How did you discover your passion for what you do?
The first time I was published, I was six years old. It was an apology letter from the Big Bad Wolf to the Three Little Pigs, and it made it in our county’s literary magazine. From then on out, I always knew I wanted to be a storyteller. When I graduated from the University of Georgia, my mother had a copy of that apology letter framed, and it’s now hanging on my office wall next to my diploma. In journalism school, I studied publication management and was intrigued by the idea of creating niche media content for specific audiences. When I saw the rise of the blogosphere in 2010, I decided I wanted to be a blogger and was lucky to get the domain PrettySouthern.com. My husband is a Georgia Tech grad, so he helped me buy the domain and build my first WordPress site. Fast forward to today, and Pretty Southern is a top hit on Google.
Who is your mentor, and how did he/she shape your career?
Both my parents helped to shape my career, but I have to give a shout-out to my mom, Lynne Clark Morgan, as she’s a Delta Zeta (Zeta Lambda at East Carolina University). I call Momma Lynne the Original Pretty Southern. Everything good I have is because of her and my dad. Also better give my little sister, Mandy Morgan, a shout-out here because she’s also a DZ (Zeta Pi at UGA). Mandy consistently challenges me to do my best work as a sister, friend and example of leadership.
How do you continue to grow and be a lifelong learner?
For my fellow Delta Zetas who have done StrengthsFinder 2.0, “Learner” is one of my strengths. It’s how I ended up working with tech startups in Atlanta. By teaching myself HTML, SEO, PR and social media with Pretty Southern, I was ready for when the content marketing boom started to happen. Earlier this year, I joined Motivo (wearemotivo.com) as Head of Marketing to help solve a big problem for the mental health industry. I’m also an Advisor for the Atlanta Tech Village mentoring early-stage entrepreneurs. Learners thrive when we get to share our knowledge with other people.
