The Vault Member Spotlight: Kendra Riley
Meet Vault Member: Kendra Riley. Kendra owns and operates a boutique PR agency in Phoenix, Arizona, where she helps businesses elevate their awareness and exposure to their target audiences through comprehensive public relations and social media campaigns.
Kendra was determined to create her brand, Dawning PR and be her own boss, create her own hours and ultimately become a wife, mom and business owner without compromising her time with a 9-to-5 schedule.
Dawning PR provides public relations and social media management for everyone ranging from small independent business owners to nationwide brands with storefronts from coast to coast. Kendra describes, “My team is talking to reporters on a local, national and international level on a daily basis, sharing our clients' newsworthy stories so they can expand their brand awareness through appearances on TV, in the newspaper, in magazines and online. This is complemented with our social media management efforts which ensure those press pieces are shared to their target demographics and that they are consistently sharing unique and engaging content from their social media platforms.”
Kendra gave us some insight on why she loves her job: “I love that I get to share unknown stories with the world that help my clients' businesses succeed. Being a part of their journey is really special. And the fact that I can do this from anywhere in the world, at any time and still have plenty of time for our family is icing on the cake.”
Kendra gave us her recommendations on balancing a career and personal life. She says, “Getting a business coach was one of the best things I ever did to help me achieve balance in my overall life. Working with them once a month to put my career goals on paper and figure out a plan to make them happen has helped me double the size of my business while minimizing the time I spend working on it daily so that I am able to spend time with our daughters, get back to doing yoga and have an the occasional lunch date with my husband.”
We asked Kendra about any hurdles she has faced in her journey and she explained that she is actually navigating one of the most difficult times in her life right now. She expands, "It started in 2020 when, at the height of the global pandemic, two of our three daughters were diagnosed with a very rare terminal illness called Metachromatic Leukodystrophy (MLD). While there was not much we could do for our daughter Olivia who was already symptomatic, our newborn Keira actually had the chance to live a normal life through an experimental gene therapy treatment that was only available in Milan, Italy. Because this disease is so fast-acting we only had one month to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars and move to Italy for five months so we could get her this treatment. Owning my PR firm was actually a huge blessing because my employees and colleagues started getting our family's story out and we achieved that goal. We returned home in January of 2021 and Keira has been developing normally ever since, while our other daughter Olivia is now enrolled in Hospice of the Valley. This disease so quickly strips away a child's abilities that it didn't take long for Olivia to be unable to walk, talk or eat on her own. Our lives are truly bittersweet as we keep her as happy as we can for the days we have left with her, while we watch Keira and their older sister Eva do all the things she no longer can. Every day is a blessing with them and owning my own business has been essential for ensuring I have as much time as possible with them.”
We admire Kendra’s strength throughout this very hard situation, and wish her and her family all the best. You can check out Dawning PR at dawningpr.com.
