Yes, that’s an elephant.
You can imagine my surprise when I opened my e-mail message and this amazing photograph appeared on my screen.
Kara Bussabarger has one of the coolest PR jobs I’ve ever heard of: she is the public relations manager for a zoo. When you think about it, zoos have a lot of PR needs; there’s always something going on and they’re always in the news. I know people in DC were obsessed a couple of years ago with the pandas at the National Zoo. Seemed like those bears were on the news every day.
Read how Kara’s career path wound its way from criminology to public relations.
Kara Bussabarger
Louisville, Kentucky
Age: 32
Public Relations Manager for the Louisville Zoo
http://www.louisvillezoo.org
Company Size: 150-300 employees, No. 1 non-profit tourist attraction in the Louisville, Kentucky region
What made you get into marketing and/or public relations? I came to public relations through a different course than most. I actually have a degree in criminology and psychology. In that course of study, I would ask a lot of questions to find out the heart of the issue and how to solve the problem. That actually led me to journalism, which intrinsically asks a lot of questions to find the heart of the story. So my background seemed to weave well into where I am today—public relations in a non-profit organization. I like working in the non-profit sector because I am not just working for a bottom line, but also a mission. I feel my work really matters, and there are always wonderful stories to tell.
What do you like best about the field? Being a storyteller. I am a storyteller. But to be a storyteller, you have to have an audience and a story to tell. The degree to which that story grabs and forms a relationship with your audience is the degree to which you are a successful storyteller or not. So to be able to tell these stories, I have to have relationships—with my media contacts and the people on my staff. I couldn’t tell stories without them.
What aspects of the industry are you currently most excited about? I love learning and getting the word out about the Zoo and the great work we do for animals and conservation. So probably the most exciting thing now is the interest in Web 2.0. Read the full story
