"Life is an adventure to be experienced, not a problem to be solved."

I wish I could take credit for that sentiment but someone else far more clever than I came up with it.  However, it's been one of those phrases that I have enjoyed reflecting on throughout my three careers.

I started out as a journalism major at Ohio University. I became a newspaper reporter and eventually got hired by The Cleveland Press, a major metropolitan daily paper that folded after a 102-year life span (and a 10-year career for me). So ended career No. 1.

After doing some freelance writing for a couple of months, my second career started with Crain Communications, an international publishing house that publishes 30 special-interest magazines and newspapers including Advertising Age, AutoWeek, Investment News, and the Crain business publications. I started out as promotions manager for one of the publications and eventually became director of marketing communication. From there I went to a public relations agency specializing in financial relations and served as director of client relations. Yet another move in the public relations/marketing/advertising arena brought me to a University Hospitals affiliate facility in Cleveland. I wound up my second career as director of public affairs at Lakewood Hospital.

While at the hospital I got my masters degree from Cleveland State University in organizational communication with a focus in relationship development. I decided I wanted my PhD so I  quit my job, went to Kent State University and did my doctoral work in organizational communication, once again focusing on relationship development.

Career No. 3 started as a lecturer at Kent State University. I later was on the faculty of Ursuline College and John Carroll University before leaving Ohio and coming to Towson University in 2002. My teaching specialty is public relations, although I really like to call it persuasive promotional communication.

I believe today's PR practitioner needs to be well versed in persuasive communication theory and techniques and spend less time worrying about whether it is advertising, marketing or public relations. There are more similarities than differences in these fields and practitioners need to be able to take advantage of the opportunities that come along without having to worry about turf battles.

I will end with another favorite quote. This one I know was the work of business theorist John Naisbitt.

"We are drowning in information. It is knowledge we lack".

Research

My research interests include public relations roles and competencies, civic involvement/service learning and organizational relationship development both internal and external.