For this week’s speaker series, we sat down with Jill Swartzentruber. As a rising junior at the University of Delaware, she’s ready to dive head first into the PR world and cultivate her green thumb in Kennett Square.

Jill is majoring in English with a concentration in Professional Writing and a minor in Community and Organizational Leadership. She is the publisher for her university’s fashion magazine, UDress, and a proud member and contributing writer to UD’s Public Relations Society of America (PRSSA).

Blogging is one of her true passions. She writes for Delaware’s The Odyssey Online and is a style guru for CollegeFashionista.

She is excited to embark on her first public relations journey!    

Continue reading to learn more about Jill and the role she plays at Garden Media.

We sat down with Nikole Gennari for this week’s speaker series. Nikole is a rising senior at Gonzaga University where she majors in public relations and minors in marketing promotions.

Hailing all the way from Seattle, WA, Nikole is eager to learn and passionate about a career in public relations. At Gonzaga, she is involved with the Public Relations Student Society of America and will be the organization's publicity chairperson in the fall. In addition, she is a member of Lambda Pi Eta, the National Communications Honor Society.

Continue reading to learn more about Nikole and the role she plays at Garden Media.

For this week’s speaker series, we sat down with Jourdan Cole to discuss her not-so-traditional path into public relations.

As an account executive, Jourdan works closely with a variety of clients to see that their needs are met and exceeded. Her background in journalism and criminal justice provide her with a unique industry perspective.  

Continue reading to learn more about Jourdan and the role she plays a Garden Media.

For this week’s speaker series, we sat down with James Hammond, Garden Media’s resident number cruncher and media monitoring maven.

During his time here, James has done everything from shipping out packages re-designing the website. In addition to monitoring media placements, he spends time laying out graphics and content such as e-books, flyers and web banners.

Continue reading to learn more about James and the role he plays at Garden Media.

For this week’s speaker series, we sat down with Tracey Brown, Garden Media’s office manager.

While her title is short, Tracey wears an endless list of hats when it comes to the office and making it run smoothly. From bookkeeper to resident office baker, there’s nothing she can’t do. It's why we call her our "BeeKeeper."

Continue reading to learn more information about Tracey and the role she plays at Garden Media. 

For this week’s speaker series, Garden Media was thrilled to sit down with a true garden rock star over lunch. Doug Tallamy discussed biodiversity, native plants and the future of the industry. 

Tallamy is the Professor of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware. He’s the author of Bringing Nature Home, The Living Landscape and an op-ed contributor for the New York Times.

He has authored 80 research articles and has taught Insect Taxonomy, Behavioral Ecology, Humans and Nature, Insect ecology and other courses for 34 years.

Tallamy answered questions and stressed the importance of supporting food webs, pollinators and native plants. He said we need to create living landscapes where life thrives, not "dead zones" that do not support ecosystems. 

Continue reading for more information about Tallamy and his visit with Garden Media.

YouTube celebrated its 10^th birthday in February.  Over the course of a decade, it has transformed from a website that features a variety of videos to a marketing and entertainment conglomerate.

Located in 75 countries and available in 61 languages, YouTube serves as a media powerhouse that has more than one billion users worldwide.  

YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world. 

YouTube is a powerful marketing tool because videos are accessible to both domestic and international audiences. Every video posted to the site has unlimited potential. 

It is also a valuable marketing tool garden companies can use to promote their brand.

Continue reading to learn more about how garden brands can utilize YouTube to build their brand and market their products.

For this week's Spring Speaker Series, we sat down with Katie Dubow, creative director at Garden Media Group.

Daughter of founder and CEO, Suzi McCoy, Dubow has paved her own budding and vibrant path in the industry.

As Garden Media Group's first official employee, Katie has gained experience well beyond her years and has established herself as an industry PR pro.

Continue reading to learn more about Katie and her experiences in the public relations and marketing industry. 

For this week's Spring Speaker Series, we sat down with CEO and founder of Garden Media Group, Suzi McCoy. Suzi has run Garden Media for 27 years – an accomplishment worth noting.

After working with a range of clients in her early career, Suzi quickly discovered it was happy “ladies and gentleman” of the gardening industry that made every day enjoyable.

Continue to read more about Suzi’s career as an industry pro – from successes to lessons learned.

We sat down with Lauren Grow for this week’s speaker series. Lauren is a junior at West Chester University. She majors in communication studies and political science.

Describing Lauren as busy is an understatement. In addition to her role as Garden Media's Intern, she’s served as the president of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) for the last two years and is an member of Lambda Pi Eta, the National Communications Honor Society. She is also an executive board member of her sorority, Alpha Delta Pi, and was elected to the governing body of Greek life on campus.

True to her name “Grow,” Lauren also gardens in her free time.  

Continue reading to learn more about Lauren and her experiences in the public relations and marketing industry.