Interview by Emily Hessney Lynch.

Published July 10, 2020.

Where are you from? How did you end up in Rochester?

I was born in Rochester and grew up on the city’s east side, over there by Parsells Ave and Garson Ave. My junior year of high school, we moved to the west side of the city, near the Jay Street area. I attended Buff State for college and moved back to Rochester. I attended the Warner School at U of R for my graduate degree.

What are some of your favorite hidden gems around Rochester?

I live in the 19th Ward and enjoy riding my bike on the trail along the river, through the U of R campus and down past the tennis courts. I absolutely love it. I also like riding through Genesee Valley Park.

If you had $100 and two hours to kill, how would you spend the money/time in Rochester?

I love to eat, so I would probably go to Taste of the Bahamas. If the festivals were happening, I’d be at Lilac, Park Ave, or Corn Hill. 

What's your favorite way you've supported local during COVID-19?

I supported a lot of small businesses, especially restaurants who had curbside service. I try to be intentional about where I spend my money.

What are some of your favorite local nonprofits to support? 

I’m on the board of SPCC; some others I appreciate are the Urban League of Rochester, the Avenue Blackbox Theatre, and the Children’s Agenda.

If you could only eat one Rochester food for the rest of your life, what would it be? 

There’s this Jamaican restaurant on Genesee Street called Jamaica Soul. It would be oxtails from them! With rice and peas too.

What's your favorite neighborhood in the city? 

I’ve gotta say the 19th Ward!

What's one memory that captures what Rochester means to you? 

The U of R apartments in the 19th Ward by the pedestrian bridge used to be Gateway. We’d go there and watch the fireworks on the 4th of July every summer. It would always be packed!

What makes Rochester unique? 

We’re unique in our diversity. We have a lot of people from a lot of different backgrounds and cultures. And when we’re not in the COVID-19 pandemic, we have a variety of things to do. It’s also a great location for getting to Niagara Falls, Toronto, or New York City.

What's one thing you'd like to see change in Rochester over the next year? 

I see more housing developments popping up in urban areas (urban is a code word though, which we know). But I think it’s good to see those developments, but I don’t want people to be priced out. I don’t want to see big entities and major university systems creeping into neighborhoods. Those organizations need to be mindful about who lives in these spaces and be conscious about what’s happening.

If Rochester was a person, what kind of person would it be? 

It would be the kind of person who’s evolving. They’re not there yet, but they’re willing to listen and hear people’s perspectives.

Tell me about your business, LaLew PR. What inspired you to start it?

Prior to the start of my business, I was doing communications with the Urban Suburban Transfer program. I was both an alumna of Urban Suburban and an employee. The organization where we were housed had tuition reimbursement. I already had a bachelor’s and a master’s, but my boss kept encouraging me to figure out my next steps in life. I like talking and being in front of the camera. I shadowed a journalist at News 8 and it wasn’t as glamorous as I thought! I took some communications classes at MCC, including PR 101 with Dresden Engle. She had her own firm and would take us along, and it inspired me. As a result, I developed my own company and it took off! We celebrated four years this March.

I now have two interns. Originally, I didn’t know how to have a team. I had to grow and develop into being a supervisor and learn to utilize their skills and talents. It’s important to me to cultivate the next generation of Black public relations professionals. The public relations space is very white, so I take my interns’ working with me very seriously. I want to give them a taste of everything in PR and also help them with their career aspirations. I’ll always be willing to be a reference for them. I want their internship to be mutually beneficial; it’s about more than just helping me.

What are some of the most rewarding projects you've worked on in the past?

I had the opportunity to work on two campaigns creating campaign strategy, one for the first African American woman elected to county court judge and one for the first African American woman elected to family court judge. Both were very rewarding.

I’m a sorority member, and during COVID-19, the “divine nine” of nine historically Black Greek organizations organized a fundraiser to support Foodlink and combat food insecurity in Rochester. We met and exceeded our goal! It was wonderful to help get the word out about Foodlink’s efforts.

What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs in Rochester?

Remain a student of your craft. Be flexible- things change on the daily. Be unafraid to make mistakes. It’s through our mistakes that we learn and grow.