About LeeAnn Donnelly & Laurel Bird Media
A storyteller at heart, LeeAnn Donnelly is a seasoned Media Relations Strategist, writer, and photographer based in her hometown of Asheville, N.C. Laurel Bird Media brings it all together.
LeeAnn interviewing North Carolina Senate candidate Harvey Gannt for her college newspaper.
LeeAnn honed her ear for great stories as a newspaper reporter and editor. She’s drawn from those invaluable experiences to grow her 20+ year career in Public Relations. As much as the media landscape has shifted during her career, the basics she learned in the newsroom continue to inform her work today.
Working on deadline at the Obituary Desk, LeeAnn’s first newspaper job was at the Asheville Citizen-Times.
For 15 years LeeAnn led Biltmore’s Public Relations team in securing millions of dollars’ worth of earned media coverage. She placed stories and worked with journalists based with national media outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, Travel + Leisure, Martha Stewart Living, Southern Living, Garden & Gun Magazine, Our State Magazine,The Associated Press, and Samantha Brown’s Places I Love.
LeeAnn, on the right, organized many Media Days at Biltmore during her career there, including the annual Banquet Hall Christmas Tree Raising event.
While travel and tourism has been her focus for the last 15 years, LeeAnn is experienced in garnering media coverage for large corporations, medical groups, retail outlets, artists and galleries.
LeeAnn is a board member of Terpsicorps Theatre of Dance, a member of the Marketing Committee for the Asheville Art Museum, and is an active artist and PR consultant for the Kenilworth Artists Association. She is an avid container gardener, devotee to Asheville’s off-the-charts food scene, a walker – not a runner – and is Mom to cat sons Kenny Wayne and Lorenzo Carl.
One last thing:
The name “Laurel” is a tribute to the road LeeAnn lived on growing up and to her parents who instilled in her to “be sweet” (Mom) and “do your best” (Dad). The “Bird” part refers to her love of birds, which frequent her illustrations wearing legwarmers.
“LeeAnn is a professional and joy-filled dynamo. Her positivity permeates every project. As a leader and collaborator her professionalism is bedrock, and from that foundation she brings the fun and excitement that keeps teammates engaged and the audience enthused.”