On the Move: MP&F Strategic Comms Names Irby Director of Community Engagement

Brittany Irby

MP&F Strategic Communications names Brittany Irby its first director of community engagement. Irby, who came on board MP&F in June 2019 as an account supervisor, will continue to lead existing client teams while also engaging with new clients who want to establish or build a presence in Nashville. Before coming to MP&F, she was a project manager for the Nashville Public Education Foundation, the Imagination Library manager for United Way of Greater Nashville and the education manager for the Center for Nonprofit Management. “Brittany has a passion for connecting people, and she has put that passion to work for a number of our clients,” said MP&F partner Mary Elizbeth Davis. “She is the perfect person to lead this new endeavor.”

Rear Adm. Thomas Jurkowsky, who served as the US Navy’s chief of information, the US Mint’s chief of corporate communications and vice president for media relations at Lockheed Martin, has written a book that discusses how communicators can form strong relationships with the media, as well as how they can become good leaders. “The Secret Sauce for Organizational Success” outlines what Jurkowsky sees as the necessary ingredients (or “secret sauce”) of communications and leadership practices that help get messages across. With examples taken from the crises he handled in both the private and public sectors, he makes a strong case for keeping the lines of communication with the media open. He adds that of all the qualities that make an effective communicator or leader, integrity is the most important. “Once a person loses his or her integrity,” Jurkowsky writes, “it is virtually impossible to get it back.” Communicators should always tell the truth, he says, and his principles for working with the media include doing your homework, thinking like a reporter and making sure that you’re up to speed with what your colleagues and bosses are thinking.

Amanda Rosseter

The PNC Financial Services Group names Amanda Rosseter chief communications officer. Rosseter most recently held the CMO post at Equifax, where she led a comprehensive communications strategy for the company's enterprise transformation. She was previously senior director, global external communications for The Coca-Cola Company. Rosseter began her career as a journalist, reporting for such outlets as CNN and NBC News. In her new position, she is responsible for advancing strategic external and internal communications for the company, overseeing media relations; corporate responsibility, employee, crisis, human resources, business and executive communications; social media; intranet management; and video, web and live event productions.