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Leona Long

I am so happy to join you at UA Statewide. Please reach out to me with ideas and suggestions for the Statewide Bulletin and the UA News. I am always looking for stories for our newsletters and to pitch to journalists.

I am grateful for the opportunity to join UA’s Office of Public Affairs as Manager of News & Content. I have been with statewide since February 11. In my position, I help tell the stories about how the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ makes our state a better place for the communities and people we serve. I help manage our social media accounts, the UA News website and newsletters. I also monitor media coverage, write press releases and pitch stories.

Previously, I was the Public Information Officer for UAF’s College of Rural and Community Development. With no previous experience in Â鶹´«Ã½ or working with rural and Â鶹´«Ã½ Native communities, I researched, planned and implemented the first strategic communications effort for our rural campuses and Â鶹´«Ã½ Native programs. (I didn’t even know what a fish wheel was.)

Working for the rural campuses taught me the value of the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ and how we work together to make Â鶹´«Ã½ better for all. My favorite part of that job was walking around the Brooks Building to ask what students, faculty and staff thought about a flyer or inquire about the great things they were doing so I could find news stories to pitch Â鶹´«Ã½ journalists. My work was challenging and rewarding. It wasn’t always easy, but it was always fun!

I have been in public relations since 1998. I started at a small PR agency in Los Angeles and worked in health care. I also wrote for regional lifestyle magazines, interned at three TV news stations and learned how to write with one-on-one coaching from a best-selling author and producer/reporter for CNN and Associated Press television. In 2007, I took some time off to go back to school at UAF where I met the love of my life, my husband Ryan. I have attended five different colleges and universities in three states. I graduated from Weber State University with a degree in English.

Working in PR, I have seen the difference that it makes for people and organizations. That’s why I am passionate about ongoing professional development. I enjoy learning the latest in media pitching techniques and how PR is evolving. I am also half of the Â鶹´«Ã½ PR team that is helping to launch PBS KIDS Molly of Denali, which premieres July 15. I also serve on the Fairbanks Â鶹´«Ã½ Federation of Natives public relations committee.