PRSSA Candid Conversation with Erika Mayor
By: Thea Nagle
A majority of nonprofits have been active during the pandemic supporting and providing services to their clients and communities. Public relations professional Erika Mayor has an extensive career in nonprofit, working for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for five years. Mayor was always passionate about nonprofits and recommends that anyone interested in nonprofit works for an organization they truly care about. It makes the work more rewarding and enjoyable. Mayor still works with her nonprofit passion today in the consulting firm she started in 2013, GrupoMayor Consulting Inc.
Mayor began her PR career as a journalist after graduating. While journalism was not her desired career path, she learned a lot of valuable skills as a journalist that she brought with her to her PR profession. Mayor was offered her first PR position with Red Cross, “On my first day I got to the office and they asked me to write a media alert and a boilerplate and in my mind I was like what is that?” Without much experience in PR she quickly realized that she already knew how to do some key PR functions after working in journalism. At Red Cross she learned about the creation of press materials, conducting press conferences, planning events and fundraising. She became the spokesperson for Red Cross, “It was scary to stand in front of a mic and say something because the cancel culture we have now is very intimidating, but the experience made me the confident media trainer I am today.” A lot of what she learned during her time at Red Cross prepared her for success with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
After the Red Cross, Mayor took her skills to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital where she worked her way up to be the Associate Director of the South Florida Region. Working for a large organization proved to be a challenge because of how detailed and strict they are about branding and image, but it helped her stay organized. In addition to working in crisis communication, branding, strategy and other aspects, Mayor thought “If I wanted to get in with the key players I needed to have the same skill set and knowledge, so I went to get my masters in business.” After receiving her masters she gained more respect and had better knowledge in the business realm.
After several years, Mayor created her own consulting agency. Starting her own agency was something she was always interested in, but it took time. Mayor advised students that “It’s not years, it’s not quantitative. It’s all experience and what you have learned and what your previous experience is.” Being able to experiment with different roles and positions was extremely valuable to Mayor, because she needed to figure out what she liked. Gaining experience and wearing as many hats as you can is crucial to success in communications. She told students that employers like to see consistency and adaptability. Staying at a role and learning as much as you can should be our top priority before we move onto the next to expand our skill set.
Mayor’s top tip for current PR students is to take advantage of what else you can be learning outside of the classroom. What certifications, webinars, online courses would benefit you?