Communicator Spotlight: Kayla Conti, Google's head of Black media

What she's saying: "I enjoy it because we get to be the connectors across different teams and we get to see a lot of some of the early stage work that's happening so that we can determine what some great storytelling opportunities could be once those things come into fruition," Conti tells Axios.

📍How she got here: She started at Google as an intern over 10 years ago and has been there ever since.

• Throughout her time at Google, she has had several "mini careers" in people operations and executive, internal and corporate communications.
• "Peak pandemic, I hit a point that a lot of people hit where it's like, what am I doing, what do I care about? ... I realized I wanted to do something more closely aligned to the communities and the audience's that I care about, and that for me was specifically Black media and Black audiences."
• It also came at a time in which there was an appetite internally for investment in this space, says Conti. "So I worked with our team to establish the scope of the role. We didn't have much of a roadmap, but it was something we were dedicated to and wanted to try."

💡Lessons learned along the way: Personal credibility matters.

• "The strongest thing in my back pocket was my network and the trust that I built with those colleagues and leaders over the years ... because of that, [when] I raised my hand and had an idea, people would listen."
• "My best advice would be, do the work and do it well so that when you have that big, bold idea, people are willing to listen and take it seriously."

🏗 How it’s structured: Conti is part of the global communications team at Google and sits on the consumer and cultural comms side of the house.

🏆 Favorite initiative: Celebrating Black women journalists and learning from them at a gathering during Women's History Month.

• "It wasn't necessarily a story we placed, but it was a moment that really solidified why we need to be doing this work. ... [The journalists] were surprised, honestly, that a company like Google would think to engage with them in this way."

📈 Trend watch: New wave of digital journalism, with reporters having their own personal brands.

• "New opportunities might open up for us as PR leaders to work with these reporters in new and different ways because of their social capital and level of direct engagement they have with people who are fans of their work. Their personal branding and becoming content creators in their own right is not something that I imagine will go away."
• Journalists she follows closely: Gia Peppers, Darian Symoné Harvin and Elaine Welteroth.

📚 Book talk: Conti is an avid reader, runs a book blog on Instagram (@tldrblog) and is an active member of a book club in New York.

• Recently read: "Maame" by Jessica George, "The Color of Family" by Jerry McGill and "Blue Hour" by Tiffany Clarke Harrison.
• Currently reading: "House of Cotton" by Monica Brashears and completing her annual re-read of "All About Love" by bell hooks.

🕯 De-stress routine: Candles and cooking.

• "I know it's time to start winding down for the night when I light a candle. I'm like a candle queen — I have a bajillion in every room of my house ... so I light a candle, make dinner."

❤️ Personal motto: Give yourself grace.

• "Try and remind yourself you're human and you only have 24 hours in one day. Do your best, do what you can, and then pick up where you need to the next day. And don't beat yourself up too much in the meantime."

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