TAMEST Profile: Liz Holliday Lerner, TAMEST Director of Communications
Liz Holliday Lerner has been the Director of Communications at TAMEST since 2019. Raised in San Antonio and surrounded by a family immersed in science and research, Liz developed a deep appreciation for science communications from an early age.
Though her career path initially led her to the field of journalism as an on-air reporter and anchor, her love for science from her childhood remained a constant. Today, she brings a unique blend of storytelling expertise and a passion for science communications to her role, making her an invaluable part of the TAMEST team.
In charge of strategic communications and marketing, Liz oversees the creation and execution of impactful marketing plans for all major awards and conferences at TAMEST. In addition, she oversees all content creation, graphic design and press relations for the organization to highlight not only TAMEST initiatives, but all the groundbreaking research and innovation happening across Texas.
TAMEST connected with Liz to learn more about her work as the Director of Communications, her passions and how she uses strategic communications, marketing and storytelling to fulfill TAMEST’s mission.
Tell us a little about yourself:
I grew up in San Antonio and am the daughter of a Veteran Affairs psychologist and UT Health San Antonio neurologist/lab scientist. I remember from a young age running up and down the halls of UT Health San Antonio while my mom worked on deadlines for her latest research grants.
I was always interested in science, however, growing up, I found a true passion in words and storytelling. I have an M.A. in International Journalism from City University London and spent the first part of my career as an on-air TV reporter and anchor for various news stations nationwide.
Though I did not become a scientist, my love for science and research never disappeared. When I transitioned away from journalism, I decided to look for jobs that allowed me to use my storytelling and communications skills for causes that support education and research. I love working for organizations with stories to share and platforms to expand.
Why did you decide to come and work for TAMEST?
In 2017, I was living in New York City and doing marketing and communications for Columbia University Medical Center when I had a strong urge to come home to Texas to be closer to my family in San Antonio and Houston. I was lucky to find a Director of Communications position with the Texas International Education Consortium in Austin, which allowed me to move back here and help support collaborations between a network of universities in Texas and across the globe.
In 2019, I saw an opening for a Director of Communications position at TAMEST. When I saw the position, it hit me like a pile of bricks. Though I loved my work in international education, this would allow me to fuse my passion for science communications and experience working in a university consortium setting to help put forth communication and marketing strategies that elevate the amazing research and science being done in Texas.
The position seemed too perfect of a fit to pass up. I applied for the position and feel very fortunate to have been chosen for this opportunity. I love coming to work every day and thinking of new ways to highlight and lift the critical work that TAMEST does for researchers in this state. What a dream.
What do you do for TAMEST?
I oversee TAMEST’s strategic communications and marketing plans as the Director of Communications. My job is to ensure our messaging aligns with our mission and that we represent our brand consistently in the process. This includes creating marketing plans for all our program nomination periods and TAMEST events.
Beyond strategic planning, my team creates all our content in-house. We write news articles, interview members for our TAMEST profile series, create and send press releases on our award and prize recipients, create social media content and more.
In addition to creating and managing the written content for the organization, we also create all our graphic design work for conference materials, print postcards, e-mail headers, slide decks, social media posts, marketing fliers, print newsletters and more.
What part of your job do you like the best?
I have two answers for this: coordinating the O’Donnell Award recipient research videos and interviewing and writing our TAMEST Member Profiles for our e-newsletter.
First, the O’Donnell Awards showcase the best and brightest rising star researchers in Texas and help shine a light on their innovations in an important way. It’s become a stepping stone for more recognition through other awards and grants, and many have gone on to become TAMEST members themselves. As part of the award, TAMEST spends the month of October following recipients with a film crew to create impactful research videos on the groundbreaking research that won them recognition in the first place.
It’s such an honor to oversee the coordination of these shoots. I also love traveling the state, meeting with these powerhouse researchers and learning about how science in Texas changes the world. Getting to showcase these videos at the O’Donnell Awards dinner each year at our annual conference is the highlight of my year and always so emotional. I love helping to create something that recipients can use to highlight themselves and their research for years to come.
Likewise, I love our e-newsletter profiles because they enable me to put back on my reporting hat and learn more about our membership. We are a society made up of the most talented and innovative individuals in Texas and the world. It means a lot any time a member takes time out of their hectic schedules to speak with me about themselves and their research and trusts me to highlight their work in a way they are proud of.
What makes you most passionate about your work?
As TAMEST staff, we are so lucky to have mission-driven jobs, and it makes me so passionate to think of our future goals and then to create strategies and tactics to help us achieve them.
As an organization, we are continually expanding what we do and looking at our organization’s long-term goals. Creating cohesive plans for our future to make those goals a reality really fires me up. I’m very passionate about my work and grateful I get to do it for TAMEST.
What do you do outside of work?
A year ago, I had my first child, Malcolm, who is the light of my life. Anyone with kids knows that the first year is a blur of sleepless nights, but he is starting to walk and explore, and I love watching him experience the world. His first birthday party had the space theme of “First Trip Around the Sun,” so we are hoping he will grow up to be a science nerd like his parents.
Besides my family, I love hiking with my 90-pound rescue dog Babushko (the other light of my life) and playing board games with friends. I also love baking, reading and hosting dinner parties.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
It is really an honor to be a part of the TAMEST team. We are small but mighty (only eight staff members), and we all work incredibly hard to help put forth the TAMEST mission and ensure it thrives. I can’t wait to see our continued growth in the next 20 years.
