Today, we’re continuing our “Teammate Spotlight” series with Priscille Diwa, Communications Coordinator at Urban Emu. Priscille’s entrepreneurial mindset and solutions-oriented approach to communications keep our teammates on the same page and our projects on track.

Q. Your title at Urban Emu is Communications Coordinator. How do you view your role here?

A. As a Communications Coordinator, I facilitate internal communication with the Urban Emu team and manage external communications with our USDA client. In our current project, Urban Emu and the USDA work collaboratively to increase awareness of MyPlate and help make it a household brand. I work hard to remove bottlenecks in communication to keep things running smoothly. I make sure we communicate clearly and are always on the same page.

Q. How do you approach communications between teams? Do you tailor your approach based on the people involved?

A. I tailor my approach depending on the teams involved and the outcomes we need to accomplish. When I work directly with our clients and facilitate communication between our two teams, I focus on the desired client goals. I pay close attention to what the client needs to know without overwhelming them with unnecessary information. When facilitating internal communications for the Urban Emu team, I focus on maintaining clear communication and creating a safe environment for everyone to be heard and so they can experience a high degree of psychological security. Regardless of who I’m working with, I always make sure we have clearly defined action steps following any engagement.

Q. What are the most important skills you bring to the team that help you facilitate communications?

A. My personal strengths are clear communication, public speaking, and a natural desire to bring out the best in every member of the team. Communication may be an obvious skill, but a less obvious component is storytelling. I capture our work objectives in a clear way that makes sense to everyone and considers how each department engages with the work. Public speaking and confidence help me lead teams and keep us focused and on track. As for my desire to bring out the best in everyone, I think my teammates can feel this, and it allows them to give suggestions and offer solutions, knowing they will be heard and respected.

Q. Prior to working at Urban Emu, you worked as a SCRUM Coach. Can you tell me a bit about that role?

A. SCRUM is a form of agile project management that emphasizes daily communication, short phases of work, collaboration, and constant reassessment. As a SCRUM coach, I taught and practiced SCRUM principles within our team, which consisted of developers and one product owner. I learned a lot about problem-solving skills in this role. SCRUM is all about agility and flexibility. I learned that sometimes the most important part of problem-solving is understanding the problem (and the goal) well enough that you can get the right people in the room to work through it.

Q. You’ve also worked in social media management. How did your role as a social media coordinator impact your current role?

A. I’ve always had an entrepreneurial mindset, but working in social media management taught me a lot about what it takes to grow a business – a solutions-oriented approach. Social media changes constantly, so a strategy that worked for a while can suddenly become obsolete. Rather than focus on the strategy you’re using (and why it is or isn’t working), it can be helpful to take a step back and look at the goal itself and consider all the different ways you can reach it. Maybe you don’t need to fix your strategy – maybe you need a totally new strategy. This lesson has made a tremendous impact in my current role because my team and I sometimes have had to go back to the drawing board and rework our strategy to meet our client’s needs. As long as we understand the goal, we can always find a new solution.

Q. It sounds like you’ve had an expansive career, spanning social media, communications strategy, and team leadership. What drew you to Urban Emu and the work you do here?

A. I tend to gravitate toward roles within organizations that have a strong purpose and know who they serve – companies with a mission. At Urban Emu, I have the pleasure of working with a talented and collaborative team on exciting projects, all of which, in some way or another, are improving people’s lives.

Q. What is your favorite thing about Urban Emu?

A. My favorite thing about working at Urban Emu is that I have so many opportunities to expand beyond my standard responsibilities. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn new skills.

We’re so grateful to have Priscille on our team to facilitate communications and keep our projects on track! Stay tuned for more teammate spotlights.