Employee Spotlight: Bridgette Borst Ombres
When you think of A2U employees, what comes to mind?
Most people tend to think of the superhero, downtime-fighting, ticket-closing tech support and engineering teams who sometimes solve problems that you didn’t even know you had, in ways you don’t understand (shout out to these guys!).
Today, we want people to know that as our company’s grown we’ve added sales, marketing, HR and other staff who have become an integral part of our business success. This month, we’re featuring Bridgette Borst Ombres, our director of marketing and communications.
As a former TV news reporter turned PR and marketing practitioner — Bridgette has worked in communications for a decade across agency, corporate and nonprofit sectors building B2C and B2B brands ranging from Angry Birds and Toyota to Earth Day Network, Vestas and American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).
In the Q&A below, learn more about Bridgette and why she loves her job at A2U:
Q: What’s your hometown?
A: Charleston, W.Va.
Q: What’s the most rewarding/favorite part of your job?
A: Building relationships with people and telling stories.
Q: Where did you attend college?
A: University of Charleston (B.A., Broadcast Journalism); West Virginia University (M.S., Integrated Marketing Communications)
Q: How do you define leadership?
A: To me, a leader embodies a culmination of self-awareness, self-control, effective communication and a take-charge-and-inspire attitude.
Q: What’s your favorite book(s)?
Bridgette pictured with favorite author, Jodi Picoult.
A: “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey, “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership” by John C. Maxwell and “Leaving Time” by Jodi Picoult.
Q: Do you have a personal philosophy or motto?
A: To be early is to be on time, to be on time is to be late and to be late is unacceptable.
Q: Tell us something on your bucket list.
A: Write a book…
Q: What have been the top highlights or accomplishments of your life?
A:
– Dog sledding in Quebec City!
– Finishing my bachelor’s degree in 2.5 years while graduating Magna Cum Laude.
– Placing more than 500 students in jobs or internships across the country.
– Overseeing all media strategy and communications for Global Citizen Earth Day 2015, a concert-celebration headlined by Usher and Fall Out Boy, attended by 250,000 people at the National Mall.
Q: What is the one thing you cannot resist?
A: My mom’s homemade, red velvet cake.
Q: Anything that might surprise us about you?
A: I collect teacups, I love hard rap and I was the inspiration for the lead female character (“Bridgette Dorst”) in Emmy-award winning journalist Ed Rabel’s book, “Black Gold, Black Death.”
Q: What’s the best piece of advice you can share with recent graduates?
A: Learn to be a networking ninja. Often times, it’s not what you know, it’s who you know that gets you the job.
Bridgette is a member of Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), PRSA – Pittsburgh Chapter, a mentor at WVU’s College of Media and she’s is in the process of completing her Accreditation in Public Relations (APR).
Like Bridgette, we have a ton of great folks on our team who share our company values and a passion for what they do (read here, here and here!). Bridgette says she looks forward to being part of the planning for A2U’s 2nd Annual Kennywood Takeover Day this summer. Click here to check out last year’s event!
If you’re an A2U customer and would like to join our event communications mailing list to make sure you never miss out on the fun, please email marketingteam@a2u.net