Jennifer Thompson will receive the 2018 Alumni of Achievement award at the Homecoming Breakfast on Oct. 12.

Just outside the entryway elevator of Thompson and Co. Public Relations' office in downtown Anchorage - fondly referred to as shabby-chic by its occupants - hangs a sign proclaiming the agency's tenets and convictions. Among the list are commitments to loyalty, transparency and a willingness to roll up one's sleeves.

For staff, the sign encourages collaboration and advancement. For visitors, it offers a peek into the company's core beliefs. For president and CEO Jennifer Thompson, the list is the culmination of years working toward building the company culture she believed Anchorage longed to see: one that prioritizes family.

"I'm a big believer in family first," Thompson explains. "So I wanted to build a company where you had family leave whether you're a mom or a dad or you adopt. It's a flexible schedule. You don't have to wear a suit every day. You can bring your baby to the office. If your home life isn't solid, you're probably not going to be your best at work. I just wanted to create an atmosphere where it would be cool to work, and the clients and staff followed. I knew it was possible and I knew it could be successful."

Even at the start of her career, Thompson's family-focused business philosophy was evident. For her senior project at UAA, she organized a program called Gala Gowns where people could donate secondhand formal dresses, shoes and jewelry to girls who couldn't afford brand new ones for prom. Thompson estimates that the program outfitted around 350 girls. As a bonus, the coverage she received by promoting Gala Gowns garnered the attention of PR firm Bernholz and Graham.

"That was what got me my first job because I was on every news channel. I pitched it and went full PR campaign. One of the owners saw me on TV, called me up and brought me in. She basically said, 'Who is this girl on every channel? I can't get away from her,'" Thompson recalls.

Starting as an intern in 1999, the admittedly green Thompson took every assignment and opportunity she could to learn about the agency and the industry. Like clockwork, she rose through each position and eventually became president and CEO in 2006. Three years later when the opportunity to purchase Bernholz and Graham emerged, Thompson jumped at the chance and renamed it Thompson and Co. as it's known today.

"My husband said that I was buying a job. I didn't care, I needed to be in charge of my own destiny," she says.

Under her leadership, Thompson and Co. has grown from four employees to 24, and has added offices in other parts of the country, which Thompson jokes "isn't as strategic and sexy as it sounds."

Thompson attributes the agency's growth to her other two families - her Seawolf family and her Alaska business family.

In addition to routinely hiring UAA students as interns, Thompson does her best to fill her staff with graduates from her alma mater. She discovered her passion for PR while taking an introductory course with the founder of UAA's Journalism and Public Communications program Sylvia Broady, and by participating in the local chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America.

"I want to hire as many alumni as I can. This university gave me a lot of opportunities, and I can tell you that the people I've hired out of UAA are some of my best employees. If you don't understand Alaska, then you won't understand these accounts," Thompson says.

Many of those accounts are Alaska institutions that have been with the agency before Thompson.

"We are an Alaskan company, 100 percent. Many of our clients, like GCI and Travel Alaska, have really grown with us and have always had our back, so I stay focused and grateful to those clients," she thanks.

Thompson's reciprocation extends beyond the university and her clients and to the greater Anchorage community. She takes inspiration from the phrase, "Good PR starts at home," which she picked up from Roberta Graham, co-owner of Bernholz and Graham, and re-emphasized on the agency's list of tenets and convictions displayed in the office.

"That's a mantra that came down from Robbie that I believe very strongly," she explains. "The same things I advise my clients I expect my staff to do for themselves. You absolutely have to give back to your community. This community gives to us every day and we try to give back every day. I think that builds a stronger community which builds a better environment for business."

Thompson puts this philosophy into practice through donations and pro bono work. She is also collaborating with her friend, business partner and co-worker from the Bernholz and Graham days, Sarah Erkmann, to launch Blueprint Alaska, a public affairs and advocacy company. While doing so, Thompson has found herself in a precarious, but familiar situation, although it's one in which history has proven she thrives.

"Starting a business from scratch is a lot different than starting a business that you purchased, but I'm learning."

Written by Matt Jardin, UAA Office of University Advancement