Black History Month Blog: Debra Dixon
By Larry Mullins, 1010 WINS
To meet Debra Dixon, the CEO of "Light of Gold" PR, you immediately start thinking about that little Energizer Bunny - she keeps going and going and going!
It's no wonder her PR firm is enjoying huge successes—working the country and teaching big and small businesses how to utilize various media to get what they want. We met Ms. Dixon at the 1010WINS Five Borough Business Breakfast, and my producer, Sharon Barnes-Waters, immediately thought, "We've gotta get this woman in our line-up this year".
Debra is a whip! She's been at this game for 10 years. She was the girl back in grade school who could sell an Eskimo a swimsuit in early February! Today, she's the lady who can take what sometimes amounts to a long, boring, drawn out business seminar, and have your boss thinking that you went to a "Happy Hour" on company time! And you didn't even have any booze!!!
Not bad for a little quiet girl from the Bronx who, according to her mother, had to be put in a small high school to keep from fading into oblivion - she was so doggone quiet. The smaller school worked; She says it didn't take her long to come out of her shell, and people started calling on her to do speeches and to represent the school on the radio. I slipped and used the word "nerdy" to describe her quiet nature, because she told me that she later got a job as a techie, at IBM and other IT companies - but I was corrected.
This explains it: When "Ms. Eveready Bunny" saw the high tech world go into social media (like Facebook, Twitter, Fritter, Skype, Hype etc . etc. etc.), she had a genius idea and started offering companies all of the above. She makes a living teaching these companies how to tie all that technical mass together…all the way down to how to update your "tweets." And she never ever stops! She showed up during our interviews with a sharp business suit on—and forgot to take off her tennis shoes. (Sorry Deb, I know you told us not to take your picture wearing the Air Jordan's but hey…you didn't say that I couldn't describe them).
Anyway, Debra Dixon has truly taken this PR and "spin doctor" thing to a higher level—and the industry has acknowledged. And the tech crowd hasn't abandoned her either: She was the first African-American woman to grace the cover of Internet and Technology magazine.
Chalk up one for the nerds. Just kidding…(Don't mind me, I'm just jealous because I'm high-tech challenged).
