Meet Lisa Faulkner-Dunne | Public Relations Consultant & Dog Rescuer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lisa Faulkner-Dunne and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lisa, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Risk- taking is all about taking a leap, and hoping you land safely! My first leap was moving to Texas after college in Kentucky with no job, knowing I needed to finish to graduate school , and no money to pay for school, So, I went to the library, searched for grants, and applied for a H.U. D. grant for women and minorities seeking a Master’s In Public Administration. I was one of the recipients, and attended Southern Methodist University for the cost of my books. That set me on a path to working for the City of Dallas, and while working in the Mayor’s Office I met people who were involved in every facet of the city. The woman I worked for was a Dallas powerhouse–Mayor Pro Tem Annette Strauss (who later became Mayor.) After a year in the Mayor’s Office, I took the risk of telling her I was thinking of getting into public relations- and she helped me network to find my next position, as PR Director of the Volunteer Center of North Texas. After 7 years of working with companies and nonprofits all over the Dallas area, I left to spend more time with my two young sons and husband, and to start my own agency- another risk. The first year I made about $6,000. But, I was able to gain clients I had met at the Volunteer Center and the Mayor’s Office, and had the flexibility to pick my boys up from school every day.

Every choice is a risk- but if something doesn’t work out, you can always course- correct. Finding a full time job again was always an option. Instead, I still do some PR consulting, but spend more time on dog rescue work . I am the president of The DAWG Project, an all- volunteer non profit that targets the most at- risk dogs and works to find fosters and adopters in the Dallas area.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I have been a public relations professional for 35 years- the profession has changed and evolved in so many ways during that time, so our roles are constantly shifting. From writing press release on a typewriter and hand delivering to the Dallas Morning News and Dallas Times Herald in the 1980s, to positioning companies and brands through digital strategy. But one thing that doesn’t change in PR is that it is about identifying your audience and finding the best way to communicate with them, now, it is easier to have a back and forth conversation, via Twitter or Face Book, so that requires instant responses, but it also gives the client instant feedback. PR people have to be writers, creative thinkers, special events planners, digital experts, and flexible, adaptable crisis managers. But, the best part is the variety of projects and clients you have the ability to meet and influence.

I was one of the first members of a group called PRConsultants Group, made up of one PR professional or agency in each of the top 50 markets. This group is an incredible source of brainstorming power, support and creative ideas. PRConsultantsGroup.com – They have had a huge impact on my success, and I even use them for ideas for my volunteer work running a dog rescue. Rescue also requires creative thinking, and constant marketing, to recruit fosters and adopters, and to raise the money necessary for vetting and training. PR experience has been invaluable in my second career, too!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would take a friend to Bishop Arts, a fun, walkable neighborhood located in the Oak Cliff Neighborhood of Dallas. There are great restaurants and unusual shopping opportunities. I also love Bon Ton Farms market, not far from there, for their organic restaurant, with fabulous farm to table dishes- and the farm is right beside your table! They also have small houses on the property, and offer a place to stay for people who have been homeless or were incarcerated, while they work on the farm.

I would go to an art festival, Cottonwood Arts Festival if it happened to be the right weekend in May or October, or go to Lower Greenville to shop, eat and explore their weekly Saturday arts and crafts market. I would also swing through Downtown Dallas to see the skyline and pick up some produce at Farmer’s Market. We would go by Fuel City Dallas, a convenience store that sells incredible street tacos, and pose for some pictures with the longhorn cattle grazing behind the store.

Of course, a Rangers game, or a Roughriders game, for baseball fans, would be a treat. Go to American Airlines
Arena to catch the Mavericks if it is basketball season, or a trip to Arlington for a Cowboys game in the fall. There’s hockey, too – the Dallas Stars play in downtown Dallas. And a day should be spent in Fort Worth, roaming the historic Stockyards and watching the round up. Another day could be spent at Fort Worth’s museums- the Amon Carter, the Kimball Art Museum and the National Cowgirl Museum.

I would also spend a day in Dallas’ arts district- visiting the Dallas Museum of Art, the Nasher Sculpture Garden, the Perot Museum of Nature and Science, and catch an act at ATT Performing Arts Center that night .
Lunch would be perfect at one of the restaurants lining Klyde Warren Park, ( a park built over a freeway ) or get a sandwich, pie or taco from one of the trendy food trucks that park there daily

And, I would take them to meet my horse, Dax, a chestnut quarterhorse that I keep in a stable in Plano, adjacent to Oak Point Park, where we ride. If it was the end of September, we could even watch balloons take off from Oak Point at the Plano Balloon Festival

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Shoutout to some wonderful mentors I have had- including Annette Strauss, who is sadly no longer with us, Mary Suhm and Karen Raskopf.

Website: thedawgproject.org

Instagram: DAllasDAWGproject

Linkedin: Lisa Faulkner-Dunne

Facebook: The DAWG Project