Scott W. Thornburg
Public Relations Specialist
Oracle
Redwood City, California
Applying for: At-Large Director
Alternate Position(s):
Biography
**Professional History**
A southerner in San Francisco, Scott joined Oracle's marketing communications team in June 2016. In this role, he develops and executes strategic communications campaigns for the Oracle Partner Network and its cloud ecosystem.
Prior to Oracle, Scott was employed (04/2013 to 03/2016) by the integrated communications firm Eastwick, which was acquired by HotwirePR in October 2016. While at the firm he worked with a wide variety of high-tech marketing and communications clients (both B2B and B2C) including lynda.com, TechShop, Zuora, CentraLite Systems, Nasdaq's Entrepreneurial Center, Dell Software and more. Client industries include software as a service (SaaS), energy, education, Internet of Things (IoT), consumer and finance.
His background includes a broad scope of marketing and communications skills, including project management, media and analyst relations, content marketing, web design, ad placement and the like. Storytelling is his forte.
Prior to Eastwick, Scott worked with companies such as Cirque du Soleil, ExxonMobil, Sempra Energy, and Hard Rock Hotel & Casinos for Red Square Agency (12/2010 to 03/2013).
**Advancing the Profession**
Scott began his service with the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) in 2008 when he volunteered to serve as the National Assembly delegate for the University of Southern Mississippi PRSSA Chapter. Then, in 2009, he was unanimously voted in as Chapter President. During his term as President, Scott more than tripled the Chapter's revenue, helped to organize and host the Chapter's first-ever PRSSA Regional Conference, and celebrated the Chapter's 30-year anniversary -- all the while going to class, interning part-time and working with the student-run firm.
In 2010, Scott was elected to serve on the PRSSA National Committee as the Vice President of Career Services. While on the National Committee, Scott made connections and spoke at local, regional and national events on behalf of the society. He personally reviewed hundreds of resumes and cover letters from students across the country. Near the end of his term, he began mentoring the incoming board members and became more active in the local professional chapter.
While there was no local PRSA Chapter in Mobile, Alabama, Scott maintained his PRSA membership and in 2011 became involved in the local chapter of the Public Relations Council of Alabama (PRCA, a member organization of the Southern Public Relations Federation). Volunteering with PRCA, Scott immediately began leveraging PRSSA connections in helping the chapter programs committee find speakers. Former PRSA National Board Chairs Gary McCormick, Mickey Nall and others came to speak at his request. In 2012, he lead the PRCA programs committee as Chair, and in 2013 he was asked to serve as Chapter President. His term was cut short, however, by a career move that took him to California.
Concurrent to his role as President of PRCA Mobile, in 2013 and 2014 Scott served as a PRSSA Liaison for the New Professionals Section Committee. This was a two-year post in which he helped to close the gap between PRSSA and PRSA.
Upon landing in California, Scott continued his involvement with the new professionals section and began volunteering with the Silicon Valley chapter. In 2014, he was asked to serve as the Mentorship Chair for the Silicon Valley Chapter. In this post, for two years, he managed mentorship programs and served as the professional advisor to PRSSA Chapters at San Jose State University and Santa Clara University.
Scott was elected to serve as President-elect and Networking Chair of PRSA Silicon Valley in 2016, in which he was personally responsible for the Chapter's oversold flagship event, Media Predicts, in it's 10th anniversary.
Now in 2017, he serves as President of the Silicon Valley Chapter and in an Ex Officio role as Senior Counsel to the Chair on the PRSA Board of Directors. In addition to his advisory role with the national board, he serves on the investment and thought leadership committees, and was recently selected to serve as the chair of a newly-developed technology committee.
He mentors three students in the San Francisco Bay Area, and has served many times as a scholarship and awards judge for both PRSSA and the International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communications (AMEC).
**Educational Background**
Scott is a 2010 graduate of The University of Southern Mississippi with a degree in journalism and an emphasis in public relations.
PRSA Accomplishments
Senior Counselor to the PRSA National Board of Directors
Jan 2017 – Present
> Technology Committee Chair
> Investment Committee Member
> Thought Leadership Committee Member
President
PRSA Silicon Valley Chapter
Jan 2017 – Present
President-Elect | Networking and Events Chair
PRSA Silicon Valley Chapter
Jan 2016 – Dec 2016
Director of Mentorship
PRSA Silicon Valley Chapter
Jan 2014 – Dec 2015
PRSSA Liaison
PRSA New Professionals Section Committee
Jan 2013 – Dec 2014
Governance Skills
I have served in governance / leadership roles with PRSA and PRSSA continuously since 2008. Whether as a student or professional, I have always strived to give back to the society that has given me so much. My dedication to the success of each organization is evidenced by the success of each Chapter I have led, and that other Chapter leaders continually seek me out to continue my service in new roles.
At work, I manage public relations for the ecosystem team at Oracle, a Fortune 100 technology company. The ecosystem team consists of four people, an agency team of six and an intern (direct report). Our group leads communications for all of the company's third-party reference groups, including customers, user groups, developers, partners and more. My work with partners involves managing a separate global team of five that handles all communications for an ever-growing list of 25,000+ global partners. The quantity and candence of work is such that it requires thoughtful administration and regulation.
In the ecosystem role, I frequently manage strategic communications initiatives for both individual events/launches/initiatives, as well as entire programs. In each situation, I carefully follow the research, planning, implementation and evaluation (ROPE) process to set benchmarks and clear objectives so the measurement of success is possible. This is especially important since my program extends to the entire global organization and is highly visible externally.
Leadership Skills
My leadership style is that of an ENTJ (Meyers-Briggs):
E: Extrovert -- I rasise my hand to volunteer first and I always have questions. I have also never met a stranger.
N: Intuitive -- I am able to easily read people and situations, and navigate the nuances of each with ease.
T: Thinking -- I have opinions about everything, but enjoy analyzing group rationale and other perspectives.
J: Judging -- I am able to quickly interpret information and come to a decision.
In practice, this means I enjoy working as a team and will be the first to brainstorm new ideas and volunteer to act. I am highly flexible and enjoy the creative process (especially if I'm driving).
As mentioned, my professional work with Oracle partners involves managing communications for an ever-growing list of 25,000+ global partners. PRSA has 22,000 professional members that each require special attention -- much like my company's partners. They often need to be reminded of why working with us is beneficial to their business, and is a value proposition I am happy to relay as I work with them to drive communications around joint offerings. PRSA is no different. Our members need to know that we care and they need to know we are invested in their success.
Strengths
Both of my parents, my one sibling and both sets of grandparents are/were self-employed. I watched them manage and maintain businesses for most of my life -- I guess that's where my work ethic came from. I recently heard someone say, "Busy people get things done." That is very true of me.
As a student, my pushed my PRSSA Chapter to host a regional conference we couldn't afford at the time. We planned for three months, put in a bid to host, and developed a plan to attract sponsors and speakers from all over the country. We raised more than $10,000 and were able to fly in speakers from as far away as Philadelphia and Arizona. Pushing people to think beyond what they think is possible has always been a strength of mine.
As the President-elect of PRSA Silicon Valley, I personally managed our biggest event of the year -- our flagship Media Predicts program. In 2017, we attracted sponsorships totaling ~$60,000 and hosted a panel featuring NPR, BuzzFeed, CNN, Wired, CNET, Fast Company and more. It was a sold-out event that encapsulated the spirit of Silicon Valley, which was appropriate for the event's 10-year anniversary. This is just one example of where I excel at event management, including budgets, people management, venue logistics, contract negotiations and more.
Volunteer Commitment
I grew up in the south where community involvement was not only expected, but required (e.g., church). Additionally, as mentioned previously, I have been an active member and volunteer with both PRSA and PRSSA since college. My involvement has always been a priority, but it has rarely (almost never) interfered with my day-to-day work responsibilities. This is evidenced by my promotion and responsibility growth in multiple working roles.
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?
Increasing membership and driving member value must take priority above all else. I believe this is done through innovative new group and corporate member offerings. Group sales has been a pain point for the society for several years now and we have continued to see a decline in membership -- despite increasing and adding new member benefits. This tells me two things:
1. People don't know or aren't taking advantage of those benefits.
2. The current membership sales program is broken.
The first problem we can fix, and PRSA has recently started changing its communications practices in order to do so. The second problem, however, will require new and strategic thought, and probably some tough decisions.
I believe more corporations would be interesting in becoming corporate members if we offered a group membership that included job postings, access to LMS for all employees, RFP posting / sourcing, discount on awards programs, paid speakers bureau listings, and the like -- all as a single package. The benefits would be similar to individual members, but offered in a corporate context.
My point is this, we have to get creative if we want to solve our membership problem. We can't do things the way we've always done them.
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?
PRSA's next biggest challenge is solving the technology problem of tomorrow. Yes, tomorrow. We are currently working with technology that is so outdated it is borderline embarrassing. Each chapter is unique and are doing things their own way -- some good, some bad -- because there is no standard or precedent set by national. When individual chapters are innovating faster than the national organization, something is wrong.
Further, I believe the solution to our technology problem lies outside our normal volunteer base. Our members bring much to the table, but they are not professionally equipped to provide the kind of technical expertise required to solve this problem. We need to go to the experts.
I live in Silicon Valley and can speak first-hand about the rapid pace of innovation in the technology industry. Cloud technology, for example, is changing the way comppanies of all sizes do business. They are able to test, deploy, scale and evolve faster than ever before. So where does that leave us? We've got to think like a startup.
I propose adding new members to the technology committee that work with and think like startup executives. This could include anyone from software developers and web designers to tech executives and venture capitalists.
We've always been good at asking our own for help, but that's not enough if we want to innovate to prepare PRSA for 2045. It's time to ask outside our circle.
Scott W. Thornburg
Category
At-Large Director