Catherine Cuello-Fuente, Founding Publicist WLDFLWR PR
Favorite caffeinated beverage of choice?
No caffeine for me. My mornings are made up of water and lemon, peppermint or turmeric tea!
What’s a typical day like for you?
I spend my early mornings (7-9 am) with my daughter who is almost two years old: breakfast by the window, playtime, getting her ready for her classes and her group activities, my wellness/beauty routine and getting "ready" for the day; which have been interesting lately with her arrival. Raising a baby with no family nearby is definitely the hardest part! I miss the community aspect of motherhood.
Once she's off, then I do my meetings and eat on the go, or with clients.
My "alone time" is when I am pitching the media (which is what I most enjoy about my job) along with the writing aspect of it. I try to schedule time for each of these things so that my time isn't only spent talking with clients or prospective new clients, something I also love to do!
Evenings are spent with my husband after I put the baby to sleep, where we debrief on our days and try to find space to be in the moment, rather than planning for the future.
What does it mean to be a do-good public relations firm?
This was a big aspect of my rebranding in 2018 (we launched in 2015). Something went off in me after my baby was born and I knew I had to act on it. I wanted to redefine what I do for a living through a lens that reflected my passions (ecofriendly living, good food, etc) - as well as my values. I've always worked in a "giving back" capacity throughout the years. My internships were always in the nonprofit sector and when I transitioned to the private sector, the communication agencies I worked for also had a mission to give back (specifically to the US Hispanic community) and then at a grassroots level -- when I worked on political campaigns. The name WLDFLWR is a reflection of those ideals, without being too cheesy (my branding could only be made possible by someone that understood me. Her name is Andreas de Camps German).
WLDFLWR is a do-good public relations firm because we only work with clients that have a strong mission to make the world better: whether it's by cleaning up the environment, providing healthier food options to consumers, aiming to redefine how food is grown at a macro/micro scale, by empowering women of color, or by democratizing sustainable goods -- the people we work with are all doing their part in their own way. And we're here to shed light on them, support and nurture their vision.
In a place like New York City where poverty and wealth collide all around us, how can NYC based corporations and businesses do-good?
It's something that shocks me everyday: I see it on our subways and buses regularly.
They can do-good by caring, diversifying their teams so that decision-making isn't one sided, providing grants or scholarships to issues that matter in the city, by teaching their children to give back and care for their community.
These points, combined with day-to-day kindness (a smile, a hello, a good morning) I believe make a difference. I grew up in the Caribbean, and although it's the "global south" and levels of disparity are much more notable, people are still happy, kind to one another, and live in a peaceful environment where hatred isn't "a thing". This makes a difference in the quality of life that people have out there and it's something NYC could benefit greatly from.
What is your vision of equality?
I think equality is an ever-changing goal... as the times change, so does how we view the world. At the moment, I think equality means: better/equal opportunities for women, balancing out the various shades of grey between women - brown, black, yellow, white. We are all the same.
Access to all to safe school environments and access to all to health care.
Thank you for taking the time.