Presenting Elaine Nathanson, APR, Fellow PRSA
From the Public Relations Society of America, April 15, 2008
What is your public relations philosophy?
Everything that everyone does, and everything that an organization or business does, is a public relations opportunity. PR is the catalyst for ideas and information that molds our society.
What is your current position?
Public Relations Director, Bolchalk FReY Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations.
Did you always want to do this?
No. I wanted to be a reporter from the time I was 8 years old. I still want to be a reporter, explaining the world and people in it. I still want to be City Editor.
How did you get started?
I’d been a general news reporter for the Arizona Daily Star in the era when women were just being “allowed” to cover main news. However, working deadlines did not fit with being a mom. I was hired to do press releases for a Tucson PR firm and was shocked to realize that PR people used the same skills journalist do — gather the information, and present it in a way that is understandable to the audience you want to reach.
What are your greatest professional and personal achievements?
Achieving APR when it was first introduced; being accepted as a Fellow in PRSA was as major achievement; mentoring others who achieved their APRs; and seeing the results of 20 years worth of water conservation education. I am still proud of handling the PR campaign that changed the way Tucson looks — from grass in the street medians and front yards to attractive low-water using plants. Personally, I have two terrific daughters and a wonderful family.
How do you spend your free time outside of work?
I love to wander around Tucson and Southern Arizona. It’s my way of getting to know who lives here, what they do, and who they are, and that is valuable information for PR projects.
What are your non-writing interests?
I maintain my backyard and my fish pond, which is full of goldfish and turtles. We like to go out to dinner with friends and my husband’s engineering students, who are mostly from other countries.
Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?
Not having to go to work everyday but still working — volunteering, teaching, being involved in the Tucson community.
Where have you traveled or lived outside of Tucson?
I’m a native Tucsonan and other than two years in Denver as the PR person for National Jewish Hospital, I have lived here. I’ve been to England, France, Belgium, Denmark and Germany several times, Italy, the Caribbean, Canada and Israel. Two years ago, my sisters and I took our mother to Latvia to visit the little village where she was born.
How do you keep up with professional trends and development?
Read, listen and ask lots of questions of the younger folks. This profession is changing so rapidly and there is so much more to know.
What have you gained from being in PRSA?
Knowledge, historical perspective, professional achievements and many great friends.
Any secrets you want to share with your fellow PRSA members?
Secrets? When you’ve lived in one place nearly your whole life, you can’t have secrets.
