Fredonia alumna Gina Browning, ’88, will visit campus Monday, Oct. 10 to share her experience as Director of Public Relations at the Erie County (N.Y). SPCA for the past 26 years as part of the university’s Writers@Work series.
A student writing workshop, “#WeDon’tTalkAnymore (So Let’s Write Better)” will be held from 3 to 4 p.m. in Williams Center Room S204. Ms. Browning will offer writing guidance and critique as she speaks about her own role at the SPCA.
A public talk follows the same day at 7 p.m. in the Kelly Family Auditorium in the Science Center, “I’m Not that Great Out Loud, But Boy, Can I Write!” The event is free and the public is invited to attend.
In July, Ms. Browning celebrated her 26th anniversary as Director of Public Relations of the SPCA Serving Erie (N.Y.) County. She is a cum laude graduate of the Department of English at Fredonia. After working in commercial writing, production, and promotions at WBEN-AM and Star 102.5 FM radio stations, along with a short stint at WBLK-FM, she started her career with the SPCA in 1990. The organization had fewer than 40 employees at the time. Today, the SPCA employs approximately 120 full and part-time staff, boasts more than 1,300 volunteers and works in some way with more than 12,000 animals each year.
In addition to other responsibilities, Ms. Browning has created a full-blown media program that currently includes writing and managing 11 weekly installments: two newspaper features, four television features, and five radio features, which means that 572 times each year people exposed to traditional media may be hearing something about the SPCA, its important programs, and its very beautiful and very well-behaved animals. As social media has changed the face of the public relations and journalism industries, the SPCA manages a social media presence with active, popular Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts.
The Writers@Work events are sponsored by the Mary Louise White Fund and Carnahan Jackson Humanities Fund of the Fredonia College Foundation, the Faculty Student Association and the Fredonia Alumni Association. Partners include the School of Business, departments of Communication, English and History, the Career Development Office and English Works.
