Member Spotlight - April 2016

MEET PRSA AUSTIN CHAPTER MEMBER: Danielle Quist 

What do you currently do for a living? My official title is Public Relations and Marketing Coordinator for The Settlement Home for Children. Like PR pros in most non-profits, my job extends beyond my title; in addition to the public relations and the marketing, I manage and maintain all our social media channels, our website, all graphic design and, of course, "other duties as assigned." I absolutely love my job and love being able to share with the community what my agency does. We've been in Austin for 100 years and most people haven't heard of us. I love the challenge of knowing what a lack of awareness we have and figuring out creative ways to tell central Texas who we are and what we do. 

What did you want to be growing up? I'll start by saying that I never wanted to be a doctor, a lawyer or a veterinarian. I changed my dream career based on influencers around me at the time. For a time, I wanted to be a secretary; another spurt I wanted to be a minister; for a while wanted to be a teacher... you get the idea. 

What motivated you to pursue a career in the communications industry? I've been interested in Communications since middle school, where I held leadership roles in my school newspaper and yearbook. I'm certain I would not have been able to articulate this in my communications beginnings as a teenager, but I love that there are so many different ways to communicate- be it photography, writing, speaking, etc. Maybe it started early on as being a nosy gossip (embarrassing) just wanting to know what was going on, and has evolved into a passion for doing what I do now- finding ways to tell the world about worthy causes with little to no PR and marketing budget. 

Where are you from? Where have you lived? I grew up in Marble Falls, a small town west of Austin. Outside of my moves for college, I've spent most of my life in central Texas. Straight out of college, I moved to Wacky Waco, which wasn't my ideal destination at that time, but it grew on me and I had a great couple years there. I've since chosen Austin (actually a cheaper suburb) as home and don't anticipate myself leaving. 

What college(s) did you attend? I started out at University of Missouri in Columbia. Two years and a heck-of-a-lot of student loans in, I realized that I was going to end up back in Texas when I graduated, so I decided to transfer and save the out-of-state tuition. I knew I needed Big 12 Football, so that was Texas, Texas A&M or Tech. I didn't want to go to school in my backyard, so I ruled out UT; I couldn't bring myself to be an Aggie (though I can admit that it's a great school and I have lots of fabulous Aggie friends); so that left Tech. I transferred and never looked back.

What was your first job in PR/communications? My first job as a PR pro was at Girl Scouts of Central Texas. It was an incredibly rewarding job and I had a fabulous boss, who I consider a mentor and still call for help. I learned a lot about being a PR professional in the non-profit world; how to make really solid connections with people; and how to work hard when resources were limited. 

What is your best piece of advice to your fellow PR practitioners? I learn every single day- I learn my limits, my strengths, new skills and how to work with people. Because I feel like I'm still learning and growing and exploring, I can't think of advice I'd give to another PR friend. Maybe I'd say make sure you are always open to growing and learning. 

What is your most memorable experience as a communications professional? I'll never forget my first live TV interview at a new job. I had been there a month and we were having our biggest fundraiser of the year. I went on the AM news to chat about that fundraiser. It was a scripted interview- I had written the Q & A for closed captioning purposes. Going on air doesn't make me nervous, but I was a tad nervous just hoping I remembered all the info of this new agency. The interview started and followed the flow I had written. All of a sudden, the reporter went on a tangent and started asking me questions about a government agency we worked with. I knew that commenting on an agency I didn't represent was not something I was going to do, but she kept picking at me and trying to trap me into saying something negative. I managed to shut her down and stand my ground on my topic and my message. I left the interview a little shaky, but felt like a stronger professional because of it. Many of my constituents saw the interview and commended me on how I handled it, especially given my short tenure at the organization. I think I'll always be proud of that moment. 

What do you do in your free time? What are your hobbies/interests outside of work? If the temperature is above 72 degrees, the wind is less than 15 mph and the sun is at least partially out, you can find me on my boat on the lake. I spend virtually every weekend (and many week nights) in the spring, summer and fall on the water. I do everything I can out there- swimming, reading, tubing, wake boarding and generally establishing a good balance between work and fun. In the winter, I pin way too many things on Pinterest and sometimes binge watch shows on Hulu.