How I Got Here: Macie Pritchard, Senior Public Relations Specialist

Keep up with Macie on LinkedIn! 

What did you think you were going to be in elementary school or high school?

In elementary school, I was convinced I was going to be a marine biologist. But in high school, I changed my mind and wanted to become a psychologist.

Did you study PR? If so, why? If not, what did you study?

What intrigued me the most about psychology was learning about people, behaviors, and why we act the way we do. But I didn't feel I was able to utilize a lot of my creativity in that field. After about a year,  I found myself drifting toward PR when I learned that it was a combination of creativity and strategizing the best ways to connect with and appeal to large audiences.

How did you make your way to Carve?

About two years ago, I had just wrapped up my internship at a large PR agency and started my search for a full-time position. It was by a stroke of luck that I checked my LinkedIn messages one day, and Carve’s managing director, Scott Goldberg, reached out to me to connect. I researched Carve's website, connected with Scott and Senior Director of Consumer Accounts, Nicole Brief, and the rest is history! 

A huge influence on my decision to join the team was actually reading through the other "How I Got Here" blogs. The different Carver’s stories, personalities, and descriptions of Carve's culture were all the things you want to hear when looking for a long-term place to grow and make meaningful connections.

What do you do today at Carve?

I'm a senior PR specialist. My role consists of figuring out ways to insert clients into the media conversation, conducting industry-specific research, developing competitor analyses, and ideating strategic initiatives for both enterprise and consumer clients. 

What is the coolest project you've ever worked on - anywhere?

That's a tough one! I'd say it is a tie between these two:

During a PR Campaigns class (taught by Don Ingle, my favorite professor at DePaul), my group and I got to develop a thorough PR Campaign for Wendy's annual Frosty Key Tag initiative. This consisted of developing a PR strategy with real-world impact (Wendy’s would use the winning team’s ideas for inspiration), working alongside and presenting our ideas to Wendy's representatives, and having one of the class team's ideas selected as a winner by Wendy's (Fun Fact: My team won first place!).

My second would be Carve's experiential activation for our client Upper Deck at The National Sports Collectors Convention celebrating 25 years since Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls’ sixth championship. Together, we created an interactive mobile store featuring a new collection of iconic memorabilia. From the countless people who stopped by, to seeing multiple interviews with national TV reporters come to fruition, it was an unforgettable experience.

What is the career accomplishment you're most proud of?

After just 11 months at Carve as a PR Specialist, I was ecstatic that my hard work and drive led me to be promoted to Senior PR Specialist. While I had some experience with consumer and influencer work in the past, enterprise tech PR was a whole new ball game. I'm proud of my growth from learning the basics, to spearheading strategic initiatives and driving multiple client accounts forward.

I’m also lucky to have found a team that has supported and believed in me and my abilities throughout the way.

What is your superpower?

My mindset. Everyone can have thoughts of doubt, negativity, or failure — but being able to pull yourself out of those feelings, come up with new ideas for success, and lift yourself and others while you’re down is an empowering feat!

What would you love to learn more about?

Physical Therapy and Nutrition. I love all things health and wellness and would love to know more about how I can improve my diet and daily routine to feel better each day.

If you were asked to teach someone how to do something in 5 minutes, what would it be?

Using AI. There are just so many useful capabilities of AI that you can make the world your oyster! I recently planned a 3-day road trip from Chicago to California using AI and it was amazing! 10/10