Christina Ragsdale
You wear two hats professionally with the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District and Christina Ragsdale Communications (an independent PR consultancy), can you tell us about your roles with each?
I’ve been fortunate to have ‘day job’ bosses who realized that they would benefit from the cross fertilization of my work with private clients and pro-bono clients in unrelated fields. I think I have earned a reputation for successfully bringing entrepreneurial ideas to government and more structured ideas and resources from government to business. It’s an interplay I find fascinating and also one that’s not explored often enough.
How do you balance the two?
I feel the need to respond ‘carefully.’ Initially it was challenging and I had to give it a great deal of thought – now it’s more of a habit. It definitely requires me to see a clear dividing line between the two in certain circumstances, while also identifying where opportunities and learnings can occur. I suppose it’s not for everyone, because it also requires self-monitoring and self-discipline in terms of getting it all done! However, I am someone who has always fed professionally and personally from the relationships I have built on each side of this balancing scale. I think I have also made introductions that led to innovative partnerships, and I find that very rewarding and energizing.
You are very active in local professional associations, which would you recommend for marketing pros just getting started, or for more experienced pros?
I have always received more in return from my activities and involvement that I have given. It’s been terrific professional development for me at every stage of my career. I have met other professionals who have been extremely generous with their time, resources and advice. It has also led to my involvement on the national stage with the Public Relations Society of America – the largest organization representing this profession - with over 32,000 members worldwide. This has opened up opportunities for me on a much larger scale that have benefited me both with my current employer and my private clients in ways I never could have foreseen. I definitely recommend to junior practitioners in both marketing and public relations to become involved in their professional associations. It’s part of paying it forward as a professional but will also pay them back.
You work closely with Sacramento State, what are they doing that you think contributes most to the local professional community? How can other pros get involved there?
I think the greatest contribution you can make as a professional – other than doing your best work – is to mentor the generation coming behind you. I benefitted greatly from a series of generous mentors and work in a profession that is evolving rapidly both due to a growing body of knowledge as well as new technology (social media, etc.). Sacramento State recently, after many years of effort, chartered a chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (the 8,000 member student arm of my professional organization). This required them to assemble an impressive body of courses, a professor dedicated to being a student advisor, and passing an on-site evaluation by the Society. They should be commended for their efforts to prepare students for a profession that is projected to grow enormously in the coming years. I suggest other public relations and marketing professionals contact the advisor at CSUS and ask how they can help through mentoring, internships, shadowing and guest-lecturing. Students benefit tremendously from these interactions.
What is your most personally rewarding success in communications?
This is the toughest question yet. There have been so many; from handling national media as the Sisters of Mercy treated war-wounded children from Afghanistan, three Sacramento flood emergency operations; engaging the community while building the enhanced and expanded Watt Avenue Bridge or running the enormous Railfair ’91 event. I don’t think I could pick just one. Every new challenge has taught me something new and added to the rich experiences and wonderful relationships I have collected through the privilege of working in a profession I love.
