Nancy Neal Young
Nancy Neal Young, a nationally known and well-respected public relations professional was recently named interim Director of Public Relations at Winston-Salem State University. Most recently, and following her retirement from Russell Corporation in Georgia, Young served as a media consultant for several local non-profit organizations: Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina; YWCA of Winston-Salem, and The Advocacy for the Poor, where she served as interim executive director from July through December 2008.
She has more than 40 years of experience in media, corporate and non-profit public relations, and administrative leadership roles. Most notably, Young spent 14 years with Sara Lee Corporation/Branded Apparel in Winston-Salem. While there, she served as manager of Corporate Affairs, director of Corporate Affairs, and was later named director of Corporate Affairs and Community Relations in 1993, a position she held until she left the company in 1998.
During her years of service at Sara Lee, she developed and successfully implemented strategies for managing internal and external public relations. In particular, she coordinated the corporation’s community relations program and managed its on-going business strategies and special situations, contributions strategies, and crisis management communication. She excelled in providing public relations counsel and support, including communications packages, speechwriting for senior management and marketing communications. She also managed special events, including serving as tournament director for The Crosby Charitable Golf Tournament.
Following her outstanding career at Sara Lee Corporation, Young was tapped to serve as the Corporate Vice President for Community Relations for Russell Corporation in Atlanta and Alexander City, AL. In that position, she was responsible for all public relations strategies and implementation, including media relations. In particular, she assisted the corporation with its internal and external communications surrounding corporate restructuring and reorganization.
Ms. Young attended Wake Forest University.
