Who are you and what do you do?
Jen Hinders, Director, Product Management for Digital Fundraising Products - I work as a product manager heading up our newly founded digital fundraising product development team. I’m more on the business side vs. the technical. We work on products and services like Passport and Mvault...for now.
Hi there! I’m Amy Lust, Assistant Director on the SPI team. I often feel like titles lack meaning and insight into a person’s job, and mine is especially so. I work on the station team in the Digital department at PBS. We focus on advocating for stations needs in regards to our Digital products. I work on Bento, and the upcoming migration for current stations to the new platform Bento 3.0, leading the DMAC and YoPro initiatives.
What's your best professional fist bump and facepalm?
Fist Bump
JH- Getting the greenlight to rebuild Bento and hearing stations tell me that because of my team’s efforts, they’ve saved X amount of time and money. And in one case someone told me that they were promoted because of the work they were able to accomplish with Bento. That work helped pave the way for my new role, where I get to lead a team in developing digital fundraising products and services. Being able to show a strong track record, allowed me move into a different (and scarier) role where I get to be part of a team that helps stations bring in money to better serve their communities.
AL- This might be cheesy, but I promise it’s not- my biggest accomplishment for the past two years has been successfully planning and executing YoPro Workshop events and growing the initiative. Especially last year in San Diego, it was the first year I felt like Jen and I had complete oversight over the programming and planning of the day. I was ecstatic with how well it went off and can’t wait for next year! #YoProNewOrleans
Facepalm
JH- There have been SO MANY. We were working to release an update to the Station Video Portal. The team had just taken over the product and didn’t ask the right questions to know just how intertwined the code was with PBS.org. PBS hadn’t launched it’s new site yet. When we went to flip the switch to restyle the Station Video Portals, it ended up also restyling the national video portal (which of course has now gone away). It took a few seconds to realize what was done, a few minutes to roll it back, and a few days to untangle why it happened. I’m not ashamed to say I spent a long time stewing over that release. But I have now ingrained in me to always ask questions when you aren’t sure. Stuff goes wrong, but don’t judge based on that, judge on how the issue is resolved.
AL- The least cringe-worthy one for me is when I was a contractor in another department here at PBS and tasked with sending out an annual survey to all stations. I was performing a mail merge between the Excel document and Word. I thought I was sending a test email to myself, but nope- turns out I sent an empty email and draft subject line to some 300 people. I was mortified! Everyone I was working with and the emailed I received from recipients were so kind and helpful. I still get nervous when I do a mail merge, but I take a minute to do a test with dummy information that only I see.
What’s the best lesson you've learned in your professional career?
JH- I have two. 1) You can “have it all”, you just have to define what the all is for you and your family. And that “all” changes as you grow personally and professionally. 2) Play to your strengths and improve on your weaknesses. I don’t think I’ve ever cared about being thought of as the smartest person in the room. But I certainly attempt, by my definition, to be the hardest working. Cause those, along with just being a good person, are things I value personally and therefore professionally.
AL- No one is going to make your career (add health and work/life balance to that list) a priority BUT YOU. If you don’t work to ensure you’re moving in the direction you want to go, no one else will.
What advice would you give someone going into or just starting a job in public media?
JH- This is true for anyone in any field. Have patience and work hard. If you are tenacious and desire more for yourself and your family, and care about your career you’ll be fine. It may take longer than you think it should and it may never go in the direction you’d originally thought it would. But through the peaks and valleys, at the end of the day, it’s worth it.
AL- No one has it figured out. Work, career, life- all of it. Also it’s not a straight path. The great thing about public media is we’re all focused on a mission and the tends to attract kind, caring and nice people who want to see their station, the system and their colleagues succeed. So my advice- ask for advice.
Rapid Fire Favorites
- PBS Show
- JH- It will forever be Sesame Street; But Nature and NOVA are a close second and third
- AL- Hands down the Great British Baking Show. I love it. I watch it when I’m sick or stressed out, it’s so calming to me.
- Vacation spot
- JH- The ocean...Hon (ask a Marylander for dets)
- AL- Wherever I’m headed to next. I have three international trips coming up to Rome, London and Tokyo, so I’ll say those are my favorite.
- Podcast and/or Book
- JH- You can’t ask a bookworm this question! I guess I’d go with Little Women
- AL- Currently I’m reading All the Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation and making sure I finish it by keeping it in my pool bag this summer. (I've been "reading" for nearly a year now!) I listen to SO MANY podcasts, it’s hard to pick a favorite but here are a few favorites: It’s Been a Minute with Sam Sanders, A Piece of Work and Joblogues.
- App
- JH- PBS of course :)
- AL- Touchnote- It’s a postcard photo app that I used all the time when I travel.
- Social platform
- JH- Instagram
- AL- Instagram (psst find me @amylust)
- Drink
- JH- Adult juice
- AL- Gin and Tonic or coffee
- Food
- JH- Anything homemade and sweet; and of course Crabs
- AL- BREAD. I bake my own bread weekly and blog about it here- thebreadlust.com.
