Brandi Davis-Handy
#HaveYouHerd: Today’s #FridayFeature is Brandi Davis-Handy, Chief Public Relations Officer for AES Indiana. To find out how she is reshaping communications at one of the biggest utility companies in Indiana, keep on reading.
Brandi Davis-Handy is the Chief Public Relations Officer for AES Indiana, where she leads communications and community efforts for AES’ utilities in Indiana and Ohio. She received her B.A. in Mass Media Arts from Hampton University. Prior to coming to work for AES, Brandi spent over 20 years working in communications, marketing, and stakeholder engagement. Those experiences allowed her to fine-tune her storytelling and engagement skills.
While helping shape communications for one of the biggest utility companies in Indiana and Ohio, Brandi manages to still be an active community leader. She has served on many boards including 500 Festival, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Indiana, Dress for Success of Indianapolis, GANGGANG Advisory Board and Women’s Fund of Central Indiana. She is also one of the founding members of the African American Legacy Fund of Indianapolis.
When Brandi is off the clock, you can find her spending time with her husband and two children. Something we found out about Brandi is that she loves music and spent time in college doing street promotions for various record labels and hosted a late-night radio show called Mystic Vibes in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia.
We asked Brandi, what communications means to her, and she said,” Everyone has a story. How you tell that story can in so many ways benefit you and your organization or become your biggest barrier and roadblock. Never underestimate the value of effective communications.” A bit of advice she would offer those who are following in her footsteps is, “Realize that everyone’s path is different. Sometimes people get so consumed in trying to mimic the steps that they think they need to take between Point A and B that they hold themselves back. Everyone’s journey is unique. Don’t limit your possibilities because you don’t have the same experience as someone else or you think you don’t fit the mold. I believe my professional journey has happened the way it has because I haven’t been afraid to take risks.”
Brandy Davis-Handy is a shining star in the community when it comes to not only taking community action but also for how she approaches her work as a communicator. To keep up with Brandi, you can follow her Facebook, (@bdavishandy), Twitter, (@BDHandy), and Instagram (@bdavishandy).