School of Continuing Education, Apr 9 2012
TOM NARDACCI, age 37, was named by the Business Review as one of the outstanding ?40 Under Forty? in the Albany area. His most recent honor was to be named Outstanding PR Practitioner by the Public Relations Society of America, Capital Region Chapter.
Tom?s firm, Gramercy Communications, started in a spare bedroom six years ago, has grown to represent clients with nearly $2 billion worth of economic development projects in New York State. Gramercy is a full-service PR agency, but Tom says, ?We are spending more and more time helping our clients to integrate their traditional communications efforts with social media.?
Tom?s road to this level of success began in the Albany area. He graduated from Syracuse University, spending his early career in Washington, D.C. as a congressional press secretary, and in New York City where he promoted lower Manhattan working for the downtown alliance. He also worked for private companies and realtors to help revive downtown after 9/11. He was working for the majority leader in the state assembly in Albany as Director of Communications when his wife, a graduate of Cornell Law school, was offered a top level job in New York City. Tom saw it as his opportunity to advance his education in communications. Although he had been working in the field and was self-taught, he knew there was much he needed to learn.
The M.S. in Strategic Communications at Columbia?s School of Continuing Education seemed like exactly the right program for him. He was looking for a program to help him understand the business side of marketing, advertising, and public relations.
?I had worked in Congress, but when I got to Columbia, I had to catch my breath. It was Columbia! I was nervous, but proud of myself for being there. I knew it was going to be a real challenge, but it was also very exciting. I was excited every day I went to class. You just want to be successful when you?re in that environment,? says Tom.
?All my classmates were top-flight, all working professionals, and so talented. We learned so much from each other because of our varied backgrounds. Group projects were very important and helpful because of our diversity of experience. We were not competitive, we all helped each other.?
Tom appreciated and learned from ?field trips? that were part of the program. He said the group went to major advertising agencies, met with vice presidents, affording participants invaluable experience and exposure.
?The professors were outstanding, and the Program Director Trudi Baldwin, understands the students, and why the program matters. She?s hands-on available. She?s always there with a personal touch.?
While he was in the Strat Comm program, Tom made the decision he would open his own firm. ?If I hadn?t gone to the program, I don?t think I would have had the confidence to start my own business. The program is so encompassing, you learn what you need to know. I learned all the disciplines to become a well-rounded practitioner. Thinking back, I don?t think I would have been able to start my own firm without the experience at Columbia. It really set me up.?
Armed with his degree and new confidence, Tom and his wife decided to move back to their hometown to start his business and start a family. His success is a testimony to his native ability, and the great grounding he received from the Columbia program in Strategic Communications. ?I wish more practitioners could take advantage of what I did,? he says.
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