SMU CCPA Alumni Council

Emily Potts is the Manager of HR Communications at Children’s Health, one of the largest and most prestigious pediatric healthcare providers in the nation. An experienced strategic communicator, Emily is passionate about helping organizations tell their stories through a national media placement or an employee communications campaign. Well-versed in internal and external communications strategies, Emily has worked in agency and Fortune 50 corporate settings.

A native Chicagoan and proud cum laude graduate of Southern Methodist University’s Corporate Communication and Public Affairs program, Emily is extremely involved in the Dallas community, including serving on the SMU CCPA Alumni Council (President), the SMU Young Alumni Board, the Genesis Young Leaders Board (former Co-President) and volunteering with Highland Park United Methodist Church’s BELONG Ministry.

Emily lives in Dallas with her husband, daughter, and rescue pup.

Taylor Eager is a Recruiting Manager with Boston Consulting Group based in New York City. She focuses on hiring mid to senior-level executives within the Energy and Climate & Sustainability practice areas. Before starting this role in 2021, she led the undergraduate recruiting efforts for the Dallas and Austin offices for six years before moving to New York in 2022.

During her time at SMU, Taylor was a Hunt Leadership Scholar, the Chi Omega Recruitment Chair, and the 2014 Homecoming Queen. She graduated in 2015 with a dual degree in Communication and Public Relations with a Business minor.

In her free time, Taylor enjoys traveling, finding the newest tapas restaurants, and watching NFL Sundays with friends and her husband (also an SMU alum).

Brownlee Hopkins serves as a Public Relations Specialist at Jackson Spalding, assisting clients such as Chick-fil-A, Mattress Firm, and Texas Monthly. Her work includes leading PR campaigns, securing national and local earned media coverage, and supporting various CSR initiatives.

Before joining Jackson Spalding, Brownlee spent a year at Weber Shandwick supporting clients with day-to-day media and influencer relations needs. She graduated from Southern Methodist University in 2017 with dual degrees in Public Relations and Corporate Communication, where she met her husband, Greg.

A Dallas native, Brownlee is also very active in her community, serving on two nonprofit young leader boards for Genesis Women’s Shelter and Community Partners of Dallas.

Natalie Yezbick serves as Press Secretary for Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and has held multiple positions on his press team since 2015. She currently volunteers as a co-chair of the SMU Alumni Chapter in Washington, D.C., and is on the Executive Boards of the Senate Press Secretaries Association, D.C.-based charity Taste of the South, and her local Alpha Chi Omega alumnae chapter. A native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, she wasn’t born in Texas, but – like so many others – she got there as fast as she could. Natalie earned her B.A. in journalism, corporate communication, and public affairs, and public relations, graduating magna cum laude in 2015.

With more than ten years of experience developing social and content strategies for clients in a wide range of industries, including lifestyle, technology, sports, and cybersecurity, Taylor Haley is a digital specialist and owner of her own consulting practice. Her work has received several awards recognized by PRNews. She is a frequent speaker in the social media industry and is a dog influencer in her own right – check out @kirkthefloof and their 30K followers – we promise he gives the best paw fives in Dallas.

During her time at SMU, Taylor was active both on and off campus, where she started her own social media agency and was selected as a finalist in the National PRWeek Student of the Year competition. She graduated in 2013 with an undergraduate degree in Communication and Public Relations with a Sport Management Minor and continued her education, receiving her master’s in communications from Johns Hopkins University.

Meaghan currently serves as the SVP of Spaeth Communications, Inc. Although she consults in all industries, Meaghan has developed specialized experience as a strategic communication advisor in highly-complex product and policy areas and has consulted on several political campaigns. Her true passion lies in crisis communication, and she enjoys working with her clients as a resource to articulate their best strategic message.

Meaghan also works as an executive coach for clients looking to improve their presentation and internal communication skills. She enjoys developing a relationship with her clients where she can combine rehearsal, training, and real-time feedback to help executives improve their skills and achieve their communication goals.

Meaghan joined the Spaeth team after graduating with honors from Southern Methodist University. There, she earned dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in Communication Studies and Public Relations and Strategic Communication with a minor in Art History. Meaghan resides in her hometown of Austin, TX, with her husband and golden retriever.

Katie Mudd is a graduate of Southern Methodist University with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

She is a founding board member of Southern Methodist University’s Corporate Communication & Public Affairs Young Alumni Group and has served on the board of many nonprofits, including PRSA Dallas. Additionally, she is a two-time honoree of AAF Dallas’ volunteer of the month award. She was recognized by Ad2Dallas as a 32 under 32 Rising Star in 2017 and was recently recognized by PRSA Dallas as a “40 under 40” communication leader of influence. Today she serves as a publicist at The Vokol Group.

Communication Studies and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Relations and Strategic Communication ’14. With more than five years of experience in corporate communication and serving clients across a wide range of industries, including lifestyle, travel, retail, and not-for-profit — her work has been recognized by PRSA Dallas’ Pegasus Awards.