Mary Eilene Wollslager, PhD, APR
Assistant Professor of Public Relations and Journalism
Our Lady of the Lake University
San Antonio, Texas
Applying for: Southwest District Director
Alternate Position(s):
Biography
M. Eilene Wollslager, PhD, APR
Dr. Eilene Wollslager is an assistant professor of public relations and journalism at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio. She has been teaching communication at the university level since 2003. She holds a PhD in communication studies from Regent University, a master’s degree in communication studies from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, TX and graduated magna cum laude with an undergraduate degree in broadcasting and broadcast business from Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, Missouri.
Dr. Wollslager had a 20-year career in media and public relations before returning to academia. She has her Accreditation in Public Relations from the Public Relations Society of America. Her work experience includes public relations positions for USAA, the National Pork Producers Association, HCA-affiliated hospitals, and religious organizations. Dr. Wollslager’s media career included on-air positions at Texas Pubic Radio, Radio Kansas, KXCV-Maryville, MO, Iowa Pubic Television and KQTV in St. Joseph, MO. She also worked as an automotive and real estate editor for the "Shreveport Times."
She served on the Board of Directors of the San Antonio PRSA Chapter for the past three years. She was the Vice President of Programming and now serves as a liaison with the OLLU PRSSA chapter. She was an At-Large delegate for the 2016 PRSA International Leadership Assembly. Dr. Wollslager served as a judge for PRSA chapter awards, on APR Readiness Review Boards and as an APR mentor.
She is an active researcher in crisis public relations, the history of women in public relations and computer-mediated communication.
PRSA Accomplishments
PRSA San Antonio Vice President of Programs 2014-15
PRSA San Antonio Board of Directors 2014-Present
At-Large Delegate, 2016 Leadership Assembly
APR Readiness Review Committee Member 2016
PRSA San Antonio Gift of Guidance Volunteer 2010-Present
Governance Skills
Working as the Communication Director for USAA Life Insurance provided me with an opportunity to create short- and long-range strategic communication plans for the organization. I was charged with creating the company's first IMC committee and began work uniting communication vision for the organization.
Throughout my career, I held several communication director level positions which involved communication research, planning and implementation. I developed communication policies and standards for these organizations, oversaw budget and staff and created crisis plans for my employers.
In my current role as a professor of public relations and journalism, I have been tasked with strategic planning for our program. Most recently, I was worked on a three-year strategic plan for our program. I am tasked with developing and implementing research tools to track performance and report progress. Most recently, I developed, implemented and analyzed survey data from our communication program alumni to better understand program weaknesses and strengths as perceived by our working alumni.
Leadership Skills
I've served on the San Antonio PRSA Chapter Board of Directors for four years, serving as the Vice President of Programming and also as the PRSSA Advisor. I have also served as part of the strategic planning teams at NPCC, St. Mary's Hospital in Enid, OK and USAA Life Insurance and Property and Casualty companies. Additionally, I've worked as part of leadership teams for charitable organizations such as Catholic Charities-Wichita, KS, Center for Hope, Wichita, KS, various church organizations and local Chamber of Commerce (Wichita and Enid). This wide range of leadership experience has taught me the value of multiple perspectives and maximization of expertise that comes from these types of leadership teams.
Strong leadership is essential for PRSA as it shapes the current and future vision for the organization and for the profession. In our ever-changing, technology-saturated profession, it is essential that PRSA's board of directors be able to address key issues for the profession and provide direction for the industry as a whole.
Strengths
My expertise in media, public relations, academia and the skills that each of these experiences provided me would be an asset to the PRSA board. With a Ph.D. in communication, I have essential research and analysis skills (both quantitative and qualitative) that would be an asset to the board's ability to collect and analyze data about the members and the industry. I have extensive skills in multimedia journalism and marketing, in addition to my public relations knowledge which can help the board as it looks to collaboration and integrated communication with other disciplines and organizations. Being in touch with young professionals every day through my work as a professor also provides me with a direct pipeline of information about the concerns, needs and struggles of young professionals, who are the future of PRSA.
Volunteer Commitment
As a 20-year member of PRSA, I am deeply committed to the organization. The training, networking, and experience I gained from PRSA have been critical in my success as a PR professional and professor. Giving back to my profession is a top priority for me at this stage in my career. Since I am a senior professional, I have the ability to manage a multitude of responsibilities successfully. My employer also values my involvement and connections within PRSA. They are also committed to allowing me the opportunity to support the profession as a volunteer member of the board of directors.
Position Statement #1
Prompt: The lines continue to blur among the disciplines of public relations, marketing, IT and customer service, and the need increases to create more collaborative teams and hybrid professionals. PRSA has continued to evolve and respond to these issues in support of our members, partners and colleagues. What do you believe are the strongest components of PRSA’s strategic plan that will help our members address these challenges, and how will PRSA remain relevant and sustainable for the future?
Collaboration and integration between communication professionals is an important aspect of the strategic plan. The concept of positioning PR professionals as "thought leaders" may be a means to establish PR professionals in a communication leadership role. However, if professionals do not have collaborative skills and basic business understanding, their effectiveness in leading multi-disciplinary teams will be compromised. The idea of developing young professionals and providing mentors needs to be better developed in the organization. Some local chapters do this well, and PRSA needs to learn from best practices and help local chapters implement programs across the organization.
My local chapter has been collaborating more with SPJ and with AMA. These types of alliances need to be expanded and enhanced as we see more hybridization of the industry. We may want to consider how we can bring professionals of other disciplines into the organization. As specialization continues, we need to address how we can be relevant to a wide array of communication professionals. We may need to rethink the specialized sections that PRSA currently has and explore how they might better address the needs of professionals.
Getting and keeping young professionals in the organization is essential to the future of PRSA and a key component of the strategic plan. We need to listen more to these young members and prospective members. Research data about their needs and their impressions of PRSA should be the basis of future planning and strategies.
A long-term need of PR professionals is greater business literacy. Teaming with business organizations and schools could greatly enhance the PR professional's relevancy and effectiveness in workplace teams. We have been weak in this area as a profession, and the strategic plan's focus on helping build this competency is critical for our member's future success.
Position Statement # 2
Prompt: PRSA has become more complex and diverse in recent years. While the Society must become nimbler, we also are cognizant that we must help prepare our members to meet tomorrow’s challenges as leaders at every level. The role of the communications professional will continue to evolve, and PRSA will anticipate future trends, and support our members at every stage of their career. As a member of PRSA’s national board, what do you see as your role in contributing to helping our membership meet tomorrow’s challenges as leaders?
Professional development will continue to be a key component of PRSA's role in the continuing advancement of our members. Because of the ever-changing nature of the industry, the need for PRSA to provide accessible training and accreditation programs must continue to be a priority. While certification programs and training opportunities will likely change as technology changes, PRSA must stay on top of these trends and provide cutting-edge opportunities for its members to keep them abreast of and in sync with the rapid changes in communication technology.
As a board member, keeping up-to-date individually is critical. It is impossible to lead an organization if we are not well informed about the trends and changes in our industry. If leadership is "behind the times" then it is impossible for PRSA to be on the forefront of development for our members. I also believe that leaders need to role models for behaviors we want to see in our organization. This means that we need to operate with transparency and operate with the highest level of ethics in both board activities and in our own professional work. We need to be vocal advocates of public relations role in society and its unique ability to connect people and organizations. Being able to understand data and trends will be a key issue for the board to strategically plan and move PRSA into the future and to maintain relevancy for the organization with its membership.
Mary Eilene Wollslager, PhD, APR
Category
Southwest District Director