About NSPRA
Become a Member
Each candidate was asked to respond to the following questions. The answers below are presented exactly as submitted, without edits.
Submit one narrative paragraph that provides a brief overview of your career and professional background:
Monica Lester, APR, is passionate about strategic communications and public education. After earning a Bachelor of Arts in creative writing and a Master of Science in journalism, she worked as a newspaper reporter in Boston, Mass., for several years. When she moved to upstate New York in 2006, she began working in school public relations as a communications specialist at Capital Region BOCES—a state K-12 public education services agency. First as a specialist, and now as a program manager who hires, supervises, and mentors staff, she has worked in many New York public schools, serving clients from rural to suburban to urban. Monica earned her Accreditation of Public Relations (APR) in July 2020.
In addition, Monica has devoted time to supporting her state chapter of NSPRA (New York), where she worked as NYSPRA’s contest/communications coordinator for 10 years. She actively promotes and furthers the Accreditation in Public Relations by volunteering for the NSPRA Accreditation Committee and the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) APR Marketing Committee.
Throughout her career, she has worked to build relationships, which she sees as the key to engaging communities, solidifying trust between both public schools and their audiences and among colleagues, and passionately promoting strategic communications work and public education.
Why did you decide to run for national office and pursue a volunteer leadership position on the NSPRA Executive Board?
Since I began attending NSPRA seminars in 2008, I’ve made strong connections with school communications professionals across the country. These experiences and the learning community NSPRA provides have helped to mold me into the school PR professional I am today.
Because I have gained so much through mentorship and networking, I have discovered a passion in giving back to the profession of school public relations. I do this now by supporting colleagues through the Accreditation process and helping newer staff members learn how to navigate our complex roles within schools. To this end, I worked for my state chapter (NYSPRA) for 10 years and currently volunteer my time on the NSPRA Accreditation Committee and the Accreditation Marketing Committee at PRSA.
I am passionate about forging connections, whether between colleagues, state chapters or superintendents. I see these connections as a way to foster and strengthen successful outcomes for both individuals and our organizations, and I envision my role as an NSPRA leader as a key connecting force.
Pursuing a position on the NSPRA Executive Board is an opportunity for me to extend the impact I can make toward continuous improvement of our profession and to ensure it is viewed as a critical function of school leadership teams. When public schools are strong and thriving, communities benefit. Sharing the messages, stories and shaping the narrative of schools contribute to their overall success. I would like to support NSPRA's efforts in improving the professional development of school communicators.
How can school PR professionals best advance our role as communication leaders, demonstrate communication accountability and build understanding of communication as a core management function?
The pathway to advancing our roles as communication leaders and enhancing the profession of school PR begins with relationships between individuals, groups and the publics we strive to engage through strategic communications work.
As school communications practitioners, our most valuable skill is the ability to understand human behavior and, with that understanding, to connect an organization to its stakeholders. When individuals feel connected to an entity, they have feelings of belonging, which create strong bonds. Strategic communications work can improve the perception of an organization and its decisions, leading to success beyond short term positive feelings. Our work can contribute to overall successful student outcomes, families choosing to be part of the district and the development of loyal, long-tenured employees.
Intentional and preemptive thinking about the way our publics respond to messages or decisions are key to helping others understand why strategic communications is a management function. We are more than newsletter producers and reporters who “cover events” – we examine every aspect of interaction between the organization and its publics, and recommend ways to create positive experiences that leads to lasting credibility.
Carefully crafted school communications planning can build trust, a culture of transparency and in turn, support for initiatives or decisions. It can lessen the damage of an organizational mistake or misstep and restore trust more quickly. If stakeholders believe in the mission and vision of an organization, and they believe the organization is acting in good faith to move those initiatives forward, this contributes to overall success.
Through confident strategic counsel and by demonstrating measurable results, school communicators highlight accountability while reinforcing the valuable impact of their work.
What do you consider to be the major communication challenges facing districts/education organizations today, and what qualifications, skills and expertise will you offer as an Executive Board member to help NSPRA support members in addressing these issues?
Navigating the overall approach to education in the shadow of a politically divisive national climate is the most significant communication challenge facing school systems today. Our country is divided by stark lines on topics like policy implementation, curriculum and educational philosophy.
For example, issues such as vaccines, the subject matter of books in the libraries, and diversity, equity & inclusion work, which may have not always been seen as political and divisive, are now often approached this way. How our schools choose to engage or remain silent on these topics can evoke strong reactions from our publics.
This divisiveness creates a challenging communication landscape that can erode trust in our institutions. Schools have the opportunity to be a place for modeling safe discourse, but there are times when civility is lost along with the deeper and more poignant ideals of safely educating each student.
While these issues may be specific to today’s climate, the reality is that schools will always face challenges. What remains constant is the critical role public relations professionals play in helping schools navigate those challenges by establishing credibility and cultivating trust within their communities.
As an NSPRA board member, I would stress creating opportunities to support professional development on difficult public engagement and decision making in the face of polarizing issues, which will help our schools navigate this landscape.
NSPRA’s mission is to be the leader in developing professionals to communicate strategically, build trust and foster positive relationships in support of their school communities. How will you support this mission as an NSPRA leader?
As a PR professional, I consider the role of strategically communicating on behalf of schools as critically important. In doing so, it's possible to build trust and foster positive relationships that enhance school communities. It is something I think about every day, and it’s inherently part of the work.
As a member of the leadership team at my state service agency, I mentor, train and develop the skillsets of emerging communications practitioners and leaders in our field. As I do that work, the core principles of NSPRA’s mission are a motivating force.
I strive to help others understand that the connection between strategy and positive outcomes is key to success, and that the work we do to change attitudes and build trust must be embedded in all aspects of a strategic communications program. As an NSPRA leader, I will work to create opportunities for professional growth through mentorship, collaboration and the expansion of our membership. By continuing to foster a culture of learning and shared best practices, school communicators will be empowered to lead confidently.
NSPRA’s work is crucial to advancing and elevating our profession. By serving as a leader at NSPRA, I will reflect its mission within the work I do for the Northeast region and colleagues across the country.