As the mayoral race continues to heat up in San Diego, the LEAD IMPACT cohort recently heard from mayoral candidates Congressman Bob Filner, Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher, District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis and City Councilman Carl DeMaio in a discussion about the future of our region. The final session of the 10-month experience, was one the cohort will never forget, and the culmination of the program that LEAD CEO Vicky Carlson calls an “MBA in San Diego.”

The topic for the day was “Our Region Tomorrow,” and before hearing from the candidates, attendees discussed regional priorities stemming from the “Our Greater San Diego: Regional Vision Initiative” – a multi-year project that seeks to collaboratively create a 50-100 year strategic vision for the San Diego region through community input.

The priorities – affordability, jobs, education, transportation options, and quality and availability of water – were determined directly by the people of San Diego, reflecting what I believe to be the theme of the day and of the LEAD experience: through effective leadership, we as civic-minded, concerned citizens can determine the future of our region – and the time is now. It was a theme well articulated by San Diego Historian and U-T San Diego reporter Roger Showley at the onset of the day.

After sharing details of San Diego’s rich history, Showley posed a question as to who the true leaders are that move our region forward. “It’s you,” said Showley. “The civic, nonprofit, public leaders that set the agenda – not the politicians.”

While elected officials are certainly critical to our region’s future, and hearing from the mayoral candidates was a unique and valuable experience for me, the day was a reminder that we too play a critical role in the future of San Diego. And while getting consensus among politicians is a daunting task, all the candidates, in their own way, reinforced this theme in their remarks.

On a day filled with discussion about how the candidates see the future, I – and presumably others – found myself asking what I want for the future of San Diego and its residents. The IMPACT class was exposed to numerous important topics during the 10-month program from education to incarceration to the environment and our military. These discussions fed our intellectual curiosity to explore. Further armed with information about our community, our challenge as leaders is to create the kind of San Diego we want to live in, and after working alongside the 2012 class, I know they are up for the challenge.

As we get ready to close up shop for the week and look forward to the three-day Memorial weekend, let us pause and remember all the men and women who have served our great country or are currently serving. It is with their greatest sacrifice that we are able to maintain our way of life and preserve the gift of freedom we enjoy.

We are excited to announce several new additions to Nuffer, Smith, Tucker’s award-winning team.

Derek Danziger is joining NST as vice president. Derek brings more than 17 years experience in public relations, marketing and public affairs to the firm. He most recently served as vice president of marketing and communications for the Centre City Development Corporation (CCDC). At CCDC, Derek acted as the organization’s spokesperson and managed media relations, communications and community outreach programs relative to downtown San Diego’s redevelopment efforts. Prior to CCDC, Derek worked in the education and public relations departments at SeaWorld San Diego, and coordinated international media relations activities for the grand opening of LEGOLAND California. He also served as director of media and public relations for the Super Bowl XXXII Host Committee in 1997, working directly with the NFL, international media and the San Diego community to implement a variety of Super Bowl-related events and activities.

Derek received his bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of California, San Diego and served two terms as president of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) San Diego/Imperial Countries Chapter. He is Accredited in Public Relations (APR) and is also a LEAD San Diego graduate. In 2006, he was honored by PRSA San Diego as Public Relations Professional of the Year.

We have expanded our interactive team with the hiring of Sean Masterson as digital strategist. Most recently, Sean served as web and e-commerce manager for iProlog, Inc. Prior to that he was principal at SMB Studios, a San Diego-based web development and social media firm. He also previously served as global marketing coordinator for Prestige International, Inc. He is a graduate of San Francisco State University and has completed certificates in graphic design and web design from University of California, San Diego.

We also added Jazmine Allen to our account services team as an account coordinator. Jazmine graduated from San Diego State University last year and has been serving as an intern at NST. She has done a great job on behalf of many of our clients, and we are excited that she joined us full-time at the beginning of May.

In addition, many of you have probably heard that in January we added Mark Olson to our team as a government relations and public affairs specialist. Mark has been doing a great job managing government outreach programs for the California Citrus Research Board.

Prior to joining us, Mark worked as a press secretary on Capitol Hill, and most recently as a top policy advisor to San Diego County Supervisor Pam Slater-Price. He received his bachelor’s degree in political science from California State University, San Marcos, and a master’s degree in communications from San Diego State University.

Please join us in welcoming these new members to our team! We look forward to continuing to partner with our clients and other colleagues to provide exceptional service.

My transition from intern to full-time account coordinator at Nuffer, Smith, Tucker required much more effort than the average stealthy operation. While I failed to refill the candy dish my first week, I did take away a few important lessons in office warfare. First thing to note is there may be a secret preference in smartphone brands and also their color and what kind of phone cases the office considers as “cool” and “not so cool” like team mascots and battery packs, respectively. I also discovered that Saturday Night Live videos make for great conversation starters when seeking classified information and that I am definitely in for a tricky but hilarious challenge when the next team building retreat rolls around.

While all of these are equally important, my favorite lesson is one I think applies for most new graduates/agents. I realized that for most of us, soon after we are handed our diplomas we move straight into Mission: Find A Job (any job). While this is an admirable assignment, I discovered that the mission I was on had a special target. Not only was I on a search to find a job, I was on my way to finding a company with people who made me want to work harder, learn as much as I can and form relationships that moved beyond, “tell me what to do and I’ll do it.”

Finding a job after graduation is very important, believe me, I know. However, finding a place to learn, grow and prosper was the reason we embarked on this mission in the first place. To all of my current covert agents infiltrating agencies and offices, keep going, work hard but remember your job needs to be just as good a fit for you as you are for it.

Good luck my friends,

Agent Jazmine Allen

P.S. Having the most recent AP Stylebook in the office makes you a prime ally.

The answer: anywhere. I recently was introduced to this video and I couldn’t help but share it. It’s a great reminder that creativity and innovation can happen anywhere. It’s a mindset. It’s a new way of looking at things. As we start yet another hectic week, let’s try to embrace the creative spirit that leads to great ideas and real change. Happy Monday!

Perpetually curious. Always questioning.  Thirsty for knowledge.  Unsatisfied with the status quo.  This is what being an “explorer” means to me. I believe it is a trait developed early on in life, perhaps even innately. On some level, you either got it or you don’t.  At Nuffer, Smith, Tucker, I’d like to think we all “got it.”

Earlier this year, we adopted a new value: Push ourselves, each other, our clients and our profession to explore.  While we finally put pen to paper on this one, the value is one that I believe has always been at the core of NST.

In a dynamic industry, success isn’t possible by resting on your laurels. What worked in the past, may not work in the future. Change is a word we must be comfortable with. More importantly, we must embrace and push for it by continual exploration.

I recently asked our team to tell me what “exploration” means to them. Here’s how they define exploration:

• Moving past the “guide book” to see what else is out there.  Is there a different route that we can take? Is there a new way of tackling a problem that has not been thought of before? Are there new tools we can use to go farther than we have been able to go before?  (Bill Trumpfheller)
• Taking chances and not worrying about outcome because all that matters is the experience/knowledge you will gain from having the courage to take that chance in the first place (Mary Correia-Moreno).
• Learning through experiences, having a desire to know and do more, and being present and aware no matter where we find ourselves (Jazmine Allen).
• Avoiding complacency and constantly innovating; no block-and-tackle tactics (Price Adams).
• Not only learning about the latest trends, technologies and ideas, but also learning (or even re-learning) the basics – including grammar and writing style – that ultimately create the sturdiest foundation on which to grow (Natalie Haack).
• Wondering. Searching … an ambitious drive to find the next great adventure (Michelle Livermore).
• Constantly investigating trends and what others are up to, searching for new techniques and ideas, helping clients see things in new ways, and creating campaigns that help them navigate through the noise (Greg Kershaw).
• It’s about movement. It’s about exploring what I’m not familiar with and using what I’ve discovered to grow and better myself. It’s about having that itch or desire to constantly be doing so and being propelled by the excitement of what exploration can deliver (Krystin Williamson).
• Constantly having your eyes on the horizon, looking forward at what’s to come, and actively planning for the future – even if it’s unknown (Katie Rowland).
• Trying to improve upon the method of solution that I’ve used before and always striving to improve upon my own work using the latest and greatest practices (Aaron Blomberg).
• Not letting the fear of failure prevent you from trying something new and taking a risk. This can apply to going after new business, pitching a new campaign idea to the client, etc. (Rebecca Howe Schmidt).

Reading these thoughts from our team reminds me – once again – what makes Nuffer, Smith, Tucker so special, and why on Monday mornings when others dread going to work, I don’t.  It’s this culture of exploration that unites and drives us.