Whitney Wass and Tonya Schumacher recently completed the Certified Public Communicator Program at TCU, and Wass said for her, it was an easy decision.
“Communication tools and methods are constantly evolving and look very different today than they did five, 10, or 20 years ago,” Wass said. “From artificial intelligence to digital platforms such as social media, the ways we communicate have changed dramatically and continue to shift even month to month.
“Navigating these changes can be challenging, and a program like this provides the opportunity to focus on and better understand emerging communication models and best practices.”
The CPC Program is a 95-hour, graduate-level curriculum designed primarily for city, county, and school district communication professionals.
It spans two years, with participants attending for one week each summer and a short session during the winter in between.
Wass, who serves as Event & Marketing Coordinator for the City of Hudson Oaks, worked for the city of Grand Prairie for seven years before making the move to Parker County, and said completing the program has made her a more knowledgeable and informed public communicator.
“By the end of the program, we developed a comprehensive plan that will serve as a guide and living document to continue to improve, update, and evolve our strategies to best fit the needs of our stakeholders,” Wass said. “This has helped focus my day-to-day work and provides a framework for accomplishing the goals of our city.”
Wass entered the program at the same time as friend and co-worker Schumacher, who formerly served as Events & Marketing Coordinator.
Schumacher, Finance Manager for the City of Hudson Oaks, took the certification program because she believes it builds successful and ethical leaders from the public sector.
“Staff in a small city often take on multiple responsibilities,” Schumacher said. “The opportunity came with both personal and organizational benefits. While serving as the city’s Marketing & Events Coordinator, I enrolled in the program to expand my professional skills and to develop a three-year communications plan to better guide the city’s internal and external communication efforts.”
Raised in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, Schumacher has lived in Parker County for the past 16 years with her husband and two daughters.
She has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management and more than 20 years of experience in the marketing industry.
Schumacher said the most challenging aspect of the certification program was not really knowing where to start at the beginning.
“At the time, I was essentially a one-person team and felt overwhelmed about where to even begin with our communications plan,” Schumacher said. “As the program progressed, I realized many other cities were facing the same challenges. It showed me that creating a three-year plan was achievable, regardless of a city’s size. In many ways, I already had many of the ideas in mind — the program simply helped me organize them into a clear, working document.”
Wass said sharing the experience with Schumacher has helped a lot with collaboration and will ultimately benefit the City of Hudson Oaks in the long run.
“We completed the course together and were able to create our plan together, which was really helpful,” Schumacher said. “Tonya brought in the historical knowledge and past experiences more so than I could, as I wasn’t with the city for very long before going through the second summer of classes. One of the special parts of this program was being able to formally graduate with our class.
“It was special being able to graduate with Tonya and go through this together. I think it put us at a huge advantage being able to learn together and bring our knowledge back to the city together.”
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