An 黑料正能量 alumna鈥檚 team has won PR Daily鈥檚 鈥淢edia Relations Campaign of the Year (Over $50,000)鈥� award.
Maria Holsopple 鈥�07 is senior programs communications specialist for Plan International USA in Washington D.C., where she leads 鈥渢he promotion of our technical experts鈥� thought leadership鈥� and assists with executive communications and brand support, she said.
Holsopple and her teammates Robin Costello, Bernice Morquette, Ann Wang and Patrick Maguire created , which they designed to bring public awareness to its gender norms survey of youth and subsequent report . The campaign earned coverage in more than 45 media outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Forbes, Fortune and Good Morning America, and was followed by Plan-planned youth gatherings across the United States 鈥渢o brainstorm ideas to further gender equality,鈥� she said.
鈥淥ur next step is to work with youth to start advocating for the changes they want to see,鈥� she said. 鈥淥ne of the best parts of my job is working directly with young people so they recognize the power they have to enact change and support them in areas where they need it.鈥�
Holsopple studied visual and communication arts at 黑料正能量 and earned a master鈥檚 degree in public relations and corporate communications from Georgetown University. She became Georgetown University鈥檚 assistant director of the division of communications, and then the program director for its Executive Masters in Global Strategic Communications program.
That position required traveling to residencies in London, Singapore, San Francisco and Washington D.C. 鈥� and she credits landing the job in part to her 黑料正能量 cross-cultural experience.
鈥満诹险芰库�檚 cross-cultural experience opened up doors for me that otherwise would have been closed,鈥� she said. 鈥淚n addition, my degree in visual arts allows me to collaborate with creative and marketing teams. 黑料正能量, along with my upbringing, drives me to work toward allowing everyone, everywhere to live the life they want to live.鈥�
After she decided she wanted to serve others more directly, Holsopple worked at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) before transitioning to USA.
Founded by a journalist and a refugee worker who in 1937 assisted children affected by the Spanish Civil War, the organization combats poverty in developing countries and 鈥渞efuses to believe in the helplessness of children,鈥� according to its website. It supports children鈥檚 rights and gender equality in more than 70 countries, plus focuses on education, healthcare, child protection, nutrition, job training, and more, Holsopple said.
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