Iman N. Milner: Tell me a little about both of your journeys to this point.

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Aliya Crawford: I was at Temple University and was really into tv and film, really. When I came out of school I was doing a lot of freelance work in that area and then I got the opportunity to work at W&W in an entry-level position. I hadn’t planned on going into PR but it was in the entertainment side and that’s what I was interested in. I was working for the VP, met with Patti Webster and that’s how I got my start in PR. I’ve been here ever since. Now, it’s more than 20 years later and W&W has worked with amazing people who I’ve always been fans of. I’ve been nurtured by so many great mentors, including Karen, who have taught me so much and been such great resources for me.

Karen E. Lee: I started out in the PR business more than a few years ago as an assistant to the legendary Henry Rogers (of Rogers & Cowan) which was a blessing. He was an incredible man who took a lot of time to teach me what I needed to know. He knew I wanted to go into the music business but he wanted me to understand how to handle companies. So, after a couple of years working for him, he promoted me to Director of Corporate Entertainment and it taught me a lot about the things that go into working with entertainment companies. After a few years there, I transferred to the music department and was promoted to Vice President. One day, I got a call from a woman who used to work at Rogers & Cowan and she wanted to talk to me about representing Prince. I took the job, initially, to represent P Music Group—-his company. After about three months, they called me and said he wanted me to represent him and move to Minneapolis. And I said “yes”.

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