The career path for a communications professional is not always a well-defined journey.  As a result, Barb Dunn has acquired 34 years of experience working for a public relations/advertising firm, two CPA firms and the Gwinnett County School System before arriving at Forest Investment Associates (FIA) in 2003.  Barb oversees the firm’s communications’ activities and organizes special events for FIA.

Previous Experience

Prior to joining FIA, Barb served as the first Marketing Director for Frazier & Deeter, an Atlanta-based CPA firm.  During her 12-year tenure at Frazier & Deeter, Barb managed the firmwide marketing efforts, including new business development, organizing conferences, continuing education, networking and social events, handling media relations, staff development seminars and more.

While working at KPMG, an international CPA firm, as the Assistant Director of Marketing, Barb organized large-scale meetings and special events for the 400-person Atlanta office and assisted with marketing presentations, proposals and publications.

Before landing the job at KPMG, Barb worked as an Account Executive at Pringle Dixon Pringle, a top public relations/advertising agency. Barb worked as part of a team to oversee clients’ public relations programs.  Among the accounts, she served on, include: Anheuser-Busch, Junior Achievement of Greater Atlanta, BellSouth Mobility, Ford, Dorsey Trailers and more.  In addition, Barb spent two years as a Substitute Teacher for Gwinnett County Schools and enjoyed that time working with elementary students.

What is your business philosophy?

▪  Pay attention to the details.  The details matter.

▪  Be a leader.  Be kind.  Be honest.  Be helpful.  Be positive.  Be thankful.

▪  If you make a mistake – admit it, apologize and do better the next time.

Why did you choose this field / career path?

For someone who is detail oriented, likes to work with others, enjoys organizing special events, I decided that Communications would be a good field for me.  One lesson I learned from working at a PR / Advertising agency was that I should always make sure I get the spelling of a person’s name and company correct, because it matters.  I never planned to work for CPA firms or a Timberland Investment Management Organization, but as it turned out most companies need a professional on board to handle all types of internal and external communication.

What is one of the best lessons you’ve learned during your career?

Expect the best of people, and they will produce great results!