Member Spotlight - August 2016

MEET PRSA AUSTIN CHAPTER MEMBER: Bryce Dubee 

What do you currently do for a living? I’m a member of the Communications and Outreach Team at the Texas Veterans Commission. Our agency is the state-appointed advocate for the more than 1.68 million Texas veterans, and we serve them in a multitude of ways such as assisting veterans in obtaining health care and disability compensation, to helping veterans with barriers to employment to find meaningful work, to awarding grants to nonprofits and local government agencies that provide direct services to veterans. It’s a phenomenal agency with an important mission, and as a veteran myself, I love coming to work each day knowing that we’re here to help my brothers and sisters-in-arms.

As the agency's Public Affairs Officer, I’m responsible for media relations and engagement, as well as our social media program, website administration, and email marketing. I also help develop training, assist with event planning, and serve as a liaison with various veterans organisations and other state agencies. And it seems like at least once a month I’m out travelling Texas to various veterans' events to help spread the word about the programs available from TVC. Coming from the East Coast, I’m still getting used to how big this state is!

What motivated you to pursue a career in communications? I’ve always loved storytelling and journalism, and grew up reading Ernie Pyle and Joe Galloway. So later when I found out that the Army would pay me to travel the world to take pictures and tell soldiers’ stories to the American people, I jumped at the opportunity and never looked back!

What was your first job in PR/communications? I enlisted in the Army in 2003, and after Basic Training and Public Affairs training, I was assigned to Army Central Command. From there I went straight to Kuwait and shortly after, Iraq. It was a trial by fire, both literally and professionally, but I ended up working at the headquarters for the coalition mission in Iraq and was able get a lot of excellent strategic-level communications experience early on in my career.

Where are you from? Where have you lived? Oh wow - where should I start! I was born in Honduras while my parents were serving there in the Peace Corps, and grew up in New Hampshire, Puerto Rico, and Virginia - the state I most consider “home.” After college, the Army decided to send me around the world, so I’ve had mailing addresses in Atlanta, Kuwait, Baghdad, Tacoma, Kandahar, and Fort Hood, Texas. During that time, I also had the opportunity to take off the uniform for a few years to work as a reporter for Stars and Stripes at their Tokyo bureau, and later as part of a 16-month fellowship with Google Global Communications and Public Affairs Team at their Washington, D.C. office. In March of this year, I wrapped up nearly 13 years of military service, moved to Austin, and started work at TVC.

How has PRSA Austin contributed to your development as a public relations professional? Even as a new member (I only just joined this year!) it’s been an invaluable resource so far. Going from the defense communications community to the civilian sector has been an interesting and exciting transition, and the opportunity to meet with fellow communications professionals at PRSA Austin and just chat with them has been unbelievably helpful. Not to mention the advice I’ve received from chapter members as I’ve started to think about pursuing my APR!

What is your most memorable experience as a PRSA member? I’ve only been a member for a little while, so I don’t have any super-exciting memories yet, but I’d have to say it was at one of the breakfast events where one of my former colleagues from Google was presenting. The last time I had seen him was years earlier, which ironically was also both my first time in Austin and was at a Texas Veterans Commission event, so having everything sort of come back around full circle was pretty fun.

What are the main reasons you’ve continued to renew your PRSA membership every year? Between the news and information in the Daily Briefings and the vast network of local professionals to meet and interact with, it’s an absolutely essential part of my continued professional development.

Fill in the blank: My favorite thing about PRSA Austin is being able to interact with fellow communicators and see how their approach similar challenges and to learn from them!