Influential Woman · New Jersey League of Conservation Voters

Michelle Peal

Director Of Communications, New Jersey LCV

Trenton, NJ

4Awards received

Certifications · Degrees · Memberships

Degree Bachelor's Degree in Journalism and Political Science Degree Indiana University Degree Master's Degree in Broadcast Journalism Degree Northwestern Medill School of Journalism Cert Senior Environmental Fellow Cert Environmental Leadership Program Member Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Member Mercer County Chapter (Ivy Leaf Reporter and Publicist) Member Trenton Education Foundation Board Member Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church Member Princeton Member New Jersey (Education Committee)

Her Story

About Michelle

I'm the Director of Communications for New Jersey League of Conservation Voters, where I've been for 6 years - 3 years as Director and 3 years before that as media manager. My background overall is in communications. I started out in Indiana as a radio and television news reporter, then moved to New Jersey and transitioned to corporate communications. I've worked in various fields, from politics to education, and now I'm in the environment, using my communication skills. In my role, I develop multi-layered communication strategies that make the New Jersey LCV mission impossible to ignore. I turn ideas into headlines, op-eds, press releases, interviews, and talking points that grab attention, spark conversation, and make our work shine. I'm the messaging maestro, coming up with ideas for how we say things that will convince people that environmental policy in New Jersey is important. I partner with our digital manager to make sure that what we're doing is amplified in all the social media channels, such as Facebook, Instagram, Blue Sky, and TikTok. We want to influence policy makers, because the whole idea behind our organization is that it's not just good enough to talk about the environment - we actually want to have an impact and change policies, because that's how you make a difference.

Quick Facts

IndustryNew Jersey League of Conservation Voters
Based inTrenton, NJ
Specialty Environmental Communications, Earned Media, Digital Media
- Messaging Strategy
- Policy Communications
Volunteers with Trenton Education Foundation (fundraising for student activities outside the classroom)
- Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church (social justice issues including housing
- Employment
- Food insecurity
- And support for battered women)

Her Interview

Ten minutes with Michelle

01What do you attribute your success to?

I had so many good teachers and mentors along the way - people who have taken an interest in me. I also have a great social network with my church and sorority, so people that I can talk to when I have problems. As a matter of fact, I created a video on that. I'm just grateful for the people that have helped me along the way.

02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?

If you make a mistake, own it and move on. Learn from it, own it, learn from it, and move on. Because we all make mistakes. These mistakes are learning opportunities.

03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?

Have confidence. Be bold. Don't shrink. Don't hold back. Share your ideas. And in a world where you can be anything, be kind. My friend, her name was Barbara Fly, she was one of my mentors, and she died back in November. She said, 'In a world where you can be anything, be kind.' That's my advice to young women, specifically - in a world where you can be anything, be kind.

04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?

Some of the biggest challenges in our field right now is trying to figure out the media landscape, which has changed so much from when I started out my career, when you had just basically newspapers, television, and radio. Now we went from 3 stations to over 500. As a communications professional, I'm trying to figure out how do I get the word out to where people, the policy makers we're trying to influence and the people we're trying to reach, how do we get to them in such a mixed media environment, and making sure we're doing what we need to do, going to the right outlets, using the right tools, having the message geared toward that. That's the struggle right now for anybody working in communications, whatever they're doing - how to reach the audiences they're trying to reach, and what tools should they use and go to, because it's definitely not your mom and pop's media environment.

05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?

I think respect for people is important - respect for people as human beings, no matter their background and who they are. Loyalty is very important to me - I'm a very loyal person, and it's important to me that I am loyal and that I get loyalty. Another important value for me is that we help other people. I feel like we're sort of put on the planet to be social and to help one another, so that's a very important value for me, helping others. And also, I think we should try to enjoy ourselves and have some fun. My friends describe me as joy, which is amazing. Those are some of my values - caring for people, trying to make a difference, working in the community.

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