S02E14 - Former Gates Foundation Media Lead Shares PR Best Practices | Amy Enright

Build Momentum for Education - K-12 Superintendent Series

In this episode of Build Momentum, we are joined by Amy Enright. Amy worked at the epicenter of global health advocacy, directing media relations internationally for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. She led a high-performing team of professionals in the U.S. and collaborated with colleagues in offices around the world to craft media strategies to support over a dozen major resource mobilizations for global partnerships.
Amy also drove top-tier media engagement for events like the World Economic Forum and the U.N. General Assembly and handled crisis communications and reputation risk management across the Gates Foundation's many programs, including public education in the U.S. She just recently launched her own independent consultancy, Newton Street PR, to share best practices in communications with other organizations focused on social good.
Some Questions I Ask:

• Tell us about how you led media relations for Bill Gates and Melinda French. (3:00)
• What’s your approach to navigating crisis situations in smaller organizations? (6:06)
• What are the biggest lessons you’ve learned from handling the media? (9:46)
• What would your advice be to those who are looking to stir up proactive coverage instead of navigating an influx of massive reactive media? (10:44)
• Any other strategies for keeping media relationships positive? (12:14)
• What are some of the best and proudest moments you had at the Gates Foundation over the years? (13:17)
• Tell us about your new business. (16:04)
  

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• About Amy’s experiences leading media relations for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other organizations (3:25)
• What it’s like to navigate through crisis situations in high-profile organizations (6:35)
• Lessons that Amy learned from handling the media (10:00)
• Advice for the organizations that want to stir up proactive media (11:12)
• Amy’s Gates Foundation memories (13:23)
• More about Newton Street PR (16:18)
  

Quotes:

“The first order of business is to remain calm and get organized before you start reacting. And it sounds really obvious, but you'd be amazed at how the human instinct is to just start taking action.”
“It's very important to have the right protocols in place. Maybe keep a checklist close at hand: Who is the core group that will make decisions? Who needs to be informed immediately within the organization? How can you sort of divvy up responsibilities by an audience? Are you at risk of overreacting internally or externally to the situation? That can really lead to more problems down the road.”

“Having a good debrief is critical because you learn so much from each unique situation, and that can really help you improve next time.“
“Always look at what you're sharing from their point of view and think about their needs. The best media relationships aren't merely transactional.“

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