Sarah Cavanah, "Freedom is worth it!"

By: Angenene Kendrick

I learned a lot in my Journalism Ethics class. More importantly, I had the opportunity to meet practicing PR professionals like Sarah Cavanah.

As part of Sarah's graduate work she had to present a real-life crisis situation she had worked with and explain to us according to our ethics studies she made the decisions she made. She told us about a sexual assault case and how she dealt not only with the media, but also the college officials, the community and the victim herself. I was fascinated with the process and how she carefully weighed her options.

As a contractor, she enjoys the variety and diversity of the multiple publics she targets on behalf of her organizations. Although Sarah's undergraduate work is in professional writing and anthropology, she currently serves clients in several states in public relations.

Sarah spent many years working in journalism-based jobs, but her first real public relations responsibilities were at Mother Earth News. Not only did she work in copy editing, but also in advertising and coordinating with local media about the people who appeared in her publications pages.

Sarah has worked in public relations at Dana College and College of Saint Mary in Nebraska. Now she works with several clients all over the country. As a freelancer, she contracts either per project or on retainer depending on the client's needs.

"I get a nice check at times, but when tax time comes around, I lose about one-third," Sarah admitted.

On the bright side, she can work from almost anywhere in the world that offers the technology she needs to do her work. She giggled about her upcoming trip to Arkansas. She will get to take her work with her.

Sarah warned that as a contractor, she is still a representative of the organization. Some contracts include appearance and behavior clauses. Some of her clients have called for a seemingly modest and neutral wardrobe. Other clients encourage more flashy arrays.

Sarah said that time management is very important. Because her clients are mostly networked referrals, not delivering for one will affect her relationships with many.

Sarah encourages communicators to try to understand the organization from where they come and the audiences where they are at. Understanding why they believe the way they do allows for better rapport between organization and its publics. Currently she is working with conservative, middle-aged white males -- and understanding them.

Some of Sarah's clients have been targets of activist groups including Westboro Baptist Church in Moore, Okla. She explained that in contacting the group on behalf of her client, she had to take a step back and try to understand their background in order to communicate effectively and prepare for crisis intervention.

Sarah completed her undergraduate degrees in 2001 and has worked in New York, the midwest and the South. In addition to her 70+ hours a week for clients, she works un the Lachenmeyer Fellowship at OU. There she is earning her graduate degrees in both professional writing and journalism.

"I've never been happier than I am now," Sarah said with a big smile. "No spin!"