Tia T. Gordon, 34

Washington, D.C.

Founder and CEO

TTG+Partners | @ttgpartners

Mopwater: Describe your path to PR: How did you wind up in this field? TG: After failing statistics twice as an electrical engineering major, I decided it was time for a change.  I became a communications/PR major during my junior year and quickly embraced the field of PR by taking on several internships.  I interned with different types of organizations in many industries to understand the full scope of work involved with PR.  In order to accomplish my goal of being a well- rounded PR professional—from writing to pitching—I knew it was important to take full
advantage of learning the field through internships.  All of my internship experiences helped me to land and be prepared for my first full-time job after college, which was serving as the national spokesperson for the U.S. hotel and lodging industry (American Hotel & Lodging Association).

Mopwater: Describe a pivotal moment in your career. Did you have a mentor or internship that really solidified your interest in this field or helped you hone in on a specific focus area? TG: As someone who now works in education, ironically my very first PR internship was with an education scholarship organization in Washington, D.C.  It changed my life.  I’m definitely living in a full circle moment.

Mopwater: Describe a typical workday including your work hours. What do you do all day?  TG: Since working in PR requires staying on top of the news, my workday typically starts at 6:30 AM and may not end until midnight.  All day I’m multitasking and juggling—going back and forth between conference calls, writing, counseling, pitching, luncheons, dinners, and networking events.  It’s a nonstop lifestyle (not just a job) that requires me to be “present” every step of the way in order to keep my finger on the pulse.

Mopwater: Describe your office setting and workplace. TG: My office is located in downtown Washington, D.C., but I’m hardly ever there because the hour-long commute from my home office takes away from the time I could be spending to manage client projects, pursue business opportunities, and/or work on other important issues.  Bottom line is: I work where and when I can to make it all work.

Mopwater: What are your favorite and least favorite PR tasks and why? TG: I absolutely dread writing news releases; it’s an arduous task that no one should have to experience after spending at least two years in PR.  Writing a news release is literally the bane of my existence.  I cannot tell you how many times I’ve type “For Immediate Release”—it must be close to a million times.  Fortunately, and all jokes aside, I know that drafting/distributing a news release is critical to the success of any outreach campaign as it’s the granddaddy of communications tools.  When it’s done right, an effective news release can take you many places.  Conversely, I love pitching reporters
and seeing that pitch land where I want it.

Mopwater: Who are some of your (or your company/organization’s) clients, and what kind of projects do you take on for these clients?   TG: As the nation’s only communications firm focused solely on issues of diversity and equity in higher education, our clients are national organizations working to improve opportunities for traditionally marginalized or underrepresented students.  Our goal is to always facilitate an open and honest dialogue about the issues impacting certain students who may have an inopportune path toward earning a college degree.  We work only in select areas of communications that includes branding and messaging, crisis communications, media relations, social media and interactive marketing, and strategic communications.  For example, we recently managed an event with a select group of Historically Black College and University (HBCU) presidents for an unprecedented, candid discussion about the collective impact of HBCUs and how these institutions (and their students) contribute to the national college completion agenda.

Mopwater: Describe a recent project where you produced results of which you’re really proud. TG: We’re really proud of our recent work with an organization working to highlight the unique needs and concerns of Asian American and Pacific Islander students.  Although the client had engaged previously with a large and well-known communications firm, they were not pleased with the results.  The client shared with us that the other PR firm didn’t fully seem to understand their needs or those of their constituents.  We felt pressure from the beginning—to both win over the client and make up for any missed opportunities with the other PR firm.  But because our style is to be a full communications partner with all clients, we produced impressive results for this client that were clear, decisive, and had a profound effect.  And, now we’re looking forward to
having a long and fruitful relationship with this client.

Mopwater: What is your favorite thing about this job and do you think you’ll be in this position in 5 years? TG: I love asking clients, “What are your ‘dream’ results from working with us?”  (Most of the time they aren’t really sure.)  Once they tell me—and we both agree they have what it
takes in order for us to pitch them successfully—I, along with my team, will fight to make it happen.  Because I understand that ROI (return on investment) is critical in any relationship, I’m always committed to giving each client my best so they can reap boundless benefits.  And, yes, I believe I will be in this position for another 5 to 10 years; afterwards, I’m leaving PR to sell flowers (my running, but true, joke).

Mopwater: What aspect of the industry are you most excited about?  TG: Authenticity.  I believe that the world has long been rejecting the notion of “spin” and ”canned” PR.  Nowadays people, and organizations, want messages that resonate with them.  People want to be met heart to heart about matters that are most important to their lives.

Mopwater: If you could work on any dream project of your choosing, what would it be? TG: My dream project would be to work with Michelle Obama on her healthy eating initiatives for young people.  Although the goal of her campaign focuses on nutrition, I believe that having a healthy lifestyle should be holistic.  Why should a young person just stop at making better eating choices?  Let’s expand the effort and direct them toward
making better decisions all around—most importantly, the pursuit of their college degree.  I would love to be a part of such a project.

Mopwater: What if anything would you have done differently in your career up to this pointand what advice would you give someone who is trying to break into your field? TG: Looking back, there’s nothing I would have done differently in my career.  Every choice, every open or closed door, and every position helped me get to where I am today.  And, where I am today is where I am supposed to be.  My advice to others who want to break into PR is to be well-rounded in your experiences, be nice, and be willing to work hard—everything else will fall into place.

Robin Caldwell

Cleveland OH

The J Standard Media Group, LLC

Principal, 5+ years

Web: The J Standard

Blog: The Black PaPR Report

Mopwater: Describe your path to PR. What made you want to get into the field?

RC: My motto is ‘I was born to do this…’ and that’s because if I go back to my childhood I can see the evidence. For example, I was always ‘reporting’ something and my grandmother, Irene, would always say, “If you don’t want it repeated, do not say it around that one.” I can see the evolution of the little loud girl who became the little loud woman who has this ability to connect people and influence decisions. Plus, I was bossy and if that’s not a trait of most PR practitioners and publicists, I don’t know what is. On a practical note, I began college as a broadcast major with the goal of becoming an anchor, but a major melt down (stage fright) while taping audition reels led me to change my major.

Mopwater: What aspects of the industry are you most excited about?

RC: There are two aspects that I find not only exciting but delightful. The first would be the Barack Obama presidency, which I believe from a practitioner’s perspective will ultimately become the Obama Era. As a former college instructor who taught mass-mediated images of African Americans, nothing delights me more than to see a shift in our image on the world media stage. The leader of the free world looks like me and has a background that is not only similar but relatable. It gives me hope that my niche will become commonplace and more of us with great African American or underrepresented minority clients will be able to translate their value to a broader market in mainstream media. The second thing that excites me most is the inclusion of social media and Internet strategies as a part of our campaigns as practitioners. News can be relayed more quickly and efficiently than ever before. Moreover, I love the social media news release because it gets to the heart of your story and offers another way to tell it. Read the full story

Today’s TDMJ profiles James Walker, an incredible social media specialist who is just starting his career in PR. James is a junior project manager for APCO Online , a division of the global agency APCO Worldwide. James works in Washington, DC and I discovered him through his insightful tweets about PR and his informative blog Gen Y PR Prescriptions.

When he met me recently at a DC Starbucks, James told me how important it is to claim a piece of the social media pie for yourself if you’re a PR person calling yourself a social media strategist/expert (read: start your blog!) Hopefully I’ll be able to get the video footage of that timely interview up this weekend, pending tech support. For now, here’s James:

James S. Walker
Washington, DC
Age: 22
APCO Worldwide
Junior Project Manager, APCO Online
length of time in role: 6 months

Blog: Gen Y PR Prescriptions
Twitter: @Jaywalk1
Linkedin: in/jswalker

Mopwater: Describe your path to PR. What made you want to get into the field?

JW: I discovered PR right around the time I decided to declare a major at George Washington University. I made a call home to check in and mentioned that I was planning to major in Communication. My mother replied: “What kind of job can you get with that major?” I said: “Umm…(scratching head) you know…Communications positions.” At that point, Communication just seemed interesting, but I knew that I would never hear the end of it if I didn’t come up with a good answer, so I went to work.

After reading books, taking career assessments and browsing hundreds of sites, I decided that PR was it. Glad that I figured it out, I called back home and made a compelling case showing how I would get a job in PR. Her response: “So… what exactly will you do?”

Reflecting back on my answer to her then reminds me of the opening for MTV’s The Real World – “You think you know, but you have no idea.” I have worked (internships and full-time) in a number of Communications roles since then, from university relations and special events to CNN’s Crossfire at GW to public affairs and crisis comms shops to a health care communications firm and now a global communications agency.

In my short time in the industry, I’ve worked steps away from James Carville and Donna Brazile, helped prepare for prescription medication product launches, developed materials for patients with chronic pain and diabetes, and proposed social media strategies for tech giants. Each position taught me something new about the industry and myself, allowing me to grow both personally and professionally.

Mopwater: What aspects of the industry are you most excited about?

JW: I am most excited about the role the PR industry already is and will continue to play in the development, promotion and adoption of social media among businesses and other organizations.

I think the industry is well positioned to not only teach groups how to engage in social media but also to provide communications counsel on how to engage in a way that benefits them and their audiences, the people they serve. Read the full story