On the Case with Michelle Alban

August 1, 2012

Michelle Alban is the vice president of corporate communications and public affairs for Telemundo Media and serves as the director of primary research for Telemundo Network. She manages partnerships with Hispanic organizations in Washington, D.C., and other key markets. Prior to this, Alban served as the national account executive of Hispanic Services at Nielsen Media Research and helped create the A/P Meter system.

In addition to her strong involvement in both volunteer and professional organizations, she is an Air Force Veteran and was a mass disaster coordinator for The American Red Cross. She is a graduate of the School of Journalism at the University of South Florida in St. Petersburg and lives in Deerfield Beach, Fla., with her husband and twin boys.

Name:  Michelle Alban

Childhood ambition:
To be an astronaut

Current livelihood:
Vice president of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs for Telemundo Media, a division of NBCUniversal

What changed (i.e. how you became interested in public relations):
In journalism school, one of my professors told me that I would become a “talking head” when I would constantly bring up the corporate view of an issue.

First public relations job:
At Island Water Sports, my neighborhood surf shop — I worked there when I was 16 and would do the Surf Report in the morning and help promote the brand during events. 

What you know now that you wish you’d known then:
I wish I knew not to limit myself. I am capable of so much more than I imagined.

Best piece of advice you’ve ever received:
You are only as good as your team. No one can do it alone.

Greatest professional accomplishment:
Nurturing great relationships with seasoned journalists and earning the respect of my internal clients

If you weren’t in public relations, you would be:
A journalist

Desired legacy:
“To leave the world a bit better ... to know even one life has breathed easier because you, [I] have lived.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

Make a “business case” for public relations:
In this new world where information transfers so quickly, your company’s image or brand can change in a second. It’s up to you whether or not you want to help strategize to make your reputation what you envisioned it to be — or leave it to chance and hope for the best.