Member Spotlight: Kecia Carroll
Posted on Apr. 21, 2021 / Subscribe 0
This Member Spotlight profiles Kecia Carroll, communications consultant at KC Roberg. She joined PRSA Tampa Bay in 2019 and is in her second year serving as the chair for the Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
- First news publication you read in the morning?
I have a Twitter news list that I use to scan through a variety of news outlets and organizations. They include The Tampa Bay Times, The New York Times, CNN, NBC and PRSA.
- First public relations job?
Assistant account executive at Mona, Meyer, McGrath & Gavin, a public relations agency that’s now part of Weber Shandwick. I got to work on some exciting accounts, like Hormel (Spam) and the Mall of America.
Making a new friend at the 2019 PRSA Sunshine District Conference in Tampa.
- Most important career mentor, and why?
Karen Leaffer, a partner at the law firm where I was the marketing director, and someone who shares something in common with me in that we each started our own businesses. She is a smart business leader, entrepreneur, mentor, community advocate, and friend, one of the most compassionate, selfless people I know, and someone I’ve learned so much from in the more than 10 years we’ve worked together.
- Biggest upcoming activities for the Diversity and Inclusion Committee this year?
October is diversity and inclusion month at PRSA, and we’re getting ready to host another amazing program. But since diversity and inclusion is a commitment that our chapter has made for every day of the year, we plan to do a lot of things big and small to continue to build a culture and profession that are diverse and inclusive. We plan to continue the successful Courageous Conversations series that we started last year, engage with multicultural students and new professionals in conversations and activities, and share resources that we hope will add value for our members. You can check this all out through the updates and resources on our chapter’s Diversity and Inclusion page.
- Most personally rewarding part of being involved in diversity and inclusion efforts?
When you work in diversity and inclusion, you need to be prepared to listen, think and act in order to make a difference. At this particularly challenging time in our country, it’s been a privilege to be able to lead conversations on recent events, recruit experts to share perspectives, and implement best practices for our chapter and profession, and to do this with professionals who are as passionate and committed about this as I am.
- Advice to new public relations professionals?
I would share the advice my grandmother shared with me as I backed out of the driveway on my way to college: “Work hard AND play hard,” she hollered. You’re more likely to be successful in work and in life if you do both.
On the Courtney Campbell Causeway. I love to paddle, bike, hike and do many other outdoor activities, and the Tampa Bay area is a perfect place for that.
- Job you would pursue if you weren’t in public relations?
I would start or run a social enterprise doing something to support seniors in aging well and staying engaged, or workforce development for women. And if that didn’t work out, I’ve always thought it would be cool to be a Denver Broncos cheerleader or background dancer for J.Lo.
- Favorite movie?
Anything that makes me laugh, cry or think. If I had to pick one, I would say The Blind Side.
At Fort De Soto Park in St. Petersburg.
- Favorite vacation?
My husband, John, and I jokingly say that our favorite vacation was the last one, because they’ve all been the best, so in this case, my favorite vacation would be a recent trip to Blue Ridge, Georgia, where we spent a week in a cabin in the mountains. Also near the top of the list are trips to Roatan, Honduras; Cadaqués, Spain; and the Colorado Rockies, a place we lived around for 20 years, in Denver, and where it was nice to go back, see old friends, and discover new mountain towns.
With my husband in Ridgway, Colorado, during our recent trip.
- Any three dinner guests?
Michelle Obama, Jimmy Fallon and Marc Benioff, the chair and CEO of Salesforce.
My husband and me (center) at our wedding at St. Pete Beach in 2008, when we still lived in Denver and had no inkling that we’d ever live in Florida one day. That connection has made Tampa Bay a special area for us for a long time.
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