Age: 34

President, Step Ahead Inc.

• Oversees all operations of her company, including marketing,  public relations and business development.
  Offers social media and traditional public relations strategy for clients.

Community involvement

• Assists with public relations for the Charleston Marathon.
• Assists with public relations for the Innovators 5K race.
• Handled public relations for the spring Mom-to-Mom sale held by the MOMS Clubs of Mount Pleasant. Proceeds were donated to Windwood Farms.
• Serves on the Web committee for the S.C. Public Relations Society of America.
• Independent Practitioners representative for the Lowcountry region of SCPRSA.
• Member, PRSA, Center for Women, Charleston Digital Corridor.
• Speaks to groups and organizations across the state about using social media as a public relations tool.

What made you select your chosen profession? I started as a TV journalist but quickly discovered it was not for me. I’ve always enjoyed writing, and so with my journalism background, public relations was a natural profession for me to try. I’ve also always had an interest in computers, and then the Web. I studied how to use these as marketing tools. When blogs, social networking and other Web 2.0 tools emerged, I was fascinated by their power to quickly spread the word and learned everything I could about them.

What is the best career advice you’ve ever been given? Follow your heart, not your wallet.

Books on your nightstand: The World is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman and Never Check E-Mail In the Morning: And Other Unexpected Strategies for Making Your Work Life Work by Julie Morgenstern.