What was the biggest lesson you learned while working during the pandemic? People have learned they can be a lot more productive working from their home office with fewer interruptions (if it’s quiet at home) – and saving time and anxiety from a hectic commute reduces overall stress. In any industry, timely communication is key – and the combination of phone, email, texting and Zoom makes it easy to keep everything moving forward.

What are your predictions for your industry in 2022? My motto is “Great PR doesn’t happen by itself.” Of course a business owner or exec knows their products and services inside-out, but many make the mistake of thinking everyone else knows what they do. Every business has great stories to tell – and having a proven, experienced PR pro to properly tell those stories and get the right media placement is key. I tell owners to manage the day-to-day business stuff and leave the marketing/PR to me.

What was your greatest professional accomplishment or most notable project, deal, or transaction in 2021? Signing a new client is always exciting. I’ve done PR and fundraising activities for independent schools and non-profits, but being retained by my high school alma mater Alumni Association to work on their ongoing PR campaign and fundraising drive related to their 200^th anniversary has been rewarding and exciting.

What is the best advice you have received, and who was it from? A former boss who was the head of PR for a large non-profit advised me to (a) research and write the best news story I could; (b) put it aside for 24 hours; and (c) review it again. You’ll be surprised at all the improvements you’ll make on the initial version (that you thought was perfect yesterday!)