Tell us about your job - what does a typical day look like?

Like most school PR professionals, my typical day is beautifully unpredictable, but at its core, it is fueled by relationship building.

On any given Tuesday, I might start my morning at the Rotary Club, taking photos of our incredible middle schoolers receiving "Most Improved Student" awards before the school day even begins.

From there, I might head into one of our schools to snap photos of our teachers in action as they open up their classrooms to colleagues, sharing how they are fine-tuning math instruction, which is a critical piece of a new $500,000 Math Innovation Grant our district just received to expand this work.

Afterschool, I might be greeting guests in our boardroom and capturing photos of a celebration with the Assistance League of Huntington Beach volunteers who provide grants to our teachers. In between these community connection points, I'm back at my desk, navigating the complex, fast-paced, and sometimes stressful operational demands of the school day. Helping draft talking points, messaging, or scripts for principals or leadership, working as a celebrity handler to our superintendent and board, and daily trying to carve out time to edit photos and draft stories for our websites, weekly newsletters, and social media.

I wear many hats: storyteller, community liaison, internal strategist, and crisis manager, sometimes all before lunch!

What do you like most about what you do?

One aspect of school PR that I find especially rewarding is helping connect communication to teaching and learning.

Many people think of school communications as promoting events or sharing good news stories. While those things matter, some of the most meaningful communication happens internally. By highlighting effective classroom practices, innovative instruction, and student learning experiences, we help educators learn from one another and create a shared understanding of what excellence looks like across the district.

As a former educator, I see communication as a tool for strengthening culture, supporting professional growth, and helping everyone move in the same direction on behalf of students.

What do you find most challenging about what you do?

The greatest challenge is definitely the fast-paced nature of the job and the sheer volume of incredible stories waiting to be told. You are constantly balancing urgent, reactive crisis communications with the proactive, strategic storytelling that builds long-term trust. It requires ongoing prioritization and learning to accept that you can't be everywhere at once, even when there are amazing things happening in every corner of the district.

Tell us about a project you are working on or completed that you are particularly proud of. How did it come about? What impact has it had so far?

One project I'm especially proud of is building a more intentional internal communications strategy that shines a light on exceptional teaching and learning across our district.

Like many school districts, we were already sharing wonderful events and celebrations with our community. But I realized we had an opportunity to better communicate instructional excellence internally. Great things were happening in classrooms every day, yet teachers at one school often had no idea what innovative practices were taking place just a few miles away.

That led to the creation of our "Big Things Happening" internal update. Rather than simply recognizing accomplishments, we intentionally highlight classroom instruction, collaborative practices, and innovative learning experiences across all ten schools. The goal is to help educators see what is possible, celebrate one another's work, and reinforce the district's instructional priorities.

As communicators, we often think about informing the public, and that work is incredibly important. But I've found that when we intentionally communicate excellence internally, we don't just tell our district's story, we help shape it.

How long have you been in the profession and what was your path to school PR?

I came to school PR through education.

I earned a multiple-subject, teaching credential in 2004, worked for a short time as a classroom teacher, and served in a variety of leadership and community engagement roles. Throughout those experiences, I found myself continually drawn to communication, helping people understand one another, building relationships, and connecting stakeholders around a shared purpose.

Today, I combine my background in education with strategic communications to help support students, staff, families, and district leadership.

I recently completed a master’s degree in Public Relations and am currently pursuing Accreditation in Public Relations (APR).

What advice do you have for new PR professionals?

Listen first.

It can be tempting to focus on messaging, but effective communication starts with understanding people. Build relationships before you need them. Spend time in schools. Learn how different stakeholders experience your organization.

Also, never stop learning. The tools and platforms will continue to evolve, but trust, transparency, empathy, and strong relationships will always be at the heart of successful communications.

What else would you like to share?

Because my background is in education, I approach school PR a little differently than someone who came from journalism, marketing, or broadcasting.

Of course, part of our job is telling the community about events, achievements, and celebrations. But I also see communications as a leadership tool. When we intentionally tell the stories of effective teaching, student success, and innovative practices, we help create a common vision for what is possible. Those stories don’t just inform our community, they can inspire and support the educators doing the work every day.

The most powerful school communications efforts are not only outward-facing; they help strengthen the organization from within.

What are you doing to promote IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access)?

For me, IDEA begins with access.

I work to ensure that district communications are accessible, understandable, and available to all families. This includes improving digital accessibility, supporting translation and interpretation efforts, using plain language whenever possible, and creating communication systems that help families engage with their schools.

I also believe inclusion means ensuring that the stories we tell reflect the many voices, experiences, and strengths within our school community. Every student, family, and staff member deserves to see themselves represented and valued.

I serve as the Public Information Officer for the Fountain Valley School District (FVSD) in Orange County, California. FVSD is a high-performing TK-8 school district serving approximately 6,000 students across 10 schools in Fountain Valley and Huntington Beach.

As we celebrate our 150th anniversary, our district remains focused on providing exceptional educational opportunities while building strong partnerships with families, staff, and the broader community. Public education is one of the most important institutions in our communities, and I am proud to help tell the stories of the students, educators, and staff who make that work possible every day.