Getting to Know The Board: Kaitlynn Cooney, Social Media

Where do you work and what is your title?
Brodeur Partners, Account Director 

What is your Twitter handle?

@KaitlynnCooney 

Briefly summarize your background. What kind of industry/clients do you work with?

I have worked in public relations for almost a decade now. Back in college, I had wanted to pursue a degree in broadcast journalism but soon realized that PR offered a lot more flexibility in creative storytelling. I began an internship at Brodeur Partners ten years ago in NYC and never left! I now work out of our Boston headquarters. 

While I work with a lot of different clients and in a lot of different spaces, my main focus in typically nonprofit and consumer media relations. I love being able to find unique ways to tell compelling stories. Whether I’m promoting a cancer survivor’s journey or a sustainable jar for cannabis packaging, I get joy out of finding creative solutions to reaching both hyper local and national media. 

Describe what you do for PR Club.

I help build content for the PR Club’s social media channels and blog. I also help out with program planning, brainstorming, and whatever else needs to get done! 

Name your top three favorite things about PR.

  1. Creative storytelling—everything comes down to the story you are able to mold 
  2. The fast-paced environment—you work on something new every day! 
  3. Mentorship—I love being able to train and mentor the next generation 

Do you have a childhood moment when everyone knew you’d be a communications specialist?

When I was a child, I was diagnosed with Leukemia. I spent many weeks in and out of hospital rooms, urgent care facilities, and different doctors’ offices. While that may sound like a disastrous childhood, it was actually quite invigorating. In order to entertain myself during these long doctor visits, I became accustomed to telling stories to other pediatric cancer patients, doctors, nurses, and anyone else who would listen. It gave me the chance to meet a lot of different people, get comfortable talking about vulnerabilities, and open up my life to a multitude of storytelling possibilities. The nurses would come out of my room and tell my parents, “Boy, she is a talker!” And the habit stuck.

I became a media resource and Cancer Ambassador for the American Cancer Society throughout my childhood. I would often make speeches at local fundraising events and tell my story to a wide range of people—including reporters and other media specialists. I became comfortable and confident in front of the camera. One of my favorite memories was when I was chosen to be an Young Ambassador to the Celebration on the Hill Event in 2006. Along with adult cancer survivors, I was able to meet senators passing cancer research bills and plead my case for an increase in funding. I realized that all this storytelling I was doing could go towards a larger cause of defeating cancer. 

What is your top getaway destination?

Bora Bora or the Maldives 

If you could take a client to any restaurant in Boston where would you go?

Burro bar in the South End. The margaritas are to die for. 

Go to Dunks order?

Dunks? I’m a Blue Bottle Coffee gal myself.