a principal at thoughtLEADERS, LLC, a leadership development training, coaching and consulting firm conducting programs at client locations around the world. Based on real-world experience, he specializes in change management, change communications and strategic thinking concepts and processes that clients can implement immediately in their organizations.Prior to his training, coaching and consulting work, Gary served as vice president of corporate communications for Fortune Brands Home & Security, the parent company of Moen, Master Lock and other familiar consumer brands. He also led corporate communications at CDW, a leading provider of technology products and services to business, government, education and healthcare. Gary also led corporate public relations for Chicago-based Hyatt Hotels Corporation. Previously, Gary held a variety of public relations positions, including a post in the Department of University Relations at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. Before joining the PR profession, Gary worked as a reporter and substitute anchor for WCBD-TV in Charleston, S.C., where he was nominated for an Emmy Award in investigative journalism, traveled overseas with the U.S. military and reported from the eye of Category Four Hurricane Hugo. He began his career at the former WRKL-AM in the New York City area as an anchor and reporter.Gary has been a guest speaker on communications and change for such organizations as the Healthcare Businesswomen's Association, PRWeek (UK), Public Relations Society of America, Federal Communicators Network, Northwestern University, DePaul University, The Conference Board, and the Great Place to Work Institute (authors of FORTUNE magazine's “100 Best Companies to Work For” list). Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched! Start for FREEDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the showRebel HR is a podcast for HR professionals and leaders of people who are ready to make some disruption in the world of work. Please connect to continue the conversation! https://twitter.com/rebelhrguyhttps://www.facebook.com/rebelhrpodcasthttp://www.kyleroed.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-roed/

Dr. Susan Polan, Associate Executive Director for Public Affairs and Advocacy with the American Public Health Association, says the Policy Action Institute meeting will help public health officials address challenges; Dr. Brannon Traxler, Director of Public Health for the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, reflects on the need for modernizing public health data systems; an ASTHO webinar series addresses youth mental health; and Public Health Review: Morning Edition earned a Bronze Anvil Award of Commendation Trophy from the Public Relations Society of America.    APHA: Policy Action Institute  Policy Action Institute: Registration ASTHO Webinar Series: Leveraging Different Sectors to Address the Youth Mental Health Crisis  

Andy is happy to welcome returning guest Meghan Ely back to the podcast today! Meghan is the owner of OFD Consulting and combines in the trenches event experience with a love of wedding PR, empowering her clients to take their businesses to the next level, and her team's publicity efforts are even regularly honored by the Public Relations Society of America. A longtime industry speaker and writer, Meghan is a wedding pro educator with regular contributions to Wedding Planner Magazine, The Knot, Wedding Business Magazine, Catersource, and SpecialEvents.com. Meghan also is the 2022 WIPA International President and is a long-time supporter and member of NACE, and SpecialEvents.com honored her as one of the top 25 young professionals in the event industry, with NACE recently having honored her as Speaker of the Year. Meghan catches up with Andy since her last appearance on the show, discussing the editorial boom in relation to the wedding industry. She also stresses the importance of mindset when it comes to strategy related to getting work published and diversifying your media strategy. Meghan also emphasizes the importance of having your strategies be year-round. Meghan, in addition, clarifies what's true about being in PR vs. some common misconceptions, emphasizing, for example, that there are rules that should be followed. She touches upon how to keep a line of communication open with editors and maintain connections, arguing that editors should be prioritized just as if they are clients and that we should follow their public accounts on social media, and offers some incredibly helpful advice to anyone looking to navigate this editorial boom! Andy really hopes that all of Meghan's valuable information is helpful to listeners! If so, then Andy would love it if you were to share this episode with a few people you know who might also enjoy it. Be sure to also subscribe to the podcast if you aren't already so that you never miss a new episode and to leave a top review wherever you listen, as that really helps out Andy and the show!   This episode is sponsored by Zola, the fastest-growing wedding platform that connects today's couples with the right planners and vendors. Zola gives wedding professionals more control, better exposure, and higher quality leads - all with competitive pricing and no annual commitment. Create your free listing at www.zola.com/andy.   Have you heard about Stop and Smell the Roses with Preston Bailey on The Wedding Biz Network? Listen as Preston shares the secrets, tools, and technologies behind his extraordinary ability to create a theatrical environment out of any space. Also, don't forget about Sean Low's podcast The Business of Being Creative, where Sean discusses the power of being niched, pricing strategies, metrics of success, and so much more. You can find both shows on The Wedding Biz Network.   SUPPORTING THE WEDDING BIZ Become a patron and support Andy and the show! If you are so inspired, contribute!   Time Stamps [0:00] – The sponsor of this episode is Zola. [0:16] - Andy updates on his comedy class. [2:17] - Today's guest is returning guest Meghan Ely! [3:31] - Meghan defines the editorial boom. [5:40] - Meghan shares a few strategies to get something published. [7:59] - Meghan discusses getting into the headspace of the media. [10:44] - How do we keep communication open with editors? [12:07] - Don't DM editors. [13:12] - Meghan gives advice on how to maintain connections. [15:58] - Hear some last-minute ways to navigate the submission boom. [17:03] - What is the best way to take advantage of what Meghan offers? [18:31] - Andy shares where to find Meghan online.   LINKS & RESOURCES Meghan's Previous Guest Spots on The Wedding Biz   Find Meghan: OFD Consulting - WebsiteOFD Consulting - Facebook PageOFD Consulting - Instagram PageOFD Consulting - Twitter PageOFD Collective - WebsiteWedding Industry Speakers - Website   Follow The Wedding Biz on Social: The Wedding Biz The Wedding Biz on Instagram: @theweddingbiz The Wedding Biz on Facebook: @theweddingbiz The Wedding Biz Network The Music Makers   Support The Wedding Biz by clicking here. Title Sponsor: This episode is sponsored by Kushner Entertainment & Zola.

First and Last PR CEO Stephanie Scott Bradshaw shares her #dreamdriving journey and how she was able to build an illustrious career as a public relations expert in the beauty and lifestyle space. She's the visionary and strategist behind some of your favorite brands and she's sharing the mindset and pathways that led her to success over the years. SOME OF THE THINGS WE DISCUSS INCLUDE: Stephanie's unconventional elementary school experience The power of exposure Lessons about life learned from working in a nightclub during college How she landed a career-changing job at Essence Why she decided to launch her own PR firm Public relations tips for dream drivers Influencer 101 The future of PR and growing her business...and more More about Stephanie: Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw serves as the CEO and Communicator-in-Chief of First and Last PR, an award-winning public relations and digital marketing agency that focuses on beauty, wellness and healthy lifestyle, and also serves on the Board of Directors for the Public Relations Society of America, New Jersey Chapter. A lifelong storyteller, innovative strategist and detail obsessed creator who understands the business, Stephanie leads an amazing team to implement strategies that grow global brands across a multitude of sectors in their portfolio. KEYS TO SUCCESS: 1. A good piece of chocolate 2. Journal to write down your path 3. Personal time FIND STEPHANIE ONLINE: Instagram: @firstandlastpr & @stephaniescottrocks Web: www.firstandlastpr.com FIND DREAMS IN DRIVE ON:Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/dreamsindrive Twitter: http://twitter.com/dreamsindrive Web: https://www.dreamsindrive.com SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER - THE KEYS: www.dreamsindrive.com/join  JOIN THE #DREAMSINDRIVE FACEBOOK GROUP: www.dreamsindrive.com/facebook

Trust Signals Scott Baradell, Idea Grove   – The Sharkpreneur podcast with Seth Greene Episode 896 Scott Baradell Trust expert Scott Baradell is CEO and founder of Idea Grove. Idea Grove helps its clients secure trust at scale through its unique Grow With TRUST approach. Scott is an established authority on trust and editor of the online publication Trust Signals, as well as author of the upcoming book Trust Signals: Brand Building in a Post-Truth World. Idea Grove celebrated its 15th anniversary in 2020, earning honors including the 2020 Pegasus Award for Small Agency of the Year, being named a Top 200 B2B service provider by Clutch, and ranking in the top 25 tech agencies in the U.S. by O'Dwyer's. Scott has an Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) from the Public Relations Society of America and speaks on PR and marketing topics at industry events nationwide.   Listen to this informative Sharkpreneur episode with Scott Baradell about his upcoming book Trust Signals: Brand Building in a Post-Truth World. Here are some of the beneficial topics covered on this week's show: - How having a dialogue about a product does not work unless your clients trust you. - Why digital and inbound marketing should be extensions of public relations. - How PR does not have to revolve only around a company's media relationships. - Why many people consume the news they want and avoid the news they don't like. - How you present yourself online determines whether or not clients will trust you and your product.   Connect with Scott: Guest Contact Info Twitter @IdeaGrove Instagram @ideagrove Facebook facebook.com/DallasPR LinkedIn linkedin.com/company/idea-grove   Links Mentioned: ideagrove.com   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices