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Brigitta Shouppe loves the game-time mentality of public relations. The former University of Tampa soccer player says working on a campaign is similar to playing for a team: you lay out a plan, you ramp up to a certain point and “there’s a final win there that I can look back on.”
Shouppe plays that out as an account executive at St. Petersburg-based B2 Communications and as a freelancer for select media campaigns. For B2, clients include the Florida Economic Development Council, law firm Bryant Miller Olive and the Vinoy, in its pitch to build a parking garage.
On the side, she’s the communications director for Rick Baker’s high-profile campaign for St. Petersburg Mayor. Shouppe met Baker a little more than a year ago while helping him with his book, before he decided to run for office. She later took on a key role in his campaign.
“I look for projects that are going to directly impact my neighborhood or my community,” Shouppe says. “I shine on projects that are close to home.”
She got her first taste of electoral politics in a U.S. congressional campaign in Chicago in 2006, when her candidate won by half a point. In 2008, the congressman won re-election by 16%. “It’s why I enjoy campaigns,” Shouppe says. “Like sales, (success) is really tangible at the end of the November.”
Her biggest challenge with Baker’s campaign is starting multiple conversations at the same time, Shouppe says. “There are challenges in reintroducing somebody…someone who already has an existing brand,” Shouppe says. There are people who lived in the area before and “think they know him,” while a large percentage of voters are new to the area.
For Shouppe, it’s just one more goal to work toward this fall.
— Traci Beach
Name: Brigitta Shouppe
Age: 33
City of residence: St. Petersburg
Twitter handle: @BrigittaAdell
Employer: B2 Communications and part-time freelancer
Title: Account Executive
Birthplace: Arlington Heights (Chicagoland)
Years on the Gulf Coast: 11
Marital status/children: Married to my husband, Clint, and we have an 11-month old named Thomas.
Alma mater/degree: University of Tampa, Bachelors of Science – Criminology with minors in Law & Justice and Psychology. Working on my Masters in Journalism and Media Studies from USFSP.
Messy desk or clean workspace: Messy
Eat lunch out or at your desk: I try to eat lunch with someone at least two or three days a week. If I’m by myself, I’m probably working through lunch.
Best business lesson ever learned: Help people whenever you can, because you never know when the roles will be reversed.
A website that makes your job easier: Canva
App you use the most: Facebook
One thing you do everyday: Tell my husband and son I love them. (I also drink a cup of coffee in the morning religiously).
Community group you’re most involved with: My church, First United Methodist
Favorite off-hours activity: Jogging on the waterfront
Two people, dead or alive, you’d like to have dinner with: My mom, Josh Lyman
What you would be doing if you could pick another career: Foreign Service Officer
Top item on your bucket list: Live for an extended period of time overseas
Your happy place is: A day of "me time" to run and read a book (no kid, no husband, no chores, no clients, no social media)
Your biggest fear: Snakes in my house. My cat brought one in this week and now I’m imagining them everywhere I look.
Favorite Ted Talk: Rick Baker’s TEDx talk on how to build a Seamless City
Skill you’d like to learn: Another language
Who would play you in a movie about your life: Natalie Portman
Describe yourself in three words: Inquisitive, honest and driven
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