For the last 17 years, Lise Harwin made a career in media relations — pitching organizational stories ranging from life-saving at a Level 1 trauma hospital to life-affirming at the American Red Cross to life-changing in higher education. Now, for the first time, she’s turned her corporate raconteuring and social media savvy inward, transitioning to employee engagement and communication for the Port of Portland.
Lise has helped bring a modern perspective to the 125-year-old organization, embracing Portland’s quirky reputation at every turn. When she’s not proving that working for government isn’t what you’d expect, she’s picking the lineup for Portland’s only all-ages summer music festival and seeking out the city’s best cocktails. And while she doesn’t write for fun as much as she used to, you can still find her signature affinity for alliteration in the Apartment Therapy archives.
Lise is also VP of Communications & Social Media for the Public Relations Society of America’s Employee Communications section and recently shared this presentation at their national Connect 16 conference in Dallas.