I am the Director of Public Communications at Planned Parenthood of South Central New York, Inc. www.ppscny.org . I am responsible for public, media and community relations, marketing, advertising, web design (see my latest handiwork at www.ppscny.org/family ), newsletters, and government advocacy. Three-quarters of my time is spent on public relations, and the other one-quarter is spent on lobbying our state and federal lawmakers for legislation that is beneficial to reproductive health.

My M.S. from Ithaca was helpful because during my enrollment, user friendly presentation & design software were being introduced. I learned Power Point, Pagemaker, and Front Page, all of which I'm still using daily, 10 years later. I took a great class in public speaking, which is also extremely helpful. Gordon Rowland's research methods class taught me the right way to conduct surveys, which I've always used in my jobs. I had a great internship at Tompkins County Public Information which taught me how to write and design newsletters and conduct a public information campaign. The degree also allowed me to teach at the community college level on and off for the last 6 years, just for fun.

Ithaca College is very well known and respected around the country. I've traveled quite a bit for work and everyone knows the school. When I worked at SUNY Binghamton, I helped 2 Ithaca grad students get internships in the communications office. Most importantly, I made wonderful friends, including with some of my professors. I had a fabulous time and didn't want grad school to end.  I met my husband during grad school and we've been happily married for 8 years.