Alumni Spotlight: Kelly Lavin
CCPA alum Kelly Lavin (B.A. '10) studied many facets of communications during her time in the program, but ultimately narrowed down her professional focus to excel in one area: public relations.
Kelly Lavin (B.A. ’10) is this week’s featured alum in our new Alumni Spotlight series for the This Week at Meadows e-newsletter. Each week, a different Meadows alum will be highlighted for their accomplishments post-graduation.
Meadows’ CCPA program can be a gateway to a variety of career paths for its students. Alum Kelly Lavin learned about all of the different facets of communications during her time in the program, and though she ultimately narrowed down her professional focus to one area, she still utilizes knowledge she gained from all kinds of courses.
“My career has been focused on consumer public relations and media relations, but I use so many tools I learned across my different classes both in and outside of PR classes,” says Lavin, who is now the Director of Public Relations for Marriott Bonvoy. “There are so many ways you can use this degree from organizational communication to political comms and media relations.”
As the Director of PR for Marriott Bonvoy, Lavin supports Marriott International's portfolio of 31 brands and award-winning loyalty program. She strategizes on how to generate awareness and press coverage for different aspects of the program and spends a large part of her time educating lifestyle and consumer press on the elements of the program. And if you’re interested in a career in consumer public relations like Lavin, she recommends starting with a PR agency.
“I worked for agencies my entire career before joining Marriott and the experience was invaluable,” Lavin explains. “You're able to work on many different clients across industries, build strong relationships with media and learn how to think on your feet to continue generating attention for your clients.”
Knowing how your target audience operates is also key. With one of Marriott Bonvoy’s current objectives being to bring more of Gen Z into the program, Lavin has focused on diversifying media coverage in Gen Z outlets like Betches and Cosmopolitan, and her team is generating earned content on TikTok and Instagram by developing relationships with influencers. Lavin also developed a new campaign called One Point Moment Drops, where program members can get an incredible Marriott Bonvoy Moments experience - like sitting in the Hot Ones seat with Sean Evans - for a single point, attracting new and younger members who may not have a significant amount of points to get engaged with the program.
Creating successful campaigns like these started back in Lavin’s PR classes at Meadows and she continues to build upon that education today. With the resources, tools, and network made available to students in the CCPA program, there is no shortage of what professional path alumni can carve for themselves after receiving their degree.