Alumni Spotlight: Greta Gustafson
Greta Gustafson, Media Relations Specialist at American Red Cross
“My favorite aspect of my job is getting to share stories with meaning. When I am on the ground during a disaster, my goal is to inspire people at home to act and make a difference – whether it be by donating money or volunteering.”
What was your undergraduate experience like?
For as long as I can remember, I always wanted to be a journalist when I grew up. I came to American University’s School of Communication ready to pursue a Journalism major. After my first year of taking classes and learning what being a journalist would really mean – for example, covering any story assigned to you and leaving out your personal bias – I lost my confidence in my major of choice. I still wanted to write and tell meaningful stories, but I also wanted to be strategic and be able to use my work to convince my audiences to take action.
That’s when I found Public Communication. I immediately dove right in, joining the Public Relations Student Society of American (PRSSA) and serving on the executive board as the Director of Membership and as a part of the student-run PR firm, Eagle Communications. I loved being able to network with my fellow students, AU alum and learn about the wide variety of professions within the field of public relations – every organization needed communications!
I experimented with different types of public relations in a variety of industries through my internships in college. I managed communications for a local water park in my hometown for a summer, interned at a digital marketing firm helping create web content for luxury companies, and finally landed as the media relations intern at the American Red Cross. That’s when I realized being able to communicate a message I believed in was the right path for me.
In additional to my Public Communication major, I also minored in Marketing and Sociology.
Where has your career path led you since graduating? What does your current role entail?
I started with the Red Cross as the Media Relations intern during my senior year and came on full time once I graduated. In my current role as the Media Relations Specialist, I am responsible for sharing the Red Cross story with national media, mitigating potential reputation risks, developing organizational messaging, media training executives, acting as a national spokesperson and providing strategic insight for furthering Red Cross initiatives through media coverage.
During my five years with the organization I have traveled nationwide to help tell the Red Cross story after disasters such as the recent Oregon Wildfires, Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Florence. I also shed light on the tragic aftermath of the lesser known disaster – home fires – by sharing the importance of smoke alarms through telling the stories of home fire survivors across the country.
What’s one thing you love about your current job or working in public relations?
My favorite aspect of my job is getting to share stories with meaning. When I am on the ground during a disaster, my goal is to inspire people at home to act and make a difference – whether it be by donating money or volunteering. There is nothing quite like sitting down and talking with people who have lost everything but are still hopeful for the future because of the support they are receiving from the Red Cross. Seeing that firsthand and being the person who is sharing that slice of life with the rest of the country, is a true honor.
What’s your proudest accomplishment across your career so far?
Going into the 2017 hurricane season, we were down multiple communications team members and were hit with an unprecedented level of disasters – specifically Hurricane Harvey. Within the first 72 hours of Hurricane Harvey hitting Houston, we received over 500 national media inquiries, and I was one of two people responsible for handling them. We made a goal of making sure that each inquiry received an individual response, and even if it was declining the interview request. Though it seemed impossible, we were able to respond to every email and phone call we got.
Being able to remain calm in the face of a seemingly unsurmountable task is something I am most proud of in my career. And to this day, I can look at any disaster or challenge and know that if I made it through the Hurricane Harvey response, I can tackle anything.
I am also proud of how far we have come as a team since that response. We were able to take numerous lessons learned and change the way we work during disasters moving forward. This has resulted in building several strong and positive relationships with key media outlets and being a go-to source for information during disasters.
What’s in the future for you? (long-term career goals or anything else you’d like to talk about)
I really enjoy the strategic aspect of communications and I would like to continue to build upon that experience. In the future, I would love to be at the forefront of developing communications strategy for an organization whose mission I believe in and leading a team to execute those goals.
How have your experiences with PRSSA supported you in your professional career?
Before joining PRSSA, I don’t think I quite grasped what “public relations” could really mean. PRSSA opened my eyes to all the different paths you could take with a communications degree and introduced me to professionals working in those fields. It was also great to have a group of like-minded students around to bounce ideas off and get internship advice from.
What advice would you give to current AU PRSSA members to prepare for a career in public relations?
Through listening to guest speakers, trying different internships and talking with your fellow PR students, make sure to learn about all the paths that a communications career can take you. I remember thinking that working at an agency with a variety of clients was the only option but joining an in-house communications team at an organization can be a great way to meld multiple interests you may have. Don’t be afraid to explore different career options you can take with a communications degree.
Fun fact!
The Red Cross is a politically neutral organization, which allows us to deliver our mission to everyone in need. During my time at the organization, I have seen this in action firsthand by having interactions with both the current president and the president-elect.
While I was on the ground in North Carolina during Hurricane Florence, an update video that I starred in was retweeted by President Trump.
Each year, the Red Cross has a table at the Vice President’s holiday parties to allow guests sign cards for troops deployed over the holidays. While staffing one of these events a few years ago, I met then-Vice President Biden.
Greta Gustafson is a current media relations specialist for the American Red Cross National Headquarters in Washington, DC. She’s experienced in building fruitful media relationships, developing messaging, mitigating reputational risks, media training executives, acting as a national spokesperson and implementing strategic communications plans.
