COLUMBUS — Whether working the camera or coaching clients on how to speak in front of it, one Ohio woman continues to make history in her career field.
Gayle Saunders is the founder of The Saunders PR Group, a public relations business in Columbus, but she’s accomplished much more during her career.
“I actually was the first black female news photographer news videographer in the city of Columbus,” Saunders said.
From there, she made the transition into public relations, working for the Columbus City School District, corporations like Nationwide Insurance, and The Ohio State University.
Saunders made history again in 2018, becoming the first Black person to be named Public Relations Practitioner of the Year by the Central Ohio Public Relations Society of America.
“I certainly mentor so many people in my profession, especially women of color so I won’t be the last,” she said.
The mentorship role is one she said has been instilled in her.
“My parents taught me that, ‘Gayle, you have to make sure you perform in a way, you show up in a way, that you carry yourself in a way that you’re not blocking the door for others that look like you,’” Saunders said.
It’s a responsibility she doesn’t back down from.
She embraces it and encouraging other women, especially women of color, to work hard and believe in themselves.
“Take everything that you know that you have in you and push forward,” Saunders said. “You’re going to be told what you can’t do, you’re going to be told that you’re ‘too young,’ ‘you’re this’ and ‘that.’ Well, I am all that, but I know what I’m doing, so you embrace that.”
