NEW YORK NURSE: January-February 2011

Staff profile: Robin Wood, Director of Communications

Robin came on board in June 2010, having been selected from nearly one hundred applicants. As Management Supervisor in Public Relations and Public Affairs for Eric Mower and Associates (EMA), she managed and staffed a variety of client accounts, including MVP Health Care, Key Bank and Kodak.

Prior to EMA's acquisition of Sawchuk Brown Associates, Robin was vice president and director of the media team. She wrote for the Business Review for six years, acquiring an insider's perspective of the media and local business community. She developed a background in healthcare-related media while assigned to write for MVP Health Care. She has managed publications for the New York State Laborers and the New York State Teachers Centers, providing her knowledge of organized labor. Robin has managed placements in The Wall Street Journal, on Forbes.com, for NPR's "The Best of Our Knowledge," and on WMHT's "New York Now." She holds a master's in English literature from SUNY Albany and did her undergraduate work at the University of Pennsylvania.

What first drew you to public relations, and if you weren't doing this, what career path might you have otherwise pursued?

I actually started my professional career as an academic, planning to get a Ph.D. in English. I found I loved teaching, but wanted a broader sense of the business community. I lucked into journalism and from there into PR, which I love. I still have a chance to write and help others improve their writing, to talk about the value and impact of messages, and to advance causes and organizations I believe in.

How do you switch off and unwind, after a long day or a week of constantly channeling information?

By channeling more information. I love to read. I'm a big science fiction fan, but read a wide range of fiction.
And, except on rainy days like the day we are doing this interview, I love to take walks with my dogs (adolescent terriers, who I hope will grow up to be nice, well mannered dogs).

I've heard about your mother's pork chops... what are some of the better memories of growing up, and where?

Hey, mom's pork chops are a great memory — I just don't want to eat them. I grew up in Croton-on-Hudson, the end of the Metro-North train line. And one of my favorite memories is baking apple cobbler with my mother, who was a fantastic baker.

Favorite music, movie, books?

Favorite movie: Shakespeare in Love. Favorite books: Too many to name. Favorite TV show: Buffy, the Vampire Slayer.

If you could retire comfortably, tomorrow — what would that look like?

I really don't know. Probably for a while, it would look like me doing nothing much at all, but how long before that's boring? I'd probably find a way to get out of the snow.

A perfect breakfast would be, what? And where?

I'm partial to really good pancakes I didn't have to make — and home is a fine place to be on a Sunday morning.