We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Alexandra Zendrian a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alexandra, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
When I entered Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia as a freshman, I almost immediately knew I would be an English major, but throughout my first three years of college, I couldn’t figure out how that would manifest itself post college. Throughout my collegiate career, I was a copyeditor for my school’s newspaper, The Hawk, and then in junior year became brave enough to write an article. From there, I got bitten by the journalism bug and realized this would both speak to my writing and editing strengths as well as my desire to help people. (I was constantly reminded as a children that the name Alexandra means “helper of mankind.”)
But while I took basically every journalism course St. Joe’s offered, in the beginning of senior year I didn’t feel prepared enough to enter the workforce following college and do it justice. So, I attended New York University and received my master’s degree in newspaper journalism. Honing my craft and even learning skills like video editing set up the rest of my career.
I was a reporter at Institutional Investor’s Wall Street Letter, Forbes, and TheStreet as well as the editor of the New Hyde Park Patch. When it became clear that my ability to quickly generate content wasn’t producing the narrative storytelling that I was hoping to create throughout my career, I sidestepped into public relations at New York’s largest health system, Northwell Health.
Among the particularly impactful parts of my tenure at Northwell was my final year which was also the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Then, I put back on my reporter hat and documented what was happening inside hospital walls where journalists weren’t allowed for safety reasons.
Following that, I went back to my financial services roots as vice president of public relations at StreetCred and then started my own firm, AtoZ Communications, which blends my experience in financial services, fintech and healthcare.
Throughout my career, I have enjoyed and found purpose in telling others’ stories and bringing the latest information to the public. I leverage my reporting experience and training to the benefit of my AtoZ Communications clients.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
My love of writing started in sixth grade when an assignment about our family’s history led me to creatively connect my mostly Polish roots with ancient Egypt through my namesake and great grandmother, Alexandra. Since that time, I enjoyed writing papers and articles and love that that’s become my career.
That career now includes representing more than a dozen clients across the financial advice, fintech, and healthcare sectors.
Additionally, I just joined the board of the Public Relations Professionals of Long Island. Here, I hope to mentor professionals and shape the field for those on Long Island. This speaks to my past experience as an adjunct professor at Adelphi University where I taught History of the News and Intro to Public Relations for three semesters.
I enjoy helping others and sharing whatever knowledge I have to helps others enhance their skills and careers.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Three qualities that I think are most important in the areas of journalism and public relations are: good listening, hustle, and foresight.
Without good listening skills, it’s impossible for reporters to get the best/truest story. Every nuance of body language, what’s unsaid and the spoken word comes together to inform a reporter’s notes so they can craft their story. Strong public relations professionals will leverage that same skill to ensure their client’s message is being communicated effectively and as positively as possible.
As one of my clients, Drew Boyer, CFP, author of Hip Hop x Finance would describe it, I have hustle. Throughout my career I have learned that working hard gets a person further. Couple that with a key lesson I learned from my time at Northwell Health — find the yes, which means that unless a request is unreasonable, patients’ requests need to be met in some fashion. I have been hustling since my first job at Institutional Investor’s Wall Street Letter.
When it comes to public relations, foresight is particularly important. A public relations pro has to anticipate what the ripple effects of a client’s language or perceived message are. Language is very nuanced and people’s perception of it varies. Therefore, a client’s actions need to be analyzed and mapped out before they are taken.
If a person wants to improve their listening skills, they should practice during conversations with friends, family and colleagues. Relay back what you heard and see how much that varies from what the person said. Or, better yet, record those conversations, write what you learned, and then listen back to see how much nuance and other cues you picked up on.
When it comes to hustling, I think there needs to be a passion behind that that fuels a person. Do you want to do the best for your clients? Do you want to be among the best in your profession? Do you think your clients deserve your best efforts? Let that guide your work.
And when it comes to foresight, a good practice can be mapping out what one action can do and letting your imagination go wild in the process.
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
Any new firm faces the perception that they’re new and therefore not tried and true. While AtoZ Communications LLC has only been around for a little more than a year, I have been practicing public relations for 13 years and was a journalist for six years. During that time, I have helped to turn around crisis situations, launched new brands, and worked tirelessly to impart messages on behalf of my clients. I have also diligently prepared my clients to face reporters utilizing the questions that I anticipate will be asked of them from past experience.
Clients who start their own firms face that same perception; it takes some explanation and strong public relations skills to combat it.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://atozcommunications.biz
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandra-zendrian-857649a/
- Twitter: https://x.com/azendrian
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@atozcommunicationspr
Image Credits
Eddie Daniels and Kate Johnson
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
