Meet Ashley Gooden | Public Relations Specialist & Journalist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ashley Gooden and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ashley, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Risk taking is the only reason I got to where I am today! Straight out of college I picked my life up and moved to a city I’d never heard of to start my career. My boss took a risk on me, and I took a risk to pursue my dream. I have always been one to try something new, haven’t minded stepping outside of my comfort zone because what’s the worst that could happen? Right? Well, during all of those years in news, I grew accustomed to things I shouldn’t have been accustomed to. I got comfortable with taking risks with everything except my career. “It’s just part of the job!” was the excuse that I and many other people in news have always had instead of walking away from the job. It was my dream, I kept telling myself I wanted to get to a certain point before I “gave up”. It’s not “giving up” when you get to a point where you’re miserable if you continue doing it. It’s actually realizing you can fulfill your purpose by doing something else. Now that I’ve gotten a feel of what it’s like to work in an environment where I’m valued and appreciated, I wish I’d taken this risk sooner. After 8 years of reporting and anchoring the news, I finally decided to try something new. I reached out to one of the friendliest public relations specialists I’d work with on several news stories, and to my surprise, the advertising agency she worked for was hiring. I was terrified to leave what I was familiar with. I knew I was good at the job I had, and the unknown had kept me from stepping even farther out of my comfort zone, but I did it! I couldn’t be more happy with my decision!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m the Director of Public Relations and Digital Media at Style Advertising. We have all kind of clients and my job is to get the word out about them! We’re a full service marketing agency that is here to help businesses and organizations thrive by making sure everyone that needs to know about them, will hear about them! Our clients are restaurant and food truck owners, furniture store owners, florists, pest control, construction, boutiques, non-profits, charities and MUCH MORE. What’s especially great about the job is that we’re all about local! We have the ability to connect these businesses with the audiences in their neighborhood because we live in these neighborhoods and are those people! My TV career helped me get to this point because I’d done previous news stories with this agency and loved what I was able to do with them…. Tell the stories of local restaurant owners during Birmingham Restaurant Week. I’m a huge foodie, so those were my favorite stories. My news career was 8 years of many highs and a few lows. From a career standpoint, I believe the most difficult part about doing news was coming back home and having to report about the death and destruction happening in my own community. It was happening with strangers, but also happening with people I knew, and happening far too close to home. I spent two years reporting and anchoring in Abilene, TX, two years reporting and anchoring in Myrtle Beach, SC, and 4 years reporting and anchoring in Birmingham, AL. At home I was glad to be in a familiar community, but it didn’t sit right with me that I was having to cover all things awful rather than shining a light on the positives and telling the great stories about the people who live here and what they have to offer. I was anxious every time I pitched a positive story that I KNEW would be great for others to hear about. Anxious because I knew it wouldn’t be something I’d actually be able to pursue that day, but I knew I needed to at least try.

A couple of months ago something literally hit me…. I was in the passenger seat of the news car on the way to a story. My photographer was driving, and we crashed into the car in front of us. The airbags deployed, smoke was filling the car, and I could smell a stench I’d never smelled before, but I’ll never forget. I still don’t know what it was. Adrenaline rushing, and numb to the pain I’d feel later that day, I called 911. It was the only thing I could think to do. I sat on the curb and when the fire truck and ambulance arrived I let the paramedics check me out. The car was totaled, my heart was racing, and my mind was everywhere. I got a phone call saying another photographer would come and pick me up so we could continue on… to finish the story. I finished my shift that day… all 9 hours of it. That was my sign from God that it was time to find something that made me happy, at a place that likely would have sent me home after such an incident. The job wasn’t the fun, thrilling experience it used to be. I knew public relations was a good path for people who were interested in getting out of the news business. I’d already been asking people I knew about how they liked life after “getting out”. I know it sounds like it’s prison. I haven’t been to prison, but there’s a reason we say “She/he got out” and most fellow news people respond with “congratulations” rather than “I’m sorry to hear that!”. Never had I heard anything negative about life outside of the biz! The next week, I reached out to Style asking about open positions and I am SO grateful to be in my new role. I took a leap of faith and God hasn’t let me down yet! There’s a learning curve, but I have enjoyed this transition and the people I work with are so helpful and patient with me! I want people to know when you are unhappy with something in your life, you have to take the steps to change it. My friends and family see a huge difference in how happy I am now, and I see it and feel it too! I feel better waking up in the mornings, I feel more accomplished, there are hard days with every job, but I am not waking up and dreading having to be sent to a shooting or having to interview a mother who just lost her son or daughter to gun violence. I’m happy to have gotten out while I am still empathetic, and before becoming numb to the emotions other humans have. We’re all on this earth together and empathy is something we all need to have! I’ve learned so much from the news business and I’m grateful for all of the good that came from it, especially friendships and connections, but in this season of my life taking a step away has been nothing short of amazing. I feel even greater coming!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Ohhhh my goodness, there are so many places to go and places to see. I’m a huge foodie and to narrow down my list is tough, but if I had to pick I’d make sure we stopped by EastWest for dinner at some point. The West Wings are BOMB. We’d have to get a burger at Chubbfather’s in Alabaster. We need dessert at K&J’s Elegant Pastries because my girl Kristal doesn’t miss! The Italian food at Le Fresca is unmatched, and anything from Simone’s Kitchen or Encore Rouge are going to be amazing too. My favorite place in the City is atop Vulcan because you can see the whole city. The view from Red Mountain is beautiful at night AND in the daytime. I also love a good day at Oak Mountain State Park. There are beautiful views and you feel super accomplished if you hike the long route to “The King’s Chair”! As far as night life is concerned, it depends on what vibe we’d be going for, but my favorites are Queen’s Park (especially during the holidays when they have the pop up Christmas bar), The Elyton & Redmont Rooftop bars, and if I feel like getting dressed up to go dance, I’ll hit Cassanova Bar & Lounge. I wish we had more places to dance, but my friends will tell you I’ll dance any and everywhere anyway! I just love what the city of Birmingham has to offer— the southern hospitality, the history, there’s always something to do. There’s always a new adventure. Every night and weekend is different!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d like to shoutout my amazing friends! My inner circle has always been there encouraging me and putting up with all of my crazy emotional roller coasters when it came to work and the news business. My friends in the news business helped make me who I am in my career and many of them became framily. My friends outside of the news helped build my character, and have been there through all of the most important events in my adult life, through allllll of the highs and lows. God has put the greatest people in my life and each of them means something special and different to me. During this new “soft” season, I’m realizing more than ever who is here to stay and who is temporarily in my life. My sense of discernment has grown stronger within the past few months as I’ve been able to better focus on what’s best for me, what helps me thrive and not just survive. I can’t explain how important it is to have good friends in your life to support you no matter what. They keep me grounded, they keep me sane, we’ve laughed together, grown together, cried together, and we’re all leveling up together. I love that for us! At the end of the day, we all want to see each other happy!

Instagram: @ashleygoodentv

Linkedin: Ashley Gooden

Twitter: Ashleygoodentv

Facebook: Ashley Gooden

Image Credits
Personal Photo- By Ryleigh Esco Style Team Photo (4 women)- By Pedroam Marashi Photo in pink dress outside with camera equipment- By Bill Castle