Ross Levanto

It has changed dramatically since I started my career; now PR and marketing are more integrated than ever before.

Technology PR means I interact with very smart people, and I enjoy learning from them. The challenge is to translate technical innovations into language that impacts individuals and how they work and live. And what’s really rewarding is when you can not only successfully translate the message, but then you can determine campaigns that deliver those messages to the right audiences in ways that resonate.

I managed a PR program around a tech IPO while also driving B2B tech campaigns for a variety of neat companies. My entire PR career has been within agencies, which I have enjoyed. I believe working on a series of programs keeps the mind fresh.

When I arrived at Boston University, I was going to be a TV news anchor. I liked finding good stories and telling them. Then, I discovered that broadcast journalism is a very lonely profession. Fortunately, BU has a very strong PR program – and all their communications pursuits are heavily writing based. So I switched. Now, PR was in a recession when I was at BU, so professors kept telling me it probably wouldn’t be my career. But my first job was in tech PR, and I fell in love with the industry.

You will find me on a beach reading, or in the water trying to cope with the relationship between my age and my ability to water ski. I also organize neighbors around community and political issues that I care about.

A town with more cows than people – Franklin, Conn.

Grinders with real shredded lettuce. And people who legitimately don’t care what you dress like. A grinder is a sandwich, by the way.