Adriana Gonzalez

Director of membership

Houston Public Media

Age: 30

In three words: “Ambitious, hardworking, conscientious”

What colleagues say: Adriana is a true collaborative partner. She believes in the mission, cares deeply for HPM’s donors and has truly embraced being part of Contributor Development Partnership’s member services bureau co-op. She provides good input when it comes to membership fundraising strategy.

What Adriana says

Decision to work in public media: Houston Public Media was my first job out of college. I started in underwriting then moved into Membership.

Key accomplishments: Working my way to a director-level position and hiring team members who understand our organization’s mission.

Inspired by: Members who support our station and let us know how important we are in our community. Also by my team: It’s incredible to work with people who value the mission of the station and work hard every day.

Advice for young public media professionals: Bring your own personality to the workplace and always be authentically you. There are so many ways to get the job done and to be a leader. It’s so much easier when you’re truly yourself.

Advice for public media leaders: You choose which type of leader you want to be depending on your personality and what your team needs. You don’t have to act in a different way to fit what you think a leader should be.

The most important thing for me is to ensure my team has what they need to be successful, and that they feel safe to take risks if it’ll make our team and organization better.

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