This week, I am honored to speak with Mary Prevost! Mary and I have gotten to know each other over the last year and is just an amazing person in the industry. She’s a parent, runs her own business, a master networker and we had such a wonderful chat on how she lives her best life!

We chat about:

· Mary’s role at Prevost Partners, her background and what it’s like to run a business with her husband.

· Mary’s experience working on the client side and agency side, and how it compares to running her own company.

· How Mary works as a master networker.

· How Mary ensures she makes herself a priority.

Enjoy, and thank you, Mary, for your time!

Links!

Prevost Partners

LinkedIn

Twitter

About Mary Prevost:

Mary Prevost, MBA

Founder, Prevost Partners

PrevostPartners.com

Empowering brands and inspiring people to think differently – this is how Mary Prevost has approached her 17 years of work in the public relations industry.

Nurturing meaningful relationships is key to Prevost’s success – from internal executives and colleagues, to external target audiences and media. Prevost’s vast experience spans both agency and client-side work and she’s helped clients of all sizes, from Fortune 500 companies to startups and non-profits. Her specialties include both B2B and B2C strategic communication, content marketing, media relations, writing, social media planning and execution, crisis communication, brand development, event planning and internal communications/team building.

Prevost previously worked as Director of Communications at Cheyenne Regional Medical Center in Cheyenne, WY, and then transitioned into agency work as an Account Supervisor at an agency in downtown Minneapolis. In 2014, Prevost founded MJP Strategic Communications to provide independent public relations consulting services. In 2019, she founded Prevost Partners with her husband to broaden their services.

Prevost graduated with an M.B.A. from Augsburg College (Minneapolis, MN), a B.A. in Mass Communications with emphasis in Public Relations and News Editorial from Colorado Mesa University (Grand Junction, CO) and an A.A.S. in Radio/TV Broadcasting from Central Wyoming College (Riverton, WY).

Really excited to have Brandon Laws, director of marketing at Xenium HR and host of the "Transform Your Workplace" podcast, on the program. Today, we touch on:

Suggested reading:

How to Win Friends and Influence People | Atomic Habits | What Got You There Won’t Get You There | Deep Work | Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook | Atlas Shrugged

About Brandon Laws:

Brandon is the Director of Marketing at Xenium HR. He joined the team in October 2008. In over nine years with Xenium, he has held the positions of Operations Administrator, Sales & Marketing Coordinator, Senior Marketing Specialist & Business Analyst, Marketing Manager, and Senior Marketing Manager.

Taking on the role of Director of Marketing in July 2015, Brandon spearheads all marketing efforts with a focus on lead generation, contributing to new business growth. Brandon oversees all outbound marketing campaigns, product marketing efforts, the digital marketing strategy (e.g. website management & SEO, blogging, content creation, social media, pay-per-click advertising), events management, sponsorships, and public relations. Brandon is heavily involved in other company initiatives as well. He has contributed to the Xenium Culture Integration & Team Enhancement (XCITE) committee for six years and has sat on the Stoller Group wellness committee for three years.

In February 2012, Brandon received The Stoller Group’s “Bright Idea” award for implementing and having success with local search engine optimization for the Xenium website and for contributing to the development of a client utilization tracking system. Additionally, Brandon volunteers on the board of the Portland Human Resources Management Association (PHRMA) as the Director of Marketing and PR. Brandon’s focus on personal growth is central to all he does and leads to his continual efforts to become a better person and a greater asset to the people around him. In his various roles, Brandon has led projects such as “Passport to Xenium,” (an internal marketing effort designed to encourage all Xenium employees to invest in marketing and sales efforts), a rebuild of the Xenium website, the Human Resource for Small Business Podcast, and other projects relating to search engine marketing and social media marketing.

It was SO great to talk to Erin Merz, APR, and Tracey Lam, APR recently. This is a two-part series. Part one is live now, and part two on December 5.

We talk about:

Enjoy!

About Tracey Lam, APR:

Tracey is an award-winning communications professional with more than 20 years of experience.  She currently works as a communications specialist at OHSU, specifically supporting the Center for Diversity and Inclusion in its efforts to enhance the climate at OHSU through diversity, equity and inclusion. Prior to this, Tracey served as the communications manager at Make-A-Wish Oregon and executive producer of special projects at KATU-TV. Tracey is also very involved in her community. She recently wrapped up a 3-year stint on the board of directors of the Public Relations Society of America Oregon Chapter. She continues to support PRSA through her involvement in the chapter’s diversity and inclusion committee. One of her proudest achievements is co-founding API Forward, an education foundation dedicated to the advancement of Asians and Pacific Islanders. She maintains her sanity by practicing yoga almost daily, hiking, snowshoeing, playing tennis and curling up on the couch with her lap cat, Tilly. She also organizes a monthly book club.

About Erin Merz, M.A., APR:

Erin is a seasoned marketing and communications professional skilled at creating quality content that reaches the right audiences and inspires action. Her passion for storytelling, results-driven mindset, and commitment to building and maintaining strong relationships with stakeholders adds substantial value to the organizations she works with. Erin serves as director of marketing and communications for The School of Business at Portland State University where she’s responsible for developing and implementing strategies that support the institution’s recruitment and retention efforts. Erin has worked at PSU since 2015. Prior to, she held a variety of marketing and communications roles that span the public, private and nonprofit sectors. Erin has a bachelor’s degree in broadcasting from Grand Valley State University, a master’s degree in communications from the New York Institute of Technology and holds the Accreditation in Public Relations (APR). She’s also an active member and volunteer with the Public Relations Society of America Oregon Chapter. Connect with her online at erinmerz.com.

Let's get ready for the holidays! In today's episode, I briefly go through my four basic coaching concepts, as well as my recommendations for getting through those holiday roadblocks (including travel, holiday parties, and family).

Also, starting November 10 I am running an eight-week Holiday Readiness group coaching program! I will be your accountability partner through the holidays so you can start 2020 on the right foot.

For more details take a look below, visit https://chasingthesunpdx.com/holiday or email me: [email protected]

Check out these client testimonials!

Let’s unwrap this Holiday Readiness program…

Happy Holidays!

This week, we speak with William Careri from Temple University. William is a member of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) and we have gotten to know each other quite a bit over the last year. 

During this episode, we talk about:

Thank you, William, for your time! 

About William:

William Careri is a current senior at Temple University in Philadelphia where he is pursuing a degree in public relations. He currently holds an assistant firm director position at PRowl Public Relations, Temple's student-run public relations firm where he works with outside clients on marketing, branding and more.

Outside of Temple, William is an active mental health advocate, often speaking on the topics of anxiety and depression. This past April, he gave his talk "The Importance of Sharing Your Story" at TEDxTempleU.

After graduation, William plans to pursue a law degree specializing in intellectual property.

This week, we chat with Ashley Stanford Cone of Bloom Communications. Like me, Ashley has had a recent career update. She has also been very public about sharing how she lives with anxiety. I so appreciated her time to discuss her career and how she lives her best life. Today, we chat about:

Ashley’s time at Bloom Communications

Finding your niche and what you love.

Our message to college students about the difference between agency and in-house

Ashley’s advice for those heading into agency life.

How Ashley balances self-care, work, and parenthood.

The importance of building trust in your teams.

How Ashley has learned how to live with anxiety.

About Ashley:

An accomplished communications professional with over 18 years of experience, Ashley is a natural storyteller and strategic thinker, always looking for a unique angle to share creative client stories. With a heart to help others, she has dedicated most of her career to the nonprofit sector, specifically focusing on healthcare and child welfare. She strives to produce outcomes for her clients that are meaningful, impactful, and exceed all expectations.

Before joining Bloom Communications, Ashley served as a Public and Community Relations Consultant for Legacy Health, supporting Randall Children’s Hospital and CARES Northwest. During her tenure, she led the organization’s editorial and social media strategy, managing brand reputation through powerful storytelling across digital, social, and traditional media channels, consulted on crisis communications, and managed strategic relationships with stakeholders, media, and community partners. Prior to working in healthcare, she spent close to seven years working in agencies serving children through international and domestic adoption, orphan care, foster care, and youth homelessness. In the early part of her career, Ashley spent time working in entertainment PR, advertising, and Real Estate marketing.

A true collaborator and client partner, Ashley values trust, accountability, and transparency in her work. By cultivating trusting client relationships, identifying relevant gaps and needs, and partnering with clients to find creative and sustainable solutions, she believes we can not only impact our communities, but also our world.

Ashley holds a master’s degree in Conflict Resolution and a bachelor’s degree in Communications from Portland State University. She is a native-born Oregonian living in Portland with her husband and two sons, and serves on the ambassador board for Children’s Cancer Association.