Janelle M. Guthrie, APR
Communications Director
Employment Security Department
Olympia, Washington
Applying for: North Pacific District Director
Alternate Position(s):
Biography
Janelle Guthrie, APR, is the communications director for Washington’s Employment Security Department, the state agency that partners with public and private organizations to connect employers with a skilled workforce, collects unemployment insurance taxes and provides a safety net for workers who lost their jobs through no fault of their own.
She manages a team of eight communications professionals, develops the agency’s strategic communications direction and advises the Commissioner and leadership team on their internal and external communications needs.
She serves on multiple interagency teams, including those working to help publicize efforts to fight fraud, increase veterans’ employment and develop an employee value proposition that will attract and retain a strong state government workforce. She’s also a member of the communications steering committee for the National Association of State Workforce Agencies, a group she helped re-establish when she joined the Employment Security Department.
Janelle started her public relations career as a lobbyist for a 60,000-member agricultural organization in Olympia, where she taught members how to advocate for their issues, wrote regular columns for the organization’s newsletter and helped raise awareness for the group’s issues before the Washington State Legislature.
She then joined the Washington State Legislature as a public information officer in the state Senate, where she handled the communications needs of five Senators, including drafting talking points, news releases and newsletters as well as planning town halls and media tours. She also developed the caucus’ first website, served on bipartisan teams to support workplace volunteerism and giving, and help lead the YMCA Youth Legislature team from the Olympia area.
She left the Legislature to join the Microsoft Corp. as executive communications program manager. In that role, she managed internal communications strategies for Microsoft’s top executives, including conducting quarterly “Executive Chat” broadcasts from the Microsoft studios to employees’ desktops, writing articles for the Micronews and hosting monthly “Executive Brown Bags” with executives and employees.
Senate leaders recruited her back to serve as communications director, where she joined the leadership team, helped develop the caucus strategy and managed as many as 14 public information officers, constituent relations staff and interns.
She left the Senate to join the Office of Republican Attorney General Rob McKenna in 2005, where she served as media relations manager, then communications director and eventually as deputy chief of staff of operations, overseeing the communications, human resources, information technology, facilities and financial services divisions of the office. As communications director for McKenna, Janelle led teams in implementing initiatives to fight underage alcohol abuse as well as methamphetamine, tobacco, and prescription drug addiction. She also helped McKenna promote transparency in government, prevent identity theft and raise awareness about domestic human trafficking.
She was active in the National Association of Attorneys General communications committee and helped plan several NAAG Public Information Officer summits. In 2011-12, she and her counterpart from Iowa led a bipartisan team of communicators who developed the NationalMortgageSettlement.com website and executed the communications strategy to announce the historic multistate mortgage settlement that provided more than $50 billion in direct relief to borrowers and payments to states affected by wrongdoing in the mortgage industry.
A leader among state attorneys general communications professionals with a solid reputation in local public relations thanks to her involvement in PRSA, she retained her role as communications director for the Attorney General’s Office in 2013 when Democratic Attorney General Bob Ferguson took office. She and her team helped him through his transition and well into his first term before she left to join the state’s Employment Security Department in July 2014.
Janelle’s commitment to community service and leadership dates back to high school where she served in a variety of leadership positions, including senior class president. Janelle was active in the Society of Professional Journalists’ student organization, was a leader in her sorority and served three years on her college newspaper before graduating with honors from Washington State University, majoring in Communications and Political Science.
She joined the Public Relations Society in 1996 and led the Olympia Communicators group for several years before agreeing to lead the PRSA Puget Sound Chapter South Sound group. She joined the PRSA Puget Sound Chapter Board in 2003, served as membership liaison, nonprofit seminar liaison, programming chair and sponsorship chair then became chapter president in 2008 and served as ethics officer, volunteer coordinator and nominating committee chair in the final year of her board term.
After completing her term in 2009, the North Pacific District nominating team recruited her to join the district board in 2010. She became district chair in 2011 then led the National District Council in 2012, the same year she served on the National Nominating Committee, representing the North Pacific District.
Janelle joined the PRSA National Board of Ethics and Professional Standards (BEPS) in 2013 and also served as her chapter’s National Assembly Delegate from 2014-16. She’s currently co-chair of the BEPS chapter outreach committee and a member of the PRSA Puget Sound 60th Anniversary Gala Committee.
In her free time, she volunteers in community and professional organizations. She’s a sustaining member of the Junior League of Olympia, a national committee chair for the International Association of Workforce Professionals (IAWP), and communications/marketing chair for both the Thurston County Relay for Life to raise funds for the American Cancer Society and Thurston County United Way Women United.
Over her career, she’s won multiple public relations awards. She was named to the Business Examiner’s 40-under-40 in 2010 and won the 2016 International Association of Workforce Professionals Administrator of the Year award and its 2017 Individual Award of Merit.
She lives in Tumwater, Washington, with her husband and their cat.
PRSA Accomplishments
- National Board of Ethics & Professional Standards (BEPS), 2013-present, Chapter Outreach Chair/Co-Chair, 2015-present
- Champion for PRSSA, 2015-present
- International Conference Speaker: Leadership Rally table topic leader for BEPS (2016), BEPS- Your Society at Work panel (2014, 2015), Strategic Communications Planning-National Mortgage Settlement (2012)
- National District Council Chair, 2012
- National Nominating Committee, 2012
- North Pacific District: Chair, 2011; Chair-elect, 2010; Nominating Committee Chair, 2012
- Puget Sound Chapter: Chapter Assembly Delegate, 2014-16, Past president, ethics chair, nominating chair and volunteer coordinator, 2009; President, 2008; Administrative VP, 2007; Programs VP, 2006; Membership VP, 2005; Board of Directors, 2003-2009; South Sound and Non-Profit Committee liaison, 2004; South Sound Chair, 2000-2002.
Governance Skills
Continuing to evolve my leadership skills is a lifelong pursuit. Both as a volunteer leader and a member of executive leadership teams, I’m experienced in strategic planning, gathering input from both internal and external sources, managing budgets, and monitoring metrics to gauge progress and determine whether our work is on course or needs a shift.
In my professional life, I’ve managed both my own group’s budget and overseen an entire agency’s budget. I’ve also served as treasurer in my sorority and for the Junior League of Olympia.
I’ve helped develop strategic plans for my teams and for my state agencies, based on the input of our people and our external customers—then I’ve served on cross agency teams to review and update policies and procedures to implement those plans. As a member of the PRSA Puget Sound Board, I helped update our bylaws and policies in areas for which I was responsible and as National District Board Chair, I led the effort to finalize our model by-laws, policies and procedures for district chairs.
Most recently, in a state agency with a strong emphasis on developing a Lean, adaptive culture, my team developed the visual management board design eventually adopted by the entire agency. My team meets weekly to review the board, discuss current projects, update metrics as available, identify gaps and develop countermeasures to improve. Our metrics based planning helped us win three PRSA Totems awards last year.
Developing a solid vision, building a strategic plan to drive to that vision and then doing the work to adapt policies and procedures to support the vision is the key to success. I have years of experience in this work and would love to bring that experience to bear as part of the National Board of Directors.
Leadership Skills
The PRSA National Board of Director would benefit from my experience both professionally and in my community. As a member of the Senate Caucus leadership team, the core leadership team of the Attorney General’s Office under two different Attorneys General and the executive leadership team of the Employment Security Department, I understand fiscal responsibility, strategic vision and teamwork.
As a current or prior member of the boards of the Junior League of Olympia, the Public Relations Society of America Puget Sound Chapter, the Washington Chapter of the International Association of Workforce Professionals and the Thurston County Women United, I know how to apply the leadership skills learned in the workplace to the unique needs of volunteer, nonprofit or professional organizations.
When I served on the PRSA Puget Sound Chapter board, my favorite roles involved working directly with members to help them realize all PRSA could offer and connecting with other organizations when I was president. This work included scheduling a senior practitioner roundtable with the Washington State University Communications College leaders to provide input on public relations education and scheduling joint events with other local communications organizations.
For me, a commitment to servant leadership is critical no matter what leadership role I hold. It’s vital to understand the needs of the people you serve, to be responsive and responsible and to remember to always give thanks to those you lead. I’m pleased to see that is a key competency of all PRSA national leaders included in our strategic plan.
Strengths
Throughout my career, I’ve placed a heavy emphasis on both internal and external audiences, recognizing that my organizations’ reputations depend not just on what our external customers think, but whether our internal customers share and promote that opinion. One strength I bring to the board is a commitment to listening to our members, respecting them and helping them grow. That’s why I’ve enjoyed serving as co-chair of the PRSA Board of Ethics Chapter Outreach Committee, why I help teach APR courses when my schedule allows and why I enjoy participating in my chapter’s annual PR Jumpstart for young professionals.
I was also recently Prosci-certified in change management. As PRSA continues to evolve to meet the demands of our industry and the professionals in it, change management planning will be valuable and I look forward to bringing those skills to the board.
I’m well-versed in Lean leadership, human-centered design and other leadership and management techniques that could be beneficial to the board. These tools help us connect with our internal and external audiences in visible and measurable ways.
Volunteer Commitment
Throughout my career, I’ve committed myself to volunteerism outside of my day-to-day job. As previously noted, I’ve served PRSA in some volunteer capacity for nearly 20 years while also volunteering in my community and progressing in my career.
At times, I’ve juggled multiple volunteer leadership roles—and I believe the skills I’ve learned and the experience I’ve gained as a volunteer leader make me stronger, more committed leader at work.
As I apply for this position, a number of my more time-consuming volunteer commitments are coming to an end for me so this is the perfect time to add new opportunities. I enjoy serving PRSA as a volunteer and would be honored to join the National Board of Directors if selected.
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?
When the PRSA Board unveiled the 2017-19 Strategic Plan at assembly, I joined my peers in the excitement and sense of hope for our organization’s future. The research and analysis the team put into developing the plan demonstrated a sense of servant leadership as well as industry knowledge.
As my organization’s senior communications leader and as a recognized advocate for PRSA in our state’s public relations community, I am proud of the goals we’ve selected for our strategic plan.
When it comes to addressing the challenges communications professionals face in an ever-evolving world, the strongest components of our strategic plan include:
• Defining, developing and implementing a member segmentation strategy;
• Establishing partnerships with multi-disciplinary organizations in an effort to provide cross-training opportunities for PRSA members;
• Presenting innovative studies examining noteworthy issues driving businesses, our members and their various constituents; and
• Expanded emphasis on ethics, including a partnership with the Ethisphere Institute and heightened visibility for the Board of Ethics and Professional Standards and its efforts.
Defining, developing and implementing a member segmentation strategy will help us better connect members with those who share their interests and challenges while also giving us an opportunity to bring diverse groups together for cross-training and collaboration.
Establishing partnerships with multi-disciplinary organizations will also help us achieve these goals. What I’ve seen in my own organization is an expanding role of the communications team as a strategic leader. No longer can my team members focus solely on internal and external communications. They are taking on more project management, change management, customer experience and customer satisfaction roles. It’s important public relations professionals understand and embrace other disciplines to help them be successful in their own roles.
The research and findings PRSA presents to its membership are a major benefit to us all. We have tremendous resources in our Educators Academy. Access to this level of research and knowledge will continue to give PRSA members the edge over others.
Finally, I’m proud of the plan’s emphasis on ethics. We know our PRSA Code of Ethics and members’ adherence to this code sets up apart from others in our industry—and it’s an ongoing effort to lift our peers up through education and inspiration.
Research shows these and the other components of the plan are important to our members. We have always been leaders when it comes to professional development, networking and ethics. Fully executing on this plan will help PRSA remain a valuable and relevant organization into the future by reasserting our leadership and attracting the next generation of practitioners.
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?
As our 2017-19 strategic plan so clearly articulates, our role as leaders in the Public Relations Society of America will be to spot trends, prepare for change and rapidly evolve to meet our membership’s needs in an ethical and strategic way.
Whether I’m speaking to youth, public relations peers or colleagues at work, my biggest selling point for PRSA is the high quality professional development available free for members through our webinars, Tactics, the Strategist and our blogs. As a member of the PRSA Board of Directors, I hope to help contribute to our ongoing efforts to stay ahead of the changes our members face so we can continue to help them rise above their peers as they advance in their careers.
My Prosci Change Management certification could be a valuable addition to the board as we work to help established members adapt to change so we can continue to attract and retain newer members. My emphasis on servant leadership would also help as we continually work to gather member feedback, express appreciation for our members and adapt to their needs.
When it comes to supporting our members throughout their careers, I’d like to be part of a leadership development effort to reach deeper into our membership so they can enjoy the benefits I’ve been blessed to enjoy as a PRSA leader. As previously mentioned, my leadership experiences in PRSA have helped me shape my leadership skills in the workplace, making be a better manager and a stronger team member. As members progress through their careers, I hope we can demonstrate how PRSA helps members develop both as professionals and leaders.
Finally, my experience as a member of the Board of Ethics and Professional Standards will be valuable as we continue to emphasize how the code guides our ability to serve as trusted advisors. This is another opportunity to add value for members throughout their careers—whether it’s teaching them to spot potential ethical issues early in a campaign, giving them tips to approach ethical dilemmas or helping them advise leaders in a way that avoids unexpected ethical pitfalls.
My membership in PRSA has helped my career in so many ways over the years. Whether my role on the board is one of a thought leader, change manager, servant leader, ethics advisor or some other needed role, I look forward to contributing as a leader and giving back to an organization I respect and value.
Janelle M. Guthrie, APR
Category
North Pacific District Director