The Journey of a PR Professional - Mentor shares her story

Heather Pullen, Hamilton Heath Sciences

On November 2, I went down to McMaster University, as my mentor, Heather Pullen, was a guest speaker in a 4^th year Communications class, News Analysis. The lecture was about her journey as a journalist to a public relations professional to what she is currently pursuing, academia.

Heather’s educational background consists of a degree in Journalism and Honours Political Science from Carleton University in Ottawa. Her first job was a summer position as a sports reporter for The London Free Press, a newspaper who wanted to be a more equal opportunity employer. Though sports was not her area, she decided to try it out. Through this position Heather met her husband, a sports columnist for The Toronto Sun.

Afterwards Heather moved back to the city she loved, Ottawa, and began working for Ottawa Today. At the same time, she continued as a stringer for The London Free Press. She moved onto CBC Radio in Ottawa as a producer and reporter. She was there for 10 years before she moved to CBC Toronto where she worked on children programs, sports, current affairs and a program called The National, which aired Sunday mornings. Heather was an on air host as well as a producer of the show.

Her next career choice shocked her CBC employees as they referred to it as going to “the dark side.” She was a well established, successful reporter and producer, why do the unthinkable and join your enemies? Her answer was simple, she wanted a change. Heather made the decision and entered the public relations field in health care. She worked for the Toronto General Hospital and the Toronto Westin Hospital where she met her mentor.

After being in the health care field for numerous years, Heather made the risky decision to leave her position and work as a consultant. This, Heather mentioned is a risky move because work is not always constant. However, Heather had built an excellent reputation and was well known so she never sought out work herself. She was a consultant for 10 years, always had work and made good money. She took the time to focus on her family life. She and her husband adopted and moved to Ancaster.

Though her choice to join Hamilton Health Sciences would result in more hours and less money she took a position as the Manager of Public Relations and Communications for the Hamilton Health Sciences, which consists of six hospitals and a cancer center in Hamilton.

Her current position has her doing a variety of things, including: leading day to day activities, managing departmental resources, advising members of the executive team, coaching hospital spokespeople and collaborating on community projects.

Heather further added to her accomplishments by receiving accreditation from the Accreditation in Public Relations (APR). She is a part of the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS), Bay Area Leadership and Healthcare PR Associations of Canada. She also volunteers in the CPRS Mentorship program, with the Hamilton Police and she’s a member of the Better Business Bureau. She was previously the President of the Conservation Authority. She also coaches soccer and manages soccer and hockey leagues.

After such a successful career, what else is there to do? Something most people dread. Heather decided to go back to school and she received a Masters of Communication Management in June 2010 from McMaster University. She is now taking the next step as a teacher for the Public Relations program currently being offered by McMaster University. She will teach Crisis Communications in January 2011. She is excited about starting her career in academia and attended her first academic conference, the 26^th Annual Q Conference on October 7-9 in Akron, Ohio.

So it seems the path for Heather has been long, and the possibilities seem endless still. She has built a successful career as a journalist, a PR professional and I’m sure she will make an excellent professor who will bring relevant real world experience to her class.

Written by Hope Paiva for your enjoyment :)