Member Spotlight:  Georgette Pascale

By Adrianne Resek, Medical Writer

Georgette Pascale

Georgette graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology with a B.S. in Marketing Communications and plunged into the PR world working on big fashion, music icons, and Fortune 500 stars. But amid all the glamour, she noticed an eye drop account that was a little neglected.

“I got into ophthalmology because no one wanted it, and I ended up loving it!” says Georgette. And she took her chance and ran with it. After rising in health-care PR at large firms, she decided to start her own firm dedicated to the underserved niche. Thus began Pascale Communications LLC.

When asked what inspired her to be her own boss instead of working for someone else she replies, “I like to change the bottom line and adjust things to make them more efficient, and if you’re not the leader, it is hard to make that happen.”

In her former jobs she took note of things she would like to do differently and tucked that information away. While she loves being able to steer her own ship and deliver for her clients, for her the hardest part is still managing employees. But she credits her all-virtual team as being “this great network of people with different talents and we all help each other out.” She leads by pushing people beyond their comfort level so they can spread their wings and learn new things.

She says her success comes from her willingness to work hard and be "a little bit male," or be aggressive in putting herself first and going after what she wants.  But her record tells us that really she works hard and tries to bring everybody else along with her.  Her early mentors inspired her "with their real-life examples and straight-forward attitudes, and to this day we still talk, and mentor each other." 

A big believer in Karma, she started mentoring in her second job and hasn’t stopped mentoring both informally and formally. As the Executive in Residence for Chatham University she served as a mentor and guide to ambitious young leaders. This was only one of the mentoring activities that garnered her a selection as a finalist for the 2009 Stevie Awards for Women in Business “Mentor of the Year” Award, a prestigious international award that honors female executives and entrepreneurs who provide superior guidance to other woman.

Her community service activities don’t end there. Georgette has served on numerous nonprofit boards, lending her PR expertise to foundations and worthy causes such as Children’s Home and Lemieux Family Center, the Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force, and OWL, to name a few.

Georgette loves what she does. She thrives on “being inspired by the people around me, new business pitches, and helping a client with a crisis. That’s where I’m at my best.”

Her hard work and ability to connect with others have helped her create a thriving PR firm that makes her excited to get up and get to work every day.

And she faces life with an energy that keeps those around her on their toes: “I love what I do, I love giving back, but I also love a million other things. I don’t want to get bored. I’ve only scratched the surface of the things I want to do.”

No doubt, Georgette will never be bored!

August 2011 eNews