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Member Profile: Mark Camps

Meet our members!  We will periodically feature veteran and new PRSA San Francisco members, and tell the story of their public relations career.  If you would like to suggest a PRSA San Francisco member for a profile, please send an email to info@prsasf.org.

Mark Camps
Senior Communications Consultant

Hospitals, Quality and Care Delivery Excellence
Public Relations and Communications
Kaiser Permanente

Why did you join PRSA and what is one of your favorite benefits that the organization provides?

I joined PRSA largely because I wanted to network. I know ‘networking’ is such an overused term, but after nearly 30 years in the newspaper business, public relations was relatively new to me. I also wanted to get to know more local people who were doing PR for local companies. I felt if I needed to switch jobs, getting to know others within the industry made sense. I wanted to find out what made them successful, what their struggles were, and what skills should I pick up if I want to remain viable in the industry.  

You have been in PR for almost 8 years.  Share a few ways it has changed over the years and where you see it going.

Social media platforms are changing rapidly. When I started we didn’t have much of a Twitter or Facebook presence, nor did we do much with blogs. But now those, along with several others, are staples in our pantry of communications channels. Being able to edit video or audio on the spot on any device is a big key to success.

Tell us about one of your most memorable experiences during your career.

While the last 8 years have been a blur, I’d say my most memorable experiences have been listening to health care and other policy leaders speak at conferences.  Former CMS chief Don Berwick, Institute for Healthcare Improvement president Maureen Bisognano, and former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich immediately come to mind.  

What’s your best advice to the new generation of PR professionals?

Even though you may hear that the written word is passe and press releases are dead, it’s imperative that one learns to write clearly and simply. Short declarative sentences will be your friends and keys to your success. Take basic writing or journalism 101 classes in college. The inverted pyramid style of writing will still come into play.