Tara Smith

Current

Account Executive at Ketchum

Past

Account Executive at The Haystack Group
Public Relations Assistant at Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau
Consumer and Healthcare Teams Intern at GolinHarris

Consumer Team Intern at Edelman
Marketing Intern for Regional Headquarters at Nextel
VH1 Publicity Intern at MTV Networks

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3 more...

Education

New York University
Pennsylvania State University

Recommended

6 people have recommended Tara

Connections

242 connections

Industry

Public Relations and Communications

Websites

My Company

Tara Smith’s Summary

Public relations practitioner with agency and client side experience in media relations, corporate communications and event planning.

Tara Smith’s Specialties:

Event planning, media relations, community relations, and social media

Tara Smith’s Experience

Account Executive

Ketchum

(Public Company; OMC; Public Relations and Communications industry)

June 2008 — Present (1 year 6 months)

Support the corporate practice on the FedEx account team with local market outreach and events, corporate social responsibility, reputation management and media relations.
Account Executive

The Haystack Group

(Public Relations and Communications industry)

July 2007 — June 2008 (1 year )

Provided clients with media relations strategy, managed events and supervised intern projects. Wrote press releases, interview talking points and compiled coverage recap reports.

Coordinated event planning and conducted media outreach for the "Children’s Dimetapp Breathe & Boogie Tour," a national 12-city children’s music tour, which promoted health and wellness tips for families before cold and flu season with free concerts, interactive games and educational giveaways. Managed three tour cities on site, supervising music artists, event labor, and production crew. Secured event preview features in local newspapers, including Seattle Daily Herald and Dallas Morning News.

Supported launch of first Green Seal certified national maid service franchise, Maid Brigade. Secured national speaking engagements for campaign spokesperson and pitched traditional and social media resulting in more than 19 million impressions including placements with National Realtors Association Magazine, Atlanta Business Chronicle, Univision.com, and nationally syndicated ABC radio program, “Ask Andrea.”
Public Relations Assistant

Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau

(Non-Profit; Hospitality industry)

July 2006 — June 2007 (1 year )

Served as daily press contact and coordinated media tours for visiting journalists to promote the city as a top tourism and convention destination.

Managed media outreach for ACVB Annual Meeting, Atlanta Hospitality Hall of Fame, Turkey Trot charity fundraiser and secured coverage in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Atlanta Business Chronicle, and Tradeshow Week.

Wrote Atlanta.net Web site content and tourist e-newsletter for more than 140,000 subscribers.
Consumer and Healthcare Teams Intern

GolinHarris

(Public Company; 501-1000 employees; Public Relations and Communications industry)

May 2006 — July 2006 (3 months)

Supported the consumer and healthcare teams during a summer internship working on the Piedmont Hospital, Moe's Southwest Grill and Tour de Georgia accounts.
Consumer Team Intern

Edelman

(Privately Held; 1001-5000 employees; Public Relations and Communications industry)

May 2005 — August 2005 (4 months)

Supported the consumer team during a summer internship working on the Inside CNN Atlanta, Omni Hotel at CNN Center and High Museum of Art accounts.
Marketing Intern for Regional Headquarters

Nextel

(Public Company; NXTL; Telecommunications industry)

May 2004 — August 2004 (4 months)

Assisted sales and marketing teams with pitching and marketing presentations.
VH1 Publicity Intern

MTV Networks

(Public Company; VIA; Entertainment industry)

May 2003 — August 2003 (4 months)

Helped team prepare for red carpet press parties, pitched entertainment media to promote VH1 show premieres and assisted publicists with daily tasks such as press clip reports, media lists and event planning.

Tara Smith’s Education

New York University

M.S. , Public Relations and Corporate Communications , 2009 — 2012 (expected)
Pennsylvania State University

BA , Public Relations , 2002 — 2006

Dean's List Student
Overall Public Relations Chairperson for Penn State Homecoming 2004
Overall Committee Chairperson for Penn State Homecoming 2005
Central Pennsylvania Chapter President, National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC) 2003-2005

Activities and Societies:

Parmi Nous Senior Honor Society, Cabinet of Student Leaders, Phi Sigma Pi National Honors Fraternity, Resident Assistant

Additional Information

Tara Smith’s Websites:

My Company

Tara Smith’s Groups:

Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) New York Chapter - Board of Directors 2009-2012, PRSA National Educational Affairs Committee 2008-2009, PRSA National Internship Task Force 2006-2007, Penn State Alumni Association - Lifetime Member