Similar to learning how to make a prized casserole or a favorite libation, the best communicators learn by doing. The lucky ducks had mentors. I’m grateful to the women and men from whom I learned many ways to get a job done.

Back in the day
My first job after college was as a documentation specialist at Central Carolina Bank (now the 21c Museum Hotel in downtown, Durham) where I wrote standard operating procedures and instructional design materials for tellers and customer service representatives.

After moving to the West Coast, I landed a job as an editor at a public relations agency in San Jose, California, where I had to digest AP Style while revising headlines and properly attributing quotes on tight deadlines. Here, I learned what some might call the “dark arts,” i.e. messaging, pitching, and the essential pivot in a media interview.

I went on to apply my trade to promoting contract manufacturing, semiconductors, and medical devices within large corporate environments before making the pivot to a boutique PR firm in South Francisco. Working as an account executive for the Apple Computer corporate communications team, I had the honor of responding to more than 2,000 calls and emails regarding the famous tagline. For what it’s worth, the incorrect grammar behind “Think Different” was intentional.

Along the way
From the sunny Silicon Valley to the gray skies of the Pacific Northwest, my life as “the trailing spouse” provided me with the opportunity to work in different industries and sectors. Highlights included recruiting members to the Washington Biotechnology and Life Sciences Center; working with the Gates Foundation; and doing fundraising for a tiny nonprofit dedicated to improving math competency for elementary students in Seattle.

Here to stay
Some of the most important work on my resume of life includes parenting and eldercare. The latter led to a return to North Carolina to dramatically insert myself into the lives of my parents. While my peers were pursing advanced degrees and traveling the globe, I took a “time out” to help my father process health insurance claims and manage prescriptions . I coaxed my mother to overcome her fear of water by enrolling in water aerobics at the local YMCA and helped her sort through decades of memorabilia and family history. Caretaking didn’t pay well, but it brought me back to my home state. And, it was some of the most important work I’ve ever done.